Burlington, ON - 7 Day Forecast (2024)

FAQs

What does 80% chance of rain mean? ›

The answer? An “80% chance of rain” means an 80% chance that rain will fall somewhere within the forecasted area. Rain refers to 0.01 inch or more of water falling from the sky.

Using a 40% probability of rain as an example, it does not mean (1) that 40% of the area will be covered by precipitation at given time in the given forecast area or (2) that you will be seeing precipitation 40% of the time in the given forecast area for the given forecast time period.

Closer look at percentages

Let's use 60% as the rain chance in the forecast. That means 60% of the entire area (Central Florida) could see measurable rain at some point in the day, while the other 40% won't. That goes beyond the city that you live in.

Today the accuracy is around 97%. The biggest improvements we've seen are for longer timeframes. By the early 2000s, 5-day forecasts were “highly accurate” and 7-day forecasts are reaching that threshold today. 10-day forecasts aren't quite there yet but are getting better.

When you see a "100% chance of rain," it doesn't mean it's going to pour everywhere, all the time. Think of it like this: the forecasters are super confident that rain will fall somewhere within a certain area, but they're not sure exactly where or for how long.

An 80% chance of rain suggests that there is a high probability of rainfall, but it does not guarantee continuous rainfall throughout the day. It means that there is an 80% possibility that rain will occur at some point during the day, but there may also be periods of dry weather.

1. that 50 percent of the area will get wet. 2. or that it will rain 50 percent of the time. A 50 percent chance of rain means there is a 50 percent chance for any one spot in the forecast area to get wet during the forecast period.

Confidence multiplied by the percentage of the area forecasted equals the "percentage of precipitation." So if there's a 100% confidence that 30% of the area will see rain, then it's a 30% chance [(1 x 0.3)100 = PoPs].

A 100% chance of rain means it will certainly rain in a particular area during a particular time, but it may or may not include your forecast zone or area.

What does it mean when a forecast says there is a 60% chance of rain over the next 10 days? ›

The 60% has nothing to do with the amount of time of precipitation. The 60% either indicates the confidence of precipitation or the areal coverage of the precipitation. This means that 60% of the indicated area should recieve precipitation.

A forecast of a 20 percent chance of rain means the forecaster believes there is a one in five chance (20 percent) that measurable rain will occur in the time period covered by the forecast.

A seven-day forecast can accurately predict the weather about 80 percent of the time and a five-day forecast can accurately predict the weather approximately 90 percent of the time. However, a 10-day—or longer—forecast is only right about half the time.

Usually, a five-day forecast has a success rate of just under 90%. They are similarly accurate to three-day forecasts. You can use five-day forecasts to prepare for predictable severe weather, such as hurricanes and snowstorms. The temperature forecasts are also accurate up to five days ahead.

AccuWeather gathers the best and most comprehensive weather data to deliver forecasts with Superior Accuracy. Forecasts are pinpointed for every location on Earth and extend further ahead than any other source.

An 80 percent chance of rain (or of any other kind of precipitation) means the weather forecaster believes there will be an eight in ten chance (or 80 chances out of 100) of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch or more) in the area under consideration during the time interval that is specified in the weather forecast ( ...

What does this "40 percent" mean? ...will it rain 40 percent of of the time? ...will it rain over 40 percent of the area? The "Probability of Precipitation" (PoP) simply describes the probability that the forecast grid/point in question will receive at least 0.01" of rain.

A percentage is a proportion of an amount, group or set. Another way to think of this is as a fraction out of 100. So if you had an 80% success rate at a task, this would mean that for every 100 attempts, 80 of them would be a success.

A chance of rain refers to a probability between 30% and 50%. A likely chance of rain would be between 60% and 70%. And with any probability of precipitation higher than 75%, the forecaster has the option of describing it as “periods of rain,” “occasional rain” or simply “rain,” Blier said.