Sunday, 25 January 2015 00:00

Weather apps limited – forecaster

Written by 

Farmers need to be aware of the possible limitations of international weather apps on their smartphones, says Phil Duncan of weatherwatch.co.nz.

While not discouraging farmers from using the apps, he says the problem is they lack any human input.

“So a farmer can get a lot of false hope from those apps which may say ‘80% chance of rain for four days’, but in fact you only get a drizzle patch or something,” Duncan explains. “So that’s where you need a New Zealand forecaster to come in and add local knowledge. 

Duncan says at present there is a touch of El Nino, which is helping to lift the air pressure around New Zealand and the Tasman Sea. Present patterns suggest New Zealand is heading for a ‘spring like westerly’ with  showers on the west coast and hot and dry and sunny conditions  on the east coast.  

www.weatherwatch.co.nz.

More like this

App eliminates tedious paperwork

A clever new app called HarvestYield is said to eliminate the tedious paper trail associated with job recording and worker timesheets, while also offering a suite of management tools.

Featured

NZEI unhappy with funding cut for teachers

Education union NZEI Te Riu Roa says that while educators will support the Government’s investment in learning support, they’re likely to be disappointed that it has been paid for by defunding expert teachers.

EU regulations unfairly threaten $200m exports

A European Union regulation ensuring that the products its citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation worldwide threatens $200m of New Zealand beef and leather exports.

Bionic Plus back on vet clinic shelves

A long-acting, controlled- release capsule designed to protect ewes from internal parasites during the lambing period is back on the market following a comprehensive reassessment.

National

Machinery & Products

New Holland combines crack 50 years

New Holland is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the introduction its Twin Rotor threshing and separation technology, which has evolved…

Iconic TPW Woolpress turns 50!

The company behind the iconic TPW Woolpress, which fundamentally changed the way wool is baled in Australia and New Zealand,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Double standards

OPINION: Imagine if the Hound had called the Minister of Finance the 'c-word' and accused her of "girl math".

Debt monster

OPINION: It's good news that Finance Minister Nicola Willis has slashed $1.1 billion from new spending, citing "a seismic global…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter