How Scientists Are Predicting the Path of Hurricane Irene–And Why We’re Better At It Than Ever Before
[Via 80beats]
The Eastern Seaboard is warily watching the progress of Hurricane Irene, wondering what course the storm will take and just how ferocious it will be. Predicting the path of a hurricane still involves some guesswork—but thanks to rapidly improving computer models and data-gathering abilities, Tekla Perry reports in IEEE Spectrum, scientists are able to make more accurate forecasts farther in advance than they were even five or ten years ago. In fact, the predicted track of a hurricane over the next 48 hours today is as accurate as a prediction for the next 24 hours was 10 years ago—a day that can make a big difference for people deciding whether to evacuate and how to prepare before the storm. Boosts in computing power mean scientists can run more, faster, and more detailed simulations of the storm, and technologies like Dopper radar provide detailed data on wind speed, air pressure, and temperature as storms progress.
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This is a key point to know – that 2 day predictions of a hurricanes track are as accurate as 1 day predictions were 10 years ago.
Remember this in the coming days when you hear about how we should get rid of the National Weather Service.
A Man With A Ph.D. 