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[rant] I've been complaining here for ages about the seeming inability to get a proper weather forecast from any of the broadcast outlets, especially TV. But on Tuesday, they hit a new low - and I'm not talking temperature.
I watched all the newscasts on the weekend and after the endless monsoon downpours we endured on Saturday and Sunday, saw a bunch of smiling faces assuring me that everything was changing, as they unveiled their 7-Day-Forecast boards, each with nothing but bright and beautiful sunny skies promised, a big change from the soggy mess and floods of 48 hours earlier. There was not a single shower or cloud on any of the icons, and no P.O.P. - probability of precipitation - percentage listed.
I also caught many of the same forecasts on Monday's noon news shows. Both Global and CTV said nothing but sunshine and blue skies for the next 7 days at least.
So I foolishly took their assurances on this and on Tuesday afternoon, around 4:30 PM, decided to go out for a bike ride break. Halfway through my pedal pushing, I looked up and saw ominous grey clouds above me and yep, sure enough, it started to rain. Not hard, but rain nonetheless.
Where the hell did that come from? Less than four hours before - four hours! - they all promised there wasn't a chance of precipitation, let alone any clouds. But both happened anyway. Look I get that it's an inexact science and things can change, but can't they get it right the same afternoon? None of them predicted any rain. But rain it did. Even my computer app said "No precipitation for at least 12 hours." Now I can't even trust that.
I turned on the 6 when I got home and there was Jessica Smith on CFTO saying, 'yeah we had a few sprinkles and scattered showers in parts of the GTA,' as if she'd never promised us the exact opposite. Once again, what I promised you just a few hours ago was a complete and utter lie and now I'm pretending that I never said anything.
These people should go into politics.
One last thing: can we please get a consensus on temperature? Global said the high for tomorrow would be 21. CFTO had it at 23. And 680 told listeners to expect thermometer readings of 22. Not a huge difference, but can't we settle on just one?
I simply do not believe any of them anymore. They're wrong too often and they never apologize for it or admit their mistakes.
Does anyone know of a place where you get a truly accurate forecast? There don't seem to be any around here.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. [/rant]
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P.S.: Just got back from taking the dog for his last walk of the night.
We returned early, because it started to rain fairly steadily.
What in God's name are they paying these people for?
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A butterfly farts unexpectedly in DuBois Pennsylvania and downtown Toronto gets an unexpected sprinkle from a southerly flow of moist air that otherwise would have remained south of Albion NY.
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Saul wrote:
A butterfly farts unexpectedly in DuBois Pennsylvania and downtown Toronto gets an unexpected sprinkle from a southerly flow of moist air that otherwise would have remained south of Albion NY.
I want to be fair (although I'd prefer fair weather!) Much of the time, they're pretty close. But when they miss it, they never admit that they missed it.
They've got radar, satellites, Doppler, anemometers, barometers, thermometers, hygrometers, even weather balloons. Can't any of them provide an accurate forecast just a few hours in advance?
And would someone please swat that butterfly before we get an unannounced hurricane hitting the city?
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I don't live in Western New York so I wonder if the weather presenters/meterorologists are any more accurate than the ones here. They do have an advantage in winter with lake effect snow. Buffalo residents expect snow and lots of it so they are always prepared.
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RadioActive wrote:
P.S.: Just got back from taking the dog for his last walk of the night.
We returned early, because it started to rain fairly steadily.
What in God's name are they paying these people for?
"Good question, Storm!"
"WOOF!"
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Don't really understand why you complain so much about the weather forecasts all the time. So there was an unexpected rainshower in your small part of the city...big deal. Are they supposed to have a map of every neighbourhood in the GTA with a probability of a shower? Why not just at the end of every forecast "with a chance of rain." There, would that solve your problem?
Stations can have all of the latest forecasting equipment, but with small localized conditions that can happen or not happen anytime, it would be impossible to forecast every neighbourhood in the GTA or anywhere else. When in doubt, check on line before heading out. However beware, I have seen live radar showing light rain over K/W and not a drip of rain fell in my neighbourhood.
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When you tell me four hours earlier it's not going to rain anywhere in the GTA - that we'll have solid sunshine all day long for the next week - and I make plans around that and then it rains, despite all those sun icons with no clouds or showers, you've failed at your mission.
