This is bizarre if true.
Local media is charging that the actual path of typhoon Bolaven, announced after it passed, was altered by the Korea Meteorological Administration to meet their previous forecast.
Following it’s passing, the difference in the typhoon’s course was between 90 to 120 kilometers off those reported by the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center and the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The excuse for the discrepancy is wanting, with the KMA saying that:
… the difference comes from variations in technical standards and experts’ interpretation in each country.
I don’t know, satellites, large landmasses, real time imagery, how do you mess that up? Sure, you can differ on the prediction, but once it’s passed you oughta be pretty sure where it went.
The KMA is sticking to their story though:
“Errors happen when analyzing the location of the center of typhoons based on satellite data. The U.S. agencies also make errors on the location of the center of hurricanes, with the error sometimes being more than 100 kilometers.”
This might very well be true, but the KMA’s track record on this kind of thing could be coming back to haunt them.
In July 1987, the KMA fabricated the path of Typhoon Thelma in order to cover up its mistake. While the typhoon hit the southern coast, the agency announced it passed via the Korea Strait as it had forecast.
At that time, several KMA senior officials were fined, while others stepped down in the face of the scandal.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
and you thought the repugnicans were crazy? I was double checking with the Joint Typhoon Warning Center and Weather Underground which uses data from the Japan Meteorological Association (the official tropical cyclone forecaster for this region as the JTWC is for the military) and the 607th Weather Squadron out of Yongsan, they all were predicting the same path and strength. Yeah sometimes these things suddenly strengthen and weaken and change course and they don’t know why
to think it was a conspiracy by the KMA? Thats out in Glenn Beck tin foil hat land
Many of us do not, it turns out, think the “repugnicans” are crazy.
R.rac, don’t follow you, the article is not about the original prediction but apparent huge discrepencies in its actual final tracked path, and the suspicion this has been manipulated to fit the original prediction.
Their track record? A track record usually requires you know.. a track record..not one incident 25 years ago.
You’ve got a greater track record of filling your pants when started by a large noise than the KMA does of falsifying data (unless you’ve got more evidence you haven’t shared)
my bad as i thought they were talking about the predictions.
still really weird that this would be an issue
You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
I think this has to do with the fact that they shut down schools in Seoul and Kyungi do for absolutely no reason, and they are trying to deflect criticism for doing this way too early by saying they were really right in spite of reality. It’s an all around stupid play.
How about when they were still calling it a typhoon when it was downgraded to a tropical storm? They had trouble tracking the center? Maybe because it was a tropical storm, which has no eye.
Actually that would have to do with the different classification systems.
If you look at this as an example:
http://weather.naver.com/news/typnInfo.nhn?occurYmdt=20120819090000
Under the map you’ll note the green classification as Typhoon, 3rd grade winds. 17m/s =38mph 24m/s=53.6mph
Under other classifications that’s a tropical storm. In fact they note the difference between the Korean classification and the world classification.
part of the problem is the KMA doesnt follow the guidelines of the WMO on storm classifications etc, now matter what the strength they call it a typhoon when it gets above 35 knots. Yeah the JMA and Hong Kong Observatory have a few other classifications for stronger tropical storm and stronger typhoons but they all classify a tropical at 35 knots and a typhoon at 65 knots.
I was just looking at #9s links and they had Temblin as tropical storm even after the JTWC and JMA and downgraded it to a nontropical system at 9AM(JMA) noon (JTWC) Thursday.
yeah they need to modernize some of their warnings etc to global standards
@2, and the really crazy thing is that Obama seems to be going out of his way to make Glenn Beck look sane and clear-minded…
Their classification system is ridiculous anyway, every depression is a typhoon for the kma
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