Weather from Microsoft Start has the best forecasting thanks to AI

Microsoft just announced that its Weather API on Windows is the overall most accurate weather forecast provider globally, according to ForecastWatch. From their 2023 report, the analysts write that the Redmond giant’s predictions were the most accurate, seriously outranking the famous Weather Channel.

Microsoft scored the most first-place finishes (50,624) globally in 2023 for all 13 metrics and one
through five days out. The Weather Channel had the second most with 39,145, and Foreca/Vaisala
had the third most with 12,917. Weerplaza was fourth with 8,696, AccuWeather had 7.364, and
CFAN had 5.482. The other 16 providers had fewer than 4,000 each.

ForecastWatch 2023 report

Why is the Microsoft Start Weather app so accurate?

In a nutshell, Microsoft attributes this win on its new approach to weather forecasting, that implicates the use of AI.

Weather forecasting has traditionally used supercomputers and large-scale physics simulations. Weather from Microsoft Start reimagined weather forecasting using AI, bringing together massive weather datasets, large scale computation models, mapping and topography data plus real-time reports from users.

Even with the classic model of doing things, weather forecasting specialists use simulations and previous data to predict the future developments. However, it’s obvious that an AI model can analyze a lot more data a lot faster, which also results in better and more accurate predictions.

What’s more interesting is that Microsoft’s Weather app received the same title in 2022. Here’s how ForecastWatch assessed the various weather prediction services:

This independent study of 22 weather services for the entire year of 2023 evaluated 13 different metrics. Weather from Microsoft Start had the top scores for multiple metrics including high and low temperature predictions and cloud cover forecasts. This included forecasts for 1-5 days out. In fact, Weather from Microsoft Start’s total first place percentages were 11% higher than last year and the lead from the nearest competitor grew by 4%.

So, Weather from Microsoft Start’s increased its weather prediction accuracy by 11% from last year, a lot more than the competitors. Microsoft also states in their announcement that it used the Weather app to send over 150 billion notifications to users all over the world, including 9 billion severe weather alerts.

You should also know that the same app is also included in Edge, MSN and Bing. We could also bet that Copilot will also use data from the same source if you ask the bot about the weather in your area.

So, if you want to know whether you need to grab your umbrella on your way out or schedule that barbeque next weekend, you should definitely check out Microsoft’s Weather app.