Really they never ever get it right. They say snow and I saw about 5 minutes of it only
2007-02-09 04:48:04 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Weather
The better question is:
Why do weathermen continue to act like they can forecast the weather past today when we all know it's a guessing game?"
2007-02-09 05:33:55 · answer #1 · answered by Philip McCrevice 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Weathermen (and women) are correct far more often than they're wrong. If the weather is 75F and sunny...and the forecast is dead right, you don't remember it. If there's a 5 minute shower that wasn't forecasted, you remember it.
Also keep in mind that when you hear a forecast on TV or on the radio, it has to cover the entire listening area -- sometimes hundreds of square miles. If the forecaster described the weather for everyone in the listening area, it would take far too long. So the forecast is often summarized and/or tailored towards the areas with the highest population.
You only saw 5 minutes of snow, but someone 10 miles away may have seen 2 hours of snow.
Sometimes the forecast gets lost in the translation. If the official forecast is "Sunny with a 30% chance of a thunderstorm", the DJ on the radio may misinterpret that and say "Thunderstorms this afternoon!" If that is all you happen to hear, you'd think it was a bad forecast if there was no thunderstorm. In reality, it's a good forecast.
Of course sometimes forecasters do get it wrong. Just like baseball players fail to get on base two out of three times. Or like teachers make a mistake grading a paper. Nobody is perfect, but everyone does the best they can with the tools they're given.
2007-02-09 07:24:55 · answer #2 · answered by nittany_jim 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They are trying to predict the movement of a gas, which (according do we devotees of chaos theory) is impossible. Actually 24 hours ahead of time a good weatherman that knows his area should be very accurate. Unfortunately everyone is relying too much on computers which have a tendency to smooth things out, thereby missing important data that could mean the difference between 5 inches of snow or just a trace.
2007-02-09 10:38:14 · answer #3 · answered by ytatton 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i do not seem to word that a lot yet possibly you're from yet another u . s ., the position I stay the BBC seem to often get it acceptable. besides, back on topic. Weathermen do not apologise for buying the elements incorrect because that's god-damn not uncomplicated to predict. have you ever tried being a meteorologist? also climate can change very immediately leaving little time to amend their comments.
2016-11-26 19:25:59 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Meteorology is the hardest science out. People just dont get how many things have to happen in order for it to be right in order to get cloudy before a snow storm, than temperatures have to be right aloft and on the surface in order for the snow to fall onto the atmosphere and make it still on the surface as snow. They dont get paid 100,000 - 150,000 a year for nothing.
2007-02-09 14:04:11 · answer #5 · answered by Justin 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The atmosphere is an insanely complex system. Even the best mathematical formulas can only result in a roughly accurate guess of what will happen. There is simply too much going on to get a perfect forecast of what is coming.
2007-02-09 04:52:12 · answer #6 · answered by Mitch H 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
They're usually right. No one notices when they get it right. Everyone notices when they get it wrong.
2007-02-09 04:53:21 · answer #7 · answered by Kyrix 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