Current Trends and Future Opportunities for Weather Forecasting Technology Industry

Weather forecast is the application of science and technology to predict atmospheric conditions for a specific location and time. Humans have tried informally and formally to predict the weather for millennia since the 19th century. Weather forecasts are made by collecting quantitative data about the current state of the atmosphere in a given location and using meteorology to project how the atmosphere will change.

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Some of the key players of Weather Forecasting Technology Industry:

All Weather, Inc. (AWI), Campbell Scientific, Inc, Columbia Weather Systems, Inc., General Acoustics e.K., Gill Instruments Limited, IBM, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Met One Instruments Inc., MORCOM International, Optical Scientific, Inc., Pulsonic, Skye Instruments Limited, The Weather Company, Vaisala

Formerly calculated by hand, mainly based on changes in air pressure, current weather conditions and the state of the sky or cloud cover, the weather forecast is now based on computer-aided models that take many atmospheric factors into account. Human input is still required to select the best possible forecasting model on which to base the forecast. This includes pattern recognition skills, remote connections, knowledge of model performance, and knowledge of model distortions.

The inaccuracy of the prediction is due to the chaotic nature of the atmosphere, the tremendous computing power required to solve the equations describing the atmosphere, the error in measuring the initial conditions, and an incomplete understanding of atmospheric processes. Therefore, forecasts become less accurate as the difference between the current time and the time the forecast is made (the range of the forecast) increases. Using ensembles and model consensus helps isolate the error and determine the most likely outcome.