I'm well aware the 7-day is BS and total guess work and I don't hold them to it. But there's no excuse for not being able to confidently announce the forecast just a few hours in advance.
If you're OK with inaccurate information on your radio and TV news, then good for you. But I expect them to get it right. I think most viewers do, too.
They had one job - accurately forecast the weather for today only. They failed miserably and I find it's happened a lot over the past few months and years. And they never, ever get called on it.
I'm calling them on it.
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Forecasters have no control over a pop up shower or weather conditions that become unstable, change rapidly and unexpected. The fact that all of the forecasts all had only sunshine indicates that this system in your part of town came up suddenly and was isolated.
No I am not OK with inaccurate information but I am not unrealistic either when it comes to something like weather which can change quickly, especially around the great lakes region. And you even admitted earlier that most of the time the forecasts are accurate. Finally the weather people don't "promise" anything...these are weather forecasts. Forecasts are not promises and never will be.
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It wasn't just my part of town. It rained in a number of places during that time frame, including Thornhill, North York, Richmond Hill and elsewhere. That kind of activity was widespread enough that they should have been able to see it coming or at least included it in their predictions.
What really irritated me most was the 6 PM news presenters going on air and saying "yeah we had a few pop-up showers around the GTA and now clouds are moving in," as if they predicted that just a few hours before. But it's the exact opposite of what they just told us at 12:30 PM the very same day.
It wouldn't bug me so much except that this happens all the time. Especially, I've noticed, in the early spring, when you've had enough of winter and are desperate for a nice day, and they say 'hey, guess what! A warm up is in store for tomorrow and we should reach double digits!'
I think, 'great, it's about time,' and make plans based on that information.
And then the sun rises and the high is maybe 3 or 4C and none of what they said was coming is true. But they appear on the screen later that day and act as if they never predicted it and they never got it wrong. This goes on and on and on, which is why I complain about it so often. I might not have gone out yesterday if I knew there was a chance of getting rained on. But I was told nothing but sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. Period.
At least be honest with the viewers. Tell us why it didn't happen and admit you blew it. At least I'd respect that.
But that never happens and it never will.
I'm just asking for some accountability. Why is that a problem?
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OK, I promise I wasn't planning on posting anything else about this. But I just went outside to cut my lawn because the grass has gone crazy with all the rain and the 12:27 PM weather on both Global (Ross Hull) and CTV (Jessica Smith) promised solid sunshine, a few wispy clouds and not a trace of rain.
I couldn't believe it. I went outside to find a very gloomy sky full of clouds they said would not be there, some looking fairly ominously black. There was not a peak of sunshine that they said would be around.
I started the engine and did a few rows in my backyard and yep, sure enough, down came some rain. Again not a lot but any is too much when there's absolutely zero in the forecast they gave me live less than two hours ago. Two hours! WTF?
Here's CTV's noon weather graphic, with a few clouds but sun peaking through it. No sign of any rain. Underneath that is the view from my backyard. I see no resemblance between one and the other.
That's two days in a row they've screwed this up - and it always seems to happen when they're predicting good conditions that never come to pass. The bad stuff they almost always get right.
I'm something of a weather obsessive and I know most don't care about this stuff, but it's really important to me. I think weather is the most important part of any newscast because it ultimately affects everybody. And I expect them to get it right at least once in two days!
You can't predict accurately within two hours of your show? I've had it with all of them!
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My best guess is Ross and Jessica have seen your posts here and are messing with your mind.
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I lost that years ago!
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RadioActive wrote:
I lost that years ago!
You just think you did.
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Hate to bring this to the table ... but no matter how good weather forecasters are these days there is something called climate change taking place that has thrown all the rules out of the book.
I'm not defending incompetence, but when I source my own weather data all I learn is that there are no more absolutes or guarantees anymore.
As a legendary Edmonton meteorologist and TV personality once said, "Man proposes and Nature dispose."
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I believe climate change is real, but I don't think it can affect a forecast made less than two hours ago. They should at least be able to get that right.
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Stacks of wax wrote:
Hate to bring this to the table ... but no matter how good weather forecasters are these days there is something called climate change taking place that has thrown all the rules out of the book.
I'm not defending incompetence, but when I source my own weather data all I learn is that there are no more absolutes or guarantees anymore.
As a legendary Edmonton meteorologist and TV personality once said, "Man proposes and Nature dispose."
