Jake Orosi
EF4
And real scientists are not amused
I just....really don't know what to say about this.
I'm not opposed to the idea or existence of private weather companies. I think The Weather Channel does pretty good work for example, despite plenty of constructive criticism that can be given about some of its choices and ideas. But then you run into outfits like Accuweather and this...it's just incredible. It's not the first time I've been blown away by boneheadedness from Accuweather, but it takes the top prize in the You've-Got-To-Be-Kidding category.
In a recent interview with NPR, AccuWeather Founder and President Joel Myers defended the practice, saying: "If we didn't have the statistics to show that the forecast—and here's the measure of what the value is—it's got to be more accurate statistically than you can come up with by using past normals and whatever climatology that you have, and it does."
This has not mollified forecasters, who realize that their credibility is at risk when people are checking for a weather forecast 90 days from now. Meteorologist Dan Satterfield, who writes about atmospheric science for the American Geophysical Union, summed up how most forecasters feel about this latest innovation. "These forecasts are actually even worse than the Farmer’s Almanac, since they give rain chances and temperatures for exact points months into the future!" he wrote. "This kind of thing should be condemned and if you have an AccuWeather app on your smart phone, my advice is to stand up for science and replace it."
I just....really don't know what to say about this.
I'm not opposed to the idea or existence of private weather companies. I think The Weather Channel does pretty good work for example, despite plenty of constructive criticism that can be given about some of its choices and ideas. But then you run into outfits like Accuweather and this...it's just incredible. It's not the first time I've been blown away by boneheadedness from Accuweather, but it takes the top prize in the You've-Got-To-Be-Kidding category.