Douglas: Gusty winds, flurries expected Wednesday

“Hey Paul, I’d like to have a job where I’m right half the time and still get paid!” That never gets old. Meteorologists get their report card every day. The public tends to remember when we blow it, not the majority of the time we’re pretty close.

Nobody seems to care if our predicted high temperature is off by 2 degrees, but predict 4-8 inches of snow and only wind up with 2 inches? That’s what people remember. We tend to be extra-paranoid during the winter months.

In my defense, your honor, a 24-hour forecast is accurate roughly 90% of the time. Today’s five-day forecast is generally as accurate as a 24-hour forecast was in 1980. I wish stockbrokers were this accurate.

Expect windblown flurries Wednesday with gusts over 40 mph. A numbing Thursday gives way to a weekend thaw, and with little snow on the ground 40 degrees isn’t out of the question. Models hint at a few inches of snow for central Minnesota on Monday. A snowier pattern may emerge by mid-December.

“Right half the time?” Now I nod, smile and say, “It’s a pretty good gig.”