Mr. Windcredible! Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Friend of mine posted the below article on Facebook. Apparently a Death Valley weather station was down for a few weeks. Accuweather thought instead of listing obs as missing or N/A, they'd just make them up. http://m.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jun/08/death-valley-weather-stats-were-fabricated/ Honestly I wouldn't have a problem with them estimating daily obs if they clearly denoted the stats were estimates. But just estimating obs and passing them off as official isn't right in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WxUSAF Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Shocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtticaFanatica Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 But, he said, the company gets just as many if not more complaints from readers when it lists “N/A” for a location. Well, isn't that just too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyewall Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 They are the fox news of Meteorology. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Smith Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I knew it -- that crippling nor'easter at Death Valley just seemed wrong to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Windcredible! Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Of course...the one incident by itself really isn't a huge deal...no body should be using stats out of a newspaper for any official purpose...but it just reinforces the pattern of questionable conduct by the business. It's all about maximizing profit...nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isohume Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Well...luckily Accuweather doesn't maintain the official climate record. Let 'em piss around all they want I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k*** Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I wonder if Jesse from accwx will respond to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k*** Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I wonder how badly accuwx would bash the NWS if they decided to fabricate weather data? How many press releases do you guys think we'd see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Back to AccuWx... Instead of listing N/A, or not available, for Death Valley, AccuWeather listed a ballpark figure, set arbitrarily as one degree below the state high.“We usually estimate to the best of our ability, unless told otherwise by our client,” said Jim Piro, a meteorologist with AccuWeather. “We knew Death Valley was probably the nation’s high or close to the high, but we didn’t have confirmation.” To many weather scientists and purists, guessing at the previous day’s temperature at a site is a huge no-no. Ivory Small, science officer at the National Weather Service’s office in Rancho Bernardo, said when the numbers are unknown or uncertain, an “M” for missing or “N/A” should be used. “Otherwise, you’re falsifying data,” he said. Heads should roll... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
free_man Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 AccuWalmart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlehurricane Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 This highlights a key problem with mixing the private sector with science. The private sector has one goal, and that's making money. Scientific integrity is a secondary concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isohume Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 This highlights a key problem with mixing the private sector with science. The private sector has one goal, and that's making money. Scientific integrity is a secondary concern. Yeah thats a given...but for some reason I highly doubt anyone doing a research paper or case study, etc looks to Accuwx for climate data. Just a guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Speaking of for profit weather service, I compare the HGX NWS forecasts informally against the TWC local on the 8s, and our local NWS forecasters who live in the area and specialize in our weather beat some guy or woman in a cubicle in Atlanta forecasting for several states easily. TWC is especially bad in nowcast situations. Our local non-met weather readers on the ABC affiliate pay for AccuWx, and they could hand wave in front of a green screen, parrot the AFD, and mimic the NWS forecast and save whatever money they send to State College. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBG Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Shocking. Not a great way of creating confidence in a business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtlehurricane Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Yeah thats a given...but for some reason I highly doubt anyone doing a research paper or case study, etc looks to Accuwx for climate data. Just a guess. It certainly wouldn't pass peer review anyways! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isohume Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 This. Anyway, I doubt too many are truly shocked at this story. True...they've faked hurricane tracks for years. Why should this be big news? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAwxman Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 True...they've faked hurricane tracks for years. Why should this be big news? Ya it's pretty crappy, but more or less par for the course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 This highlights a key problem with mixing the private sector with science. The private sector has one goal, and that's making money. Scientific integrity is a secondary concern. competition is good for everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 BTW, thanks to the magic of capitalism, especially with their big star gone, things like this will just accelerate AccuWx's slide into irrelevancy, anyway. Maybe even eventual bankruptcy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I actually think marinara sauce is better with fresh tomatoes, not canned. You? Never made it that way. See, this is why its good, actually, I can't do AP. Decent people like you and Bozart, we'd just wind up disliking each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yhbrooklyn Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 No more politics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 No more politics. 100% agree. I should have let my AccuWx subscription lapse when I renewed it half a year ago, but 6 hour Euro data (even forecast skew-Ts) for a whole plethora of stuff, well, it was kind of cool during the winter. And JB was less weather and more global warming rants the last year or so. I almost stopped watching him completely before he left. When he used to talk teleconnections, indices, good stuff. BTW, JB could generally spot potential tropical trouble a week or more away, but his short range forecasting (Rita comes to mind) leaves something to be desired. And Henry M. has the charisma of a geranium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Back on topic, charging for obs not taken is fraud, and AccuWx should refund whatever they were charging during the period, minimum. That would seem to be potentially criminal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 That would seem to be potentially criminal. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master of Disaster Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 They are the fox news of Meteorology. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Thats a compliment actually. Lets go with CNN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcalvert Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 No more politics. Thank you. The object of debate is to support a viewpoint with sufficient proof, but when dealing with political viewpoints, there typically isn't such a thing as "sufficient" proof because the views are subjective and deeply personal. Nothing is ever gained, but much is usually lost.in a political debate. Intelligent people debating politics is like playing Angry Birds on a Cray: it's a horrible misuse of valuable resources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isohume Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Back on topic, charging for obs not taken is fraud, and AccuWx should refund whatever they were charging during the period, minimum. That would seem to be potentially criminal. People pay for that? I'm in the wrong business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Lizard Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 People pay for that? I'm in the wrong business. I cheerfully pay income taxes for the NWS, cruise missiles, and the Veteran's Administration. Besides, doesn't ASOS do most of the work for you now anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isohume Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I cheerfully pay income taxes for the NWS, cruise missiles, and the Veteran's Administration. Besides, doesn't ASOS do most of the work for you now anyway. No I meant extra. People pay extra out of their free money (non-taxed, un-billed money) for that? The FAA does all the work for us now, btw. Well, except the constant maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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