The new site is total garbage.

... do I really want to know?Edit: Just google it. Sounds like $220,000. To be honest that amount doesn't sound too crazy assuming they did a full analysis of the existing site, A/B tested a new information architecture and then did a re-brand + design and implementation.

It does sound a lot when you consider where they ended up. BOM in it current form is probably the single best resource for a countries weather forecast anywhere in the world. This new direction seems misguided and lost.

I asked them months or years ago to just change the font or colour of the pressure readings on the meteye wind maps to make reading easier. Looks like they ignored that and decided to go for revolting colours with a lower resolution map.

I would like the wind to be worse actually. As for the last 15yrs or so its not a forecast..... it seems to be a warning to the dumbest potential dingy owner going 20km offshore. Deliberately overstated wind to avoid liability.

I would like to have a forecast, not a thing that consistently over estimates stuff.
What they provide to emergency services etc is so unbelievably accurate so they can do it.

As an aside, could then explain to news services that km is NOT kn

Mark _australia said..
I would like to have a forecast, not a thing that consistently over estimates stuff.
What they provide to emergency services etc is so unbelievably accurate so they can do it.

From what I have heard this is due to the aftermath of the Sydney to Hobart race where the fleet was hit by a stronger than forecast storm. So to be on the safe side they now at times overstate the wind speed.

That said I have found MetEye accurate enough here in WA.

The Seabreeze forecast for example is pretty useless for the Sydney region. It gives you a good idea as to if and when the wind will arrive but the strength varies wildly from the forecast. The BOM forecast tends to be a bit more accurate there.

Mark _australia said..
I would like the wind to be worse actually. As for the last 15yrs or so its not a forecast..... it seems to be a warning to the dumbest potential dingy owner going 20km offshore. Deliberately overstated wind to avoid liability.

I would like to have a forecast, not a thing that consistently over estimates stuff.
What they provide to emergency services etc is so unbelievably accurate so they can do it.

As an aside, could then explain to news services that km is NOT kn

'Km is not knot'
My pet hate..

Mark _australia said..
I would like the wind to be worse actually. As for the last 15yrs or so its not a forecast..... it seems to be a warning to the dumbest potential dingy owner going 20km offshore. Deliberately overstated wind to avoid liability.

I would like to have a forecast, not a thing that consistently over estimates stuff.
What they provide to emergency services etc is so unbelievably accurate so they can do it.

As an aside, could then explain to news services that km is NOT kn

Must be opposite what we have here 15- 20 knot forecast = 20 - 25 knot wind

musorianin said..
WTF would you do that when you already have a mobile app?

Obviously don't know technical details but it's possible the mobile app is just a mobile web site with an app wrapper. Companies often do this to avoid having to develop and maintain two separate versions for both iOS and Android.

I don't get it when people are complaining about weather forecasts. The word litterally says it: it's a FORECAST, a prediction, probably close to what might happen but no guarantees. Whether you're a farmer or a wind sport fanatic, it's good to learn a bit of meteorology (might also save your life one day when you're out there).

If you don't like the BOM website, there's hundreds of other websites offering the same data that you can choose from, including Seabreeze. Think that BOM's ACCESS model is not reliable? Just choose another one such as GFS, ECMWF, ICON, CMC, NAVGEM. Or hey, some sites now even combine multiple models into yet another one. See which one you find the most accurate on average and don't forget that it is just a forecast created by computers based on previous weather data.

Until AI gets better than expensive super computers, just use your common sense, check the weather maps in addition to forecasts, put on a smile, and don't forget to always bring all your gear to the beach as you never know how windy it gets!