Discrepancies in Weather Models

With conflicting weather models showing very different trajectories for Hurricane Joaquin last week, many people were understandably confused. Knowing the European model is typically more accurate, I assumed the storm would go out to sea. In the meantime, business was slow as many people stayed home. Although indirect affects of the hurricane did reach shores and mixed with a nor'easter to produce historic flooding in some areas, the European model still proved correct. So why is the European model better than ours? It all comes down to investment.

If anything, you would think the United States with all its hurricanes and tornadoes would have the best system. The U.S. does upgrade its hardware from time to time to ensure it has the necessary computing power but there is much more to producing accurate weather forecasts than supercomputers. Europe spends more on the logistical end driving its models and the role of software engineers is thus paramount to a reliable forecast. Nevertheless, as with the LCH (Large Hadron Collider), Europe invested well in science and America has a way still to catch up.

When asked about the discrepancy in weather models and which is superior, I was surprised to see a local news source actually downplay somewhat Europe's model. Are we so egotistical that we cannot accept the possibility that Europe is clearly ahead in certain regards? I'm as patriotic as the next person but the reality is we are not making the investment in science that we should and the human cost we pay could very easily make the difference in life or death for those who choose to follow the wrong model.

See Also:

Discover more human interest articles on home, business, science, technology, health, humor, etc. at http://roberthaskell.blogspot.com/.