Accuracy of various weather apps

[Snowman9000]

Has anyone found one weather app to be more accurate than others?

Right now I'm watching weather.com and weatherbug on my phone, and they definitely don't have the same forecasts. It's hard to say which is more accurate so far. Weatherbug seems to be more accurate as far as the current temperature, but weather.com seems to have more accurate forecasts.

Anyway, there's probably not one winner, but I'm interested to hear what you've found.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

AccuWeather - commercial forecasting company - largest data source is NOAA

WeatherUnderground - commercial forecasting company - The Weather Channel - NOAA and thousands of private observations stations - partially owned by NBC universal

Intellicast - commercial forecasting company - The Weather Company partially owned by NBC Universal - largest data source is NOAA

(Yes, Intellicast, Weather Underground, Weather.com, The Weather Channel are all branches of the same company).

Despite efforts by the various commercial forecasting companies - NOAA continues to publish an active list of the companies which have active agreement for data links for NOAA data and forecasting information

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/im/more.htm
NOAA Commercial Weather Vendors

[markandkim]

I use the RAINDAR app on my android stuff. With GPS, it is spot on!

[Ozlander]

Some of the airlines use Intellicast for their operations

[paulcardoza]

For forecasts I find Weather.com quite accurate. I primarily use the iPhone & iPad app. For weather radar, I have found Radarscope to be the most accurate and as close to real time as any other, with 5 min updates.

[Snowman9000]

To all the posters asking why does it matter? I'm not concerned about +/- 1 degree. But in the past while camping I have relied on a weather app to make decisions about moving or staying put, and the forecasts for the next 1-3 days turned out to be quite wrong. Same goes for making route adjustments on a long trip, such as the IL to AZ one we are headed out on soon.

Just as RK911 noted, I have seen very good accuracy from our Chicago TV station forecasters over the past few years. I would think the same accuracy is available nationwide on an app. But maybe not.

[rk911]

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:

Campfire Time wrote:
How many jobs do you of where you can be wrong 70% of the time and still get paid 3 digits a year?

Designated hitter in baseball - 30% is a batting average of .300.

I know that our weather prognosticators here in Chicago are right a helluva lot more often than not. but as one poster put it...the farther out one goes with the forecast the greater the chance of error.

[rk911]

wa8yxm wrote:

rk911 wrote:
unless one app says it's gonna be clear while the other claims it's gonna rain I don't see where it makes a great deal of difference. I personally can't tell the difference between 55-deg f and 58-deg f. all I need is a general idea of what's gonna happen. if I need a detailed forecast before flying then i'll get a specific aviation forecast but otherwise the weather channel app is as good as any.

You can not tell the diff between 55 and 58 (3 degrees)

But how about the tires on your car if it's raining, can they tell the difference, in the rain, between a road surface temp of 33 and 30?

you bet, at 33 you have traction, at 30 you get panavision.

if I'm driving at temps close to freezing I drive the same way regardless if the temps are 33, 30, 35, etc. in any case the temps you'll get from ANY source are for a single location...usually an airport. and as George Carlin once observed...nobody lives at the airport. I think we're all making way too much out of a few degrees one way of the other.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Campfire Time wrote:
How many jobs do you of where you can be wrong 70% of the time and still get paid 3 digits a year?

Designated hitter in baseball - 30% is a batting average of .300.

[KA4EBU]

I use weather underground and Dish Weather. For tracking storms and misc I use Raindar. I have an android.
Just installed the NOAA and it is great, may go to it.

[KA4EBU]

I use weather underground and Dish Weather. For tracking storms and misc I use Raindar. I have an android.
Just installed the NOAA and it is great, may go to it.

[Campfire_Time]

"Accuracy" and "weather" in the same sentence is an oxymoron. How many jobs do you of where you can be wrong 70% of the time and still get paid 3 digits a year?

[wa8yxm]

rk911 wrote:
unless one app says it's gonna be clear while the other claims it's gonna rain I don't see where it makes a great deal of difference. I personally can't tell the difference between 55-deg f and 58-deg f. all I need is a general idea of what's gonna happen. if I need a detailed forecast before flying then i'll get a specific aviation forecast but otherwise the weather channel app is as good as any.

You can not tell the diff between 55 and 58 (3 degrees)

But how about the tires on your car if it's raining, can they tell the difference, in the rain, between a road surface temp of 33 and 30?

you bet, at 33 you have traction, at 30 you get panavision.

[8_1_Van]

As Andrew Freedman states, “In other words, it’s like the GFS model is looking at the atmosphere with slightly blurred vision, while the European Center’s model has a clearer view.”

American vs. European Weather Models

In the model wars Europe kicks North America’s butt

[Pangaea_Ron]

The rumor is that Weather Forecasters are sent to Seattle to learn humility.

It's also said that when the NOAA forecasters moved into their new offices at the old Sandpoint NAS on Lake Washington, which actually has windows, that their forecasts improved by more than 50%.

It actually comes down to the single flap of a butterfly wing.