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Computers and Weather. Michael Drews. History of Data Collection. Barometer (1643) Weather balloons (1896) Weather buoys (1951) Doppler Radar (1940s) Satellites (1960 - TIROS1). History of Forecasting. First forecasting calculations were done by hand (1922) Lewis Fry Richardson
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Computers and Weather Michael Drews
History of Data Collection • Barometer (1643) • Weather balloons (1896) • Weather buoys (1951) • Doppler Radar (1940s) • Satellites (1960 - TIROS1)
History of Forecasting • First forecasting calculations were done by hand (1922) • Lewis Fry Richardson • ENIAC computer performs first forecast (1950) • US National Meteorological Center develops atmosphere model (1966) • Increased computing power increases accuracy • Nowcasting • Supercomputers
Societal Problems • Society depends heavily on forecasts • Incorrect predictions • Sunday golfing • Severe weather forecasts not taken seriously • Hurricane Katrina • Society’s susceptibility to severe weather • Power outages, structural damage • Transportation issues
Solutions? • LOTS of data -> Machine Learning • Powerful algorithms for pattern recognition • Distributed/Cloud computing
Sources https://eo.ucar.edu/basics/wx_4.html http://weatherlabs.planet-science.com/weather-forecasts/using-a-computer-to-predict-the-weather.aspx http://science.jrank.org/pages/7337/Weather-Forecasting-role-computers-in-weather-forecasting.html http://www.cray.com/blog/the-critical-role-of-supercomputers-in-weather-forecasting/ http://www.accuweather.com/en/features/trend/forecasting-technology/1265959 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WxForecasting/wx2.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_forecasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_radar