I need to switch careers to Weatherman

[JEDI]

they dont get fired for being wrong

ie: Winter 2012 ->MAJOR storms 8+" of snow -> little or NO snow actually fell ==> 5 times this past winter = 5 panics = no bread/milk in grocery stores = 5 fails!

now:
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 2pm and 3pm, then showers and thunderstorms likely after 3pm

WTF? how about showers and thunderstorms all day?

 

[highland145]

When my kid was ~5, he said, "Daddy, I could be a weatherman." Really? "Yep. I'll look outside and if the sun's up, I'll say it's going to be sunny. And if it's raining, I'll say it's going to rain." Sounds about right.

 

[purbeast0]

been saying this for years. it's the most secure job there is out there. whether you are right or wrong it really doesn't matter.

 

[DrPizza]

I'd love to see an analysis of what their accuracy rate is for forecasts 3 days out or longer, especially if it was compared to simply forecasting the historical average.

 

[Mixolydian]

Meteorology involves lots of math and science. I would've loved to become a meteorologist, but I just don't have the patience or brains for that.

 

[DesiPower]

Meteorology involves lots of math and science. I would've loved to become a meteorologist, but I just don't have the patience or brains for that.

meteorologist and weather man for a new station are two different things...

 

[runzwithsizorz]

The secret is, give a forecast, and give a time, but never give both :biggrin:

 

[DrPizza]

Though, the weathermen at radio or television stations often call themselves meteorologists. Afaik, there's absolutely no qualification to use that title.

And, as far as the math, you could look at the NOAA forecast for your area, fudge a couple numbers up or down. Celebrate when your two degree difference matched the high temperature that you predicted. But don't forget - there are dozens of places with temperatures that you could use, so "I predicted a high of 84 today, and the airport reported 84 degrees at 4pm." Or "I predicted a high of 84 today, and the good folks at xyz high school downtown reported an 84 degree temperature at 4pm." You can't lose!


Snow forecast: "We could see up to 8" of snow tomorrow."
"Wow, look at these pictures sent in by a viewer from <Southtown>. A lot of areas didn't see quite as much, but they had 9" of snow, beating my forecast by an inch."

"We should only get about an inch of snow tomorrow"
"Well, while some folks out there got almost a foot of snow, downtown <image appears on screen of the snowfall> only received about 2 inches of snow."

 

[QueBert]

Being a cop would be better, you can be wrong and also not get fired. But you could also shoot and kill somebody you don't like and still keep your job.

 

[phucheneh]

They can't forcast more than maybe 12 hours out for my area. Not just the locals, either; Google's weather service, or weatherchannel, or whoever...still sucks.

This week, the forecast was for rain. All week. Then no rain. Then rain on Monday. Then rain on Tuesday. Ect...they seem to have no idea until they can actually walk outside and say 'HEY LOOK DARK CLOUDS.'

And that's really their job- tell me if it's gonna rain or not. And they defy all statistical probability by being wrong far more than 50% of the time.

edit: if you're just gonna gripe about occupations, fuck dentists, too. Dumbass shady grifter med school dropouts.

 

[dud]

Ever notice how bored weather "people" seem when the weather is sedate and mundane but wait till the weather turns ugly ... boy do they get excited.

One of my local stations has a really inept and un-professional weather "staff" known as "The Witch Doctors" since they probably spend most of their time in a windowless room with chicken bones and incense using voodoo to try to predict the weather. When bad weather comes through they REALLY get excited ... even as people are losing their homes and lives.

 

[MrChad]

Snowquester: when forecast information fails

 

[Mixolydian]

meteorologist and weather man for a new station are two different things...

Actually, most (all?) TV weathercasters are certified by the AMS.

 

[zinfamous]

meteorologist and weather man for a new station are two different things...

most "weathermen" or women are meteorologists today. I think to be on staff, you pretty much have to be AIMS certified, or whatever it is called.

It isn't the 70s anymore (don't forget that Letterman began his career as a weatherman. )

I think the only time you see non-meteorologists are for those pointless morning shows like GMA--I could be wrong, but I don't think Al Roker is a meteorologist. He's fortunate to have started his gig in days when personality trumped knowledge.

But, I tend to agree--I think meteorologists get to look at some pretty cool charts and play around with neat data, and they do make the best predictions they possibly can, but it all still comes out like voodoo if you try to push it more than a couple of days.

 

[TwiceOver]

Or a doctor. They can be completely wrong and still bill you.

 

[Sonikku]

My mother could have gone into that role. She would always know in advance when it was going to rain. She said she quite literally "Felt it in her bones".

 

[mmntech]

I'd love to see an analysis of what their accuracy rate is for forecasts 3 days out or longer, especially if it was compared to simply forecasting the historical average.

I can tell you exactly what it is. Accuracy of a forecast drops on average 15% per day. I work with a lot of meteorologists and is their number. Weather reporting is an inexact science due to the staggering number of variables you have to take into effect. All boils down to the best interpretation of the models the super computer spits out.

 

[lxskllr]

Power to the people!

 

[lxskllr]

duplicate

 

[phucheneh]

My mother could have gone into that role. She would always know in advance when it was going to rain. She said she quite literally "Felt it in her bones".

I think this is a psychological thing like water divining. Some of those dudes are good because they know what to look for; but they've convinced themselves that it's the magic stick that does it.

 

[Mixolydian]

I think this is a psychological thing like water divining. Some of those dudes are good because they know what to look for; but they've convinced themselves that it's the magic stick that does it.

low barometric pressure can have that affect on joints.

 

[lxskllr]

I think this is a psychological thing like water divining. Some of those dudes are good because they know what to look for; but they've convinced themselves that it's the magic stick that does it.

Don't know about water witching, but I've found buried electric that way. I always meant to try it with water, but never got to it.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Go for the kill!

 

[highland145]

low barometric pressure can have that affect on joints.

3 knee surgeries by 1985 and I can confirm that. Now I hurt on a regular basis so it sucks for a weathervane.

 

[Mixolydian]

3 knee surgeries by 1985 and I can confirm that. Now I hurt on a regular basis so it sucks for a weathervane.

must suck to be old and feeble.