How do you rate weather services?

[Rich in Annapolis]

There are frequent comments on the abilities of weather services to provide useful advice. National Weather Service, under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is one service. There are other, commercial ones, which a web search can discover.How do you rate the utility of these services? Please remember that honest, thoughtful responses are the best ones.

 

[Peter]

noaa mainly

Accuweather supplies the weather info for the Mac weather widget, so they get the nod for convenience. But I rely on noaa for the detailed forecast and marine weather. Occasionally I'll check weather.com for corroboration, 10-day forecast, and an hourly forecast. I keep the following link as a bookmark, too, and draw my own conclusions. No one hits the mark exactly always, so it's more important to use multiple sources and make your own forecast when it really counts, or at least have an idea of what has a reasonable chance of occurring.

 

[Ross]

They are all first rate for the next 24 hours

NOAA is very good for 3 days and it is rare that any can get it right for a week.

 

[Scott B]

who's the best guesser

In our business, we are always aware of the weather. I only rely on what the forecast is saying for the current day. Even at that we constantly moniter the radar sites for any changes or precipitation pop-ups. Any long range forecasting will change, even to the next day. I've gone to bed with sunshine forecast, to wake up to rain.Up here we rely on two web sites for forecasting, Environement Canada and the Weather Network. We also rely on the radar information from Envorinment Canada and Intellicast for the US as most of our weather comes from Michigan and further west.

 

[Warren Milberg]

I just love...

...all the wx info/data that is available to anyone with a click of the mouse. I've become my own weather forecaster. I start by looking at what the pro's say at NOAA, NWS, and the local weather pages that cover the Chesapeake. I then go to the radar and satellite maps to see what is headed my way. I mostly get it right for the short term. Contrast this with the pre-computer/pre-internet ages (1990's and earlier) when all you had to go on was what you heard on the radio now and then....

 

[Scott B]

internet on the boat

Just wait until my wife finds out I want to hook up internet reception for the boat in the middle of the lake. That should be easy

 

[Ross]

The only time that I find the weather forecasts

very important is when I have to tear a roof off for reshingling, and when there is a hurricane threatening. The rest of the time I can waste more time waiting for bad weather than I ever loose because of it. I will admit that we had planned to sp[lash this Monday past but on Friday rescheduled for today. That was a good call.

 

[Sanders]

Multiple sources

I agree with Peter and others about multiple sources.I use NOAA and NWS as a way to get three day or even longer term for general info. Anything more than 3 days is always subject to change, and even that needs spot checking.Short-term forecast seems to be more reliable from any nearby source of Doppler Radar, particularly those with a loop that shows where the weather is moving and how fast. That comes from a wide range of sources, even including local TV web sites.One other site I use (not mentioned above) is weather underground. Much better than AccuWeather which I find to be less reliable.

 

[camaraderie]

For Southbound to the Caribe/Bahamas...

Southbound on the East Coast and throughout the Caribbean, I've found Chris Parker's forecasts to be the most accurate. He has many daily listeners on the SSB but his paid services specific to your boat and plans are very worthwhile IMHO. See his broadcast schedule and services at www.caribwx.com

 

[Scott B]

Ross

that is exactly what we do every day all year long. We are a commercial and residential roofing contractor. People tend to get upset if you let water into their building.

 

[BBC16385]

Intellecast is great

I use the link below for the national picture. Click on it and it zoooms in. I make my own forcast from what I see. But other links on this one will take you to any kind of forecast you want.