Why are meteorologists so inaccurate?
599551
Try this - predict, to the second, how long it will take to boil 1 liter of water. \n\nThen, test it. You will quickly see that there are MANY factors involved (is the pan a good conductor of heat? Electric or gas stove? Is the water 100% pure? What is the barometric pressure? What setting are you using to heat the cooktop?) and that it is impossible to predict with 100% certainty what will or won't happen. \n\nThat is essentially what meteorologists do - They try to predict the occurrence of something we know is possible by knowing very limited information.
720402
Not really. Meteorologists study the atmosphere. Earthquakes and volcanoes are studied by Geologists.
561124
Yes. My neighbor has collected weather data for the last 15 years.  It's mostly temperature, rain amount, and a general description of the weather.  I did a statistical analysis of the temperature data and discovered that the trend indicated an increasing temperature.  I used a least squares analysis and plotted the graph.  I did this for a monthly average, and a yearly average.  The trend is upward for both, and some record highs were recorded in several months. I don't want to get into the details for anyone who is a statistical genius at this point.  The outcome seems to depend on which political party you belong to in the US. \nThere are also some wild fluctuations in temperature, and wind events.  We have had some severe storms that have damaged large areas of pristine forests, and we have had some major flooding. I live in Pennsylvania and, yes, I would say the temperature is changing somewhat by inching upwards, based on temperature data.  The voracity of some storm events are very damaging, as viewed over my lifetime in this geographic area.  Friend to friend, I would think about moving to Europe if I was you.  You are going to experience a cataclysmic event in the near future that will have devastating effects on the UK.  At least that's what my research shows.  But, it's just the rantings of a conspiracy nut, that's what my friends say.
1163505
Because people are ignorant. They just make absolutely stupid assumptions that are based on like nothing and then they insist that they are right.
84192
This is a challenging question. There are weather ships that try to measure wind speed, but of course the presence of the ship itself can produce orographic effects and produce biases. Another estimate can be made from satellite and airplane observations of cloud movement. Another technique is to fly balloons (radiosondes) up into the air column and use anemometers on the balloons to measure wind speed, or track the balloons using radio methods and try to infer wind speed from that. Dropsondes can be dropped from airplanes as well to estimate windspeed. \n\nA technique that is used from satellites and airplanes is to measure the roughness of the sea surface by boucing microwaves off it (a "scatterometer"). The windier it is, the rougher the sea surface. \n\nThere are probably other techniques that are in use or have been tried or at least considered as well\n\nProbably there is room for improvement in all of these, if you are so inclined to think about it!
1065218
Meteorologists use the barometric pressure readings at various points across the land to get an idea of where the high & low pressure systems are.  Air molecules [and just about everything else fluid, for that matter] tends to move from high pressure to low pressure.  Further, the greater the pressure differential, the faster the motion of air.\nUsing this knowledge, and the spin of pressure systems, they can predict where the air is going.  Whatever is in the air is going there too.
378679
And their acuracy is often at times a bit off...
543424
Weather forecasters predict weather up to 10 days in advance. Their accuracy drops drastically after 2-3 days. Most weathermen predict weather by themselves for the next 24 hours. After that, they rely on computer models. So when a weatherman says it will be sunny and 90 degrees in three days, he is relying almost completely on his computer models. The fact is, computer models change constantly because the weather changes constantly. For example, cold fronts speed up, slow down, and stall. A weatherman could know how cold it'll get after the cold front, but he won't know exactly when. The only really reliable forecast is the 2-3 day forecast. The type of weather will almost always be right (sunny, partly cloudy, rainy) and the tempature will be within a couple degrees. 7 day forecasts are not really reliable, but they do give you a picture. \nOverall, weather forecasts are unreliable because the causes of weather (air pressure, jet stream, moisture) are unreliable. Weather is one of the things that make man look small and weak.
1072077
Are you joking?\n\nAnd astrology is not a science, and has been proven wrong many times. Oh sure, horoscopes can be "accurate," but they are so vague, is it really surprising?\n\nI recall reading somewhere an experiment someone did with some students: They asked the students their birthday and handed them their horoscopes. The students were asked how accurate the horoscope was, and all said it was pretty accurate.\n\nBut, they were all handed the exact same horoscope.
583759
People think meteorologist just guess the weather, but they actually go thru one of the hardest classes in college.  Just let the public know.  I think that they do really good to predict the weather for a week to even month span, it justs makes me curious about how good or bad of a month its going to be.  Me my self is majoring on Meteorology and i kno predicting a week, month or even sometimes the year ina whole is really difficult.
349724
Anyone who thinks man can control the weather has no concept of the energy involved in a simple thunderstorm not to mention a tornado or hurricane. \n\nBut before you can control the weather, you need to be able to predict it. So when the weather forecasts become accurate, I'll start worrying about the government controlling.
566674
This site:\nhttp://www.nws.noaa.gov/ndfd/verification/index.htm\nhas a lot of information... but allows you to peruse good the forecasts were in the past.  Generally forecast skill is slowly getting better... but I really don't believe it'll ever be perfect.  When I was a kid, I wanted to be a meteorologist, but didn't really think it was more than hocus-pocus.  I can assure you there's more science than you'd ever want to know behind it... but just as any scientist... there's still mistakes made... and in our business, minor errors build into larger ones over time (something along the lines of the Butterfly Effect).  We're not always right, we are getting better, but you won't be getting perfection from us!
54772
Weather forecasting is not an exact science. There are numerous factors that effect the actual temperature. If it gives a temperature range that is generally for a 24 hour time period. If the current temperature falls outside the range then it might say "37 degrees, range 40-51" they just didn't predict accurately.\n\nNothing against the weather forecasters, that is a tough job. People who get bent out of shape over the forecast being off by 3 degrees need to find a new hobby.
367121
They try to predict the weather.
991065
Hurricane is affected by local conditions and it's diffiult to predict the path. However, we can see what has been typically the result based on various conditions of both the current and past similar hurricanes, and try to use that information to make an educated guess. With computer technology advancing, we have more information to fine tune the guesses and make them more accurate. But we'll never be able to 100% predict the weather or people's reaction to it.
182805
Yes, that's why they are inadmissable in a court of law, because they are not 100% accurate.
133270
cyclones have to do with weather so i think you mean meteorologist. and they focus on barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, and temperature. when a mass of warm air meets a mass of cold air, the space between them can begin to swirl as the warm air cools and falls and the forces the cold air to rise and become heated, and fall again. this causes cyclones