MetService Website (2011)

[Richard]

But would Kimbell would get more wind been closer to the Burkes Pass,keeping it warmer than Fairlie ??

[snowstormwatcher]

Yes I agree Kimbell does get more wind than Fairlie not a lot more though,even Burkes pass Township doesnt get that much wind its not untill you get to the Tekapo side of the pass that the wind gets up. There has been lots of times were it has been frosty all the way to Burkes pass then as soon as you get over the pass there is a wind and no frost. I think The only reason Fairlie is slightly colder than kimbell is it sits at the bottom of a basin.

The main reason I think that metservices temperatures are incorrect Is I was working out at Kimbell last week and there was good frost there, The ground was white, Taps inside a shed were frozen solid, Yet metservice had the low as -0.6 degrees,It was defenitly colder than that. I recorded -3.5 here in Fairlie.

[Richard]

yer,that doesn't sound right.

Other MS recording stations that are not showing rainfall are Roxburgh, Kaikoura Airport,Ohakea,Napier,Cape Kidnappers,Cape Turnagain,Tolaga Bay,Galatea,New Plymouth City,Wanganui City,Taupo,Golden Valley,Whenuapai,Ardmore Aerodrome,Kaitaia Hospital,Bay Of Islands

Dont know why they even have Kaitaia Airport,Tutukaka Harbour and Okahu Island on the website when they don't appear to have ever worked Historically.

[Manukau heads obs]

some of those stations will be "nowcast" stations
i.e windspeed/direction only

[Richard]

yes i could understand why for the likes of Kaikoura Airport,Ardmore Aerodrome

[Manukau heads obs]

Tutakaka is a nowcast station too..will be others in your list above that are as well I suspect

[03Stormchaser]

Hi 9 : Low 9
Actual temp 5.1

met.jpg

[Richard]

Hi 9 : Low 9
Actual temp 5.1

met.jpg

oh dear

[Flutterbye]

I read an article on the Metservice site, (which I can't find now, damnit), where it said, "Metservice have no input into forecast temperatures"

[Manukau heads obs]

that means that they do not monitor the computer generated forecast
but they should be at least checking it and tweaking it if its obviously wrong?

[Nev]

I read an article on the Metservice site, (which I can't find now, damnit), where it said, "Metservice have no input into forecast temperatures"

That would be hearsay, rather than an actual quote (by definition, quotes need to be substantiated with an accompanying reference).

Yes, what you probably mean is, MetService's web-forecasts are automatically generated by MetService's computer weather modelling system and have no input by MetService staff, i.e. they are not moderated by MetService's forecast team and may differ from those described in worded forecasts.

Here's just a few excerpts from the 'article' that you may be referring to...

'Verification of Maximum and Minimum Temperature in City Forecasts' - MetService Blog

Temperature forecasting is generally most difficult over the east of the South Island

It is much harder to forecast the minimum temperature than it is to forecast the maximum temperature.

MetService’s performance target for the forecast of maximum and minimum temperature in city forecasts is maximum temperature within 2° C and minimum temperature within 4° C 77% of the time for the 2010/11 financial year and 80% of the time for the 2011/12 financial year.

See also:
'Verification of Rainfall in City Forecasts'
'Verification of Severe 'Weather Warnings'

[Richard]

yer,that doesn't sound right.

Other MS recording stations that are not showing rainfall are Roxburgh, Kaikoura Airport,Ohakea,Napier,Cape Kidnappers,Cape Turnagain,Tolaga Bay,Galatea,New Plymouth City,Wanganui City,Taupo,Golden Valley,Whenuapai,Ardmore Aerodrome,Kaitaia Hospital,Bay Of Islands

Dont know why they even have Kaitaia Airport,Tutukaka Harbour and Okahu Island on the website when they don't appear to have ever worked Historically.

Ive had a reply back from MS, looks like they have been having a few problems with there recording gear-

We are having issues with rainfall measurements from the equipment type at Culverden and we’ve stopped processing rainfall data from all stations using these systems until the problems are resolved.
This is a high priority for my team, and as well as putting pressure on the manufacturer to resolve it we are looking at solutions we might be able to implement ourselves. However, at this stage I don’t have resolution date.

