People often ask what it means to see 'chances for rain' on a forecast — meteorologist Cory Reppenhagen explains.
DENVER — Thunderstorms look impressive and massive to someone experiencing them, but on a forecasting scale, they are too small to predict the exact location where they will form.
But the ingredients in the atmosphere on a given day do allow meteorologists to give an accurate probability. They call it the POP – Probability of Precipitation. It’s the probability that measurable rain, which is at least 0.01 inch, will fall at one location.for precipitation, or POP, in Denver. That doesn’t mean there’s a 30% chance that it will rain. It basically means there’s a 30% chance that the rain that falls will fall on you.
It also translates to a coverage area. There was a 30% chance for rain on Tuesday over an area that covered most of the Denver metro. Well, 30% of that area was likely to get measurable rain. Confidence in rainfall can reduce the POP. For example, the rain on the northern Front Range was also forecast to cover about 30% of the area, but the confidence in storms forming was lower, at just 70%. So that reduces the POP to 21% there.So, in cases where there was just a 10% chance for rain, and you got rained on, it doesn’t always mean the probability was inaccurate. It might mean that you were in the 10% area that got rain, or in other words, you beat some great odds.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
FORECAST: Another Summer Like Day; Isolated T-ShowerMark Johnson has been News 5's Chief Meteorologist since 2003.
Read more »
FORECAST: Warm & Breezy with Isolated T'ShowerMark Johnson has been News 5's Chief Meteorologist since 2003.
Read more »
At least 224 people, 153 pets rescued in Texas floods with more rain in the forecastAt least 224 people have been rescued from homes and vehicles in Harris County, Texas, an official said Saturday night.
Read more »
At least 224 people, 153 pets rescued in Texas floods with more rain in the forecastAs rivers swell across South Texas, leaving homes and businesses flooded and thousands of people displaced, residents are looking skyward Sunday as the threat of more rain looms.
Read more »
Flood Watch issued for San Antonio and surrounding areasWith more rain in the forecast, SAFD is urging people to plan ahead.
Read more »
Floods in southern Brazil kill at least 75 people over 7 days, with 103 people missingHurricane season is less than a month away.
Read more »