Meteorologists

Helix · #1 07-21-2003, 03:30 PM

[B]What is the worst weather prediction you've ever heard or seen?[/B]

I don't know whether this is true for other areas, but throughout this year in Cincinnati it has been especially terrible for the local meteorologists here. In fact it's been so bad I've come to depend on having the exact opposite weather conditions from what is predicted. I don't mean to rip any meteorologists, I know weather is unpredictable, but when we have the area under a tornado watch just 6 hours after predicting clear skies, it's pretty bad.

***Steven*** · #2 07-21-2003, 04:08 PM

Several years ago I remember one forecast where it was supposed to be sunny all day. However, by noon, we ended up having a pretty heavy snowstorm hit us, cancelling school for the rest of the day.

In addition, this morning, [URL=http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/aboutus/bio_Norma_Hall.html]Norma Hall[/URL] for ABC 12 here in Flint said we were supposed to get rain anytime. Well, that "anytime" came about 3:40pm. Unfortunately, it was not the same cell that Norma said would hit us. When I found out about it, and saw the radar loop for myself... I just about laughed my head off. There was no way it was going to hit us. But, she's just a weather specialist. Maybe I should apply there because I have about a 90 percent accuracy when it comes to short term forcasts.

Oh yeah, when we had some tornadoes strike (in her neighborhood), she looked like a ditz while reporting them.

birdie311 · #3 07-21-2003, 04:20 PM

Here in Nashville, the weather guys seem t be fairly on target. They are right most of the time.

Dr.Bruce Banner · #4 07-21-2003, 11:46 PM

Two weeks ago they said their was an 80% chance of rain over the weekend, and i never saw a cloud in Orlando.

Aaron · #5 07-21-2003, 11:47 PM

The worst weather prediction I've ever seen was five years ago, when some guy on the Weather Channel said that we'd have thunderstorms with the possibility of tornados. Thuderstorms are a once a year occurence here and tornados are nonexistant. The weather was partly cloudy. The local people, however, are usually on target.

slipknot8527 · #6 07-22-2003, 12:14 AM

I would love to have the job of a meteorologist in So Cal. "Oh, looks like ANOOOOTHER sunny day tomorrow."

*picks up check...pats self on back*

Zach · #7 07-22-2003, 09:22 PM

Hm...well I went to SFGAm once and it said there was a "100% of inclement weather" but not a drop fell from the sky.

oramonster · #8 07-23-2003, 01:53 AM

To quote the great Lewis Black "what does meteorologist mean? It means LIAR" "Al Roker was the weather man in NYC, and three years ago we had a blizzard. We were supposed to have, according to Al, 4 to 12 inches of snow. That's his prediction. We had 36 inches. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he was 2 feet off. That's not even in the ballpark. If you were a roofer and you built a roof and it was two feet off, you'd still be serving time. Al Roker makes 1.5 million dollars a year as a weather person and he doesn't know sh** about the weather."

Ahh, the great Lewis Black.

**Kyle L** · #9 07-23-2003, 02:04 AM

Any weather report in Hawaii, because weather changes quickly there.

**Andrew P** · #10 07-23-2003, 04:30 AM

Leeloo, the last time I saw this much rain over the summer was when I took summer classes at Kent State during summer of 1998. I recall running through the storms just to get to my afternoon class. My morning jaunt to and from class was nice and sunny. Though I don't think we had all that rain like we did these past few weeks.

For my weather, I go to the National Weather Service site which can be much better than the Weather Channel's site.

This isn't so much a stupid story, but rather how forecasters could greatly improve things. I recall a few Tornado Warnings while I was at KSU. I remember hearing one for Portage County, and immediately went to a local TV channel as well as going outside. We had some clouds, but the sun was shining brightly. I go to the computer lab and bring up radar from the weather channel and I see...the storm cell producing the tornado was to the northeast corner of the county while Kent is located in West Central Portage County. The storm had already passed and I wonder why these forecasters can't seem to pinpoint these things.

**Phil** · #11 07-23-2003, 04:13 PM

A zero percent chance for rain and we had thunderstorms all afternoon.

**BryanWood** · #12 07-23-2003, 06:26 PM

Here's the thing. These people have to try to [i]predict[/i] the future. The weather we experience is one of the most fickle things in life. Many different variables can change the weather in a heartbeat, making it difficult to accurately pinpoint weather. Being a meteorologist is an incredibly tough job, as there are many, many maps and trends they look into to try to form a more accurate forecast. Predicting the future is a tough thing to do, you have to expect people to make mistakes, and at times, lots of them.

BimmerZ3 · #13 07-24-2003, 12:20 AM

About 5 or 6 years ago, the weathermen were SO sure that it was going to snow that they cancelled school. The next day when it was supposed to be snowing I was outside in a t-shirt in about 50 degree weather. That was slightly annoying.

My theory in life, don't even bother listening to a forecast that's more than two days away. If it's two days or less, be skeptical.