View Full Version : #$%^&@ weather radar!
BumbleBeeDave
10-09-2009, 05:27 PM
I checked the Intellicast weather radar this afternoon before going out for a ride. I've only been out twice this week before today and really wanted to get some miles in. According to the "interactive radar report" there was no rain anywhere nearby. It's been cloudy all day, but I look out the window, the pavement is dry, and based on the radar, away I go.
Within 4 miles it starts misting, and this develops quickly into what I call a "Northern California" type storm--heavier than mist but lighter than real rain. Of course, this just gets heavier and after 30 miles I pull into my driveway totally soaked and with one of my nice bikes needing a total cleanup.
#$%^&@ weather radar! I look at the radar again now and it's STILL "clear" according to Intellicast.
Do all these different services use the same radar feed from National Weather Service? Or is there one that you've found to be more reliable? I don't mind riding in the rain--as long as I know it's going to rain and I can take the messy rain bike.
BBD
gemship
10-09-2009, 05:41 PM
but don't you feel better after going for that ride? Don't feel so bad I only got a couple of rides in this week to. Mostly because I procrastinate although there were at least a couple of days where I had was tied down to my mother's property babysitting workers and assisting them at times to make sure they did the job right, beautiful fall days... I had every intention on going for a ride and daylight came and went. I don't understand it I'm unemployed, single,no children or girlfriend and I still seem to waste precious riding time.
Charles M
10-09-2009, 05:45 PM
OK BBD...
I gotta say it.
First clouds roll in, then... It rayns. (I'm speaking from what I read, as Arizona residents dont get to preach on rayn generally :D
Did you check the forcast? ;)
gemship
10-09-2009, 05:53 PM
I checked the Intellicast weather radar this afternoon before going out for a ride. I've only been out twice this week before today and really wanted to get some miles in. According to the "interactive radar report" there was no rain anywhere nearby. It's been cloudy all day, but I look out the window, the pavement is dry, and based on the radar, away I go.
Within 4 miles it starts misting, and this develops quickly into what I call a "Northern California" type storm--heavier than mist but lighter than real rain. Of course, this just gets heavier and after 30 miles I pull into my driveway totally soaked and with one of my nice bikes needing a total cleanup.
#$%^&@ weather radar! I look at the radar again now and it's STILL "clear" according to Intellicast.
Do all these different services use the same radar feed from National Weather Service? Or is there one that you've found to be more reliable? I don't mind riding in the rain--as long as I know it's going to rain and I can take the messy rain bike.
BBD
oh and by the way I learned a long time ago in terms of weather predicting accuracy nothing beats the local t.v. news station's daily weather forecast. Internet weather forecast just doesn't seem to be quite as good.
BumbleBeeDave
10-09-2009, 05:54 PM
What's that? ;) :p
C'mon, Charles, don't spoil my rant. I need to vent! :beer:
BBD
OK BBD...
I gotta say it.
First clouds roll in, then... It rayns. (I'm speaking from what I read, as Arizona residents dont get to preach on rayn generally :D
Did you check the forcast? ;)
Ken Robb
10-09-2009, 05:58 PM
it sounds like MAYBE the rain and clouds were not dense enough to show on the radar?
MattTuck
10-09-2009, 06:32 PM
redacted.
gemship
10-09-2009, 06:40 PM
Sounds like you need to take that hitler clip with subtitles and do your own version about weather forecasting using radar!
Wasn't there a thread closed with that clip in it due to being construed as somewhat racially incorrect?
BumbleBeeDave
10-09-2009, 06:47 PM
Wasn't there a thread closed with that clip in it due to being construed as somewhat racially incorrect?
. . . indeed an earlier thread about the Hitler clip. I don't remember whether it got locked or not. There are a number of various re-dubs of that clip on YouTube dealing with a variety of subjects. Personally I find none of them--or anything else connected with Hitler--to be in the least amusing. It has to do with a little detail called The Holocaust . . .
"Never Forget."
BBD
CNY rider
10-09-2009, 07:11 PM
Something was definitely funny with that radar.
I checked the forecast this morning, saw it was likely to shower this afternoon but decided to ride to work anyway since it was dry when it was time for me to go. Brought my raincoat.
