You've Been Reading The Weather Report Wrong Your Whole Life
The precipitation percentage doesn't actually mean what you think it does.
We often look to the weather report to see if there's a chance of rain.
But it seems like your trusty weatherman (or, more likely, weather app*) is always wrong and you're carrying your umbrella on a sunny afternoon or dashing through a torrential downpour unprotected.
But it seems like your trusty weatherman (or, more likely, weather app*) is always wrong.
*I strongly recommend Weather Puppy because no matter the forecast, you're blessed with an adorable puppy.
Here's the thing: You're probably reading the weather report all wrong.
Some common misinterpretations include: percentage of the day when it will rain, percentage of the area that will experience rain or simply the odds of experiencing rain altogether. All of this is wrong.
The official rain percentage report is actually an equation:
So if the weatherman is 100% confident that only the north half of your city (50% coverage) will see "measurable" rain (aka 0.01 inches or more), the percentage will read 50%.
This is most frustrating to people who live and work in the same small area because your town's percentage remains the same. For people who work in one neighborhood, live in another and shop in yet another, the report gives a more accurate view since you're traveling in a larger percentage of the area that may experience rain.
Yet when 20% of the area will definitely (100%) see rain and the percentage is 20%, the report will frustrate basically everyone.
Good luck ever interpreting the weather report again! Maybe we should just all embrace Karen's method.
