The weather forecasting services are predicting a major snowstorm in the area of southern Idaho and northern Utah. The storm is expected to start on Friday afternoon and continue through the weekend and bring snow accumulations of up to nineteen inches on the ground in Pocatello, Idaho. The newspapaer this morning went so far as to call it "The Perfect Storm", obviously in reference to the book and movie of the same name. The premise of the book, which was later made into a movie, was that an unusual set of circumstances occurred at the same time so as to create a monster storm in the northern Atlantic Ocean. The circumstances that the local paper referred to are an unusually moist flow of air coming across California headed eastward, a fairly intense low pressure system moving southeast out of Canada, which will pick up the moist airflow from California and send it counterclockwise across Idaho, and an unusually cold mass of air moving south out of the Arctic. That combination of events is expected to deliver more snow in one storm than has happened for more than 50 years.

It will be good if it happens, but lots of folks aren’t holding their breath! The storm has been too heavily hyped. While I think we will get snow, it won’t be more than about seven inches. That’s my prediction. Now let the weather happen and we’ll see how good I am at prognisticating the weather!

It does lead me to a different question. Where is, for me, the best weather? I have to qualify that because my wife Nina may well have a completely different idea of what would constitute "perfect weather." In my scenario, it would not snow, ever. I could go to snow if I wanted, but I would not have to own a snowblower, snowshovel, or ice scrapers for car windows. It would rain occasionally, mostly at night with the occasional warm afternoon shower. Rain is good as it cleans out the air, keeps down the dust, and washes plant leaves making them much more attractive. There would be more than 300 days of sunshine a year. That would mean about 1/6th of the time the day would be cloudy and perhaps there would be rain. The area would be green and lush, abundant with trees, grass, flowers, and other plant life, but not too humid. Temperatures would range from a low of 45-55 degrees with a high of 85-90 degrees during the summer and perhaps ten degrees cooler in the winter. At some point in the history of our species, a place like this existed and was called "The Garden of Eden." Are there places like this on this planet? I would expect there are. I don’t know where they are, however, so I’ve got some looking to do to find the perfect weather!