Looked at the radar mid-afternoon, saw nothing, didn't get a chance to look outside but figured the forecasted showers were holding off and I would ride home dry.
Saw the rains start 20 minutes later, again checked the radar: Zip!
Rode home in a steady light rain.
Still beats driving. :banana:
BumbleBeeDave
10-09-2009, 07:56 PM
. . . before I got out. I've learned through experience that the green on the map can mean it's actually raining on the ground, or it's just really cloudy--perhaps rainfall that is not reaching the ground? But if the map is clear then there's no precip--even if it IS cloudy outside. Today that experience failed me. The map was definitely clear in our area--no green whatsoever. I mean, I still had a good ride and a good workout. It was just annoying.
BBD
Dave,
Your problem is that you're checking the radar BEFORE you go out. What you need is a blackberry or iPhone or something so you can check it during your ride and find out in real time that it's not raining all over your head and bike. You just need more up to date technology!
Half-seriously, I find the moving radar maps to be a big help more than 90% of the time. Occasionally they screw up like in this case, but they're usually pretty good in my experience.
-Ray
thwart
10-11-2009, 09:31 AM
Well, yesterday we rode thru snow flurries the entire time...
Didn't check the radar.
But... the thermometer said 35 degrees. Isn't that above freezing? What's up with that? :D
ericspin
10-11-2009, 09:37 AM
BBD, check out your local NOAA feed. I live in FL where we watch the radar very close and I am also a contractor so I live and die by the weather. NOAA is always my first choice and I believe their predicting skills are better than most.
BumbleBeeDave
10-11-2009, 09:44 AM
BBD, check out your local NOAA feed. I live in FL where we watch the radar very close and I am also a contractor so I live and die by the weather. NOAA is always my first choice and I believe their predicting skills are better than most.
. . . but what I'm really trying to find out here is whether there is more than one radar system that supplies a feed to all these different internet weather sites. I know some of these sites have simple maps, others have moving maps, and still others have fancy "interactive" maps that integrate the clouds, the rain, the snow, and which way the migrating geese are flying. But if there's only one feed for the original radar scan and they all use the same basic feed, then it really doesn't matter which one I look at.
BBD
But if there's only one feed for the original radar scan and they all use the same basic feed, then it really doesn't matter which one I look at.
BBDWouldn't it make a difference if each end user can change the sensitivity? I don't have an answer to your question as to whether they rely on a single source for data or not, but recall a weather man during a TV broadcast changing/revising the settings/calibration to remove what he called false echoes.
BTW, this morning the radar was completely clear and showed no rain while it was actually raining hard. And it was like that all morning. :confused:
Dave.
As someone who also lives in upstate NY, and also uses Intellicast and other radar sites for information about when to bike, ski, hike, walk dogs, etc., I feel your pain. My understanding is that the weather radar will often NOT pick up the kind of very low rain clouds often produced by lake effect winds. These are not normal rain (or snow) clouds. I think it's more like being in the kind of mist/drizzle one more usually experiences on the tops of mountains. So it's not the fault of the particular weather forecaster/reporter, but of the kind of rain it is. Still, one wishes they were able to get that stuff on their radars!
67-59
10-11-2009, 08:46 PM
BBD, check out your local NOAA feed. I live in FL where we watch the radar very close and I am also a contractor so I live and die by the weather. NOAA is always my first choice and I believe their predicting skills are better than most.
+1
A few times, I went out riding when the weather.com radar was clear and the forecast called for 0-10% chance of precipitation...and within minutes was in a heavy shower. I got home, checked the loop (which shows past precip), and still saw no sign of any recent rain.
Then one time I looked at the recent radar loop from NOAA, and it showed the rain.
Same time, same place...and NOAA would've allowed me to see the rain coming, whereas the weather.com radar showed nada.
I have since removed weather.com from my bookmark toolbar....
Albany NWS, accept no substitutes. Read the 'Forecast Discussion' and learn how to apply it to your own experience.
Around here the NWS forecasters can, 24 hours out, predict the significant weather within 60 minutes of when it'll happen.
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.