We take weather forecasts very much for granted now. It’s part of most peoples’ routines to check their phone, smartwatch, or ask their smart device about the weather forecast. We rely on these weather forecasts to plan our day. Further, we also rely on weather reports to give us information and warnings quickly about severe weather.
The level of accuracy and how far out weather forecasts can be made is well beyond where anyone could have imagined 30 years ago. A big drive in the improvement of weather reporting and forecasting is the significant improvement and innovation in technology and computers, such as satellites, radar, and supercomputers.
When it comes to radar technology, upgrades such as dual polarizations allow meteorologists to better estimate precipitation, what type of precipitation a storm brings, and the ability to discern things such as birds or tornado debris.
One of the most critical areas of improvement has been the supercomputer technology used to forecast. To give an idea of how far processing power has come for these systems, a new smartphone has dramatically more processing power than the supercomputers used in weather forecasting in the late 80s to early 90s. These days, current supercomputers used by the National Weather Service are 10,000 times faster than your average desktop computer. It takes a lot of power to process all of the data required to forecast accurately.
Satellite technology has also improved dramatically in the last few decades. Satellites used for weather forecasting today are able to report on more types of data and report the data and images faster and more rapidly. Early satellite technology only allowed satellites to send data and images every 30 minutes. New satellite technology sends higher quality images every 10 minutes. In the event of severe weather, satellites can zoom and focus on the severe weather event and send images every 10 seconds.
Your business might not need a supercomputer that is 10,000 times more powerful than an average desktop computer, but the point is that technology is always evolving. It is important to keep up with the latest innovations so that your business can stay ahead of the competition. For all of your technology needs for your business, contact Integracon today.
