The Weather

Storm damage in Fullerton

We were all on "Storm Panic 2008" here in Southern California this weekend. A genuinely nasty storm swept down the coast and hammered the northern and central portions of the state with 100 mph winds, driving rain and heavy snow in the Sierra. But like anything (or anybody) that comes our way, it mellowed out considerably once it arrived. Last night there was some wind and some rain, but nothing of Biblical proportions. As you can see from this photo of my knucklehead neighbor's "compound" across the street, we lost a few palm fronds, but were otherwise unscathed.

Perhaps it was in 1982 that SoCal weather became a joke when KNBC hired stand-up comic, Fritz Coleman as an on-camera weather personality. Or it might have been 10 years earlier when KABC hired Dr. George Fishbeck to do the weather segments. Dr. George, as he was affectionately called, had a "face made for radio," classic funny nose & glasses, bow tie, wild gesticulations and a schtick that everyone loved. In his defense, he was a genuine meteorologist and introduced the term "marine layer" into the southland vocabulary. But he raised the ante in this town and forevermore, the citizens demanded that the weather be entertaining.

Now, we get our weather from Jackie Johnson who is entertaining only in a salacious sort of way. As one local blogger said, "Do you ever get the feeling that Jackie Johnson is just going to stop mid-sentence and say, 'Hey! My eyes are up here!'" Often while the news is on, I'll hear Amy say from the other room, "What's Jackie wearing?" Usually, all I can say is, "you'll just have to come see."

To be honest, the weather here rarely matters. By everyone else's standards, it's nearly always comfortable. Unless it involves fire.