Gazette Notice: the Town Weather Office has opened

The Town Square Gazette is pleased to report that the Square has hired a team of meteorologists, together with one scientist who says they can control the weather.

The meteorologists have brought charts, thermometers and a commendably serious approach to clouds. The scientist has brought several switches and declined to say where the lightning comes from. Between them, they can now arrange clear skies, rain, snow and storms.

Until now, weather in the Square was managed according to the traditional method: somebody looked up, somebody else disagreed and a third person said it looked like it might rain later. The new staff have replaced this with a proper forecast, which is considerably more official.

Rain: enough to justify concern, but not enough to cancel the meeting.

Snow: falling gently over matters that were already taking longer than expected.

Storm: the Weather Office demonstrating that it has access to atmosphere.

Readers may observe that these official moving pictures proceed at a low FPS. The Gazette assures readers that this is not how fast the rain falls, but a limitation of the Office’s recording equipment.

A shared sky

The meteorologists have insisted that a forecast must apply to the whole Square. If it is snowing, it is snowing for everyone; no visitor will be privately snowed upon while their neighbour enjoys a clear afternoon.

The same goes for rain and storms. A town may differ on many things, they say, but it ought to be able to agree about whether it is currently under a cloud.

This agreement applies within each town only. The staff have been careful not to let one town's snowstorm drift into another town's afternoon. Every Square has its own sky, and the scientists insist that this is both deliberate and well within their capabilities.

The mandatory umbrella ruling

The scientist's first proposal concerned storms.

Rather than allow residents to become wet, every visitor is issued an umbrella automatically. There is no appeal. Light rain does not yet warrant one; thunder does.

The meteorologists consider this excessive. The scientist considers it preparedness.

A resident with the required umbrella.

An umbrella, once opened, remains open. The scientist has recorded this as an operational detail and moved on.

A forecast with proper paperwork

Town owners can hire the Weather Office in Admin → Add-ons, then choose a permanent condition or set the chances for the shared hourly forecast.

The meteorologists require whole-number chances that add up to one hundred. They keep good records, even if their colleague does not.

Changes appear for visitors already in the Square, with no need to send them away and ask them back later. The staff may therefore declare snow during a conversation, which has been judged preferable to interrupting one.

A statement from the editorial board

The Gazette welcomes this development. A little weather gives the Square a different character: snowfall for lingering, rain for shelter and storms for those who prefer their conversations with a little atmosphere.

The meteorologists and the scientist do not control the weather outside your window. They have been quite clear about this.