| We are half-way through this warm weather month | | | | As a result, Gabitova said her entire weekend was |
| of August and the heat has become something of a | | | | ruined and, to top if off, she caught a cold after |
| burden and a hassle for many of us. Good thing the | | | | getting soaked under all that rain. She later filed a suit |
| weather can be a source of amusement too | | | | in court against the weather forecasters. The local |
| sometimes. There were two reports last week about | | | | newspaper Nowyje Iswestijia reported that Gavitova |
| the weather that just made me smile. I'm re-telling | | | | was suing the weather forecasters to reimburse the |
| them here in an effort to provide you with | | | | travel costs of her aborted holiday camping trip. The |
| something to smile (or smirk) about this summer. | | | | paper said the court has yet to act on the woman's |
| The first report, which originated from Moscow in | | | | complaint. |
| Russia, recounted how Alyona Gabitova, a Russian | | | | Now, how's that for new-found freedom in the |
| woman from the town of Uljanovsk, was suing local | | | | former communist republic? |
| weather forecasters for making a wrong prediction | | | | The other news report, this time from a local US |
| about the weather that ultimately ruined her holiday | | | | newspaper, told of how people can determine how |
| trip. | | | | warm the weather was going to be by listening to |
| It seems that local weather forecasters had | | | | the chirping of crickets. Apparently, all you have to |
| predicted sunny weather and a temperature of | | | | do is count the number of chirps which crickets make |
| around 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit for one weekend a | | | | in 15 seconds, add the figure of 40 to that, and |
| couple of weeks ago. Based on that weather report, | | | | that's going to be close to the weather for that day. |
| Gabitova planned a weekend camping trip to a | | | | The report said that doing this will put you a couple |
| nearby nature park. She packed carefully for what | | | | of degrees of the actual air temperature. |
| she anticipated would be a grand weekend frolicking | | | | Too bad the lady Gabitova didn't know this early |
| under clear blue skies but instead of sunny weather, | | | | enough. Otherwise, she would have noticed that no |
| she was greeted with non-stop rains all throughout | | | | crickets were chirping during her holiday weekend |
| the weekend. | | | | and would have cancelled her trip. |