Unfortunately for the forecasters, and for us, the 35 per cent won through - with less sunshine, more rain, and the experts blaming the jet stream's whims.
"Everybody has a different meteorologist," said Dorothy Haldeman, who, as the aviation program manager at the National Weather Service, is in charge of the weather forecasters for the F.A.A. "And even people who aren't meteorologists have opinions about what's going to happen with the weather," she said.
Many of the forecasters work for Wall Street investment houses, and their sunny readings of the daily economic data encouraged investors, helping to make stock prices surge.
I wish I were among the many who have spent the last few weeks thanking the weather forecasters for arranging a mild winter.
Perhaps more important, the data gathered by forecasters for the Olympics, and the instruments used to record them, will ultimately be used to determine more than ski wax selections for skiers.
Forecasts for GDP growth in Germany, the largest economy in the euro area, have been revised down (to zero this year and 1.2% in 2004, according to the forecasters polled monthly for our indicator pages), yet German share prices have risen roughly twice as fast as other markets since March.
"Bottom line … now is the time to prepare before the storm on Thursday," forecasters for the National Weather Service's Bay Area region said in a statement.
In the South, sleet and freezing rain are expected to follow the snow, said Bruce Terry, the lead forecaster for the weather service.
On Tuesday, the chief forecaster for the California Public Employees Retirement System urged the agency's directors to consider lowering long-term investment projections.
A report on business activity, the Institute for Supply Management Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, dipped back into negative territory in September, defying the hopes of forecasters for more gains.
