More weather companies

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DT-NZ
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by DT-NZ »

Dale Small wrote:A few people here im sure know how to read a skew-t & plot a few variables to come up with a point of sale forecast
Great discussion (not to mention - good brain food) anyway, I personally do not know how to read a skew-t nor understand the dynamics involved that goes into plotting a FC ( yet ) - however, as I enjoy learning weather - I am going to teach myself the how to as I recognize the importance in it.

Dale Small wrote:As a suggestion, lets have a few people put there balls or bizzos on the line & pick a day within a reasonable timeframe for the models etc at your disposal & plot your own FC..
Don't know about the ball's biz and all that jazz :p however, I will give it a go, after learning and teaching myself to read a skew-t and have abit of confidence to do so _b (may take a couple of weeks or a month or two) but, I'll diffinately give it a go - too awesome!
Lightning in NZ
The right terminology lends a hint as to the nature of the different forms.
A Vertigo Quote.
Paul Mallinson
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by Paul Mallinson »

Myself wrote: ...
Is this all symptomatic of the internet era? We have available a wealth of free information, which is good! But also a barrage of nonsense! We are just overwhelmed, and the truth is that almost anyone can claim to be...

There is a quote I like -

If this is the information age, how come no one knows anything?
Interesting you say that about the Internet "Myself". I suspect you are right. I have just read a one page article by Lawrence M Krauss (theoretical physicist Arizona State University) called "War is Peace" on page 19 of the December issue of Scientific American.

In it he talks about "the increasingly blatant nature of the nonsense uttered with impunity in public discourse" being chilling. With regard to the Internet, he talks about how there is no traditional [BS] filtering. "Nonsense claims had more difficulty gaining traction in the days when print journalism held sway and newspaper editors had the final word on what made its way into homes and when television news consisted of a half hour summary of what a trained producer thought were the most essential stories of the day."

He goes on to say "Fair and ballanced, however doesn't mean putting all view-points, regardless of their underlying logic or validity, on an equal footing. Discerning the merits of competing claims is where the empirical basis of science should play a role. I cannot stress often enough that what science ia all about is not proving things to be true, but proving them to be false. What fails the test of empirical reality, as determined by observation and experiment, gets thrown out like yesterday's newspaper."

Some great comments there.

Paul
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by NZ Thunderstorm Soc »

James wrote:At the risk of becoming boring, I am just so pleased to have the Mahia radar up and running :wave:

I like the company of weather? :rolleyes: :crazy:

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cantygal
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by cantygal »

I agree to an extent with the concern about the media reporting of weather related events. Not so much about current happenings but more about global warming and theories etc etc. Research is important as well but I also believe it's important to feed the appropriate info to the masses in a down to earth manner but how could this be done?

I don't think I'm the only one about getting lost in all the weather jargon so is there a better way?

I've had a look at some NZ weather sites and like what I see but am I not getting it from the experts in their field? How do you define an expert anyway?
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by spwill »

I've had a look at some NZ weather sites and like what I see but am I not getting it from the experts in their field? How do you define an expert anyway?
Probably fair to say those who have managed to build a following ( very few) have earned it.
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by Myself »

When it comes to defining an "expert"- I'm not interested in a following but in credibility, credentials and something of a proven track record. The funny thing is that the best position in which to prove yourself is aviation forecasting, and how many of them are known to the public?
My point is that the real experts are behind the scenes.
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by NZstorm »

For me an expert is someone with local knowledge and experience. I'm not bothered whether they have formal training or not.
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by spwill »

I reckon I have seen plenty of poor weather forecasts over the years from Government funded Meteorologists :smile:

Myself wrote,
I'm not interested in a following but in credibility, credentials and something of a proven track record.
following is created by proven track record.
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by RWood »

And who assesses the track record? Many cranky and incompetent forecasters worldwide have good followings - their acolytes are like gambers who only remember their wins.
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by Michael »

Ones like Jim Hickey though he can be amusing,he often looses the plot and forgets/mixesup what hes talking about.Could be the delay in graphics to what he sees but who knows.
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by spwill »

And who assesses the track record? Many cranky and incompetent forecasters worldwide have good followings - their acolytes are like gambers who only remember their wins
Perhaps but there are good forecasters ( short term forecasts) who have a good following on the back of the good work they do, for most of the population its not hard to work out who the cranks are. :smile:
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by Paul Mallinson »

cantygal wrote:Appreciate all your input everybody.

...I think meteorologists are really important and no doubt about that regarding credentials etc
One thing I cant often understand is the way that they talk. It might be just me but I get lost in all the technical jargon and I don't think I'm the only one. If only they'd dumb it down for some of us mere mortals.
It does seem like an exclusive club and as you say 'scientific snobbery' but can they talk to us in laymans terms with a bit of enthusiasm? It can come across so technical and dry as if they are robotic.I'm lost after the first sentence sometimes!
I think other weather enthusiasts do that really well without perhaps the appropriate lettering after their name.
Cantygal, where do you hear these meteorologists talking all this technical jargon? You talk about it coming across so technical and dry and that you are lost after the first sentence! I can't think where you would hear this in NZ. I work with a bunch of these people and there are not very many of them in the country, and very few of them ever say anything much in public - perhaps a 15 second clip on a radio or TV news item???

Paul
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by Philip Duncan »

Understand the usual 'sky is falling' response from some folk in here... but you've got to remember - we don't create the demand for what we do. The general public do. And i don't believe the majority of people reading weatherwatch.co.nz are idiots. They, in fact, realise we mostly provide NEWS content which is based upon meteorological data supplied by a partnership with MetService and Weather.com. And we have a good and healthy relationship with MetService and very much so with NIWA also. I would say the majority of our readers realise we aren't meteorologists - and we never ever claim to be them either.

When a severe weather event occurs there is absolutely no secret that MetService is the 'official' weather warning providers for the NZ Govt - and for WeatherWatch. We fully support this and make no secrets of promoting MetService weather warnings. In fact, it's organisations such as ours that have brought more media attention to warnings than ever before. We are also the only media organisation, that I'm aware of, that broadcasts ALL severe thunderstorm warnings from MetService within minutes of them being issued - online and on-air (when applicable).

As I said, the public built the demand for WeatherWatch - not the other way around. Whether you agree with it or not (that's an entirely different arguement) it's the way the world is going. Just look at how much CNN has changed over the years. They now occasionally take their news from peoples twitter and facebook updates. We are in a new time and age.

As far as other weather companies - well the govt runs a monopoly which makes competition very hard. However I think WeatherWatch has found a popular niche with the news and public contribution areas. We are very responsible and our own internal Code of Conduct was approved by the news editor and general manager of the NewstalkZB brand - a very conservative side to our organistion.

This will be my only comment in this particular thread on this topic - but felt I should respond to some messages posted. Happy to discuss further in private messages.

Cheers all
Phil.
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Re: More weather companies

Unread post by cantygal »

Hi Paul

I suppose more of the comments were from yesteryear but still occasionally on National Radio and also a bit on TV. I just find it difficult to interpret when their talking about the upper air movements etc but also the monotone delivery however there is the other extreme, a comments spokesman from the MetService I believe. He often gives analogies and explains it in a way as if he is talking to young children and I think he has been around for years?
I know I am probably sounding fussy but I appreciate being able to talk about it.

Phil, I agree with you about technology and Twitter updates etc and although it's not information coming from the experts in their field, peoples opinions make it far more relatable.

I think that's what I am trying to get at (and not very well), a balance between experts and the man on the ground.
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