Here’s to a clear weather outlook

Piloteers don’t have Doppler 7000 or any other technological

weather-predicting doodads, but according to a school weather report

researched by a Newport Beach councilman’s son, we’re holding our

own.

Scott Ridgeway, the 10-year-old son of Councilman Tod Ridgeway,

compared the Daily Pilot’s Surf and Sun weather forecast to Internet

forecasts and discovered that the Pilot fared better over the 36 days

he monitored.

The categories compared were high temperatures and sky conditions,

which includes rain, sun, clouds, wind and fog. The Pilot was off by

about 3.2 degrees, compared to the Internet’s 3.4 degrees.

The Pilot predicted seven days of rain and were right every time.

The Internet only predicted three days.

Where the Pilot really dominated was in predicting cloudiness. The

Internet predicted 19 days and the Pilot predicted nine days. There

were actually eight cloudy days. So close, but the clouds tricked us

that one day.

The Pilot also accurately predicted seven windy days to the

Internet’s two.

The Pilot seems to predict too many foggy days. In the only

category the Internet prevailed, the Pilot called for six foggy days

and there were only two. The Internet figured there would be three.

So if you’re looking for the best weather information, look no

further. Just be aware that our predictions are sometimes a bit

foggy.

-- Daily Pilot staff