Is North Dakota Home To The Least Accurate Weather Forecasts?

Predicting the Weather can be Tricky in our Neck of the Woods

What's the running joke? I wish I were a TV weatherman, so I could get paid to be wrong 80% of the time. Kind of sounds like a good gig. Of our 3 options, we have in the Capital Region, I personally feel that WDAY and Jesse Ritka are by far the most accurate in North Dakota. As far as TV meteorologists go, anyway.

I'm a bit of a weather nerd myself. As far as keeping the weather entertaining and also being spot on most of the time, I have to give a plug to my friends at the Bismarck Bubble. They ROCK! I also have to give some love to our local radio meteorologists here at Townsquare Media, Severe Studios.

Unlike other radio meteorologists in Bismarck-Mandan, they are local. You can tell the difference when you hear somebody say, "Bitterly cold tonight, down to 20 degrees". I actually heard that on another station this past week, and I almost spit the food out of my mouth laughing. No clue, 20 degrees for an overnight low in January in Bismarck is warmer than the average high temperature. Again, not LOCAL. I know, shots fired!

Just how Accurate are Long-Range Weather Forecasts in North Dakota?

Plain and simple, not very. Before our local TV meteorologists get their undies up in a bunch, it's a tough job living here in North Dakota. According to data compiled by the Washington Post, North Dakota is one of the worst states for long-range weather forecasts.

North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, and Alaska are considered the toughest states to predict the weather. This is due to complex air masses, inland locations that are far from moderating water, and varied terrain. This makes our forecasts often only reliable for 1 or 2 days out. So much for the 7 and 10-day outlooks. You might as well throw something up against the wall and see if it sticks. It's actually easier to predict the weather on the coasts in the United States.

Now you know why our forecasts, especially long-range, can be so off in North Dakota. So, be easy on our TV weather people. They might need a hug after this.