Dear Editor,
I am somewhat appalled at the response of some members of the public to the fact that Hurricane Mathew did not strike and demolish Jamaica, as was predicted in the early forecasts, leaving many with an oversupply of emergency grocery.
Some think that the warnings were premature and unnecessary, while others are questioning the knowledge and/or skills of the meteorologists.
The general forecasts were that:
(a) The hurricane would travel in a certain direction: westward with a turn to the north. That proved correct.
(b) There was a projection that three countries would be badly affected. These were Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba. Two out of three were correct, but an unforeseen easterly turn included the Dominican Republic.
It is generally agreed that weather forecasting is not an exact science; therefore, two out of three should be considered fair.
I am not discounting the power of prayer as a contributing factor to the escape, but if we believe this, then we are left to wonder if our God is biased; as he spared us and battered Haiti.
As a youth, I picked up a few words of wisdom from my paternal grandfather. One of his utterances I remember was, “If you err, err on the side of right.”
I am glad the forecasters erred, and they erred on the side of right. It could easily have gone the other way; they might have predicted a miss and we would have ended up with a hit and no preparations made.
Ronald R Fagan
Stadium Gardens, Kingston 5
ronniefagan@gmail.com
</p.>
I am somewhat appalled at the response of some members of the public to the fact that Hurricane Mathew did not strike and demolish Jamaica, as was predicted in the early forecasts, leaving many with an oversupply of emergency grocery.
Some think that the warnings were premature and unnecessary, while others are questioning the knowledge and/or skills of the meteorologists.
The general forecasts were that:
(a) The hurricane would travel in a certain direction: westward with a turn to the north. That proved correct.
(b) There was a projection that three countries would be badly affected. These were Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba. Two out of three were correct, but an unforeseen easterly turn included the Dominican Republic.
It is generally agreed that weather forecasting is not an exact science; therefore, two out of three should be considered fair.
I am not discounting the power of prayer as a contributing factor to the escape, but if we believe this, then we are left to wonder if our God is biased; as he spared us and battered Haiti.
As a youth, I picked up a few words of wisdom from my paternal grandfather. One of his utterances I remember was, “If you err, err on the side of right.”
I am glad the forecasters erred, and they erred on the side of right. It could easily have gone the other way; they might have predicted a miss and we would have ended up with a hit and no preparations made.
Ronald R Fagan
Stadium Gardens, Kingston 5
ronniefagan@gmail.com
</p.>