A resident of Stewart is
heading out on his holidays and
is booked to fly from Terrace.

"And it’s vital he leaves here as
scheduled because there’s a con- ,

necting flight to be caught.
Driving south, he becomes in-

creasingly worried by the

gloomy weather and begins

- wondering whether the flight

will make it into the Terrace-
Kitimat airpert or not.

However, there’s a simple
solution to his dilemma.
Reaching the Kitwanga, he hops
out, picks up a phone and calls
the weather office.

“Which way do I go?’? he
asks, ‘Dol takea left and goto
Smithers to catch a plane or do I
take a right for Terrace?’’

That may sound far-fetched,
but the Environment Canada
office at the airport has fielded

just that kind of enquiry, says

officer in charge Adrian Van de
Mosselaer.

It’s an example of one of the
tougher calls staff there have to

make, he adds. After all, the
guy’s whole vacation may hinge

on the reply,

Another is the farmer who

wants to know if its safe to cut
his hay. ‘‘They need three to
five days of dry weather to dry

AT THEIR FINGERTIPS. Weather information from across the northwest and further afield can be call-

ed up on the computer at Environment Canada’s Terrace airport office. Above, officer in charge Adrian

Van de Mosselaer checks on the latest reports.

Weather Watch

ENVIRONMENT CANADA
Information line: 635-4192
Consultations: 635-3224

i
LAST Max. Min. Snow Rain Sun e om a id ; y Jat Marked oh
WEEK | Temp. Temp. (cm). (mm) (hrs) precipitation, 7
Dec. 28 2.6 0.9 0. 2.6 0 Records for the most
Dec. 28 2.2 O8 a awe . precipitation were broken in
Dec. , ’ race both November and
1 ee. 3 435 on re , Be 4 Decernber and, not surpris-
an. cee ae A AO : ingly, sunshine has been way
Jan. 2 | 0.2 4,0 4,4 0 ;
Jan.3 | 22 O04 06 08 0 below normal.
— 7 = 5 : = 5 Temperatures are runing
ax. Min. now ain un way above average whereas
YEAR Temp. Temp. (cm). (mm) (hrs) last year record lows were be-
Dec, 28 -13.5 ~18.6 0 0 5.6 ing broken and outdoor ac-
Dec. 29 -14.8 -18.4 16.2 0 0 tivites were being cancelled
Dec. 30 12.4 13.5 8.4 0 0 because of dangerously cold
Dec. 31 | -10.2 -12.7 4.0 0 ny winds,
Jan. | -10.4 -164 Trace ff) 5.7 in 1974, temperatures in
Jan. 2 -16.4 -18.9 0 0 3.6 the Antarctic rose to 15°, the
Jan, 3 ~15.9 -19,1 0 0 5.8 warmest ever,

\ Around town

Evergreen ready to air

Evergreen Community TV hopes to debut on local televi-

sion screens this Sunday, Jan. 12.

 Spokesinan Norbert Hartig said a final decislon was to be
made once members had ensured the material for the first
show was ready to go. That was to take place at a meeting
held last night.

Called Northwest Window, the first Evergreen production
will likely run 45-60 minutes and look at events in the com-
munity over the past few months. “I’m pretty happy with the
quality,” Hartig added. ..

Plans also call for the program to be repeated at a later, not
yet finalized date.

Hartig said Evergreen hopes having an opportunity to see
what community television is all about will encourage more
residents to volunteer to be part of the production teams or
support the society’s efforts by taking out a membership.

Kinsmen set to march

The 39th annual Kinsmen Mothers’ March kicks off this
weekend and the local club hopes to have raised $15,000 by
the time it winds up at the end of the month.

Co-ordinator Rob Finlayson said this Saturday’s launch
will once again see members pumping gas at the Petrocan sta-
tion on Lakelse Ave. The March will receive a donation for
every litre they pump.

On the Sunday, Jan. 12, volunteers for the door-to-door
canvas which runs Jan, 15-31 will have an orientation session
at the Happy Gang Centre beginning at 2 p.m,

Finlayson said anyone who would like to help on the canvas
— volunteers are needed — could either drop in at the Happy
Gang Centre that day or phone him at 638-1231.

He would particularly like to hear from people who could
cover the lower bench area of Thornhill and the Copperside
Estates.

All money raised by the Mothers march goes to .the
Kinsmen Rehabilitation Foundation which provides services
and equipment to the disabled.

And the winners are ...

Prizes in this year’s Golden Rule society Christmas raffle
went to:
Orange tickets — Mabel Hobenshield (stereo headphone

set), Marj Spisak (vehicle battery), Elmer Micks (stuffed lion)

and Allan Challenger (hand mixer);

Yellow tickets -- Joyce Kennedy (cross country skis}, Eila
George (home mobile alarm system), Gloria Hogg (curling:
iron) and Bill Kennedy (gift certificates);

White tickets — A. Martel (typewriter), A. Frank (cassette
player), V. Grant (oak filing cabinet) a and d Morag Hodges (aif
certificate), ;

their hay,’? Van de Mosselaer
explains.

