January 27, 2017
CapitalPress.com
7
Popular weatherman to
deliver annual forecast See ATI & JTI at the Show!
Art Douglas admits he’s a
“weatherbug.”
“I can’t put the computer
down, I’ve always got to know
what the weather’s doing,” he
says. “I’m just fascinated with
it.”
And, he says, “If you get
fascinated with weather, the
next step is, you obviously are
interested in forecasting.”
That fascination with the
weather has turned into Doug-
las’ life’s work. He is a profes-
sor emeritus of atmospheric
sciences at Creighton Univer-
sity in Omaha, Neb., having
started there in 1982 and retir-
ing in 2007.
Other agricultural audienc-
es Douglas speaks to include
the National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association and Gavilon, an
Omaha commodity manage-
ment firm.
But Douglas draws a par-
ticularly loyal audience at the
Spokane Ag Expo and Pacif-
ic Northwest Farm Forum,
where he will offer his forecast
following the presentation of
the Excellence in Ag Awards,
which starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday,
Feb. 7, in the main ballroom of
the convention center.
Douglas began speaking at
the show in 1989.
“The farmers like him and
they trust what he says,” said
show manager Myrna O’Leary.
“The one year, we couldn’t get
him and (we) wanted to hide.
They were angry Art wasn’t
there.”
Douglas knows what his
farmer and rancher audiences
want to hear.
“They’re not just interested
in the weather,” Douglas said.
“They want to get a hedge in
the future and listen to what
might possibly occur.”
Douglas said he is not
particularly interested in the
day-to-day forecasts found on
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Creighton University professor
emeritus Art Douglas will deliv-
er his annual forecast Tuesday,
Feb. 7, at the Spokane Ag Expo
and Pacific Northwest Farm
Forum.
television or from the weather
services.
“Models are doing a pretty
darn good job now of forecast-
ing six to eight days, and they
even get it right sometimes out
to two weeks,” he said. “But the
real challenge continues to be the
next month to three months.”
At that point, numerical mod-
els still have a tough time predict-
ing the weather, Douglas said.
“The reality is, it’s a very
complex science,” he said. “But
to me it’s challenging.”
In December, Douglas said
he expected colder weather than
the last three or four years, with
below-normal precipitation and
lower snow levels.
“The question is, is there
enough soil moisture in the
ground to hold it through a cold,
dry winter?” he said. “Are you
going to be able to keep snow
on the ground? It’ll be cold, but
are we going to get enough snow
storms to keep protection on the
ground?”
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By MATTHEW WEAVER