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Posted (edited)

Not totally buying it. The issue wasn't cloud cover but the atmospheric forces that led to pushing the clouds to the east faster than expected. Not predictable?

Don's explanation shows how cagey these guys and gals are. It sounds like a plausible excuse, then you realize every forecast has cloud cover as one of the primary elements. Clouds, temperature, precip, maybe wind. They forecast cloud cover all the time for specific areas, and they act like they can foresee it many days in advance.

NWS Buffalo says for Buffalo:

Monday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.

Thickness of cloud coverage at a specific time? Sure. 

Most people just wanted to know where their best chance of seeing the sun would be. Even the morning of... There was little guidance.

Edited by PASabreFan
Posted
18 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Not totally buying it.

Partially buying it though? I'll take that as a win.

18 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

The issue wasn't cloud cover

Sure it was.

19 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

but the atmospheric forces that led to pushing the clouds to the east faster than expected. Not predictable?

Apparently not with any real reliability.

20 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

then you realize every forecast has cloud cover as one of the primary elements. Clouds, temperature, precip, maybe wind. They forecast cloud cover all the time for specific areas, and they act like they can foresee it many days in advance.

NWS Buffalo says for Buffalo:

Monday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 44.

What is "partly cloudy" communicating there? I don't quite know. I think it's giving a general sense of things. But nothing specific. Certainly nothing so specific as "so, will I have a clear view of the sun from 2:30 - 3:15 pm on the forecast day in question?"

I think there are a lot of entrenched misunderstandings of what meteorological terminology means in layperson's terms. and in practical effect. For example: "30% chance of precipitation" is not meant to say that there's a 30% chance of rain  for you personally as you're out and about during your day today in your portion of the forecast area. Rather, it means that there's a 100% chance of rain for 30% of the forecast area.

Da fuq?! I can repeat that to myself a dozen times, and it still doesn't make sense. I end up feeling like I'm in that room of mirrors made famous by the Albright Knox (AKG) Art Gallery.

So now I think I've come around to agreeing with your original premise - maybe coming at it from a different angle.

Angry Season 3 GIF by The Office

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