Watching the reports of hurricane Sandy I'm reminded that the Eastern seaboard actually has weather, and that studying meteors to predict the weather has indeed become a legitimate science. That is to say there are legitimate meteorologists giving worthwhile information on the East Coast. Out here we have weather segments too, but they consist mainly of well-endowed women standing in front of a weatherless map of southern California, saying something about warm and sunny, I think. How're they packaging the weather in your neck of the woods? BTW - Hope all is well for WF folks on the east coast.
I like Mish Michaels quite a bit. She knows meteors, weather, and has boobies. Then there's this guy, a close second.
Until the first little spritz of winter, and the freeways turn into bumper cars. And then there are the "OMFG, MUDSLIDES!!!1!" that preempt all the network channels for days, while we watch a replay of the same shed sliding into the same river over and over and over again. Angelenos just don't know from weather.
Quick linguistic question: Is that sentence funny to you Anglo-Saxon lot, because it seems to say look out for falling stars to predict a hurricane? Or do you actually still use "meteors" in its older meaning of "things to watch in the sky"?
I believe he's making a joke about the term meteorology, which we commonly use to refer to the "science" of weather.
Greaseman (anybody remember him?) used to refer to the weather forecast as the "Pontius Pilate weather guess" because he washed his hands of any responsibility.
Instant catastrophe just add water! Ahem, I think what you're referring to is what we'll call next year ... Storm Watch 2013!!!
I threw in it as an etymology tidbit, folks used to look to the heavens (meteors included) to explain weather phenomena, the term literally means "the study of the sky." Now, whaddya mean by "Anglo-Saxon lot?"
I think this has already been answered, but we--like most westerners--use Greek words for various fields of study (biology = study of life, theology = study of gods, etc.). [Es geht genauso für Deutschsprecher, nicht? Die Biologie, die Theologie, usw.] Most of the time, the Greek root DOESN'T correspond to an English noun. We don't call life "bios," or a god "theo." But meteorology breaks this pattern because we have the noun "meteor" (a piece of planetary debris that strikes the Earth's atmosphere, burns up, and leaves a bright trail in the sky). So, someone not well-informed might conclude that meteorology is the study of meteors. We also have a tendency in pop culture to apply "-ology" to interest in particular subjects. "Mixology" is the "science" of mixing cocktails, "Treknology" is the study of fictitious techne from a popular sci-fi show, etc.
