Weather: Any Lessons?

Fri Jul 9 05:32:59 UTC 1999

Heck, I'm starting to feel like disasters follows me around.  I was in
Las Vegas today for a little R&R, and the entire city came to a halt
because of a few inches of rain.  3 inches in one day, when Las Vegas
normally gets 4 inches total a year.  the brand new hotel had water
pouring through leaks in its roof, and the fire alarm was sounding as
I left for the airport.  But the casino never missed a roll of the dice.

Instead of saying people in the north/south/east/west don't know how
to handle heat/snow/rain/wind, can we look for some lessons we can learn.
[Besides, stay far away from what ever city Sean is visiting this week.]

During the east coast heat wave, there were many different incidents.
Let me try to summarize a few items.

   1. Public Relations/Communication breakdown increased the frustration
many customers felt.

   2. Planning estimates didn't show the peak demand would go as high as
it did.

   3. Systems running near/at capacity are under more strain (Duh?), which
further reduces your reserve margin because something is going to break.

   4. While fixing one problem, other problems can happen.

   5. Politicians look at everything as an opportunity.
-- 
Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO
  Affiliation given for identification not representation