OPA Companion · today’s check-in
Welcome back. Stamps 01–06 are sealed. The rebuilt receipt grades 91 counties for temperature and 81 for rain, from the county’s own volunteer gauges. Next: rebuild it once a week. 07 and 08 are ahead of you. Spinks wants September 21–23 on the page, not just the averages, and he is right. Your next real move: get the morning recorder running, because the weather service’s API drops forecast periods once they pass.
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01
Heard the argument
Channel 7 at one end of the table, Channel 42 at the other. Every missed storm, the same fight
childhood
02
Went looking for the score
Wanted a report card for his own county’s forecast, in plain words
high school
03
Enrolled
OPA, fall 2024 — the 2024 in his number. Meteorology at the Aviation Node
freshman yr
04
Grade before you build
Spinks’ condition for an early start. The definitions print with every build
Sep 2026
05
The receipt
Aug 31 – Sep 29: Blend highs within 3°F 87% of the time. 91 of 95 counties graded
Oct 1, 2026
06
The county’s own gauges
Rain graded on CoCoRaHS volunteer gauges. Called rain: gauges caught it on 67% of county-days. Called dry: stayed dry 97%
Oct 1, 2026
07
The morning recorder
Save the weather service’s forecast every morning. One copy on file so far. Not running yet
ahead
X
College X — Aviation Node
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth · Meteorology & Atmospheric Physics · home department
✓
KS
Kenny Spinks · Advisor
he feels the sky before the instruments do — and wants to know where the forecast missed
✓
I
Cassandra Lorenz · Second Reader · DOSA, College I
outcome versus trust — every forecast is a promise with a number on it
✓
Spinks keeps him on the misses, not the averages: "Your averages say the forecast is good. That week says when it isn't. Put that week on the page, not just the average."
The rule taped over his desk since day one: "Grade the forecast, not the face." Lorenz tested it, and it held.