|
NOAA
Magazine || NOAA Home Page
|| Back to Story
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEATHER PREDICTION AND
CLIMATE PREDICTION?
 "Weather" is the day-to-day
variability in temperature and precipitation. Weather applies
to individual events such as snow storms, cold air outbreaks,
etc. "Weather forecasts" have skill up to several days
in advance. NOAA meteorologists quantify relevant parameters
during the forecast period (e.g., how warm, how cold, how much
rain). "Climate," on the other hand, is the average
of weather events over a month, season (or longer). "Climate
forecasts" involve the prediction of monthly or seasonal
averages. By their very nature, climate forecasts are specified
by the likelihood that temperature or precipitation will be above,
near or below-normal.
|
