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- How much of your coding is done by AI coding agents these days? Posted on June 21st, 2026 | 33 comments
I think next winter will be:
The F-15 Eagle: If it's up, we'll shoot it down. If it's down, we'll blow it up. -- A McDonnel-Douglas ad from a few years ago
*shakes magic 8 ball* (Score:3)
Not Likely
There, now I'm a weather man!
Re: (Score:3)
...
There, now I'm a weather man!
No. You have a better chance of being right.
Cheers,
Dave
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That's harsh I remember when a 3 day weather forecast was crazy talk, not they do 10 day with reasonable accuracy.
Of course, the suffer from pedantics in they if they say it's going to be 93, and it's actually 94, people are like see, wrong again!
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Also, in Europe, there are more measuring stations, and the super computers used to calculate the weather forecast are more powerful.
Here's an old article from 2013 that explains it a little better: http://news.nationalgeographic... [nationalgeographic.com]
Worst Forecast Ever Made (Score:3)
Still, thanks to Michael Fish, the UK still holds the record for the least accurate weather forecast [youtube.com] ever made: not only did he fail to predic
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That's harsh I remember when a 3 day weather forecast was crazy talk, not they do 10 day with reasonable accuracy.
Of course, the suffer from pedantics in they if they say it's going to be 93, and it's actually 94, people are like see, wrong again!
They do OK here in Colorado during the top of summer and the bottom of winter. Spring and fall they might get the current conditions right if they looked out the door... but it would probably change before they could report it. But they still try to do a 7 or 10 day forecast. Once in a while they get it right but don't plan on it.
Cheers,
Dave
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I can only suggest having a look at Weather5280 [weather5280.com]. They go into more detail during the periods where it gets nasty, such as the recent little cold snap that ended up being no big deal.
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The mistake they make in the UK is to state things with too much certainty. In most countries they say "20% chance of rain", and when it rains people say "bad luck". In the UK they say "no rain tomorrow" and when it rains people say "they don't have clue".
Lately they have been trying to soften their language by saying "it probably won't rain", but that doesn't really help as it just makes them sound unsure and even more clueless. Apparently they think British people are too stupid to understand complex math
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I'm already in winter. (Score:1)
Re: I'm already in winter. (Score:2)
I wouldn't call 33ÂC under a hellish sun winter. God I hate all seasons in this place.
European... (Score:3, Interesting)
and wondering if there'll be any Russian gas coming this time around to keep me warm when the snow starts falling.
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wondering if there'll be any Russian gas coming this time around to keep me warm
Not sure where to go with that one...
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Why, do you think they are not eating enough borscht already?
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Eat more Russian cabbage. That'll give you gas.
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We'll just use Dutch gas.
Statistics (Score:1)
This years winter was relatively mild. Statistic dictate that this year will be "Slightly more severe than last year's". Science!
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Guess it depends on where you are. Here (michigan) last year was one of the worst on record so "Slightly milder" Science!
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I spend half the winter hoping that polar vortex would come our way. Our winter sucked. It was wet and not cold enough.
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I don't know where your at, but in the mid-thumb area, we've had about 2 weeks of what we would have in a normal summer, our typical August drought was replaced with record rains, and fall came at least 3 weeks early. Solar irradiance is down, there is no serious El Nino on the horizon, Arctic Sea Ice is higher than any time in the last 5 years, so I'm hoping for slightly worse, but I've already got a shovel in the car, I'm putting together a go-bag with a weeks worst of necessities to take with me to work
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I guess the guy talked about Europe. Europe had a very mild "winter" last year, the exact opposite from the experience in the States (and the years before that it was reversed; Europe with long and cold winters, the US with record-breaking warmth.... it's basically all a function of where the jet stream will stabilize out).
winter is coming (Score:2)
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"I think next winter will be:" when we sit around muttering "Write faster, George" and wonder if book 6 will actually get published in '15.
Of course if he'd set the series in eastern NC, where we're down to summer, winter, and one other season, book 7 would be entitled "A Dream of Pollen".
Re:winter is coming (Score:4, Funny)
In the upper-midwest, we still get 4 seasons. However, they're unique to the geographical area.
