WeatherSA sucks!

I have to agree, the old weatherSA site was much better, I tend to use MSN weather now.

Best way for me, is just to look out the window in the morning.
 
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Not only are they greedy, they're incompetent.

Notice the yellow "Significant weather system, click here for details" bar at the top of the page? It's still the warning from 5 August!!?!?!

At least once a week the front page isn't updated until midday - i.e. "today's weather" is actually yesterday's weather.

You'll get 10 days of "30%" rain probability, and no rain! Now I'm no statistician, but surely a 30% probability means that you should get rain one day out of every 3.3 days?

Their front page "seven day" forecast is never for seven days; sometimes you're lucky if it's 3 days.

Their "Hospitality" forecast, this morning, had next week Monday's max at 9°C, now it's 21°C??? Either their forecasting model or their data capturer is smoking the electric spinach.

And yet, even with all their incompetence, the greed that resulted in all the useful stuff being put behind a paywall is what pisses me off the most. Maybe we should get government to give wunderground R 200 mil for new radar; then weathersa can say they compete fairly. As it is now, they take taxpayer's money for kit, then charge more if you want to see the info that the kit produces!

There, I feel better now. </rant>
 
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Do you even know how weather predictions are calculated?

I have it on good authority that 4 meteorologists stand outside and if 1 out of the 4 says "looks like it's going to rain", then the weather forecast for that day is " 25% chance of showers."

:p
 
Drunkard #1 said:
At least once a week the front page isn't updated until midday - i.e. "today's weather" is actually yesterday's weather.

You'll get 10 days of "30%" rain probability, and no rain! Now I'm no statistician, but surely a 30% probability means that you should get rain one day out of every 3.3 days?

Their front page "seven day" forecast is never for seven days; sometimes you're lucky if it's 3 days.

all the useful stuff being put behind a paywall is what pisses me off the most

There, I feel better now. </rant>
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I thought there was something wrong with my browser or PC (thought i was in offline mode)!! So it was their page not being updated!!

I wonder how useful the stuff behind the paywall is, if the free stuff is a teaser, they can bl00dy well keep it.

Xzib1t said:
I have to agree, the old weatherSA site was much better, I tend to use MSN weather now.

Best way for me, is just to look out the window in the morning.
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Wish that worked for me, Cape weather is too hard to predict - I have driven 15kms and gone from 30+ degrees to a complete crazy storm and vice versa a few times.
 
And another thing...
[RANT]I find that SABC's weather forecast is far more accurate than eTV's, or many other sources for that matter. E-TV are so enamoured with their 3D format that they forget that viewers want to know information. It’s not clear what the weather forecast is for the morrow and to use only colours to convey information is plain stupid. What if you’re colour blind? Standing in front of vital information and mugging for the camera makes me foam at the mouth (they stand in front of the wind speed for Durban). The only worthwhile elements (satellite pictures, animated isobars) the crappy eTV format has, the presenter stands in the way while pontificating. Why not have a voice-over (like SABC 3) or maybe they can stand in front of Cape Town in the Atlantic (not Durban in the Indian) while pontificating (about obvious stuff that’s on the chart). Script runs from left to right so nothing would be obscured. Maybe this is a darstedly CT conspiracy to disadvantage Durban?

And another thing. The weather bulletin is supposed to be informative. If the presenters want to mug for the camera, this is not the place. My wife: “Oh no! What has she done with her hair?” “Those colours clash, what can she have been thinking?” “The new male weather presenter is rather a dish.” (gag)

I presume that the weather forecasts are normally done by projecting the temperature and rainfall results (recorded since the year dot in a database). This would give the historical record for the period and supply broad parameters for temperature and rainfall. Factored-in is any satellite imagery, a wet finger stuck out the window and a phone call to granny to see how her arthritis is feeling. This would give the local dimension.

Tip:
Presumably the weather bulletin is limited to a fixed time frame. An analysis should be done on what conveys the maximum amount of information. More time should be spent in these areas, rather than pandering to the egos of the presenters. Also, a pause after the satellite picture animation at the end of its sequence will give time to absorb and switch focus between the last satellite photo and the latest cloud cover.[/RANT]
 
B.O.F.H. said:
I stopped using WeatherSA awhile ago when they started putting stuff behind a paywall.....

WindGuru does the job just as well, if not better than WeatherSA and they do it with worse data (if thats even possible)
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Another example of IDIOT TAX... before 1994 the weather service info was mostly available for free. Now you get barely a hello for free.... And it is a GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION for the benefit of the country?!!?
 
I get my forecasts from Weather24 but I do use Weathersa's storm radar/tracker thing -- that's pretty good.
 
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse:

http://dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2012-01-10-jailtime-mooted-for-bad-weather-warnings

A new bill before Parliament will effectively outlaw weather information that is not provided by the state-owned SA Weather Service. Warn someone that a storm is brewing, and you could go to jail for many years, or pay millions in fines. Has the government gone mad?
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A bill (PDF) amending the South African Weather Service Act of 2001 (PDF) includes a new section that proposes penalties of up to ten years in prison, or a R10 million fine, if you issue anything that could be interpreted as a “severe weather-related warning”.
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Another set of legislation to create a defunct government controlled monopoly. Great:(
 
WTF! :wtf:

Are these numbnuts actually serious?

I can understand if an "authority" in this country issues a warning based on data not being from our own weather bereau.. but the average bloke? Come now, this guavamint is just wasting its time now ffs.... focus on the more important things you bloody morons.
 
Mila said:
and this is news?
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Are you asking because you knew about it, so should everyone else, so it ISN'T news? OR are you asking because you see no reason why he even dared waste his time posting this?
 
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