Brave new world for forecasters ahead

“Too much rain, not enough, too hot, too cold, too damn wet, too damn dry” – a preoccupation with the weather is part of a farmer or grower’s job description, and one that is unlikely to diminish in coming years, but will at least be more easily pursued.

As a couple of relatively small islands at the bottom of the world in the world’s largest ocean, some focus on the weather was always going to be part of New Zealand’s psyche - even more so when growing things becomes the main income earner for those two lonely islands.

Weather Watch director Philip Duncan takes a look at the new technology and vast data sources which when combined mean New Zealand farmers will soon have forecasts tailored to their farming needs.

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