Unless you’re one of the lucky few eating ice-cream near the equator, chances are you’re caught in long spells of heavy rain and winds. And while you may check your AccuWeather or Weather Live app for the latest forecast to plan your day ahead, it might be wise to get a second opinion.
The Weather Channel app, which is supposed to provide the most accurate weather information wherever you are in real time, predicted up to 6 to 10 inches of snow, according to the Washington Post’s blog post. Yet hardly any snow fell.
Smartphone users in Washington said the forecast had diverged from official prediction from the National Weather Service and other TV outlets.
The blog is well worth a read not least because it explains potential drawbacks of automated weather apps.
"The forecast on many of your favourite smartphone weather apps is not created by a human being. Instead, it is generated by a computer. It does not harness the expertise of a local forecaster who understands a region’s weather peculiarities, has a wealth of historical knowledge and can correct for obvious computer errors," it said.
