How accurate is the weather forecast where you are?
By megamatt
@megamatt (14292)
United States
October 26, 2010 8:15am CST
There are times where I look at the weather and it does do what it is supposed to do, according the weather forecasting. Of course, nature is a thing that can be tricky to predict. Especially when those who think they can figure it out are so far off the mark. It was a running joke when I was growing up, that was, "its going to be a bright, sunny day? Better bring your umbrella!" That's not that far off the mark either. Is the forecast normally close enough to count or is it so off the mark that its absurd where you live?
3 people like this
10 responses
@greenline (14838)
• Canada
28 Oct 10
I like that joke. That's a good one. Here is another joke. "It is always very easy to be a weatherman. You can say whatever you like. If it is not true right now, it will be true in the next hour ! " That's how the weather changes. Ok, so next time when it will be sunny, I will carry along an umbrella.
Enjoy the sunny rain !
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
28 Oct 10
Indeed, the weather will eventually be true. Given the fact that the forecast does change hourly of course. I actually wrote down the forecasts throughout the day one time and to say the very least, the results were staggering and different. Thank you for your response. It is much appreciated and it contributed to the topic well. Have a nice day and thanks.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
27 Oct 10
It is good to live in an area where the weather forecast is somewhat accurate. Many places it can be a rather interesting thing how off the weather can be to varying degrees. Thank you for your response. It is much appreciated and it contributed to the topic well. Have a nice day and thanks.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
26 Oct 10
Yeah, really. I could do that very easily. In fact anyone can do that. Right now, I can tell you that it is sunny and windy just by looking out my window right now for example. Thank you for your response. It is much appreciated and it contributed to the topic well. Have a nice day and thanks.
@MagicalBubbles (5103)
• Canada
26 Oct 10
I live in the country and since the weatherman doesnt talk about my town specifically, its never accurate. I live surrounded by mountains, so we never know what will happen. Ive learned to live with it.
But its true that most of the time, theyre way off the mark lol.
@vijay12 (1642)
• India
26 Oct 10
In India,the forecast has any relevance only during the rainy season as,the weather is "predictable",during all others.Generally,and not surprisingly, the official forecast has been wrong,during and prior to most of the rainy season/s.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
26 Oct 10
That is interesting and it can be a bit more obvious in certain seasons in many parts of the world. That is something that I agree with very much. Thank you for your response. It is much appreciated and it contributed to the topic well. Have a nice day and thanks.
@obitwo (349)
• Denmark
26 Oct 10
Quite interesting discussion, actually. I'm from Denmark and I would say that the weather forecasts are very accurate. I guess it depends on how large an area the forecast is supposed to cover. Denmark isn't really a large country, so that might explain why it's mostly rather accurate. However, if I'm going to depend on the weather, for example if I'm going on a field trip, I'll usually check something called "dmi" for the local area weather forecast. DMI is the most comprehensive weather forecasting website in Denmark. And also, it's the one that all the forecasters from the TV channels here in Denmark owns/updates. So yeah, it's really great.
How large an area does your weather forecast cover?
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
26 Oct 10
Well in the United States, it is mostly forecasts for cities and states. However, it is all a matter of perspective I guess with what they are looking at. Pinpointing something to a certain area could be more accurate. Local area forecasts can be slightly more accurate, but its not an exact science. Thank you for your response. It is much appreciated and it contributed to the topic well. Have a nice day and thanks.
@picjim (3002)
• India
26 Oct 10
What you say is absolutely true.On a normal day in the rainy season the forecast of the weather department is off the mark.But i have found they are quite accurate when it comes to foreseeing low pressure areas.They obviously make a mistake in predicting its duration.After such a storm starts they say it'll rain for 72 hours but i find it either stops a day in advance of their prediction or persists longer.I feel it is not an exact science and needs a lot more perfection.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
26 Oct 10
Science in general can have a lot of variables that can throw it off. The weather forecast is far from perfect. There have been times where they said it was going to rain for five straight days and for five straight days, no raining. Of course one could argue that while you can have a good guess at what might happen, predicting the weather is something that you might not be able to do, due to shifts and whatnot, conditions changing in the blink of an eye as well. Thank you for your response. It is much appreciated and it contributed to the topic well. Have a nice day and thanks.
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
26 Oct 10
I can believe my local weather forecast most of the time. There have only been a few times when they have missed the mark. i can depend on them most of the time to be accurate.