Tax Day Snow Showers
Posted by Anthony
Our Friday the 13th forecast for Cheyenne brought in a weekend mix for the Wyoming capital. Come Tax Day, Mother Nature didn't disappoint. Luckily, it was just a light snowfall, and hopefully didn't disrupt too many weekend plans. Accuweather took home the top spot.
Saturday: Trace of rain in a shower. High 53, Low 36.
Sunday: 0.02" of liquid precip, 0.1" of snowfall. High 43, Low 31.
Forecast Grade: B
A saving breeze
Posted by Ryan
The thing that kept Detroit clear on Wednesday? A gusty north wind. Weird, huh? Well, the gusts cleared out the Motor City, which allowed for some clear skies, and for temperatures to warm into the low 60s. They were a bit lighter, and took a bit more of a northeasterly fetch on Thursday, and that meant cloudy, cooler conditions. The Weather Serviced tossed out the top forecast for Detroit.
Actuals: Wednesday - High 62, Low 39
Thursday -High 48, Low 34
Grade: B
Starting well, fading late
Posted by Ryan
Things looked so good for Victoria Weather after the forecast in Washington after the first day There was rain early, and the high and low were forecast exactly. Then, however, our fortunes changed. IT was warmer in DC all around than we suspected, which played to the favor of Accuweather, who snuck in to easily win the first forecast of April.
Actuals: Monday - .08 inches of rain, High 62, Low 47
Tuesday - High 73, Low 47
Grade: A
Vindication!
Posted by Ryan
I was right and wrong. I was right in that there was a lag in the warm up in Lubbock. I was wrong, though, that it didn't rain on Friday. There was a three way tie atop the leaderboard, between Accuweather, the Weather Service and Weatherbug. No matter what had happened with the rain forecast, we at Victoria Weather would have finished 4th. So, no harm done.
Actuals: Friday, High 75, Low 36
Saturday, High 87, Low 42
Grade: C
Another dose of summer
Posted by Ryan
We continue to verify forecasts that had incredibly warm, record breaking emperatures. They weren't quite record breaking in Rocky Mount, but highs did manage to climb into the low 80s each of the past two days. A dry day on Friday, when some expected a bit of rain, was enough to give The Weather Channel the victory in Rocky Mount.
Actuals: Thursday - .01 inches of rain, High 81, Low 53
Friday - High 84, Low 57
Grade: B
In a dome
Posted by Ryan
Huntsville has enjoyed it's time west of some daily unsettled weather in the Carolinas, and east o a massive system presently moving through the Mississippi Valley. This meant a fairly well clustered forecasts, and thus, forecast results in northern Alabama. As a circumstance, the top forecasters, the Weather Service and Weatherbug were only a couple degrees better than the worst, The Weather Channel.
Actuals: Monday, High 84, Low 57
Tuesday, High 85, Low 60
Grade: A
Dodging the bullet
Posted by Ryan
On Sunday, a strong, tornadic thunderstorm exploded along the Texas Panhandle-western Oklahoma border and tracked north--completely avoiding Lawton. The front moved into Lawton overnight, bringing with it a rapid cool down and heavy rain, which meant that it was unable to warm up into the afternoon. Lawton saw over an inch and a half of rain, but because the storms came when they did, there was no severe weather, with only a healthy spring rain (and a little bit more cold air than expected). Temperatures were very cool, and those who went with the GFS paid for it, as it was 12 degrees off on yesterday's high. This meant that The Weather Channel and Victoria-Weather were the clearly better forecasters, with TWC edging us by a degree.
Sunday - High 75, Low 64
Monday - 1.59" of rain in thunderstorms, High 69, Low 53
Grade: C
Wrung out in the mountains
Posted by Ryan
The forecast across the interior eastern US has been for widely scattered showers and storms. After a couple of whiffs with the stormy forecast, business picked up from Michigan to the Ohio River. They didn't quite hold together as the disturbance tried to work into Pennsylvania, and Williamsport only reported a trace of rain early Friday morning. Everyone had rain in the forecast, so nobody was hurt by that more than anyone else, but due to a solid temperature forecast, The Weather Channel had the top spot.
Actuals: Thursday - High 74, Low 40
Friday - .01 inches of rain, High 66, Low 47
Grade: C
This was terribly odd
Posted by Ryan
When I punched the Rockford forecast into the verification program, I was struck by something unusual. My forecast in Rockford was exactly the same as what happened in Columbia for the two days I verified a couple days ago. Strange. As it turns out, the weather in Rockford ended up being much warmer than anyone had predicted, climbing into the 80s yesterday. They did even get a brief spot of rain on Thursday morning, just after midnight. It was the tiniest little cell, but it 1 hundredth of an inch of rain. Accuweather had the top forecast.
Actuals: Wednesday - High 79, Low 49
Thursday .01 inches of rain, High 82, Low 54
Grade: B
Not as advertised
Posted by Ryan
Every day for the last several days, every model run, the forecast has been for widespread showers and storms, along the east coast, today in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes, but there just hasn't been any forcing. The savvy meteorologist downplayed thunderstorms in Columbia for the past two days. Sure, there was a little bit more instability on Monday, and they saw some rain in Columbia then, but none as we expected, on Sunday. Victoria-Weather, thereby, got the top spot.
Actuals: Sunday, High 75, Low 49
Monday, .05 inches of rain, High 76, Low 58
Grade: B