"Our biggest pet peeve with most weather apps is how they deal (or rather, don't deal) with forecast uncertainty. It is a simple fact that no weather forecast will ever be 100% reliable: the weather is moody, fickle, and chaotic. Forecasts are often wrong. Understanding this uncertainty is crucial for planning your day."
"Rather than pretending we will always be right, Acme Weather embraces the idea that our forecast will sometimes be wrong. The app supplements the main forecast with a spread of alternate predictions. These are additional forecast lines that capture a range of alternate possible outcomes."
Acme Weather is a new weather application developed by the creators of Dark Sky that prioritizes transparency about forecast uncertainty. Rather than presenting a single definitive prediction, the app displays multiple alternate forecast scenarios to show users the range of possible weather outcomes. This approach recognizes that weather forecasting is inherently imperfect and chaotic. The app costs $25 annually and is currently available on iOS, with Android coming later. The developers built their own forecasting system and data provider. This philosophy aligns with approaches used by major news organizations like The New York Times, which emphasize uncertainty and prepare audiences for multiple possible outcomes rather than presenting hard predictions.
Read at Nieman Lab
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