[Tim S]

Anyone know why MS aren't releasing forecast synoptic charts anymore? Seems too an important part of weather forecasting and information to leave out if they have decided to discontinue them.

[03Stormchaser]

yer,that doesn't sound right.

Other MS recording stations that are not showing rainfall are Roxburgh, Kaikoura Airport,Ohakea,Napier,Cape Kidnappers,Cape Turnagain,Tolaga Bay,Galatea,New Plymouth City,Wanganui City,Taupo,Golden Valley,Whenuapai,Ardmore Aerodrome,Kaitaia Hospital,Bay Of Islands

Dont know why they even have Kaitaia Airport,Tutukaka Harbour and Okahu Island on the website when they don't appear to have ever worked Historically.

Ive had a reply back from MS, looks like they have been having a few problems with there recording gear-

We are having issues with rainfall measurements from the equipment type at Culverden and we’ve stopped processing rainfall data from all stations using these systems until the problems are resolved.
This is a high priority for my team, and as well as putting pressure on the manufacturer to resolve it we are looking at solutions we might be able to implement ourselves. However, at this stage I don’t have resolution date.

Good to hear your getting good informative replies from MS Richard.

[tgsnoopy]

Good to hear your getting good informative replies from MS Richard.

Unfortunate it's taking so long to resolve. Lets hope they are able to resolve it soon and they can recover the data.

[Michael]

Metservice seems to be down now,the 1200 icons have red Xs on them so the rain forecasts.

[Richard]

Metservice seems to be down now,the 1200 icons have red Xs on them so the rain forecasts.

All working ok for me mind you i couldn't log on here for the last 24 hours

[Flutterbye]

I read an article on the Metservice site, (which I can't find now, damnit), where it said, "Metservice have no input into forecast temperatures"

That would be hearsay, rather than an actual quote (by definition, quotes need to be substantiated with an accompanying reference).

Yes, what you probably mean is, MetService's web-forecasts are automatically generated by MetService's computer weather modelling system and have no input by MetService staff, i.e. they are not moderated by MetService's forecast team and may differ from those described in worded forecasts.

Here's just a few excerpts from the 'article' that you may be referring to...

'Verification of Maximum and Minimum Temperature in City Forecasts' - MetService Blog

Temperature forecasting is generally most difficult over the east of the South Island

It is much harder to forecast the minimum temperature than it is to forecast the maximum temperature.

MetService’s performance target for the forecast of maximum and minimum temperature in city forecasts is maximum temperature within 2° C and minimum temperature within 4° C 77% of the time for the 2010/11 financial year and 80% of the time for the 2011/12 financial year.

See also:
'Verification of Rainfall in City Forecasts'
'Verification of Severe 'Weather Warnings'

I apologise. I tried to find it but it was late and I was tired.

I realised that someone wasn't checking the computer guesses when one day, it was 23 in Invercargill late morning and the expected high was dropped to 19, lol.

[Nev]

Apparently Levin got down to -29.7C yesterday arvo! ... lol

[Richard]

Someone having a bonfire maybe

[bmo]

I bet its the start of a new ice age. Better be prepared for tonight's frost if i lived in Levin.

[Willoughby]

What happened to the maps of NZ that showed recent rainfall, winds every 3 hours and temperatures?

Did it get dumped in their 'upgrade'?

Anyone know why MS aren't releasing forecast synoptic charts anymore? Seems too an important part of weather forecasting and information to leave out if they have decided to discontinue them.

As far as I can see they're here: http://metservice.com/national/maps-rai ... colour-18h

[Nev]

What happened to the maps of NZ that showed recent rainfall, winds every 3 hours and temperatures?

Did it get dumped in their 'upgrade'?

Yeah, they did dump it. Which is a real shame, as I reckon being able to see relatively current conditions for the nation at a glance was one the best features of the old web-site.

MetVUW still have something similar for temp/RH and wind (no longer for rainfall though), but it's not quite as detailed and there's a considerable lag between updates.

Re the synoptic charts, it looks like they may have fixed the problem, i.e. apart from the latest map, future maps were coming up as 'data unavailable'.

[Tornado Tim]

Looks like they are having graphics problems too, LOL

[CHCH Weather Chaser]

Typical, the Coronet Peak Live Streaming Cam isnt loading this morning (when it is really coming down with snow )