Debunking Misconceptions

Are meteorologists responsible for our weather? That’s the word on the street after two terrible hurricanes. Those claims remind me of a different misconception.

Before I retired from my last pathologist position, I often wrote about cancer, particularly prostate cancer. In 2017, writing a blog post responding to an acquaintance’s comment that “I gave people cancer” I explained that no, I didn’t do that. I wrote in the post about being in the hot seat and making diagnoses on the appearance of stained biopsy tissue that I viewed magnified 400 times under my microscope. Sometimes other factors aided my decision-making, but what I saw was what my patients were told they had.

The patient and his healthcare providers could use the information I provided to decide the best course of action; whether or not to fight the cancer and what modalities to use in the battle. So no, I wasn’t causing the cancer, I was reporting on it and hoping my report, accompanied by updated clinical information, was beneficial for those in prostate cancer’s path.

meteorologists have a similar task. They take the latest data, run it through various algorithms, and tell you what is going on now, and the likelihood of multiple things in the future. They forecast tomorrow’s temperature and whether the sun will shine next Tuesday. Most importantly, they predict the path of tropical storms and hurricanes.

Whether the forecaster is with a governmental agency such as NOAH or the smallest local TV station in rural West Texas, they have one thing in common. They predict the weather. They don’t cause it. They tell you what’s going on now and give information that guides your future activities. Can I go to the beach on Tuesday? Should I get the hell out of Sarasota?

Despite this basic truth, meteorologists are being harassed, threatened, and accused of being part of a vast government conspiracy raining tragedy on Florida and Asheville, North Carolina. According to the New York Times the accusations “have been spread by conservatives and supporters of former President Donald J. Trump, including a former Trump administration official and a Republican congresswoman.” Spreading insane stories to boost chances of winning an election.

Weathermen don’t cause weather, just like pathologists don’t cause cancer. We all provide a valuable service, and there is no politics in that.