01 December 2005

Weather office wonderments

Pressure for the relocation of the weather office back to Gander continues to mount.

But here's a bit of information to ponder.

Weather forecasting takes two things: data and analysis.

The data comes from sites spread across an area. Most of it is transmitted by automated collection stations both on- and offshore.

The analysis can be done anywhere.

So is the issue with the weather office in Gander about the accuracy of the forecasts or about where people get paid to read the numbers? The accuracy of the forecasts might just have to do with a lack of sufficient automated data collection sites around the province, especially in the northeast and Labrador.

If it's about where people do the analysis, then the weather office could be in Rangoon and still get the local forecasting here spot on. After all, Gander used to forecast for Nain and the people in Nain never complained about things.