Getting Sandy Right

Nate Cohn praises meteorologists’ forecasts:

The models correctly anticipated an unprecedented storm with startling precision, nailing the storm’s unusual path, strength, and character well in [advance]. As predicted, Sandy transformed into a hybrid storm of unprecedented size and intensity, with tropical storm force winds stretching over 1,000 miles across, making it the largest tropical cyclone in the history of the Atlantic. While meteorologists often get a bad rap, they deserve credit for forecasting a historic storm well in advance.

William Hooke adds:

Imagine…if Hurricane Sandy had been forecast to go out to sea, as might have been the case as recently as a decade ago…or un-forecast entirely. Picture hundreds of thousands of people along an unprepared coastline waking up to the sound of surf and wind, the sight of flooding, and the realization that evacuation routes were closed off by the high waters.