When I was growing up, I was completely addicted to weather in one degree or another. In the process, I or someone I knew picked up those life hacks, including my favorites.
- Hike in mornings
- Never rely on one model
- Beater for hail days
- Sleep in basements during severe weather nights
- Don’t trust everything on social media
Hack #1: This is very important, especially in Colorado during the summer, but can be applied to any location. I had a few run-ins with summer afternoon thunderstorms while hiking with fellow interns, and we had to turn around and leave unfortunately. Lightning can be dangerous, so it is a good idea to hike in the mornings to avoid these pesky summer thunderstorms.
Hack #2: Not all weather models agree on the same thing, especially in long-term forecast. Please don’t post about one model screaming about high risk tornado outbreak two weeks away. The same can be said about snow, though.
Hack #3: Someone I know has two cars, a Prius and a beater. She told me about a time she had $3,000 worth of hail damage on her Prius after a run-in with a thunderstorm on vacation, and the hailstones were barely a quarter sized. Afterwards, she would take her beater out on days when there is hail potential.
Hack #4: An old friend of mine and his older brother were heavy sleepers who would sleep through anything imaginable, even tornado warnings. Their clever solution: sleep in the basement on severe weather nights so they would not have to get up in middle of night for tornado warnings.
Hack #5: This is my biggest pet peeve when it comes to weather or similar topics. People could easily spread misinformation on social media, which is similar to Hack #2. Thus, I usually stay with trusted sources for weather information. I also do not like sensationalist articles and tweets in general, either. This does not cover just the weather information. It could include anything, such as volcanic eruptions. My favorite gems when it come to these tweets are those from Daily Express that deals with Yellowstone Caldera.
I am a trained spotter and weather enthusiast who spent years enjoying learning about weather. I provide my thoughts and commentaries, sometimes with light humor.
