A long line of wet weather

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We visited Raleigh at the end of November, which was in the midst of a soggy stretch that, frankly, is still ongoing. It’s been such a warm autumn, and the past few winters were so mild, it’s kind of bracing to see such a chill to the air as far south as the Carolinas. But we did indeed see some temperatures that were near freezing and didn’t even get out of the 40s for the first day of December. That particular day was colder than anyone had in mind, and certainly colder than anyone in Raleigh appreciated. If you want a cold forecast, Weatherbug is your place to be, and they secured the win on this occasion.
Actuals: November 30th, .22″ of rain, High 52, Low 35
December 1st, High 45, Low 35

Grade: B-C

Birmingham’s Not-So-Stormy Weekend

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Ahead of the Thanksgiving travel season, a storm system passed through the American southeast before petering out in the mid-Atlantic. There were some outlets that thought that it could lead to a bit of a severe weather outbreak around our forecast destination of Birmingham last Friday and Saturday, but fortunately, that didn’t come to pass. The whole feature was a bit messier than it could have been, and left some light showers in the region on Saturday as well as Friday, and didn’t bring the cold pool behind it that was in the forecast for some. It hit 80 last Saturday! Clime came away with the top forecast, thanks to a being one of the warmer forecasts on Saturday.
Actuals: Friday . 06″ of rain, High 71, Low 57
Saturday .03″ of rain, High 80, Low 55

Grade: A-C

A breach of protocol

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Generally, when I put together a verification, which this post is, I use WeatherforMe.com’s “closest NWS site” option. For Santa Cruz, that site is San Martin, 25 miles away from Santa Cruz, and crucially, on the other side of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Temperatures there at initial check were about 15 degrees warmer than forecasts, and another 5-10 degrees colder for overnights. I decided to opt for the road less traveled, and used a MADIS site in town. It was still warmer than expected, but not as egregiously so. The arrival of a feature on the West Coast had effectively drawn the low scud away from the coast and allowed high temperatures to infiltrate. High temps on the 8th and 9th were both warmer than anyone had in the forecast, but low temperatures lined up. Accuweather had the best forecast. Would they have if we verified against a completely different climate?
Actuals: November 8th, High 76, Low 51
November 9th, High 77, Low 53

Grade: B-C

A beneficial deficiency

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The separator for our forecast today was one that I’m not sure I would have imagined. Temperatures in Greeley were very responsive to the wind, it seemed, which meant that the response to the clear skies was not to be had. On the 5th, temperaturs stopped dropping around 2AM, which meant that outlets with warmer lows ended up cleaning up. WeatherNation, therefore, cleaned up, earning a comfortable victory.
Actuals: November 4th, High 65, Low 34
November 5th, High 68, Low 37

Grade: A-C

Not so spooky season

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At the end of October, the North Carolina Coastal Plains saw quite a bit of rain. Fortunately, it started to turn off right before Halloween. In Burlington, there was a trickle on the 30th, and most of it cleared out before the majority of people were awake. Then, on Halloween, it was even nicer, with clear skies and temperatures that rebounded into the 60s. A little chilly for an evening of trick-or-treating, but surely a fair sight better than many were probably expecting. Unless they were looking at the forecast from the Weather Service or Weather Nation, I guess, because those two knocked this forecast out of the park.
Actuals: October 30th, .06″ of rain, High 63, Low 49
Halloween – High 62, Low 39

Grade: A-C

A good day for everyone (except Durham)

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Rarely do we see a day in which forecasts across the board grade out at an A for everyone. It’s unheard of for a couple of days that were as miserable as they were in Durham a couple days before Halloween. Temperatures lingered in the 50s, suppressed by a feature moving through the Carolinas and smothering the region with rain and wind. On the 28th, the winds gusted to nearly 40mph to go along with the 3/4″ of rain. The weather was miserable, but the weather followed along with what everyone anticipated. This meant this was a three way draw between Victoria-Weather, The Weather Channel and Accuweather. Everyone crowded behind us in a well fought, well done forecast battle.
Actuals: October 28th, .76″ of rain, High 51, Low 48
October 29th, .07″ of rain, High 57, low 48

Grade: A

Rain that just won’t stop

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I have a general rule of thumb in the winter. I won’t believe it is done snowing until it is actually done snowing. If there are flurries, I’m just going to keep those flurries in the forecast. There are thermodynamic reasons for this that maybe I can get into at another time. Those thermodynamic reasons don’t apply to light rain showers, but perhaps I should have heeded that “just leave it in the forecast” ethos when forecasting for Elkhart last month. Rain looked like it was on the way out of town when I produced the forecast, but it didn’t leave on Thursday the 23rd, as I assumed it would. It also didn’t leave on Friday, which more of us didn’t think was the future in Elkhart. This soggy end of the week was best handled by the National Weather Service, who collected a forecast win.
Actuals October 23rd: .07″ of rain, High 51, Low 37
October 24th, .02″ of rain, High 53, Low 34

Grade: C-D

Hold on tight!

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We assembled a forecast for Dover ahead of the Nor’Easter that shook up the East Coast earlier this month. Yeah, it rained, sure temperatures came down, but I really wanted to see what the wind registered at. It gusted to nearly 40MPH on Sunday the 12th! After the hatches were properly battened, we could appreciate a good clustering of forecasts. Ultimately, the National Weather Service narrowly overcame the other outlets.
Actuals: October 11th, .11 inches of rain, High 69, Low 52
October 12th, .43 inches of rain, High 66, Low 57

Grade: B-C

Portland prepares

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Back before my vacation, at the beginning of October, we looked at Portland, which was readying for a cool down and the advance of an autumnal area of low pressure coming out of the Gulf of Alaska. The rain never arrived, and wasn’t expected to, before the forecast period expired. Temperatures did cool off by 20 degrees, though, a jarring first taste of autumn for the Pacific Northwest. It is odd to think that the high temperatures that Portland ended up at are still 20 degrees warmer than I’m at Victoria-Weather HQ right now. Perhaps as a consolation, we can acknowledge that V-W earned the victory with some room to spare.
Actuals: October 7th, High 79, Low 50
October 8th, High 60, Low 52

Grade: A-C

A quiet Gulf is a happy Gulf.

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A lot of the conversation along the Gulf Coast this spring has involved varying degrees of the sentiment “Wow, it sure has been quiet!” And so it was when we forecast in Gulfport to round out September. The forecasts across the board lined up with the temperatures, which hit close to 90 in the afternoons. The Weather Channel was the top performer, but everyone should be happy with their score.
Actuals: September 29th, High 89, Low 70
September 30th, High 90, Low 70

Grade: A-B