Il-3: the weatherman is not a moron

the weatherman is not a moron

Part I The Weatherman Is Not a Moron

Read the following New York Times article “The Weatherman Is Not a Moron”:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/magazine/the-weatherman-is-not-a-moron.html?pagewanted=all (Links to an external site.)

or

TheWeathermanIsNotaMoron_NYTimes.pdf

Actions

Answer the following questions with 3-4 sentences each, and submit on canvas:

1. Why do you think we are able to predict weather better than other things like economics, politics, or sports?

2. We are now in an era of “big data.” What does this mean and how does it help us forecast the weather?

3. How has weather prediction changed from the 19th to the 20th to the 21st century?

4. Why is the predictability of weather limited? (It is impossible to ever be able to perfectly predict the weather.)

5. What are some of the challenges of dispensing weather forecasts to the general public?

Part II Forecasting Methods

Take a look at this page that reviews some of the different forecasting methods for weather:

http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfjps/1400/forecasting.html (Links to an external site.)

Answer the following questions:

6. Which method do you think results in the most accurate forecast and WHY?

7. Do you think it is harder to forecast the weather in Utah than it is in southern California? Why or why not?

Take a look at this page that shows NWP information from the North American Mesoscale (NAM) model:

http://weather.utah.edu/ (Links to an external site.)

8. Describe two (2) reasons you think that it is hard to use a model like the NAM if you do not have extensive training in meteorology.