[CNN 10] September 4, 2020_Predicting Winter

September 4, 2020_Predicting Winter 

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CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz with an early report card on Friday, turns out it`s passing with straight awesome. This is CNN 10. An

objective explanation of news in 10 minutes and we`re spending the first couple minutes talking about potential corona virus treatments. The U.S.

Centers for Disease Control is in the news for telling health officials to get ready. A potential corona virus vaccine could be set for distribution

in late October. This doesn`t guarantee one will be ready by then but when vaccines normally take more than 10 years to develop in test. This does

show that efforts are moving forward and incredibly fast. They`ve been more than 6.1 million corona virus diagnoses in the United States.

There are three vaccines for the virus that are now in Phase III testing. This means they`re being tried out on thousands of people for their safety

and effectiveness. But Federal health officials have indicated that these large scales tests may not need to be completed for a vaccine to be

approved. And that has some experts and doctors concerned given the speed at which this is happening, given that a shot could become available to

hundreds of millions of Americans and given that many of have indicated they wouldn`t want to get it when it is available. Meantime, the head of

an international pharmaceutical association says as far as drugs go, there probably won`t be a single one size fits all treatment that works for

everyone.

He expects that different treatments for different people at different stages of the disease will be the way to go. He also says the

pharmaceutical industry is focused on antivirals, antibodies and anti- inflammatory medications. With the Labor Day holiday approaching, a U.S. infectious disease expert is warning Americans to keep their guard up. He

suggests people avoid large crowds, keep their social distance, wear masks and try to spend more time outdoors. He said this can prevent some of the

cases that spread over other holiday weekends like Memorial Day and the Forth of July.

Another big story we`re following this season, the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The major party conventions are behind us. The

debates are ahead of us. Incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump is now the official nominee for the Republican party. Former Vice-President Joe Biden

is now the official nominee for the Democratic party. They`re scheduled to hold three face to face debates. The first is set for September 29th and

two more will take place in October. And the Vice-Presidential nominees, Republican Vice-President Mike Pence and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris

are set to meet on October 7th. When election day comes on November 3rd, a lot of poll workers are going to be needed but CNN 10 contributor Kelly

Mena tells us corona virus is creating challenges for that as well. Kelly.

KELLY MENA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks Carl. Now let`s take a look at current state efforts to recruit poll workers amid a shortage (inaudible)

for November. Tuesday makes the first ever National Poll Worker Recruitment Day. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the need for new

poll workers for election day as COVID-19 has affected the traditionally senior and more vulnerable workforce. Poll workers play an important role

when it comes to the in-person voting process. They are the ones that open up polling locations, check-in voters and help voters cast their ballots

among other election day tasks.

Some of the more creative ways that states have attempted to boost worker turnout for the November election include lowering the age limit so more

teens can serve, paying government employees to staff polling locations and bringing in workers from out of town. Election officials have also been

partnering with local businesses like barbershops and salons, religious and athletic organizations and even athletes to boost their outreach efforts.

With less than two months to go until November and the corona virus still raging, Carl, the concern on election officials mind is, will their efforts

be enough come election day.

AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these events occurs on November 1st, 2020? U.S. presidential election, first day of fall, Standard Time switch

or space telescope launch. November 1st is when we fall back to Standard Time, setting our clocks back one hour.

Falling back has its supporters. You can get that extra hour of sleep but only if you go to bed on time. As the days get shorter, the switch to

Standard Time keeps sunrise a little closer to when we wake up and Daylight Saving Time, which we`re on right now does conserve a bit of electricity.

But people of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine want to get rid of the time switch, specifically they want to end Daylight Saving Time which means

we`d fall back but never spring forward again. The problem, some experts say, is because it takes our bodies days to adjust to an altered sleep

schedule and that a third of Americans don`t get enough regular sleep anyway.

This reportedly leads to all kinds of health problems. If the time changes stay though, experts say we can ease the transition by gradually adjusting

our sleep schedules before falling back or springing forward. It`s not the first time that the Farmer`s Almanac and the Old Farmer`s Almanac have had

differing forecasts for the coming winter. After all, their different publications though they have very similar names. Both of them aim to give

farmers and everyone else an idea of what kind of weather to expect for the months ahead but as CNN 10 contributor Tyler Mauldin reports, their classic

methods of forecasting don`t always line up with modern ones. Tyler.

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND CONTRIBUTOR: Carl, the Old Farmer`s Almanac and it`s competition in the New Farmer`s Almanac have released

outlooks for this upcoming winter. The Old Farmer`s Almanac says if you`re hoping for a reprieve from harsh winter weather, then this is your year.

That`s because the publication is calling for a light winter for most of the United States, wet and warmer than normal temperatures with average to

below average snowfall. On the flipside, the New Farmer`s Almanac prediction is a bit different. It has coined it`s outlook as the winter of

the great divide, calling for cold and snowy conditions up north, warm and dry conditions out west and everything crazy in between.

In fact, it really goes out on a limb for yet another season and says there`s the possibility of a two foot snow from D.C. to Boston as a

blizzard hits the region the second week of February. I`ll make sure to check back in with you the second week of February to see if that comes to

fruition. You see, the two publications have been trying to predict weather for more than 200 years. The Old Farmer`s Almanac was founded in

1792 and the New Farmer`s Almanac in 1818. Their methodology stems from a secret formula from the 18th and 19th century, literally locked away in a

vault. The Old Farmer`s Almanac says it watches sunspots and atmospheric weather patterns when making its predictions and both give themselves a

generous forecast accuracy of 80 to 85 percent.

Though many scientific studies have said it`s closer to 50 percent. Which is close, to a coin flip. So take it with a grain of salt. Meteorologists

have a hard enough time accurately predicting weather systems five to seven days in advance. NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, uses long term weather and climate indicators for their predictions, for example, this years La Nina. They then grade themselves

using complex statistics. NOAA will release their outlook in October and they will provide the data behind their predictions. It won`t be a secret.

AZUZ: Then again, NOAA says modern scientific forecasts are only right about half the time if they`re made more than 10 days in advance. And

there`ve been events predicted months in advance by the Farmer`s Almanacs that did arrive on time. So there`s reason why these older publications

have millions of subscribers though predicting the weather is far from an exact science.

No one knows yet if COVID-19 will have lasting effects on our society or what those would be but Burger King which has seen a significant bump in

drive-thru sales during the pandemic is saying this could be the fast food restaurant of the future. Lots of drive-thru lanes, a delivery driver

lane, a mobile pick-up cabinet, burgers moving through conveyor belts, other franchises are also planning to make more room for cars and less for

diners.

Will this mean faster food? The burgers will be on the "mooove". Of course, fewer people will be chewing the "cud" indoors but the changes are

all about "cows" and effect. Yes. It`s all "bun" and games on CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz. Powell, Wyoming is our last stop today. It`s where you`ll

find Powell High School. You will not find us on Monday. We will be off then for the Labor Day holiday and we`ll see you all again next Tuesday.

END