You just can’t forecast the future — one of the reasons Dr. Mel Goldstein says he’s not a devout believer in global warming.
“I haven’t discounted it entirely, but I have trouble with it,” Goldstein said. “I’m faced with forecasting the weather every single day, and the process is very complex. The complexity of what we’re dealing with is what raises doubts with me.”
Goldstein made his comments during a Saturday afternoon appearance at Written Words Bookstore at 194 Leavenworth Road. Goldstein was there to promote his new book, “Dr. Mel’s Connecticut Climate Book.”
More than 75 of the veteran WTNH weatherman’s fans stopped by to get his autograph.
While some might be surprised by Goldstein’s global warming views, he’s actually one of several state meteorologists who have doubts.
There is no way to predict weather 200 years from now, Goldstein said.
“Errors are just part of what we have,” he said. “As you extend the forecast longer and longer, the errors get bigger and bigger.”
He said his opinions on the subject of global warming, and of Connecticut weather patterns, come through loud and clear in his book.
Getting back to the subject of his book, Goldstein told the audience about many of the most memorable storms in Connecticut history, including hurricanes and tornadoes, which triggered his fans to share their weather memories.
inspired them to talk about their own memories of major storms.
In writing his book, Goldstein, 64, researched the state’s weather going back to the beginning of recorded Connecticut weather history. That includes writing by the pilgrims and their descendants, he said.
Between nearly 40 years of weather forecasting in Connecticut, and all of his research for the book, his conclusion is that “the weather in Connecticut has always been weird.”
He noted that the state is only 90 miles wide and 50 miles across, yet has experienced every kind of weather, and frequently all in the same year. Connecticut’s hurricanes, tornadoes and massive snowstorms set it apart from places like Oklahoma, where there are tornadoes and snow, but no hurricanes.
Many of the residents in attendance mumbled agreement when Goldstein started talking about tornadoes – Shelton experienced a tornado this summer, and many residents in the room remembered the 1989 tornadoes that carved a path through Litchfield and New Haven counties.
But what really got many of the older folks in attendance nodding was the talk of hurricanes, specifically the hurricanes Connie and Diana. The quick hits from the two hurricanes caused major flooding in the lower Naugatuck River valley in 1955.
Goldstein’s talk lasted approximately 40 minutes, after which he took a few questions from the audience and signed books for nearly two hours.
Some of those in the audience who were seeking a book signing were Dr. Mel’s former students from his days as a professor at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. Goldstein taught meteorology courses there from the 1970s until 1997.
Goldstein said he wrote the book because he saw a need for one – he held up a well-worn copy of a 45-year-old Connecticut weather guide, noting that it was the last book written about Connecticut’s weather.
“I wanted to tell the story of how weather affects everyone,” he said, adding that he also wanted to update the Connecticut weather data presented in previous Connecticut weather books.
The bookstore, Written Words, sold around 75 books for the signing, according to owner Dorothy Broder.
Broder normally doesn’t discount books for signing at the store, but was selling Goldstein’s book at 15 percent off in order to encourage people to buy it.
All of Goldstein’s profits will go to Yale-New Haven Hospital for research for a kind of cancer called multiple myeloma. Goldstein was diagnosed with the cancer, which affects the bone marrow, 13 years ago, and given roughly two and a half years to live. While he has lost nearly 8 inches of height to the disease, he is still going strong.
Goldstein has been with WTNH (channel 8) since 1986.
