Comments on: .SUNDAY...FUCKING AWESOME I GUESS I MEAN WHO KNOWS

Question: .SUNDAY...FUCKING AWESOME I GUESS I MEAN WHO KNOWS

theodolite — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:35:47 -0800

Is there a technical weather-related definition of the word "glorious"?

I usually check the weather on this National Weather Service site, which presents exactly as much information as I want in attractive all-caps ASCII. At the moment of this post, the weather for Friday is described as "SUNNY AND GLORIOUS" and Saturday as "SUNNY AND CONTINUED GLORIOUS." The repeated mention of "glorious" is encouraging but also a little less, uh, sober than usual. Does "glorious" actually have a technical definition? It doesn't seem like it's referring to the "glory" phenomenon, which is more like a cool optical illusion than a general weather condition.

On a second note, what exactly is that page? The ASCII and fixed line lengths make me think it's originally some kind of teletype holdover, but I'd love to know more.

By: Ruthless Bunny

Ruthless Bunny — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:40:54 -0800

It just goes to show you that folks in the National Weather Service have senses of humor and are human.

I think there was one recently for Hurricane Kirk.

By: exlotuseater

exlotuseater — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:45:27 -0800

From the OED:

"4. Splendid in beauty or richness of adornment. Now only with emotional connotation as in 5. †Formerly also in a weaker sense, of textures, colours, etc.: Brilliant, shining, lustrous.

5.
a. Used vaguely as a rapturous expression of admiration or delight: Splendid, magnificent, intensely delightful. Now often with jocular hyperbole."

So, no, not a directly weather-related term, sounds like the NWS poster was simply ecstatic about the weather (aren't they all . . .) and a little over-the-top.

By: halfbuckaroo

halfbuckaroo — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:47:01 -0800

Back in ancient times, these were shared between government installations via teletype. Teletypes are still a thing. They are low-voltage, high-reliability means of sharing information in the event of catastrophic emergencies, and weather stations often experience those.

They are also written by humans. The Kirk cite above is priceless. Plus, "glorious" beats "awesome" any day in my book.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:03:13 -0800

If you want to get more of that sort of thing - the funny side of the NWS - make sure to check out the Forecast Discussion, where they go into the data backing the forecast. Much of it is technical jargon, but sometimes some pretty witty stuff gets in there. During the summer drought here, we got a spot of rain that occasioned a joke along the lines of 'strange stuff is falling from the skies...we believe it's called rain,' and so on.

By: jquinby

jquinby — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:05:10 -0800

...I mean, here's the one for today (the content will change on that link over time):

AND NOW FOR THE 3RD ACT IN OUR LITTLE WEATHER DRAMA. IF YOU`RE
THINKING THAT ITS ANOTHER MAJOR H5 WAVE...YOU`RE RIGHT! SWEEPING
SEWD OUT OF CANADA COMES A VIGOROUS WAVE...EVEN DEEPER THAN THE LAST.

THIS BRINGS A 3RD FRONT THROUGH THE AREA ON FRI WITH THE ADDED
BENEFIT OF MORE POPS. WELL THIS FEATURE IS BEYOND THE
FORECAST...BUT I DIDN`T WANT TO LEAVE YA HANGING.

OUTLOOK IS NADA FROM THE SAGES OF SEVERE IN NORMAN. BUT WITH 3
FRONTAL PASSAGES...ITS NOT LIKE THERE`S NOT ENOUGH OPPORTUNITIES.
OUTLOOK FOR RAINFALL FROM THE MASTERS OF HYDRO IN DC SHOWS LESS
THAN 0.25 INCHES FOR THE NEXT 5 DAYS.

OK THATS IT. TO RECAP...3 FRONTS WITH A 15-40 PERCENT CHANCE OF
RAIN...BUT YOUR WORLD IS UNLIKELY TO COME TO AN END...AT LEAST DUE
TO WEATHER.

The guy's off the hook, I tell you.

By: stebulus

stebulus — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:36:29 -0800

The ASCII and fixed line lengths make me think it's originally some kind of teletype holdover, but I'd love to know more.

This sidebarred comment by eriko has a little more.

By: theodolite

theodolite — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:45:45 -0800

Thanks everyone! The boss at Romeoville station must be a pill because this was the first glimmer of humanity I've seen in the forecast, but from now on I'll keep an eye on the Forecast Discussion for Chicago, which seems a little livelier. I'm delighted to know that "continued glorious" was written by someone being really excited about going fishing this weekend.

By: dmd

dmd — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 07:43:00 -0800

(Still on the teletype tangent)

According to Uncyclopedia, the National Weather Service is a U.S. government agency dedicated to the preservation of upper-case letters.

By: Fig

Fig — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:32:12 -0800

I totally saw this this morning, and was also amused. I chalked it up to meterologists expressing creativity.

By: RyanAdams

RyanAdams — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 16:23:54 -0800

A friend of mine collects classic entries from forecast discussions here.