The weather forecast has taken to predicting changes in the weather in minutes - it said this morning snow in 27 minutes. I await the moment as the sky darkens with clouds. Environment Canada has warned us of a coming snowstorm. I know that weather forecasts are much more accurate than decades ago,
Google's DeepMind and others are at the forefront of the weather forecasting revolution with AI models.
So the weather report on my smart phone gives a different forecast than the weather network on my computer. So now I have a typical dilemma of figuring out which one is going to be the chosen authority. Well, there's a third authority - Environment Canada and I usually vote with it.
Is that the case? Does Environment have the most accurate forecast? Is there a comparison that shows who won the accurate forecasting contest? This is important as accurate weather forecasting is an input to quite a few areas: agriculture, energy, transportation and aviation and tourism. And then there's the impact of weather forecast accuracy - take a heat wave - a 1 degree difference is significant, particularly when it comes to heat.
Here's a number: "In the U.S. the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issues 1.5 million forecasts per year and collects around 76 billion weather observations that help it and private companies make better forecasts."
That's a big database of information. Too bad it isn't a popular topic on the internet. Wouldn't we like to find out more statistics!
This is the cute Painted Lady on the corner in Grimsby Beach. It is often known as the Photographer's House. Which version do you like better?
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