Weather Guy: A Winning Streak Comes to an End

It is a scene replicated throughout the nation the night before a storm. Across every social medium, whether Facebook, Twitter, or text message, students discuss the possibility of a delayed start, early dismissal, or even cancellation. Of course, Scarsdale students are not exempt from this phenomena and can be even be seen making Facebook pleas to Assistant Superintendent Linda Purvis, who is on the other end of the line when snow days are announced. However, Scarsdale students have another unique source, one that, up until this past Thursday, had proven infallible -- science teacher John Neering.

Over the past five years, Neering had accurately predicted every snow day, delayed start and early dismissal in the Scarsdale School District. As a biology and environmental science teacher, Neering is familiar with weather patterns and meteorology. In the days leading up to a potential snow day, he reads weather blogs, reports and other forms of online information to make his prediction. Then, using a combination of the information he has gathered and his own intuition, he makes his prediction.

Neering has inevitably established a following in the high school and almost students eagerly await and seek out his prediction. Dozens of students visit his office the day before a storm, many of whom are not even in his classes. But even Neering willingly admits that it has been "a combination of luck... [and] lots of reading of model analysis information from the blogs" that has led to his streak. Unfortunately, as with all streaks with a degree of luck involved, this one had to eventually come to an end.

This past Wednesday, Neering predicted that there would be a two-hour delay the next day. "The info I used led me to believe that we would get at least a few inches of snow," he explained. After school, however, Neering realized, "the storm was not behaving in D.C. as was modeled and [I] began to doubt my prediction." Sure enough, Scarsdale students woke up the next morning, and, to their chagrin, realized there was no snow on the ground and that Linda Purvis had not called.

Whether crowds of students will still flock to Neering's office and take his predictions as fact remains to be seen. Though the aura of invincibility may be gone, he says, "I guess if people ask I won't hesitate to offer my humble prediction."

This article was contributed by Brian Solender, a senior at Scarsdale High School, and a former reporter, assistant editor and sports editor for the Maroon.