Weather Forecasting Contest for Springfield, IL (KSPI)

Tomorrow

Forecast at a Glance from the National Weather Service

Tonight

Showers Likely Chance for Measurable Precipitation 70%
Showers
Likely
Lo 49 °F
Wednesday

Partly Sunny
Partly
Sunny
Hi 66 °F
Wednesday
Night

Thunderstorms Likely Chance for Measurable Precipitation 60%
Tstms
Likely
Lo 49 °F
Thursday

Showers Likely Chance for Measurable Precipitation 70%
Showers
Likely
Hi 60 °F
Thursday
Night

Chance Showers Chance for Measurable Precipitation 40%
Chance
Showers
Lo 42 °F
Friday

Chance Showers Chance for Measurable Precipitation 50%
Chance
Showers
Hi 54 °F
Friday
Night

Chance Showers Chance for Measurable Precipitation 40%
Chance
Showers
Lo 38 °F
Saturday

Chance Showers
Chance
Showers
Hi 50 °F
Saturday
Night

Chance Showers
Chance
Showers
Lo 36 °F

Go to National Weather Service page
Detailed site information

Weather Forecasts for Tomorrow, Wednesday 10 March 2010

Forecaster Tmin(F) Tmax(F) Precip(in) Comment
Highest-Rated Forecasters From All Divisions
NWS-MOS-NAM-00-DAY1 D D D D 48 63 0
NWS-MOS-NAM-12-DAY1 W 49 66 0.05
NWS-MOS-GFS-18-DAY1 W 49 67 0.05
NWS-MOS-GFS-06-DAY1 W 52 68 0.05
NWS-MOS-GFS-18-DAY2 D 51 68 0.05
NWS-MOS-NAM-12-DAY2 D 50 65 0.05
NWS-MOS-GFS-12-DAY1 D 52 68 0.05
NWS-MOS-GFS-00-DAY1 D 52 68 0.05
NWS-MOS-GFS-12-DAY2 D 50 68 0.05
NWS-MOS-GFS-06-DAY2 D 49 67 0.05
CLIMATOLOGY 30 49 0.10 From 1971-2000 U.S. Climate Normals
View All Weather Forecasts For This Day By Division

A Sample Forecasting Procedure


Weather forecasters look at many types of data to help them build a forecast, and each forecaster will have their own approach. Here is a simple procedure to get you started.
  1. First look at current weather conditions:

    Surface Analysis

    Visible
    Satellite

    Infrared
    Satellite

    Radar

    A good stating point for formulating your forecast will be determining what is happening around the country today. Where are the major weather systems? Where has it been hot? Where has it been raining? Is any of this weather moving towards my forecasting site over the next forecasting period?
  2. Look at the National Weather Service hourly weather forecast graph and the forecast of fronts and precipitation:

    Graph

    Fronts/Precip
    Remember that the forecast day goes from about midnight to midnight local time. We forecast for a daily High and Low. The Low is typically recorded in the early morning hours of the day, while the high is generally reached in the afternoon. But check the hourly graph for the possibility that the Low and High might come at different times. For example, if a strong cold front comes through early in the day, the High might be in the early morning hours and the temperature might fall for the rest of the day, and the Low would be at the very end of the day.
  3. Look at National Weather Service precipitation forecasts:

    Precip
    The times for these plots are in UTC (or GMT); a contest day goes from 0600 UTC (about midnight in most of the U.S.) to 0600 UTC the next day. Click on the plots corresponding to those hours. Your precip forecast is for the whole day, so you would add the amounts from each 6- or 12-hr plot to calculate what the NWS is predicting for the entire contest day. Remember that you need to predict the amount in inches, and most locations receive amounts over one inch only a few times each year. On most days the precip forecast should be zero, and for many others it will be a few hundredths of an inch (e.g. 0.15 inches).
  4. Check and submit your forecast:
    Once you have determined your high, low, and precipitation amount, check it with the computer model forecasts shown in the table above. Are you close? Generally it’s a good idea to be fairly close to these computer forecasts, because they're typically quite good. Once you've entered your forecast in the form above, click the Submit button.

Legend

This Month's Division Leaders
 M month division wins in last year
 W week division wins in last month
 D day division wins in last week
Elementary School Divisions
Middle School Divisions
High School Divisions
College Divisions
Teacher Division
Open Division
Computer Division
Consensus Division
Reference Division

Today


Click for Springfield, IL (KSPI) Forecast

Weather Forecasts for Today, Tuesday 9 March 2010

Forecaster Tmin(F) Tmax(F) Precip(in) Comment
OBSERVED 36 60 0.04 Observed data through: 18:52 CST.
Highest-Rated Forecasters From All Divisions
NWS-MOS-NAM-00-DAY0 M D D 44 53 0.07
CONSENSUS-1 42.1 54.2 0.11
NWS-MOS-NAM-00-DAY1 D D D D 45 58 0.05
NWS-MOS-NAM-12-DAY1 W 41 55 0.10
MEDIAN 41.5 53.5 0.12
NWS-MOS-GFS-18-DAY1 W 40 53 0.10
NWS-MOS-GFS-06-DAY1 W 41 54 0.18
NWS-MOS-GFS-18-DAY2 D 42 52 0.14
NWS-MOS-NAM-12-DAY2 D 44 57 0
NWS-MOS-GFS-12-DAY1 D 41 53 0.18
NWS-MOS-GFS-00-DAY1 D 41 53 0.11
NWS-MOS-GFS-12-DAY2 D 41 53 0.18
NWS-MOS-GFS-00-DAY0 M M W D D 42 54 0.22
NWS-MOS-GFS-06-DAY2 D 43 54 0.30
CLIMATOLOGY 30 48 0.10 From 1971-2000 U.S. Climate Normals
PERSISTENCE 35 44 0
View All Weather Forecasts For This Day By Division

