> From the WeatherWatch archives
We’re keen to know what you think of New Zealand’s national weather forecasts.
Cast your vote below and grade how well you think the NZ government does. And please, post a comment too!
Before you add a new comment, take note this story was published on 16 Sep 2009.
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Guest on 19/09/2009 8:31am
Accuracy can never be assumed when predicting the future. The best we can do is have an educated guess based on historical trends. However, living in both Auckland and Wellington, one trend is undeniable: the forecasts for Auckland are always pessimistic, while the forecasts for Wellington are, to say the least, optimistic. Wellington has some gorgeous days, but when they don’t, the forecast is rosier than it ever gets. Auckland, on the other hand, never really gets too far one way or the other. But if I believed the dire forecasts instead of looking out the window, I’d never leave the house.
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Guest on 17/09/2009 6:44am
ive given them a C still plently to work on i feel , when i was doing ski patrol at Whakapapa one day the forecast said snow down to 600mtres all day . well i never saw a cloud in the sky the whole day, ended up ringing them MS because it was a beautiful clear day all day with no wind . an told them they need to change there forecast which i noticed there forecast had changed 30mins later . I felt the mountain forecast needs to be updated more regularly especially during the winter ski season . Peoples safety is always our number 1 priority .
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Guest on 17/09/2009 4:20am
Often too generalised for my location or the MetService fails to distinguish between Taranaki and Mt Taranaki. They aren’t the same! If it rains on the mountain it does not equate with flood worries on the lowlands.
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Andrew on 16/09/2009 9:16am
Well I gave our Forcasts a B!
Its getting better but still people arn’t 100% Confident in the weather Forcasts around New Zealand……
Andrew
This website has made it hugely better. You guys are great….
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Joe on 16/09/2009 4:28am
The high temperatures in Auckland seem to be forecast very consistently at around 2 degrees lower than how it eventually turns out during the day.. any reason for this? E.g: there have been plenty of days this month forecast at 16 when it turns out 18 – petty but it happens nearly every day !!!
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WW Forecast Team on 16/09/2009 4:48am
Hi Joe – thanks for your comments – are your talking the forecasts we have for Auckland here at WW or do you mean by other forecasters, such as MetService?
Regards
WeatherWatch Team
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Guest on 17/09/2009 12:24am
not here of course! I mean “formal” weather info: tv forecasts, newspapers etc (MetService sourced )
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Dave on 16/09/2009 1:58am
As fishermen we are always very closely watching the weather sometimes a long way out. We have found Metservice tend to be behind others in advising of upcoming weather and seem to change to fall in line when the event gets close. They also tend to overforecast events most of the time. I do realise NZ is a difficult place to forecast but surely with today’s technology it should be fairly accurate. Cheers Dave
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