A huge winter storm is headed our way.  I believe the name is Saturn.  Having named winter storms will take some getting used to.  Are the weather forecasters crying wolf again saying our area could get anywhere from 10 to 18 inches of snow?

Snagged from weather.com

I admit I’m very sceptical when it comes to these forecasts.  In the past they were either way over or way under the actual precipitation amounts.  Oops, sorry.  The storm track went farther north/south than expected or it fizzled out altogether.

Sometimes they get it right.  Like the “Storm of the Century” in March 1993.  I didn’t believe it was going to be as bad as predicted so I continued with my plans to visit my friend in Pine Grove, PA the Friday the storm hit.  We were trapped in her house until Tuesday.  All the roads were shut down for several days and it was bitter cold.  When Interstate 81 finally did reopen, it was one-lane with snow piled 15 feet high on either side of the road.  OK, they got that one right.

But the last several storms headed our way didn’t pan out.  Hence my skepticism.

I’m not alone in this thinking.  I stopped at the market this morning on my way to work (I forgot to get milk the other day) and overheard several people taking about how the media are constantly causing panic: Super Storms, the Mayan calendar panic, fuel and food shortages/price increases.  I remember when Johnny Carson joked about a toilet paper shortage (many, many years ago) and people flocked to the market and bought up all the toilet paper!  And it was a joke.

Is this another case of crying wolf?  Time will tell.