Almost Winter - Lasts about 2 months in October/November. Leaves fall off the trees early "just in case." Sometimes they're right about oncoming snow, other times, they get it quite wrong and we don't see anything until nearly January. Either way, it's a yearly mess.
Winter - Lasts about 4 months from December through March. Prime hockey season - playing or watching. You don't drive so much as do your best to control the constant skid on your way to/from work/bar.
Still Winter - Lasts about a week in late March or early April where, if you begin thinking it's spring, the weather will dump one last "Hurrah!" snowfall to ruin the first grilling day you schedule because the weather was nice for about that week.
Road and Car Repair - Lasts about 6 months between April and October. Damage to roads and cars are repaired in preparation for the next stretch of cold, snow, salt, and sand.
Why I still live here, I have no idea. But I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Maybe I'm crazy...
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Here in California we have four seasons just like everywhere else:
Sunny ...what, you don't have On Fire where you come from?
Hot
Flooding
On Fire
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You're making the presumption that diabetes and heart palpitations don't get the better of 'em.
They'll have to make up a cover story and 'fake' it, or there'll be riots.
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"I think next winter will be:" when we sit around muttering "Write faster, George"
Paul and Storm :: Write Like the Wind (George R. R. Martin)
http://www.paulandstorm.com/ly... [paulandstorm.com]
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Severe (Score:4, Insightful)
The Netherlands had a very warm winter last year so this one must be quite severe compared to the last one. It would be nice to have a thick layer of snow again for a change. Last time that happened is already a few years ago.
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You have a point there. We also had loads of rain. Luckily we coped well with it, no floods here, which is quite an achievement for a country which has one half lying below sea level. But snow is something we don't handle well anymore since the 1990s.
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I'm not in the Netherlands, but would not classify the weather we had for the period December - March as a "winter". A year earlier there was ice rain and all sorts of obnoxious stuff but last year was autumn with shorter days. This year has to be colder.
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Am I the only one around here who really prefers to forgo the Koek & Zopie, and prefers a rainy but warm winter? I'm really in no mood to return to the 2012-2013 winter, which felt like lasting into June.
Ready for spring already! (Score:2)
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Last year's winter was not fun in PA. We had basically no summer, with very few hot days. I suspect this winter will be a little worse.
Same here in Colorado. We had a cool, wet summer. I think we only had one day that broke 100F. Saved a bunch on the water bill though. Barely had to water the lawn.
Cheers,
Dave
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Agree. Up north of Denver I had those Penis mushrooms growing all over the back yard. I had to turn off my sprinklers for a month. I just kicked them back on for a week or two (aerating Wednesday) and then it's time to pack it all away.
[John]
nine months away... (Score:2)
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And? that will still be next winter.
Derp.
Who the hell knows (Score:2)
Last winter's polar air mass stooging around the middle US for weeks was a surprise to everyone.
Onions from the garden have thick skin (Score:2)
Missing Option (Score:3)
There's a missing option:
"I'm stuck at McMurdo, you insensitive clod!"
I do not happen to be one of those people, but I'm sure that the people at the pole who read slashdot would have liked their own more accurate option.
I'm on the west coast, and El Niño is buildin (Score:3)
So it's reasonably likely those of us who live in Washington state will see a drier and somewhat milder than usual winter.
California, on the other hand, will get hosed - but I suspect they'll be happy about it.
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As a Californian, it sure would be nice for the drought to end, but the last time El Niño struck, a mountain fell on my house. It's still there, the house holding back the mountain. I'd like to not repeat that experience.
Arizona: No. 1 in DHMO-Free Lakes and Streams (Score:2)
We greet the new year here on Labor Day. It's when our outdoor activities begin and our clubs reconvene after the summer break.
Re: (Score:1)
You guys dodged a bullet. DHMO is known to kill 99.9999999% of humans within 4 billion seconds of first exposure.
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And don't forget: inhaling DHMO is usually fatal.
It's not generally fatal if it's been properly aerosolized, but you're correct that inhaling quantities of liquid or thermally-vaporized DHMO is often fatal.
Stupidest question ever (Score:2)
Next: I'm going to toss a coin, which way do you think it will come down?
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tumbling
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We'll still all complain that the 8 poll options are insufficient to sufficiently express the number of sides of said coin.
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Well, half the comments will be about whether you have used the correct coin.
