Worst weather forecasters on the planet ...

[flashhole]

I'm sure a lot of you are like me ... you follow the local weather forecast, especially in the winter so you can plan outdoor work activities.

Today, our 0% chance of precipitation forecast is at about 4" of snow and it's still coming down hard here in the Southern Tier of Upstate NY. Makes me wonder how much we would get if they actually forecast 4" of snow? Two feet! At least they are consistent, they are wrong most of the time.

Too bad the forecasters don't suffer a financial penalty when they get it this wrong. If they were paid according to the correctness of their work most of them would be below the poverty level. And deservedly so!

... I feel better now.

 

[Big_Al]

Guess the coin toss was wrong.

 

[jrider]

Weather forecasts are about 70% spot on. Now here's the scary part. That's the same % that a surgery goes as planned. Think about that next time you or a loved one is going under the knife.

 

[flashhole]

Big Al - I think the coin toss might provide better overall accuracy as long as there are clouds in the sky.

 

[Chris-PA]

Too bad the forecasters don't suffer a financial penalty when they get it this wrong. If they were paid according to the correctness of their work most of them would be below the poverty level. And deservedly so!

Weather forecasters are pikers. The economists really have the game down - an entire field that has never predicted anything correctly, yet gets paid more every year.

 

[Deleted member 83629]

the farmers almanac is more accurate than the bozos at the weather station in my area.

 

[sawfun]

Performance based pay might provide incentive?

 

[chucker]

Performance based pay might provide incentive?

its kinda like "piece work"! hey the more you do the better you get paid....

 

[woodchuck357]

My weather predictions used to be correct much more often than the official one for my area, but the last few years they have improved a bunch. Their long range forecast is still no better, but any one trying to predict the weather more than three days ahead around here is just taking a shot in the dark.

 

[flashhole]

I would love to see accurate 3-day-window forecasting. Seems that with all the new and more sophisticated tools the forecasters have at their disposal they just get worse at predicting.

 

[Whitespider]

It was autumn, and the Indians on the remote reservation asked their new Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was an Indian Chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets.

When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.

Also, being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?"

"It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed," the meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Is it going to be a very cold winter?"

"Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "it's definitely going to be a very cold winter." The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find.

Not wanting to look like a fool to his people, two weeks later he called the National Weather Service again. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?"

"Absolutely," the man replied. "It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever."

"How can you be so damn sure?" the Chief asked.

"Well, ya' see," the weatherman replied, "we've been watchin' the Indians, and they're collecting a crap-load of firewood."
*

 

[Chris-PA]

Whatever the default weather app on an iPhone is really stinks. I've noticed the forecast changes radically in the span of hours. I'll be out working, check the forecast to see what I need to complete and what can be left for tomorrow, if I have to put everything away or not, etc. The weather looks good so I plan accordingly - then after dinner they've changed it to rain that night and the next day, and I'm back out in the dark putting things away and covering stuff.

"Fore" cast my ass - I can look out the window too!