Happy National Weatherpersons' Day!

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Austin last week; from a reader
Is National Weatherperson's Day appropriate? Consider: Countless lives were saved via the outstanding forecasts of the extreme pre-Christmas cold wave and snow. Same is true week's Texas ice storm. The advanced warnings also made it possible for truckers to avoid the storm and airlines to proactively change their schedules -- leading to mitigating the economic losses from the storms. 
Pre-Christmas, 2022

In 1900, a Cat. 4 hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, without warning. An estimated 8,000 people died. In 2022, Hurricane Ian killed 159 in Florida. While the forecasts were not perfect, had it struck without warning, the death toll could easily have been 10 times that number. 

Weather science contributes mightily to American society, in ways that surprise many. All of this should be celebrated!
It is nice that we have a day that recognizes the contributions we make American society. While I would prefer it be named National Meteorologists' Day, I want to congratulate my colleagues for all of the essential work they do. 

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