The Weatherman’s Tale

My name is Bill Ballard. I’m a weatherman. I work for the television as a matter of fact. Maybe you’ve seen me. I do the late forecast.

Anyway, last night something strange happened. I gave the weather as usual : Plenty of sunshine today, I said, but snow tomorrow.

I gave all the details of temperatures, expected snowfall, possible disruptions and so on. I advised everyone to keep safe and to to stay warm and said goodnight.

Forecast done, I was already thinking about getting home. But then people started coming into the studio. They didn’t normally do that. Some applauded, some laughed. But others were very unhappy.

Snow in the middle of summer, Bill? That’s impossible, they said.

Well, I answered, that’s the forecast. We’ll just have to see, won’t we?

And during the night, it gradually got colder and colder. The sky began to cloud over. Soon there was not a star to be seen.

A freezing wind came in from nowhere, and snow began to fall. Slowly at first. Then thicker and thicker. It snowed all night.

In the morning, all the people woke up and opened their curtains expecting to see the summer sun. But what did they see? Snowflakes falling gently from the sky.

A few just smiled, posted a video on social networks and tried to carry on as normal. But nobody could go out. There was too much snow. Roads were blocked and transport wasn’t working.  What else to do but sit there in silence looking out at the white world?

There were reports of snow all over the country. Blockages, stoppages. Snow in the middle of summer for the first time on record. And it kept on snowing.

Children loved it. They couldn’t just sit inside and look at it, and they went out to play. Adults joined them. People on holiday at the seaside built snowcastles on the beach. They waited for the waves to come and wash over everything they’d built. But the waves were frozen like everything else.

It got dark early for some reason. Nobody seemed surprised and it was time to dream of snow falling on snowmen and snow women and snowchildren.

Those who woke up during the night couldn’t get back to sleep. Some sat looking at their screens and watched snowy pictures relayed by special cameras which hardly moved. Others got up, made themselves a warm drink, and then sipped it gazing out at the strange white snowland they now lived in – a land under the spell of a snow magician who didn’t care if it was supposed to be summer.

Nobody spoke. Nobody said a word.

Then, suddenly, a familiar voice said : Bill, you’re on the air in five minutes.

Do you know what? I’d fallen asleep in front of the air conditioner.

I looked at my script for the real weather forecast. Not a snowflake in sight. In fact, it was hottest summer on record.

Daytime and night-time temperatures were tropical, with hardly any rain except for the torrents which came down with thunderstorms. The dry spell had turned into drought and wildfires were breaking out all over the place. 

The real forecast looked stranger than the one in my dream. But don’t try rubbing your eyes in disbelief at yet another heatwave, because it isn’t going to go away. In fact, it’s just beginning to making itself feel at home.

People used to love heatwaves in the summer, but the temperatures were bearable then. Not anymore.

Something has gone terribly wrong. Be careful of the weather you wish for.

1. https://www.inthesnow.com/its-snowing-in-august-all-over-the-world/ ↩︎
2. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/warmer-weather-is-on-the-way-but-will-there-be-a-heatwave ↩︎