The forecasters, of course,
give their best estimate based on
the information available at the
time, but he says it’s one of
those they really hope is on the
mark.

And there are lot more such
enquiries, Eurocan in Kitimat
wants to know what the chances
are of rain on a given day
because they plan to load a ship
with rolls of paper,

The same goes for the guy
who’s planning to reroof his
house or undertuke a major
concreling project.

In summer, the Forest Service
is looking for information that
will help it assess the fire hazard
while winter months see the
highways maintenance com-
pany chasing snowfall predic-
tions,

However, Van de Mosselaer
says it goes with territory and
emphasizes people planning
weather-dependent activilies
should check with his office.

That’s because the weather

forecast they hear on the radia

or Environment Canada’s in-
formation line tends to be a
general prediction covering a
wide geographic area. What
they need is more specific infor-
mation.

‘People often call us up and
apologize for bothering us.
They shouldn’t worry about
that, it’s what we do for a liv-
ing,’’ he paints out.

Along with a more detailed
forecast, those enquiring will

also be told the ‘degree of con- -

fidence’’ the forecasters have in
their prediction,

That last is not a'case of the
weathermen hedging their bets,
Van de Mosselaer says. It simp-

. Jy reflects. the fact forecasting

“is not a precise science’, par-
ticularly here in the northwest,
one of the toughest areas in the
country for forecasters.

Next week, Van de Mosselaer
outlines some of the factors
which make it so.

. At left, @ new feature is in-
troduced, Each week Weather
Watch will provide statistics for
past week, for the sare week
last year and a few facts for
weather trivia buffs to note,

Weird and wonderful world of weather

Almanac forecasts ]
off to shaky start

Some people may dismiss its forecasts as pure hokum, but
even so the Old Farmer's Almanac has attracted enough loyal
followers to have survived for two centuries.

Of course, there's more to the annual publication than
simply predictions of the next 12 month’s weather, But it's
those forecasts for which the Almanac is probably best
known, :

Just how accurate are those forecasts? Did the latest 200th
edition, for example, predict the disastrous November suf-
fered here in the northwest?

In d- wort nos i.

Here's what the Admanac forecast. Precipitation of
175mm, 25mm above average — just a little on the optimistic
side,

Temperatures to be 0.5° below average to 1" above inland
— closer to the mark that time.

And while rain and showers did predominate in its day-to-
day forecast, there was no sign of the promised sunshine Nov.
11-15 or Nov. 21-24.

Thankfully, the projected cold snap for the last two days of
the month didn’t materialize, either.

The Almanac fared a little better in December with rain-ap-
pearing as promised in the first week and again in the middle
of the month,

But the cauple of ‘‘cold waves’’ didn’t show up — at least
not what hardy northwesterners would call cold — and there
were fewer snowy days than forecast.

Of course, in fairness to the A/imanac, those snow forecasts
point to one of the problems of trying to interpret its predic-
tions in terms of this area,

That’s because they may indicate rain on the ‘‘coast’’ but
snow “inland’’. How far inland is inland given the forecasts
are for all of B.C.

Well, actually, not.all of B.C. and there lies another com-
plication and possible excuse for the venerable publication's
seeming inaccuracy,

It’s forecasts refer to what the A/manac defines as southern
B.C, and Terrace only just squeaks inside the northern boun-
dary of that area. Therefore, it might be necessary to allow a
wider margin up here.

Bearing the above in mind, that the Almanac was nearer
the mark in December and using the “third time lucky”
theory, here’s what we can expect in January: below average
temperatures and precipitation with cold spells Jan. 6-8,
12-15 and 25-29. Also expect to be doing quite. a bit of
shovelling over the last half of the month, =”

And what does the Admanac itself have to say ‘about its
predictions?

On page 4 it explains the weather forecasts are based on “‘a
secret formula devised by the founder of this almanac in
1792” and scientific calculations based on solar activity.

However, while maintaining weather is predictable, ‘‘it is -
obvious that neither we nor anyone else has as yet gained suf-
ficient insight into the mysteries of the universe to predict
weather with anything resembling total accuracy.”

Given its forecast for this coming summer, it sto be e hoped
it isn’t even remotely accurate then! _-

ey 3

No. 1 |

SLEEPING PEACEFUL-
LY through her first
public appearance (above)
is Brooke Lhonnie
Palahicky, the communi-
ty’s first baby of 1992.
Brooke arrived at Mills
Memorial Hospital at 7:50
p.m. on Jan.1 and weigh-
ed in at 8lbs. 7oz. She and
mother Shirley went home
earlier this week where
Brooke was sure to get a
lot of attention from
father Jim and_ sister
Breanne, who celebrated
her second birthday last
month,