05-19-2008, 07:05 PM
Here in Tucson, the high temperature forecast is of increasing interest this time of year. I've been looking at my weather widget quite often and when I see a figure that's rather alarming (106º for Tuesday) I compare it to what the National Weather Service says. I find that "Accuweather" consistently adds 4º to whatever NWS says. In other words, it'll really be 102º on Tuesday. Right now, NWS indicates 94º with a heat index of 89º. "Accuweather" is saying 93º with a "RealFeel ™" (god how I hate marketing) of 103º which is complete BS.
So, I suppose the inflated and alarmist forecast numbers must be designed to increase the hit rate on the "Accuweather" web site. Could there be a better explanation?
I recall a few years ago that Rick Santorum wanted to prohibit the NWS from providing weather information directly to consumers in order to promote the free market, advertising-driven services like "Accuweather" and weather.com (which incidentally shows data much closer to reality). Thank god that didn't happen!
So, I suppose the inflated and alarmist forecast numbers must be designed to increase the hit rate on the "Accuweather" web site. Could there be a better explanation?
I recall a few years ago that Rick Santorum wanted to prohibit the NWS from providing weather information directly to consumers in order to promote the free market, advertising-driven services like "Accuweather" and weather.com (which incidentally shows data much closer to reality). Thank god that didn't happen!