A clearer view of the weather.

Google announced WeatherNext 3 on 3 September. The company says the model incorporates real-time satellite observations, produces hourly forecasts, and sharpens surface temperature and moisture forecasts to a five-kilometre grid. It plans to bring the forecasts to Search, Gemini, Maps and Google Cloud. Those are Google’s claims, not our independent performance test.

The interesting part is where the forecast lands. A transport operator needs a decision about tomorrow’s route. An energy team needs to estimate what its wind and solar assets will produce. Neither particularly needs another marvellous demo.

Our view: distribution turns model capability into a usable service. Ask whether a forecast changes a decision, how uncertainty is shown, and what happens when it is wrong. A more detailed map is useful. A beautifully precise mistake is still a mistake.