Legend

This Month's Division Leaders
 M month division wins in last year
 W week division wins in last month
 D day division wins in last week
Elementary School Divisions
Middle School Divisions
High School Divisions
College Divisions
Teacher Division
Open Division
Computer Division
Consensus Division
Reference Division

Yesterday

Weather Forecasts for Yesterday, Monday 8 March 2010

Forecaster Tmin
(score)
Tmax
(score)
Precip
(score)
Comment Day
Score
Division
Points
OBSERVED 35 44 0 FINAL.
Best Forecasts From All Divisions
NWS-MOS-NAM-12-DAY2 D 29 (6) 48 (4) 0 (0) 10 11.5
NWS-MOS-NAM-00-DAY0 M D D 30 (5) 49 (5) 0 (0) 10 11.5
NWS-MOS-NAM-00-DAY1 D D D D 28 (7) 49 (5) 0 (0) 12 9.5
NWS-MOS-GFS-00-DAY0 M M W D D 34 (1) 55 (11) 0 (0) 12 9.5
NWS-MOS-NAM-12-DAY1 W 27 (8) 50 (6) 0 (0) 14 7.5
NWS-MOS-GFS-18-DAY1 W 33 (2) 56 (12) 0 (0) 14 7.5
CONSENSUS-1 30.3 (4.7) 53.5 (9.5) 0 (0) 14.2
CLIMATOLOGY 30 (5) 48 (4) 0.10 (6.1) From 1971-2000 U.S. Climate Normals 15.1
MEDIAN 31 (4) 55.5 (11.5) 0 (0) 15.5
NWS-MOS-GFS-06-DAY1 W 30 (5) 55 (11) 0 (0) 16 5.5
NWS-MOS-GFS-12-DAY1 D 32 (3) 57 (13) 0 (0) 16 5.5
NWS-MOS-GFS-06-DAY2 D 32 (3) 59 (15) 0 (0) 18 2.5
NWS-MOS-GFS-12-DAY2 D 32 (3) 59 (15) 0 (0) 18 2.5
NWS-MOS-GFS-18-DAY2 D 33 (2) 60 (16) 0 (0) 18 2.5
NWS-MOS-GFS-00-DAY1 D 30 (5) 57 (13) 0 (0) 18 2.5
PERSISTENCE 38 (3) 58 (14) 0.02 (4) 21
View All Weather Forecasts For This Day By Division

Daily Weather Map page

Results for Previous Days

Sunday 7 March 2010
Saturday 6 March 2010
Friday 5 March 2010
Thursday 4 March 2010

Legend

This Month's Division Leaders
 M month division wins in last year
 W week division wins in last month
 D day division wins in last week
Elementary School Divisions
Middle School Divisions
High School Divisions
College Divisions
Teacher Division
Open Division
Computer Division
Consensus Division
Reference Division

Standings

Leading Weather Forecasters for Week of Sun 28 Feb 2010 - Sat 6 Mar 2010

Rank Forecaster # Forecasts Tmin
Score
Tmax
Score
Precip
Score
Week
Score
Division
Points
View All Forecasters For This Week By Division

Leading Weather Forecasters for March 2010

Rank Forecaster # Forecasts Tmin
Score
Tmax
Score
Precip
Score
Month
Score
Division
Points
View All Forecasters For This Month By Division

Legend

This Month's Division Leaders
 M month division wins in last year
 W week division wins in last month
 D day division wins in last week
Elementary School Divisions
Middle School Divisions
High School Divisions
College Divisions
Teacher Division
Open Division
Computer Division
Consensus Division
Reference Division

Top Forecasters

Highest-Rated Weather Forecasters, All Divisions

Higher numbers are better, minimum of 5 forecasts
Rank Forecaster # Forecasts Forecaster Rating
1 NWS-MOS-NAM-00-DAY0 25 113.5
2 CONSENSUS-1 25 110.4
3 NWS-MOS-NAM-00-DAY1 25 109.7
4 NWS-MOS-NAM-12-DAY1 25 107.4
5 MEDIAN 25 105.6
6 NWS-MOS-GFS-18-DAY1 25 101.8
7 NWS-MOS-GFS-06-DAY1 25 101.0
8 NWS-MOS-GFS-18-DAY2 25 97.8
9 NWS-MOS-NAM-12-DAY2 25 94.3
10 NWS-MOS-GFS-12-DAY1 25 92.9
11 NWS-MOS-GFS-00-DAY1 25 87.2
12 NWS-MOS-GFS-12-DAY2 25 86.7
13 NWS-MOS-GFS-00-DAY0 25 85.5
14 NWS-MOS-GFS-06-DAY2 25 81.0
15 PERSISTENCE 25 51.6
16 CLIMATOLOGY 25 -116.4

Legend

This Month's Division Leaders
 M month division wins in last year
 W week division wins in last month
 D day division wins in last week
Elementary School Divisions
Middle School Divisions
High School Divisions
College Divisions
Teacher Division
Open Division
Computer Division
Consensus Division
Reference Division

Weather for Springfield, Illinois (KSPI)

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