Then someone will blame your choice of coin on President Obama.
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Then someone will blame your choice of coin on President Obama.
Well yeah, if you use a wooden nickel...
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What?? Only a socialist would suggest using a wooden nickel!
:^)
Last year was very mild (Score:3)
Last year was a very mild winter, so I can't see this year being anything but harsher.
Can't be worst... (Score:2, Funny)
Seriously, we had that polar vortex last winter, it cannot possibly be worst
*4 months later*
"It is now -50C, the fresh water supply has frozen solid and the electric barrage stopped providing electricity so we can't heat ourselves, we'll be dead in a week if it keeps up".
I stand corrected.
I moved away from winter (Score:2)
I lived in MN for 32+ years, and after the last 2 winters, I decided that I've had it. My employer let me transfer to sunny Florida, and even with all the extra critters, and crazy people, I'll be happy when it's 70F degrees in January. Meanwhile it will be -10F and lots of snow back in MN. No regrets.
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...that's when the hurricanes and floods hit you.
I hear the Midwest is nice.
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...that's when the hurricanes and floods hit you.
I hear the Midwest is nice.
...that's when the tornadoes hit you.
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The mid-west isn't that bad if you can put up with the people. Most of the city planners are smart enough to place towns by natural obstructions... tornadoes usually take the path of least resistance.
My town gets hit all the time... Oh look that field nowhere near any houses on the other side of the bluffs got hit again... You would think that farmer would give up and I could say that empty field with nothing planted in it nowhere near any houses.
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The mid-west isn't all flat that is a myth created by Hollywood. I live in Kansas which although it has flat plains most of the towns that were built in those flats have withered and the majority of the population lives on the eastern side of the state in the area called the rolling hills.
I live between a river, a large man made lake {39 square miles}, and a series of bluffs but not in the flood plain.
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Meanwhile it will be -10F and lots of snow back in MN
Lies, that would be a veritable heatwave in the middle of winter, especially last winter. Although I did have fun blowing soap bubbles outside when it get really cold. Sometimes the rise like a hot air balloon before shattering, other times they would land on the snow frozen but with a hole and the ice would sublimate leaving tendrils of soap, but most of the time they would crash into the house or tree and shatter. It was always fun to watch, since what else are you going to do when the day time high is -2
The next poll (Score:5, Funny)
I think the next poll will be:
Notably more boring than last one
Slightly more boring than last one
Not significantly different than last one
Slightly less boring than last one
Notably less boring than last one
It will talk about the weather again!
It's remarkable. Science? (Score:1)
At first, I was reading some updates on the two solar observation craft. Scientists said there was a significant drop in solar output. It's quiet normal they added, and would begin a cold spell lasting up to 11 years. They added its effect on jet streams. But no one else seems to have heard about it.
Correction:There is no (longer)winter where I live (Score:3)
Severe? (Score:2)
Last winter was totally crappy here, not a real winter, no proper snow cover, dark and depressing. So I certainly hope next winter will be more "severe", maybe even so severe that it would be a normal winter!
Denver will be buried (Score:1)
The wooly caterwallers are yea high to a monkey's foreskin. That indicates record breaking snowfall and 411 consumption for the coming winter.
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That indicates record breaking snowfall and 411 consumption for the coming winter.
Information wants to be smoked.
Obligatory (Score:5, Funny)
http://xkcd.com/1321/ [xkcd.com]
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Average winter temperature for St. Louis since 1994 has been 33.7 degrees. The deviation from which has been no more than 6 degrees.
A deviation of six degrees when you're hovering around freezing has an enormous impact on the conditions, particularly driving conditions. It doesn't matter so much if you're fluctuating around a point well above or well below freezing.
California (Score:1)
"Severity" is not so much the questions as "wetness". I put "have no Winter" since I assumed the poll was about the harsh cold back East last year. Here it was drought. BTW, there are seasons they just aren't crazy bipolar on the coast. In the Bay Area, you see snow on the tops of hills several times during a normal winter. It rains. It is colder, just not crazy cold. The summer is warmer, although yes there's the coastal fog that makes it chilly. The fog can lift and you can get 80s on the coast du
No clue (Score:2)
New England... (Score:2)
Last year we had lots of snow with a few heavy snow storms mixed in. I got to play around with my new Jeep Grand Cherokee in the snow... (grin)
The leaves started turning color early this year. My thought is that we are going to have an early winter with lots of snow again this year.
