Weather: Who To Believe?

Above, The Beast and the GOCO Beast Barn a month ago. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Quite often, it is hard to determine who is the most accurate in weather forecasts.

The Weather Channel and the National Weather Service seem to be at odds over today's forecast.

The National Weather Service forecasts a "slight" chance of rain and snow showers while The Weather Channel forecasts clear and windy conditions. The National Weather Service gives a 30% chance of precipitation, whereas The Weather Channel says 0%.

So far, The Weather Channel has been the more accurate of the two as it has been very windy this morning. It woke me up around 2:00 this morning. At least I managed to fall back asleep.

Maybe we're better off believing the groundhog.

The forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today

A slight chance of rain showers between 11am and 2pm, then a chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 45. Windy, with a southwest wind 20 to 25 mph increasing to 25 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 45 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tonight

A 30 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 12. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, with a high near 29. Wind chill values as low as zero. North wind around 10 mph.

Tuesday Night

A 20 percent chance of snow before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 3. Wind chill values as low as -5. North wind 5 to 10 mph.

And here's today's forecast from The Weather Channel:

TIME	DESCRIPTION	TEMP	FEELS	PRECIP	HUMIDITY	WIND
6:15 AM MON	Clear/Wind	35°	23°	0%	49%	SW 24 mph
6:30 AM MON	Clear/Wind	34°	22°	0%	49%	SW 24 mph
6:45 AM MON	Clear/Wind	34°	22°	0%	49%	SW 24 mph
7:00 AM MON	Clear/Wind	34°	21°	0%	49%	SW 24 mph
8:00 AM MON	Sunny/Wind	34°	22°	0%	48%	SW 25 mph
9:00 AM MON	Sunny/Wind	38°	26°	0%	46%	SW 26 mph
10:00 AM MON	Sunny/Wind	39°	28°	0%	43%	SW 26 mph
11:00 AM MON	Mostly Sunny/Wind	42°	31°	0%	39%	SW 29 mph
12:00 PM MON	Mostly Sunny/Wind	44°	33°	0%	38%	SW 31 mph