Rainy days and Mondays
Posted by Ryan
It was a little bit dank and depressing in Elmira the past several days. A lower level system set up over the eastern Great Lakes and brought a steady rain, and an even more strident cloud deck. Temperatures were cooler than expected, but warmer over night because of the clouds. Victoria-Weather and The Weather Channel tied for the top spot.
Actuals: Monday - .2 inches of rain, High 59, Low 48
Tuesday - .49 inches of rain, High 64, Low 53
Grade: C
Humid but dry
Posted by Ryan
Oklahoma City is in the throes of tornado season. with the threat for thunderstorms on Sunday residents certainly should have been keeping an eye to the sky for threatening weather. They probably also recognized that the dew point temperatures, in the upper 60s, were providing a ripe environment for strong thunderstorms, seeing as how many most Sooners have experienced. And then... the storms didn't happen. It stayed hot, humid and most of all, quiet in OKC. Everyone was clustered near the same score, but Accuweather was a hair better.
Actuals: Saturday, High 89, Low 63
Sunday - High 87, Low 68
Grade: C
Well, oops
Posted by Ryan
I don't know if you missed it, but we had a forecast for La Crosse, Wisconsin on Thursday. (You missed it, I had to toggle it over to published just now when I couldn't find it on the page. That would be the "oops"). Anyways, things in La Crosse porteded to be stormy. And they were, in fact, stormy. Stormy to the tune of temperatures being 5-10 degrees off the forecast highs, depending on who you talked to. The models, and most of the forecasts called for "isolated" storms, but successive squall lines definitely threw everything out of whack. In the end, Weatherbug was the only outlet that scored above "D".
Actuals: Friday, .45 inches of rain in thunderstorms, High 66, Low 55
Saturday - .19 inches of rain in thunderstorms, High 64, Low 53
Grade: C
Breaking free
Posted by Ryan
After what was a crummy day for Springfield on Saturday, things made a decided improvement on Sunday. The weekend was saved! A cloudy, drizzly atmosphere cleared out just enough for a 15 degree improvement. Not a bad way to finish the weekend, eh? A three way tie between ourselves, The Weather Service and Weatherbug was found atop the forecast leaderboard.
Actuals: Saturday .30 inches of rain, High 48, Low 39
Sunday - High 66, Low 38
Grade: C
Oh So Close
Posted by Anthony
Ryan mentioned that the NWS kept precip out of Davenport until after 1AM on Saturday. Unfortunately, for the NWS that is, a rain shower moved in around 11PM Friday night. This messed up their otherwise superior temperature forecast and out of 1st place. V-W and the Weather Channel took advantage of their misstep and tied for the top spot.
Friday: 0.01" of rain in a light shower. High 59, Low 37.
Saturday: 0.84" of rain in an early morning thunderstorm. High 48, Low 41.
Forecast Grade: B
Dry Detroit
Posted by Ryan
Things worked out quite nicely for denizens of Detroit to end the week. There was rain in the forecast the past two days, but that never quite happened, with the city instead seeing dry, if cloudy skies. Temperatures were significantly cooler than what most of the country has come to expect this spring, but as they say, you win some, you lose some. The Weather Service won this one, from a forecasting standpoint.
Actuals: Thursday - High 59, Low 42
Friday - High 55, Low 34
Grade: B
Idaho weather goes south
Posted by Ryan
It was downright steamy in northern Idaho on Wednesday, as many expected, but it was even warmer than anyone had anticipated. Lewiston hit nearly 80 degrees on Wednesday. Rain and clouds changed things up significantly on Thursday, however, with temperatures 20 degrees cooler. Victoria-Weather handled to the forecast and the changing conditions the best, earning the top spot.
Actuals: Wednesday - .01 inches of rain, High 79, Low 57
Thursday - .27 inches of rain, High 61, Low 47
Grade: C
Finally some quiet
Posted by Ryan
After some clouds and drizzle, followed by a strong low moving up the coast, Durham needed some sunny weather. That's just what they got, and they received 5 pretty solid forecasts to boot. Accuweather narrowly won the forecast, as we at Victoria-Weather were bumped down a notch when it didn't rain in Durham. Good news in the Research Triangle.
Actuals: Tuesday, High 64, Low 36
Wednesday, High 68, Low 40
Grade: A
Finding a happy medium
Posted by Ryan
The forecast in Napa was for a rapid warm up in the wake of a system that slid through the Pacific Northwest. Some people thought it would warm up too much. Some people didn't think it would warm up enough. Some people, Victoria-Weather and The Weather Channel were just right, taking down the top spot in Napa.
Actuals: Friday - High 84, Low 51
Saturday - High 86, Low 52
Grade: B
Ineffective Cold Front
Posted by Ryan
Glens Falls was expected to see a much cooler day yesterday after a mostly inactive cold front moved through town in the early hours. A secondary cold front ended up being the bigger deal, and that hung out in Canada, before getting caught in the Catskills. The temperature in Glens Falls was able to reach the low 70s yesterday, despite the leading cold front already being through town. It wasn't a great forecast for anyone, with the only totally incorrect temperature forecast ending up with the top spot. That would be Accuweather, who didn't forecast the little bit of rain they saw on Monday morning, but still managed the W.
Actuals: Monday - Trace of rain, High 87, Low 51
Tuesday - High 73, Low 42
Grade: C