The most modern of innovations, smartphone apps, are rapidly becoming a means to fix one of humankind’s oldest problems: potholes.

And why not? Regardless of whether you were a fan of Isaac Asimov or the television show “Bewitched,” the futuristic/magical ability to point at a problem and fix it instantly (well, almost) is instinctively appealing. To do that, there are now several apps that combine the basic smart phone tools – cameras, the global positioning system (GPS) and a short-cut email function – which enable a single snap-send way to report a pothole (or graffiti or broken streetlights or other municipal problems).

The storms that hit the Philadelphia-Baltimore-Washington D.C. area in mid-February 2010 were largely predicted by the Farmers’ Almanac, months before they happened. Editor Sandi Duncan acknowledges their predictions were a bit off – they didn’t expect it would land as far south as it did, which was attributed to a stronger-than-expected El Nino effect – but she uses the case to support their veracity at long-range weather forecasters. The potholes that popped up in the wake of the storms, however, were fairly predictable.

That’s because potholes happen every year, everywhere. Moisture and freeze-thaw cycles contribute to them, but they are also a function of heat, traffic and poor road maintenance. There are as many potholes in Corpus Christi as there are in Camden.

The La Nina weather pattern is in force in the Pacific Ocean off Chile, and that means less snow in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state region. At least, that’s what the National Weather Service is predicting – a forecast that more or less concurs with the Old Farmer’s Almanac, which makes its predictions based on sunspots, tidal waves and astrological positions. Says the Almanac: “Colder than normal winter temperatures” will prevail, but snowfall slightly below average.

But the question on the minds of all – once you get past the discomfort and inconvenience of freeze-your-hair-off winds and rush-hour blizzard conditions – is what will happen with the potholes. Will the exit ramps off the Major Deegan Expressway inflict mortal damage to your wheel rims come March?  When borough traversing on the Cross Bronx Expressway, will you need to summon your inner NASCAR skills to avoid the chuckholes that otherwise spell doom to your axel? Will it be worse traveling in Westchester County than, say the Merritt Parkway in CT or I-78 in, around or through Newark?