How did we get so good at predicting the weather?
When a storm rolls through your area, odds are you’ll have days of warning and hour-by-hour information about what to expect. That accuracy is thanks to a global data network that turns real-time measurements into forecasts that can stretch weeks. But it wasn’t always this way.
Clare tells Teo how weather went from a guessing game to a precise science, saving lives in the process.
Have a question about how our world works? Want to know more about weather forecasting? Email the Control F team at controlf@kuow.org
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Sources in this episode:
Sponsored
- Archival copies of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on October 12 and October 13, 1962
- Why an ‘exact date’ weather forecast headline isn’t what it seems, Met Office of the United Kingdom, 2023
- How Reliable Are Weather Forecasts?, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Operational Weather Forecasting, Peter Michael Inness and Steve Dorling, 2013
- A Deadly Wind: The 1962 Columbus Day Storm, John Dodge, 2018
- Interview with Reid Wolcott, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service, Seattle
- Interview with Ted Buehner (a.k.a. Tornado Ted), meteorologist at the National Weather Service (retired)
- Interview with Cliff Mass, meteorologist and forecasting researcher at the University of Washington
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Clare McGrane
Senior Producer
Clare is the senior producer for Seattle Eats with Tan Vinh, a food podcast from KUOW and the Seattle Times. She shapes the show from story selection to sound mixing, and works with the host and editors to bring a diverse set of guests on mic and engage with the show's audience.
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Teo Popescu
Design, Graphics, and Data Editor
Teo is the KUOW newsroom's design, graphics, and data editor. She manages all data visualizations, graphics, illustrations, and news video projects for kuow.org and Instagram. She also leads design and development for KUOW’s interactive enterprise graphic projects. She specializes in visualizing complex bureaucratic processes and budgets.
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