A LITTLE RAIN MUST FALL...BUT NOT DURING THE CHINA OLYMPICS PLEASE!

NOTE TO SELF: One for the 'uh-oh' file



Now comes news that preparations are being made for the advent of bad weather during their Olympics to be held in China in 2008. In doing this Beijing weather people are proceeding with plans to fire rockets to disperse rain clouds in an attempt to get more sunshine. Predicting the weather as many weather forecasters will agree is not an exacting science to say the least.

Anybody see anything wrong with this idea?

According to Zheng Guoguang, head of China's Meterorological Administration, practice drills are ready. The drills are supposed to simulate what will happen when the Olympics begin on August 8, 2008 and this is the last opportunity for meteorologists to practice working out the kinks. When you think about it - it's not such a big deal if attendees get a little wet while watching athletes do their thing. It's all part of the experience... a little rain must fall and all that.

Course some people take the rain a little more seriously.

Chinese officials report that historical records indicate a 50% chance of rain for the opening ceremony and the same for the closing ceremony. Then there's the usual just-in-case-it-doesn't-work statement where the weather officials admitted that seeding cloud to produce rain and then shoo away rainmaking clouds is - um - immature technology.

We get the point, peeplz. Maybe it'll work...and then again, maybe it won't.

"Dispersal is more difficult than rainfall enhancement," Wang Yubin, assistant chief engineer with the Beijing Meteorological Bureau commented. "In rainfall dispersal, we are still in the experimental stage but we are continuing our efforts."

So people planning to travel to the China Olympics should bring along a raincoat and/or umbrella - just in case of course.