I understand that weather on TV can’t be hyperlocally accurate. But a weather app on my phone has my exact GPS coordinates. Why can’t it tell me exactly when a rain cloud will be passing over my location?

It’s gotten to the point where I just use precipitation maps to figure out my rain chances for the day.

The hourly forecast is mostly useless because it’s not a chance % but a % of the area that will be raining.

  • @KellyEnglish
    1•1 month ago

    Not really. Using % of forecast area as % chance of rain inherently gives equal weight to your position being anywhere within that area.

    Yes, unless your location is a statistical outlier the two are the same.

    If you happen to know you are on the lee side of a mountain that might change thinks but for most people they are one and the same.

    In Australia BOM’s Australian Digital Forecast Database uses a 3x3 KM grid for Victoria and Tasmania or a 6x6 KM grid for the rest of the country.

    I’m in a 6x6 area but thats fine for daily forcasts.They also offer forecasts for 3 hour windows for the next 72 hours which is great for medium term planning but to be honest its the rain radar that I use the most. They offer a rain radar that has a 90 minute history and a 90 minute forecast that has sufficient resolution that I can time my breaks at work to stay dry.