Well, I know I'm about to start some trouble here, but, hey...what the heck...my shoulders are broad!

I've been reading with amusement the comments not only on our site but on DaytonDailyNews.com from people frustrated over the alleged "inaccurate" weather forecast you got from us and other media outlets over the weekend.

Now, I can appreciate your frustration if you changed your plans or otherwise suffered some loss due to the storm not pounding us like it had originally been thought it would. But, to say that somehow that the forecast could have been done better, or making the lame comment that "you guys are always trying to scare us" simply shows your lack of knowledge of the science of meteorology.

No, I am not a meteorologist. But, I have piloted single engine aircraft, so, like all pilots, I have some basic knowledge of weather and weather systems. The one thing I do know about it - is that it's an inexact science. The reason for that is simply, sometimes Mother Nature decides to have a mind of her own.

For example, a meteorologist can see the "potential" for a tornado. He or she can predict the general area that could get hit. But until the funnel cloud is seen, or the hook echo appears on radar, it's tough to say who's gonna get hit, if anyone is. Furthermore, even with such a hypothetical funnel on the ground, your meteorologist could say (as an example), "It's moving toward Piqua at 30 miles an hour, so take cover if you're in the path of the storm". But, as soon as they say that, the twister could (having a mind of its' own), then return up to the sky and never be seen again.

So, was the meteorologist just trying to scare the bejesus out of people in Miami County? Or just trying to sound the alarm? If you were in the potential path of that storm, wouldn't you rather know that you could get hit so you could take cover? Or, do you want us Radio/TV types to wait until the storm is ripping a town up to say something?

Now, back to Friday night. The storm system formed exactly as it had been predicted, and moved early on exactly as expected. Then, Ma Nature decided to throw a curve ball and the storm tracked just a few degrees further north than early models predicted. When that happened, with the rain-ice/snow line just a little bit north of the original predictions, Dayton got some ice (which had been predicted), but got a daytime temperature Saturday that was a smidge warmer and thus, instead of snow, we got mostly a little sleet and a lot of rain.

That slight movement of the storm track could not be predicted until the storm was almost right on top of us.

And that's why sometimes the forecast is dead on, and sometimes it's way off. You try to be correct more times than not, but sometimes Mother Nature just decides to change her mind. That's a woman's perogative, as I understand it.

You guys who are married understand that, don't you?

BTW: they said we'd some snow overnight. Guess what, we did. It was just a little more than expected. Blame the storm track again.

With the predictions of ice and up to 2 to 4 inches of snow this weekend, I simply can't wait to see what happens on the roads if this all hits.

It simply intregues and amazes me how so many so-called "sensible" adults turn into blubbering lumps of jelly or else seem to want to show the world "I can drive better than you can" the second the snow starts to fly. And usually, this means a there's a ditch somewhere with their names on it.

Now, me? I'm a careful driver. I can count the number of accidents I've had on the palm of one hand since I started driving and thank God, they were all minor. I haven't had a traffic ticket since the early 1990's.

Sure, I've spun out in bad winter weather. I hit a patch of black ice a couple of years ago trying to get on SB I-675 from I-70 West. I spun around, but there was no accident and nothing was damaged other that my nerves for a few minutes.

But, I understand this can happen in winter weather. I'm also not so much a nervous nelly that I slow down to 20 miles an hour in snow. But, unlike a lot of drivers, I will slow down by 5 to 15 miles an hour if conditions warrant. I drive according to conditions. And yes, I'll make sure there's more distance between me and the car in front of me. I'll even (if necessary) drive in a lower gear to help me stop.

It just amazes me that people, seemingly in the "hurry" of their lives refuse to do this.

The people in their big SUV's who mistakenly think they can drive on anything because they have a 4 wheel drive...

The impatient people who look at people like me who are doing, say...45 in a 55 zone in bad weather as impediments in their path, because they wouldn't get up 10 minutes earlier and give themselves more time to get to work.

I just wave at these people as I pass them sitting in the median or in a ditch.

Now, I know professional drivers have lots of bones to pick with these bonehead drivers. And, in many cases, they have a good point. But, we've all seen some truckers whose actions have also made us shake our heads. Not every one...just some. In fact, I've followed many an 18 wheeler (at a reasonable distance) because I know if that truck suddenly slows down for no apparent reason, maybe I should, too.

So...how 'bout you? Let's hear your bad winter driver stories!

And if all the predictions come to pass - drive carefully this weekend, OK? That just might be me in the car behind you...