Ask a SNOW PLOW GUY! (Score:1)
My experience near Chicago is that seasonal contracts (versus 'pay per push') are going up in price. Now, that could simply be due to the harsh prior winter (lots of snow, neverending) and the local market being willing to spend more to offset the potential for a bad '14-'15 season.
I expect that is mostly voodoo. But there is Farmer's Almanac as well:
While the North Eastern parts of the country, including the Midwest and Great Lakes region are expected to get blasted with snow and frigid temperatures, California and other areas of the Pacific Northwest will receive normal levels of precipitation and cool temperatures this winter. Last year, the historic publication was highly accurate with their forecast of an extreme winter, while national forecasters made a mess with their often inaccurate predictions.
http://www.farms.com/ag-industry-news/farmers-almanac-predicts-harsh-winter-843.aspx
[Their predictions are about 50:50 in accuracy, which is better than I'd likely do... lol.]
And then there is the El Nino prediction (more harsh):
http://www.l
Last winter was the mildest winter in years (Score:2)
For western Europe, last winter was the mildest in many years. So it won't be a big bet to say that next winter will be more severe.
lame? (Score:2)
getting pretty lame here. We only get about 2 months of cool weather, then it's back to mid-hi temps.
I hope it's more severe... (Score:2)
...because here in oulu.fi, last winter was crap. Should have been -30C, gorgeous blue skies and over a metre of snow, instead of which November lasted for three months and then some bastard hit Rewind.
The trees are absolutely laden with berries at the moment, and I'm told that;s a good sign.
Effectively no winter last year, so... (Score:1)
....voted for notably more severe. It was one of the mildest winters in years where I am (SE England). We had around 2 seconds of sleety rain at the back end of a thunderstorm in February and all of 2 air frosts during the whole winter.
Normally there would at least be a couple of days with snow falling and there would be a dozen or more air frosts.
Of course, it *had* to be the first year I'd bought winter tyres for my car! (The previous year had the typical couple of inches of snow causing chaos...)
Significantly worse... (Score:2)
The winter here in Sweden was, for most of it, non-existent. By the time the snow started coming down properly, it was almost into Spring.
This, by the way, is a country where in Stockholm (about 173rd of the way up the country, not talking the far north) it can and does snow from the start of November through to the end of March. If you go up to the far North - Kiruna, or even further if you want to make a point, you can have snow for 10-11 months a year.
Reliable source (Score:2)
Technically, it's still winter here... (Score:1)
On December 25, 2014 Skynet released Robot Santa (Score:2)
Robot Santa was built with an immunity to paradoxes and killed millions. Then on January 27, 2015 Rockstar released Grand Theft Auto V on PC and it was the best winter since the Saturnalia of 37 B.C. When the Vestal virgins all got drunk and lost their jobs.
A guarantee.... (Score:2)
That the amount of whining and sensationalism about every storm will be double of what it was last year.
I cant wait for how the Weather channel goes overboard this coming winter.
Well, you know Shalsdot's gettin' old (Score:1)
Everybody sittin' around talkin' 'bout the weather, and the old ladies talkin' 'bout us.
Wasn't that a song?
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Somebody badly needs reading glasses... That was heavy
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I knew it! You listen to country songs. :^P
Systemic change to standard air flows (Score:1)
So, basically more.
Unless the Atlantic conveyor belt shuts down, in which case NYC is doomed, as is Atlanta.
Finland (Score:2)
About the same... (Score:2)
New Zealand (Score:2)
I live in New Zealand. Next winter is over a year away.
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MISSING OPTION (Score:2)
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The Old Indian says ... (Score:2)
"Sheep grow heavy coat. Bear put on much weight. White man split much firewood."
Last winter was the warmest, wettest I can remembe (Score:2)
Missing Option (Score:2)
Southern California has two seasons. (Score:2)
Southern California has two seasons: fire and flood.
If "flood" is loosely correlated to "winter", then we welcome actually having a winter for the first time in almost a decade.
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That went over everyone's head, didn't it?
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Sounds like Windward Hawaii.