Where does weathermen get there information?

[CLL]

Prime example, day before yesterday(according to weatherman) we got 2.13", yesterday day it rained most of the day and its shows we got .05 inches. According to everyone I know that has rain gauges, in 2 days we have got from 4 1/2- 6 1/2" in our area, that doesn't count today. Heard tonight a town north of use was flooding. Knowing what we have gotten in the last 2 days I feel sorry for the folks down south. All us sawers better start cutting, another ark might not be a bad idea.  ;D

[moonhill]

It's like doctors, you may want a second opinion.  Tim

[Dave Shepard]

"Where does weathermen get there information?"


Ouija board.


Dave

[DanG]

They get their info from wherever they can find it.  NOAA provides a lot of it, but you can look at the radar and satellite images on the Internet and find out pretty much anything you want to know...if you know how to decipher it.  Most TV stations have access to a radar system for the stuff that is of immediate importance.  One station in our area has a group of "Weatherwatchers" that they rely on for local data in the outlying areas.  The station provides a little weather kit to them, and they report in the temps and rainfall.  The weatherguesser selects a few of them at each broadcast and gives their report, along with their name and location.  It gives those folks a little bit of fame and self-esteem, and gives the rest of us a better look at what is going on.  If nothing else, it is a good demonstration of how widely the data can vary from one place to the other.  I'm a real fan of that program.

[underdog]

I do not know. But apparently the ones on the news have no clue.
My brother inlaw was an Air force weatherman and he about has a coronary everytime the meteorologists come on.
He is constantly contacting them to complain about there methods.

[isawlogs]

    :  From the weather channel  :P : : Dat was easy , what is da prize dis time .  ;D

[Radar67]

I noticed the spider lillies in bloom Friday. We should see a frost here around 5 November, according to the old-timers. It has been fairly acurate in the past. (8 weeks to frost when the spider lillies are in bloom)

[Ernie]

Weathermen and Economists get their information from the same source and both of their predictions are interchangeable and equally accurate.

[easymoney]

when  got up this morning it was raining. a slow drizzle. the weatherman said there was no rain in site. just high thin clouds.

[Warbird]

There were no freezing temps in the forecast for this entire week.  Guess what I woke up to?  Yup, hard frost on the handrail of the deck.  It was up to 33 F outside when I woke up.

[Riles]

I've noticed the weather service plays with their data. We've been in some level of drought and restriction for the last year and a half, with lots of public calls for conservation. Even with normal rainfall, green lawns, and a second flush on my pine plantation this year, we still get lots of talk about critical shortages. Drought means different things to different people.

When it rains, I check the weather service website for my area to see how much we got. Invariably, in a couple days, the number is revised down. Once or twice it has gone up, but 90 percent of the time, the number is revised down. I don't know where the official rain gauge is located or how large an area it represents, but I know it does not accurately represent my location. I can't help but wonder if there isn't some hanky panky going on.

[Roxie]

They can't tell us what's gonna happen in the next 24 hours, and then expect us to believe their global warming projections.   :

[DanG]

I don't know about the hanky-panky thing Riles, but I agree that they aren't always all that good at telling us what the conditions really are.  Around here lately, they talk about where we are in relation to the Average Annual Rainfall figures.  Well, they start over on Jan 1, as if the rain that fell on Dec 31 had no effect at all. :  Also, we had about 20% of our annual average in two days when TS Fay came through, so we are "sitting pretty" for the rest of the year. :D :D

[Riles]

I say that drought means different things to different people, and Fay made some of them (the water managers) very happy. Fay dumped almost 7 inches on us over two days, the kind of drenching the people who watch reservoirs love. That's one of the cases where the reported rainfall increased the next day.

Me, personally, I'm in the process of building a house. It just rains too dang much for me. There's no drought as far as I'm concerned.

The weather service predicted below normal rainfall for last winter, but we were at or above average. The farmers were happy with spring soil moisture levels, so no drought to them.

This summer yards stayed green for the most part, and I got a second flush out of my growing pine trees. Homeowners don't think there's a drought and want to wash their cars and water their plants.

The biggest gripe about the drought is the municipalities that institute mandatory water conservation and then raise water rates because the reduced usage results in lower revenues.

It's not just the numbers, it's who's doing the talking.

[Warbird]

It's not just the numbers, it's who's doing the talking.

Agreed.  It is called fear mongering.

[sharp edge]

Outside----- Do I get a prize for 1st. place.

Been around well drilling a lot so get my weather info. from weather underground on the net. Does anyone else like it?

SE

[Slabs]

I noticed the spider lillies in bloom Friday. We should see a frost here around 5 November, according to the old-timers. It has been fairly acurate in the past. (8 weeks to frost when the spider lillies are in bloom)

Hey Radar

My spider lillies started blooming too.  What do your old geezers say about when the dog fennel bloom?

[DanG]

  What do your old geezers say about when the dog fennel bloom?

We say, "DanG, I'm gonna have a mess next year!"

[SwampDonkey]

Like Dang says, some weather gets reported by watchers, most is after the fact information and not really used for prediction though except fast moving storms like thunderstorms and the like. I see in Northern Maine, they get their satellite information from Environment Canada, as you will notice the source of their info in the banner of the weather map screen. From that they will make their own predictions though as our weather here is different than the exclusive coastal weather CBC gives. The weather out of Presque Isle Maine more accurately reflects our local conditions. Our CBC weather man is based in Halifax, NS.

[Radar67]

What do your old geezers say about when the dog fennel bloom?

My mom said it meant we had a hard winter coming. Tonight is the first I heard of it.

[beenthere]

I use the NOAA site. At least around here, it seems quite accurate.
I especially like the radar, that can be put in a loop for the last hour. Makes predicting the likely hood of immediate rain (or not), very close.

http://www.noaa.gov/

I see that there is rain moving west to east through Presque Isle, ME at the moment.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah, could have been a band of showers. Earlier it clouded up, but by 6:00 pm it was clear blue sky here. Later clouding in again around dark. No showers at the house, it was to be spotty isolated showers. Not as cold as predicted a few days ago, we skirted the frost. Actually, it was suppose to hit western Maine with frost. Frost coming tonight, even in the south as the temps dips a degree below freezing. I haven't had any fire at the house yet though.

I get NOAA radio here, since the tower is on Mars Hill. The Canadian imagery comes from RADARSAT. In most forestry courses I believe you still have some classes on the use of Satellites and possibly still have a meteorology course that would deal with them also. It's been awhile for me and technology changes. ;)

[PineNut]

I find the best weather info from NOAA. As for the local TV stations, they seem to have a rather good system. For the seven-day forecast, the first five days are the same as you have now. The next two days are what you would like to have.