The Weather Blog » Verification

Yakima doesn’t fit in

Ryan — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:01:58 +0000

There are two ways to say that Yakima stood out from the crowd yesterday. First, the fact that it rained on Sunday meant that it was different from what almost anyone had in their forecast. Second, the fact that they only got a little splash of rain, rather than a constant, steady rain meant that they separated themselves from the rest of western Washington. Isn't this place supposed to be rainy? The NWS had the top forecast.
Actuals: Sunday - .01 inches of rain, High 75, Low 51
Monday - Trace of rain, High 68, Low 54

Grade: B

Calm and toasty

Ryan — Mon, 21 May 2012 04:23:16 +0000

Battle Creek sounds like it should be a pretty rough and tumble metropolis, but it turns out that it's pretty tranquil. Well, at the very least, it was pretty calm the last couple of days, with sunny skies and increasingly summerlike temperatures. The Weather Channel had the top forecast, narrowly.
Actuals: Friday - High 79, Low 49
Saturday - High 85, Low 53

Grade: A

So what happened in Tennessee?

Ryan — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:59:00 +0000

The forecast in Cleveland won't count against anyone's scores, because they don't have a reporting station in town, but we can still talk about the weather in Tennessee for the past couple of days. Looking at what they had to say in Chattanooga, I can assure you that it was quite warm, with temperatures reaching the mid 80s both if the last two days. There were a few showers and thunderstorms around the area, but on Thursday, they stayed on the east side of the Smokey Mountains. On Friday, they seemed to bubble up south of Chattanooga. These past two days have been good for hiking in the Smokey Mountains.

Hard to argue with weather like this.

Ryan — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:13:02 +0000

If there was a problem with the weather in Corvallis lately, it was that the winds really picked up Thursday evening. Additionally, clear skies probably were a problem for residents of western Oregon unaccustomed to seeing the sun. Sun burn! Victoria-Weather notched the top forecast, by a hair.
Actual: Wednesday - High 78, Low 48
Thursday - High 66, Low 42

Grade: B

On the Warm Side

Anthony — Fri, 18 May 2012 05:48:32 +0000

Most of the forecasts for Charlottesville had them getting warmer on Wednesday than it was on Tuesday, but the main issue were the low temperatures being significantly warmer than expected. Also, over an inch of rain fell on Tuesday, which everybody had forecasted, but probably not to that degree. The sites were pretty split on whether or not they would see precip on Wednesday and they did wind up reporting 0.01" in the early morning, most likely due to dense fog at the time as opposed to a rain shower. The Weather Channel took home the top spot on the strength of their warmer low temperature forecast.

Tuesday: 1.02" of rain. High 83, Low 67.
Wednesday: 0.01" of rain, mostly in dense fog. High 85, Low 63.

A mystery

Ryan — Thu, 17 May 2012 04:08:30 +0000

In Decatur, Alabama, there weren't many surprised on Monday, with some thunderstorms through the afternoon, keeping temperatures down. Tuesday morning is where the mystery arises. There was .01 inches of accumulation recorded, however there were no reports of rain, and skies were clear at the time. I'm baffled! I won't punish anyone for not having it in, because it's so suspicious. Even more suspicious, this leads to a Victoria-Weather victory. Shenanigans!
Actuals: Monday - .47 inches of rain, High 73, Low 62
Tuesday - .01 inches of rain?!?!?!?! High 79, Low 61

Grade: C

Breaking free

Ryan — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:31:27 +0000

You couldn't have asked for two more different days in Atlanta than Sunday and Monday. Sunday didn't get out of the 60s, and they were inundated with more than an inch of rain. Temperatures exploded, however, on Monday, when Atlanta cleared out after a little bit of rain in the morning. They hit 80 with the sun, after not even touching 70 the day before. The outlet that was able to handle the bipolarity of the Atlanta weather was, in fact, Victoria-Weather.
Actuals: Sunday - 1.28 inches of rain, High 69, Low 60
Monday - .01 inches of rain, High 80, Low 64

Grade: B

Clouds Claim Hickory

Ryan — Sun, 13 May 2012 16:39:23 +0000

There has been a weak little trough (speaking isobarically) moving through the southeastern United States, kicking up some showers and thunderstorms across Dixieland. In Hickory, North Carolina, however, they managed to avoid the thunderstorms, instead seeing some clouds that kept temperatures from reaching their full potential. The Weather Service did caught on to a slightly cooler pattern, and had the top forecast.
Actuals: Friday, High 73, Low 46
Saturday, High 73, Low 51

Grade: B

Showers expand their coverage

Ryan — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:51:29 +0000

Unfortunately for Fort Smith, Arkansas, and almost all of the foreasters for that fine city, the showers and thunderstorms associated with a low in Texas covered a lot more ground than had originally been in the forecast. Part of this had to do with the fact that the low slid north towards Dallas instead of east towards Houston. As a result, the only outlet to suggest a chance for showers in Fort Smith on Friday, Accuweather, won the forecast. The clouds and rain meant temperatures fell off a bit too. Still, temperatures in the 70s being "cooler" sounds pretty sweet.
Actuals: Thursday, High 83, Low 52
Friday, .01 inches of rain, High 76, Low 59

Grade: C

Almost perfect

Ryan — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:33:51 +0000

You could say the weather, which featured highs in the low 70s and sunny skies for two days in Joplin, was almost perfect (I would prefer an extra degree or two.) Or, you could say that The Weather Channel was almost perfect, missing by only one degree on the Tuesday high, but nailing it everywhere else.
Actuals: Tuesday, High 73, Low 52
Wednesday, High 72, Low 48

Grade: A