DENVER — It’s no wonder that one of the first things you do when you wake up in the morning is open your weather app and check the forecast.
But you might want to be careful about which apps you look at this week, at least in eastern Colorado.
Automated weather apps (which make up the majority of weather apps) change their forecasts, sometimes dramatically over just a few hours, as computer forecast models adjust their forecasts. The high degree of uncertainty in the weekend forecast means that small changes in the position of a low pressure system or the exact timing of a particular cold front can have a significant impact on the forecast.
Most apps automatically combine computer predictive models to determine their predictions. Models are having a hard time figuring out the exact timing of this weekend’s storms. That means Friday’s predictions could flip from his highs in the upper 40s or low 60s, depending on which app you look at. Saturday could bring a chance of snow in some apps, while the sun could show up with highs in the 50s in others.
The least reliable days for weather apps along the Front Range are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The precise timing of a series of cold fronts may make the app’s automatic forecasts less reliable than usual in the coming days.
If you’re looking for the most reliable forecast without bragging, then you need to use the 9NEWS app, which is hand-picked multiple times a day by a team of meteorologists. Experienced and trained meteorologists can best determine which models are more likely to be correct.
> Click here to download the iPhone app
> Click here to download the Android app
For example, cold fronts tend to move faster than computer predictive models indicate. That means Thursday (and Friday) could probably be a little colder than some models are predicting.
Computer models often struggle with early-season storm systems like this weekend’s, so meteorologists know which models tend to perform best in these conditions.
Keep an eye on your weather app this week. You may notice them reversing violently over the next few days.
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