ORLANDO, Fla. – You see it every day. “There’s a 30% chance for rain Friday and a 30% chance for rain Saturday.” But what do those numbers actually mean?
It doesn’t mean that it will rain 30% of the day. It also doesn’t mean that 30% of the area will see rain. A viral TikTok video of all things got the conversation started earlier this year when a user incorrectly defined the rain chance, also known as the probability of precipitation.
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It doesn’t mean that there is a 100% chance that 30% of the area will see rain as the user states. This is what the actual definition is.
If there were a 30% chance for rain on a given day, that means that at any point in a given area for a duration of time, in our case Central Florida, you have a 30%, or 3 out of 10 chance of seeing rain.
Believe it or not, there is a mathematical equation that does take into account areal coverage, but also forecaster confidence.
That would be the percentage if a meteorologist is pinpointing for a specific location, say Walt Disney World since the park isn’t going anywhere and the forecast becomes one point that won’t move. The chance would actually increase a little if you were moving around the region.
If all of this is still confusing, which it is, just know that a higher percentage increases your likelihood of getting wet at a set time, whether it be an hour in your Pinpoint Weather app, or for the entire afternoon as a whole.
One more important thing to note: The percentage doesn’t take into account rainfall intensity or duration, so even if rain chances are low, it can still be extremely intense or last a while where it does fall.