I totally agree climate change is a human-made problem. But weather has always been fickle and variable. We're looking at fronts that just don't move as quickly as expected, or move faster than expected, or a cloud that says 'f-you.' That's utterly normal. The forecasters are simply predicting based on info they have at any given time. What does make me laugh, though, is when 680 News opens up its "storm centre" or talks about its "storm team" as if it was a special wartime unit when I can't imagine it's more than their announcer reading from a printout or computer screen. But it sounds dramatic and catches one's attention. A few news outlets do much the same. Here's a challenge for RA: Market yourself to a station like 680 News. Volunteer if they won't pay you, though I think your dedication calls for decent compensation. Get inside the belly of the beast and give us the most perfect forecast you can.
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680 has several meteorologists, and I could never even hope to challenge them. The best is Carl Lam. But it's their job to get it right - at least for the upcoming day. That's all I'm asking. One accurate forecast for the next 24 hours. But it seems that's been that's too much to ask for. At least it has been this week.
Hopefully, they'll be correct about Thursday. They have to get it right eventually...
Last edited by RadioActive (August 21, 2024 10:00 pm)
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RadioActive wrote:
680 has several meteorologists, and I could never even hope to challenge them. The best is Carl Lam. But it's their job to get it right - at least for the upcoming day. That's all I'm asking. One accurate forecast for the next 24 hours. But it seems that's been that's too much to ask for. At least it has been this week.
Hopefully, they'll be correct about Thursday. They have to get it right eventually...
This whole thread has become a joke...
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paterson1 wrote:
This whole thread has become a joke...
It's not a joke when lives may depend on the information given. Broadcasting has to re-up their game and become responsible again.
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Stacks of wax wrote:
paterson1 wrote:
This whole thread has become a joke...
It's not a joke when lives may depend on the information given. Broadcasting has to re-up their game and become responsible again.
We haven't been talking about tornados, hail, winds that tear the roof of a building, loss of life. We have been talking about whether there was more cloud than sun today, about a brief rainshower that came down unexpected in a part of town. With everything that is happening in the world right now, to get wound up about today's weather in a part of Toronto that was not 100% accurate is a joke. Sorry...I calls 'em as I sees 'em...
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You're right of course. No one should expect accuracy form their local media. What was I thinking?
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paterson1 wrote:
Stacks of wax wrote:
paterson1 wrote:
This whole thread has become a joke...
It's not a joke when lives may depend on the information given. Broadcasting has to re-up their game and become responsible again.
We haven't been talking about tornados, hail, winds that tear the roof of a building, loss of life. We have been talking about whether there was more cloud than sun today, about a brief rainshower that came down unexpected in a part of town. With everything that is happening in the world right now, to get wound up about today's weather in a part of Toronto that was not 100% accurate is a joke. Sorry...I calls 'em as I sees 'em...
G-d forbid unexpected drops of rain hit the boy who lives in a bubble?
Last edited by Saul (August 22, 2024 8:09 am)
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I swear I didn't want to open this can of weather worms again, but this is just too outrageous.
On Saturday, the weather wizards on TV were gushing about how this was the week to have off - solid sunshine until at least Friday, with the return of summer temperatures and blue skies, after the wettest season in history.
And Monday? Well, depending on which station you listen to, we now have an expected thunderstorm on Tuesday and a chance of rain from Wednesday right through Friday.
That's 180 degrees and the exact opposite from what we were told less than 48 hours ago.
Man, I'm tired of this. Can't any of them get it right and stick with a forecast? What is the point of listening to these false prophets day after day after day? Can't anyone deliver a prediction that actually sticks longer than a few hours?
I have no doubt we'll get rained on. They almost never get it wrong when it's bad weather. Only the good stuff seems to fall through.
How do they get away with this every single day? I just want an accurate forecast. But it seems that's just too much to ask.
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"Today's weather report called off on account of bad weather."
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Or as they once said on the BBC classic sketch comedy "The Two Ronnies:"
"We'd like to show you the satellite picture, but we can't as it's obscured by clouds."
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One last post on this. I got a real kick out of Ben Mulroney on AM640 Sunday. He started his show by saying, 'they make me give you the weather. But the weather is always wrong! The forecast I gave you yesterday wasn't right and I'm not sure if today's will be, either!'
His message: if what you're told doesn't happen, don't blame me!
I knew there was a reason I liked this guy!