Weather Forecasts...worse than normal?

[RoJoHen]

I think we all know that weather forecasters can't be trusted. Very often the forecast is inaccurate.

But it seems worse this year! I don't know about where you live, but for me the weather forecast has been wrong about 95% of the time since the beginning of spring. And not just slightly different temperatures or surprise showers. The weather has been the complete opposite of the forecast.

This weekend, it was supposed to storm. Big, fat thunderstorms starting Friday night and continuing into tomorrow...

The sun has been out the entire time. It hasn't rained once. There aren't even any clouds in the sky!

Usually I can look at the forecast and at least get a rough idea of what the weather will be like, but this year the forecasts have just been flat out wrong. I really want to know what's going in meteorology land that is causing these forecasts to be so completely incorrect.

 

[Kestra]

It stormed in the city. I use weather.com and I'm rarely disappointed.

 

[RoJoHen]

Well, I'm 3 hours BEFORE the city! You get all my weather leftovers.

I'm normally not this bothered by forecasts. It's just the last few months that this has been going on, and I don't understand why.

 

[Kestra]

Then where did the rain come from?!

 

[RoJoHen]

I have no idea. Maybe the clouds passed over me while I was sleeping. Sometimes that'll happen; the forecast will say THUNDERSTORMS and then I'll see all the storm clouds, but they'll blow over and hit Chicago.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Weather forecasters are next to useless. They are overly dramatic and exist only to push fear.

It would be much easier and more efficient if all weather forecasting (for all the good it ever does) was done like the Weather Channel does - just shows the current and upcoming conditions by itself, without forecasters.

 

[Jadzia]

the weather forecast has been wrong about 95% of the time since the beginning of spring.

I suggest flipping a coin: Heads = Sunny. Tails = Showers.

The Jadzia forecast will be wrong only about 50% of the time, which is considerably better than your meteorologists, apparently.

 

[RoJoHen]

Weather forecasters are next to useless. They are overly dramatic and exist only to push fear.

It would be much easier and more efficient if all weather forecasting (for all the good it ever does) was done like the Weather Channel does - just shows the current and upcoming conditions by itself, without forecasters.

Well, that's the thing. I'm just talking about the forecasts that I see online. I never watch the news or listen to the weatherman. It's the forecasts on weather.com and weatherbug and accuweather and all the other websites that are wrong.

 

[Kestra]

Weather forecasters are next to useless. They are overly dramatic and exist only to push fear.

What? Do your forecasters only predict natural disasters or something?

 

[RoJoHen]

Weather forecasters are next to useless. They are overly dramatic and exist only to push fear.

What? Do your forecasters only predict natural disasters or something?

Frogs and Locusts!

 

[JiNX-01]

It stormed in the city. I use weather.com and I'm rarely disappointed.

I use weather.com, too. And it was wrong a couple of weeks ago. But I wasn't disappointed because it was tornado watch and nothing happened.

 

[RoJoHen]

Meh, I generally assume that nothing is going to happen during a tornado watch. We've already had about 5 or 6 of them this year.

 

[JiNX-01]

Meh, I generally assume that nothing is going to happen during a tornado watch. We've already had about 5 or 6 of them this year.

I don't have a basement.

And I lived most of my life in Central New York and the word tornado NEVER popped up in any forecast during those decades. Ever.

Blizzards. Yes. (Best one ever lasted a week. A whole of snow days.)
Lake effect overnight accumulations of 3-5 feet. Yes.
Strong thunderstorms. Yes.
No tornados, no hurricanes.

Just not used to weather that can blow your house off its foundation.

 

[Jadzia]

Weather forecasters are next to useless. They are overly dramatic and exist only to push fear.

What? Do your forecasters only predict natural disasters or something?

Frogs and Locusts!

Sometimes the opposite is true.

In 1987, Michael Fish, one of England's most loved weather forecasters assured us the weather would be fine tomorrow, despite the fact that several amateur meteorologists believed a small hurricane was going to strike England.

That next day the fierce winds struck, and he has never lived it down.

I was only a couple of years old at that time, but I sure remember that day... My mum and I went out to pick my brother up from school, but on the way home I was pinned to some railings by the force of the wind and could hardly breathe!

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLUxsmADWrA[/yt]

 

[Owain Taggart]

I'm reminded of the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode in which Larry David is pissed off at his weatherman because he thinks he's predicting rainy weather in order to have the golf course all to himself.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. I wish I could be wrong 95% of the time and still keep my job. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Et cetera.

Actually, I seldom care enough about the weather to look at forecasts, but just about every time I have checked weather.com it has turned out to be correct.

 

[RoJoHen]

I really only care about the weather in the summertime because I like to be able to make outdoor plans.

 

[RandyS]

Meteorologists know nothing. They're right maybe twice in their lives and that's if they're lucky.

Still, our weather HAS been weird this year. Usually about now my area is melting under 106 degree sunshine, but today it's cloudy and windy, and somewhat chilly.

Of course, the weather man predicted today would be sunny, so he's batting 1,000, as usual.

 

[Amaris]

Actually, meteorologists know quite a lot. It just seems like they don't know as much because they're using their skill to tell you whether it's barbecue weather, or not, over the next 7 to 10 days.

24 to 48 hour weather forecasting is generally very accurate, though. The problem is that there are far too many variables to accurately gauge it too far beyond that window.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Weather forecasters are next to useless. They are overly dramatic and exist only to push fear.

What? Do your forecasters only predict natural disasters or something?

With some of them, that's the tone they always use. Not just for *legitimate* disasters, but for any kind of storm whatsoever. They go way the hell over the top, with fear in their voices that's way out of proportion.

And I hate it when they use bullshit euphemisms like "tornadic activity". Just say 'tornado' and be done with it!