Providing Weather Forecast Uncertainty Information to the Public

Providing Weather Forecast Uncertainty Information to the Public Julie Demuth, Rebecca E. Morss, Jeffrey K. Lazo NCAR Societal Impacts Program Boulder, CO 2008 WAS*IS Workshop August 12, 2008 USWRP

Suppose the forecast says, “There is a 60% chance of rain tomorrow. ” What do you think best describes what the forecast means? Response option It will rain tomorrow in 60% of the region. It will rain tomorrow for 60% of the time. It will rain on 60% of the days like tomorrow. 60% of weather forecasters believe that it will rain tomorrow. I don’t know. Other (please explain) Percent of respondents

Uncertainty research questions • How much confidence do people have in different types of weather forecasts? • Do people infer uncertainty into deterministic forecasts and, if so, how much? • How do people interpret a type of uncertainty forecast that is already commonly available and familiar: probability of precipitation forecasts? • To what extent do people prefer to receive deterministic vs. uncertainty-explicit forecasts? • In what formats do people prefer to receive forecast uncertainty information?

• How do people interpret a type of uncertainty forecast that is already commonly available and familiar -- probability of precipitation (Po. P) forecasts? • ~ 90% of respondents received close-ended version of the question • ~10% of respondents received open-ended version

Suppose the forecast says, “There is a 60% chance of rain tomorrow. ” What do you think best describes what the forecast means? Response option (N=1330) Percent of respondents It will rain tomorrow in 60% of the region. 16% It will rain tomorrow for 60% of the time. 10% It will rain on 60% of the days like tomorrow. * 19% 60% of weather forecasters believe that it will rain tomorrow. 23% I don’t know. 9% Other (please explain) 24% * Technically correct interpretation, according to how Po. P forecasts are verified (Gigerenzer et al. 2005)

Open-ended responses re: Po. P • Interesting insight from the responses to openended question and “other” write-in responses – Many reiterate Po. P without clarification – Many describe the chance they’ll personally experience rain or personal implications for action • Consistent with other studies, majority of people don’t know technically correct definition of Po. P… • …but asking people to think about Po. P from a meteorological perspective may have limited value … people still have to infer what it means to them!

• To what extent do people prefer to receive deterministic vs. uncertainty-explicit forecasts? • In what formats do people prefer to receive forecast uncertainty information?

All the choices below are the same as a probability of precipitation of 20%. Do you like the information given this way? • • Chance of precipitation is 20% Percent There is a 1 in 5 chance of precipitation Frequency The odds are 1 to 4 that it will rain Odds There is a slight chance of rain tomorrow Text Asked this question 3 ways -using Po. Ps of 20%, 50%, and 80% with corresponding text descriptions from NWS

Percent of respondents who said “yes” 100% Po. P of 20% Po. P of 50% Po. P of 80% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Percent Frequency Odds N = 489, 487 Text

Suppose the high temperature tomorrow will probably be 85ºF. A cold front may move through, making the high only 70ºF. Would you like the forecast given this way? The high temperature tomorrow… …will be 85°F …will most likely be 85°F, but it may be 70°F (WITHOUT explanation) …will most likely be 85°F, but it may be 70°F, because a cold front may move through (WITH explanation) …will be between 70°F and 85°F, because a cold front may move through 80% chance it will be 85°F, 20% chance it will be 70°F, because a cold front may move through

Percent of respondents who said “yes" Will be 85°F 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Deterministic ~35% Deterministic only ~7% 60% Without cold front explanation With cold front explanation Most likely 85°F but may be 70°F Uncertainty >90% Uncertainty only ~63% Between 70 -85°F 80% chance 85°F and 20% chance 70°F 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% N=1465

Discussion Topics • Balance between “educating” the users and understanding users’ needs, wants, uses? • Proliferation of weather information, different sources, different media, etc. • People’s desire for getting consistent info • On-air constraints for broadcasters