SEATTLE — Seattle weather was in the sunny 70s in mid-July when weather forecasters saw the heat wave that has driven 90-degree highs last week was on its way.
That’s a change from decades past, when heat could hit or miss by surprise. Advances in technology and technique have turned weather into a booming piece of the tech sector with satellites, radars and developments in artificial intelligence.
Forecasters today can tell what the weather will be with more accuracy and longer lead times thanks to a much improved system of weather satellites and increasingly complex algorithms. The opportunity for artificial intelligence-driven advances and the growing intensity in catastrophic weather events due to climate change have drawn more innovators and entrepreneurs into weather forecasting, claiming they have access to more information than ever before.
