Frequently Asked Questions
A quick resource to help answer the most common questions we see at ForecastWatch.
ForecastWatch is our commercial platform designed for meteorologists, utilities, and energy companies who need deep-dive analytics and raw data to improve their forecasting or mitigate business risk. ForecastAdvisor is our free consumer tool that allows individuals to see which weather provider (like The Weather Channel or AccuWeather) has been the most accurate in their specific zip code over the last month and year.
We use a scientifically rigorous process to compare weather forecasts against actual “ground truth” observations. We calculate accuracy using standard metrics such as Mean Absolute Error (MAE) for temperature, Brier Scores for probability of precipitation, and bias analysis. Our methodology is transparent and has been used in several peer-reviewed studies.
We retrieve quality-controlled observations from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in the U.S. and equivalent international meteorological agencies. Our data undergoes over 50 validity checks (such as extreme value and consistency checks) to ensure we are comparing forecasts against the most reliable weather records available.
We collect and analyze over 30 unique parameters. The most common include:
Temperature: High/Low daily temperatures.
Precipitation: Chance of precipitation (PoP) and binary (rain/no rain) outcomes.
Wind: Speed and direction.
Sky Cover: Cloud cover and opacity.
Our historical database is one of the largest in the world, containing over 1.4 billion forecasts. We have been collecting data in the U.S. and Canada since 2004, and we expanded to international coverage (six continents) starting in 2011.
A standard ForecastWatch Online subscription is for internal use only. However, we offer a “Commercial Use” add-on fee that allows subscribers to incorporate our accuracy data and charts into presentations, sales literature, or public claims to demonstrate their competitive advantage.
We provide global coverage across six continents. Our database includes thousands of specific locations throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. We are constantly expanding our international observation station network.
ForecastWatch Online is updated daily, or monthly, depending on the metric. We collect forecasts mid-afternoon relative to each region’s local time and process verification as soon as official observations become available, ensuring you always have the most current analysis.
es. Through our ForecastWatch DATA product, we provide raw historical data sets in easy-to-use formats like CSV. This is ideal for internal benchmarking, training machine learning models, or academic research.
No, ForecastWatch no longer produces custom reports for marketing purposes. Keep an eye out on our Awards program, launching in 2026, which will make public the best forecasters, across multiple dimensions.