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by voyager2 2697 days ago
If I move my forecast location a few hundred yards, my elevation changes rather drastically, changing the forecast. Elevation isn't a factor most forecasts even consider. Is it false precision to use elevation to tailor the forecast?
1 comments

In that case, the interpolation includes a vertical component as well. You'll see the effects of the lapse rate (change in temperature with height).

That's great for you, but it means that your forecast (of [my elevation, my coordinates]) is not much more accurate than one for ([my elevation, my coordinates plus a few hundred yards]).

More technically: "surface" isn't a smooth variable when elevation changes quickly, but interpolation like that performed by weather.gov necessarily works on smooth fields. Applying post-facto elevation is great and worthwhile, but it doesn't improve the accuracy in a technical sense.