Georgia
Tech Forecast:
“Terps looking to create a new definition for the term Buzz Kill”
Chief D-7 Meteorologist Bob Wevodau
THE INTRO:
It’s go time. All those other games count for something, but they don’t mean nearly as much as the coming conference schedule. This is our first ACC game of the year and as oddly as it sounds, it’s October and we still control our own BCS destiny. Of course we still have a lot of kinks to work out, as WVU pointed out, but things can gel, and who knows. It’s been looking like a whacky ACC season already, why can’t Maryland win the Atlantic Division? Of course on opening days like this, the possibilities are always endless (at work we do a pool for baseball to predict the O’s record and I always have them over .500, it’s just something about 0-0 that brings out the optimist in me).
Anyway, this game is really big for Maryland. As much as I would like to believe what all was said in the previous paragraph the cold hard facts just keep staring me in the eye. We have certain games we should win, and certain games we will probably loss. Assuming all goes well against Florida International, we will be 3-1 going into Hotlanta. If you take a look at the remaining schedule you got to think the UVA (terrible), NC State (weak), and Wake Forrest (interestingly maybe the best football school in the state of NC) games are looking pretty winnable which would give us our 6 wins for bowl eligibility (setting the bar low, but after the last 2 seasons I’d take it). But to go above and beyond 6-6 we are going to have to steal some of these other games, and that is why this one is so big. Tech has looked good at times and if Maryland can play them tough, this is our best shots at something greater than simply finishing .500. This game is a fork in the road for the 2006 season, and it’s up to the Terps to determine which way they want to go.
Now on to things that we can’t control, like the weather for example, in what is almost certain to be a trend from here on out, we do not have a kick off time announced for this game as of press time. We’ll probably be 3-1 and Tech will most likely be 3-2 (if they beat UVA and lose to Va Tech) and I really don’t know what that would do for our kickoff time. All I do know is that I’ll be in Vegas for this match up so it had better not be noon EST!!!
THE HISTORY:
The average high in Atlanta, GA for October 7th is 72 F° and the average low is 53 F°. I kind of thought it might be a little warmer in Georgia this time of year, but hell what do I know? As for the extremes, the record high for this date is 84 F° set back in 1998, and the record low is 41 F° which occurred back in 2001. Kind of odd that both records are within the past 8 years. You don’t see that much.
THE FORECAST:
So last time I took on the Farmers Almanac and dared them to prove me wrong. Well the results aren’t quite in yet for the Florida International game, but I can tell the Almanac is mad at me. The Almanac’s forecast for Oct 7th in the Southeast has been whittled down to one word “Fair”. Gee thanks for the help. That answer is only slightly better than the “Ask again later” the ole magic 8 ball used to give when you asked if you should trade your Wade Boggs rookie card for a brand new Billy Ripken! Anyway, I’m getting off track (see the Almanac has gotten me off of my game). Back to the weather, I am going to do my best impression of a French Solider and surrender to the Almanac with the hope that some good forecasting Karma will be restored.
The forecast for the October 7th, 2006 “Turtles vs. Tailgate Wreckers Game” is for Fair weather. It should actually be quite nice for those of you making the trip. Highs should be in the low 70’s and the lows will bottom out in the mid 50’s. I’ll say we’ll see a high of 75 and a low of 57. Since we don’t have a game time, that’s about all I can tell you. If it’s a night game, look for it to be a little chilly. There is no chance of rain and the clouds will be mostly few and far between. An overall banner day for ACC Football.
Obviously there are no sun screen or poncho warnings. But in the name of mom’s every where I will issue a light jacket warning, as in don’t go out without your jacket. If this is an evening game REALLY take that piece of advice seriously. Winds I think will be minimal so all drinking games should go off without a hitch.
The game day sunrise in Atlanta, GA on October 7th is for 7:35 am. The sunset is scheduled for 7:13 pm. The moon should be up around 7:31 PM and set 8:05 PM (the next day……I think). It will be a complete opposite of the Florida International game. For that game the moon will be new, and for this one it will be 100% full! Should be a beautiful autumn evening, with a few crazies sprinkled in.
THE SNOW REPORT:
Yeah, I don’t have a history book in front of me, but I seriously doubt it has ever snowed in Atlanta in early October. The fact that the record low is 10+ degrees above freezing, just kind of reinforces that hunch.
Look here for further updates, as we get closer to game day.
THE CHARITY PLEA:
Don’t forget to save your loose change and stray bills to donate to our “Save the Terrapin” fund. Remember with every $15 we raise we can save/adopt one terrapin through the Terrapin Institute, which will be saved (by being tagged) from commercial harvest. All “STT” progress will be monitored on the website.
To follow up to the Charity plea, as you can see Bix is posting turtles on the home page for each 15$ we raised. As of this writing we have not had another home tailgate, so we still have 7 terrapins who have been rescued. But I am looking for that number to rise after this coming weekend.
Look here for further updates, as we get closer to game day.
THE X-FACTOR:
Just to show you some extremes that could happen and have happened on this particular date in weather history.
- 11970 - Widespread flooding took place across Puerto Rico. Rainfall amounts for the day ranged up to seventeen inches at Aibonito. A slow moving tropical depression was responsible for six days of torrential rains across the island. Totals in the Eastern Interior Division averaged thirty inches, with 38.4 inches at Jayuya. Flooding claimed eighteen lives, and resulted in 62 million dollars damage. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
- 1981 - Seattle, WA, received four inches of rain in 24 hours, a record for the city. (The Weather Channel)
- 1987 - It was another hot day in the southwestern U.S. Tucson, AZ, hit 101 degrees for the second day in a row to again equal their record for the month of October. Phoenix AZ reported a record high of 103 degrees, and Blythe CA and Yuma AZ tied for honors as the hot spot in the nation with afternoon highs of 108 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
- 1988 - Morning fog in the central U.S. reduced the visibility to near zero at some locations. Morning lows of 28 degrees at Rockford IL and 24 degrees at Waterloo IA were records for the date. Afternoon highs of 92 degrees at Hollywood FL and Miami FL were records for the date. (The National Weather Summary)
- 1989 - Morning thunderstorms in central Texas drenched San Antonio with 3.10 inches of rain in six hours causing local flooding in northeastern sections of the city. Temperatures dipped below the freezing mark from the Northern Rockies to the Upper Mississippi Valley. (The National Weather Summary)
***This is a disclaimer to remove all responsibility on myself if this forecast is wrong. Being that it is very difficult to predict the weather greater than 48 hours in advance, the odds of needing this disclaimer are about 100%. However I do believe this forecast will be pretty close to what we can actually look to expect.