Weather forecasters appear to be „economically sensitive“ in that they provide more-accurate forecasts for more-populous cities, according to a study of U.S. weather by Nejat Anbarci of Deakin University, Australia, and a team of researchers.
For example, a 10% increase in population improves the National Weather Service’s „hit rate“—the proportion of correct forecasts—by 2.5 percentage points, with the effect being even greater for private weather services such as AccuWeather. With forecasts affecting plans for a range of activities, including power generation and the shipping of goods, the cost of an inaccurate forecast is estimated to be about 5.25 cents per person per day, the researchers say.
