Laudable forecasts

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Another summer, and another scary hurricane has made landfall somewhere in North America. Laura, while a strong storm and having made landfall in the US may not be as well remembered as storms like Michael, Maria, Dorian or Harvey for a variety of factors. Those factors are, of course, Covid-19, Civil unrest and the virtuous fight for social justice and racial equality, and the ongoing Republican National Convention. Laura was, depending on your home market, not even in the top three news stories of the day.

It’s too bad for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it turns attention away from those residents who were greatly impacted by this storm, particularly in Cameron and Lake Charles, Louisiana, but also because the forecasts were so good, and apparently so well heeded, the death toll is not as large as one might suspect from a strong storm striking the US Mainland.

in a time when science is so heavily scrutinized, it is important to remind the populace that we usually get it right, and the recommendations for safety and well being are rooted in good intentions and factual assessment. That, and the pain that Laura has brought (even through it came with a lower casualty total) will likely fly under the radar, so to speak

Another excellent forecast that came up in the last couple of weeks was the one for Durham, which was posted here about two weeks ago. Victoria-Weather and the National Weather Service collected the top forecasts thanks to solid temperature outlooks, despite heavy rain that was going to fall in the area.

Actuals: August 14th, .63 inches of rain, High 88, Low 73
August 15th, 1.37 inches of rain, High 84, Low 72

Grade: A-B

A delayed heat wave

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Every knows that now, it is very hot out west. This hasn’t been the case all summer on the west coast, as it seems as though it has been recently during every summer, and even this month, it took at least an extra day in Napa. We though the warm up would start on the 7th, but instead, wind came off the Pacific and temperatures dropped a few degrees, which was certainly not the expectation. Fortunately, these changes in California don’t necessarily sink forecasts, so most of us won’t be totally embarrassed by this verification. A trio, Victoria-Weather, Weatherbug and WeatherNation all get to stake a claim to the victory.
Actuals: August 6th – High 80, Low 60
August 7th, High 77, Low 59

Grade: C-D

High heat

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Late in July, we assembled a forecast for Reno, which promised highs in the low 90s, and that’s what was delivered. Clear skies and dry air made lows in the 50s seem plausible, but it was not to be. The Weather Service had the perfect blend of high highs and still warm lows, claiming the victory. (Note: I have submitted the draft for my next book. The hope is that this will be a kick in the pants for the posting schedule. Fingers crossed!)
Actuals: July 24th, High 93, Low 63
July 25th, High 93, Low 61

Grade: B-C

An absolute whirlwind

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I am, of course, talking about our recent posting frequency. Whew! This Fayetteville verification is 2 weeks overdue, if that gives you an idea the latency issues we are having. This was a pretty solid forecast from all comers, with Victoria-Weather taking the top spot, after two other outlets incorrectly suspected thunderstorms would bleed into the eastern Carolinas after developing in the shadow of the Appalachians. Nope! V-W gets the win.
Actuals: July 16th, High 93, Low 73
July 17th, High 93, Low 74

Grade: A-B

Do you remember Cristobal?

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This forecast, issued on the 11th for Fayetteville, came so long ago that Tropical Storm Cristobal was still mentioned in the text. While this forecast was for North Carolina, the tropical feature wasn’t a major influence on the forecast, but a lingering cold front and a return of hot humid air was. The Weather Channel was the top forecaster way back in the middle of the month.
Actuals: June 12th – .02 inches of rain, High 83, Low 69
June 13th – High 84, Low 66

Grade: A-B

Scorcher

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This has been a weird month for me. It seems strange during this period in history to say I’ve been very busy, but those are the facts. You might not remember what west Texas was like back in the beginning of the month, but I can tell you that, unequivocally, San Angelo was hot, particularly on June 8th. That wasn’t a big surprise though. In fact, none of the hot, sunny weather was a surprise during our forecast period, as everyone came through with pretty good numbers. Nobody was better than Weatherbug, though, gaining a victory.
Actuals: June 8th – High 104, Low 71
June 9th – High 96, Low 75

Grade: A-B

Dry days before Cristobal

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Jonesboro was a hot, dry place last weekend, which was more than could be said of the beginning of the work week. Cristobal tracked through the Lower Mississippi Valley, and brought oodles of rainfall to northeastern Arkansas. The weekend, as I noted, was hot and dry however. There had been a hint at some precipitation that never materialized on Saturday, which meant that Forecast.IO was able to claim a victory for the first forecast of June.
Actuals: Saturday – High 92, Low 74
Sunday – High 94, Low 74

Grade: A-B

A surprise 90

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The start of June was proceeding just fine on Monday, but then after a little warm front brought a scant amount of precipitation to Sandusky overnight, Tuesday was very different. Amid forecast highs that were supposed to be in the upper 70s to low 80s, opportune clear skies led to a high of 90. Nope, nobody was close. The Weather Channel had the top forecast, simply on the merits of having the warmest forecast on Tuesday.
Actuals: Monday, Trace of rain, High 73, Low 50
Tuesday – .04 inches of rain, High 90, Low 59

Grade: C-D

A bleak start to the weekend

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There is a difference between a stormy day and a rainy day, especially on a holiday weekend. If it storms, that means there was probably enough sunlight and warmth during the day to lead to instability. A day with light drizzle throughout just means it was cloudy and gloomy, as it was on Friday in Detroit. There weren’t and reports of rain on Saturday, but it was still cloudy and cool. Fortunately, infrastructural systems that were at their limit already with water didn’t have to withstand too much more precipitation. Forecast.io collected the top forecast for the day.
Actuals: Friday – .06 inches of rain, High 65, Low 59
Saturday – High 72, Low 60

Grade: C

A return to spring time

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It’s been a rainy week for the mid-Atantic and New England, but for the middle of the week, Barnstable and the Cape saw a bit of of a reprieve. It was cooler than one might expect, but the end of rain and increased sunshine on Wednesday overcame the onshore breezes, and it actually started to warm up, even hitting 60 in the afternoon. That kind of optimism is Victoria-Weather’s wheelhouse, giving us a victory on the day.
Actuals: Tuesday – High 59, Low 41
Wednesday – High 60, Low 36

Grade: B-C