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Read the Reports
Read the Reports

How We Measure Forecast Accuracy

Forecast accuracy becomes meaningful when error is measured openly. On forecast day 1, the meteoblue Learning MultiModel (mLM) achieves a global mean absolute error of 1.06 °C, 34 percent lower than the best global weather model in our monthly comparison.

Ranking of global weather models by mean absolute error for air temperature, with meteoblue mLM in first place

Weather Model Accuracy Comparison

Chart of mean absolute error by forecast day, showing meteoblue mLM with the lowest error from nowcast up to day 7

Best accuracy up to day 7

On day 5 the meteoblue mLM is still as accurate as the best global weather model is on day 1: four extra days of lead time without losing accuracy.

Bar chart of the reduction in mean absolute error achieved by meteoblue mLM on each continent against the best global weather model

The most accurate forecast on every continent

From Europe to Australia, the meteoblue mLM lowers mean absolute error by 20 to 33 percent against the best global weather model, using one consistent methodology worldwide.

Forecast accuracy for temperature, dew point and wind speed, with station count and data volume per variable

Temperature, dew point and wind speed accuracy

Each weather variable is verified separately every month. We publish the station count and data volume behind every accuracy score so the numbers can be checked.

Quality control funnel showing how candidate weather stations are filtered to the verified stations used as ground truth

Measured against real weather stations

Actual station observations are our ground truth, not model reanalysis. Strict quality control filters unreliable measurements, and only about 60 percent of candidate stations meet the standard.

Grid of the global weather models in the monthly benchmark: IFS, AIFS, GFS, NEMSGLOBAL, ICON, ARPEGE, UKMO and GEM

Benchmarked against the best global weather models

Our monthly weather model comparison evaluates meteoblue against IFS and AIFS (ECMWF), GFS (NOAA), NEMSGLOBAL (NOAA/meteoblue), ICON (DWD), ARPEGE (Météo-France), UKMO (UK Met Office) and GEM (Environment Canada).

How to Read These Numbers

We take what a weather station recorded, hour by hour, and subtract what was predicted. Everything shown below is calculated from that difference.

Illustration of mean absolute error as the average gap between forecast and measured values

Mean absolute error

The typical size of the gap between forecast and measurement, in the unit of the variable itself. If the MAE for air temperature is 1 °C, a typical hour was off by about 1 °C. Use it to answer how wrong the forecast normally is.

Illustration of root mean square error, where large forecast misses weigh more than small ones

Root mean square error

The same gaps, but each one is squared before averaging, so a single large miss counts far more than several small ones. RMSE is always greater than or equal to MAE, and the distance between the two shows how often the forecast misses badly rather than slightly. Use it when rare large errors cost more than frequent small ones.

Illustration of mean error, showing whether a forecast leans systematically high or low

Mean error, or bias

Whether the forecast leans high or low over time. Near zero means over- and under-predictions cancel out. A persistent value means a systematic lean, which can often be calibrated out once you know it is there. Use it when setting absolute thresholds.

How to interpret the results

Metric
Better result
MAE and RMSE
Lower is better
ME / Bias
Closer to zero is better
In the monthly reports: negative percentage = lower error · positive percentage = higher error

June 2026 Verification Results

Mean absolute error in °C for air temperature, computed at hourly resolution against verified station measurements. Lower is better.

Mean absolute error for air temperature by continent (°C), forecast day 1

Model Europe Asia Africa N. America S. America Australia
Model 1 1.66 1.52 1.69 1.74 1.59 1.40
Model 2 2.20 2.28 2.20 2.25 2.06 1.81
Model 3 2.29 2.51 2.40 2.47 2.45 2.13
Model 4 1.75 1.67 1.78 1.76 1.65 1.41
Model 5 2.10 1.94 2.03 2.33 1.85 1.70
Model 6 1.86 1.76 2.08 2.00 1.76 1.55
Model 7 2.04 2.03 2.19 2.06 1.94 1.70
Model 8 1.81 1.65 1.68 1.86 1.65 1.62

Global MAE by forecast day (°C)

Model D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7
Model 1 1.61 1.69 1.82 1.95 2.12 2.31 2.56
Model 2 2.21 2.22 2.30 2.40 2.56 2.73 3.00
Model 3 2.19 2.40 2.58 2.72 2.89 3.09 3.35
Model 4 1.64 1.75 1.85 1.90 2.05 2.21 –
Model 5 2.02 2.21 2.37 2.52 – – –
Model 6 1.82 1.93 2.03 2.14 2.30 2.45 –
Model 7 1.92 2.04 2.13 2.22 2.40 2.52 2.80
Model 8 1.79 1.83 1.87 1.94 2.05 2.21 2.44

Lead time gained by meteoblue mLM

Reference model MAE day 1 Lead time gained
Model 1 1.61 +4 days
Model 4 1.64 +4 days
Model 8 1.79 +5 days
Model 6 1.82 +5 days
Model 7 1.92 +5 days
Model 5 2.02 +5 days
Model 3 2.19 +6 days
Model 2 2.21 +6 days

Continental and global scores are computed over different station groupings and are not averages of one another.

A dash marks a model that does not produce a forecast at that lead time.

Where a meteoblue Forecast Comes From

Measurements and observations show what is happening right now, dozens of weather models supply the physics, and the mLM turns all of them into one forecast for your location.

Data sources

Real-time

Measurements

Station networks reporting continuously, from national services, partners and customer sites.

open datapartnermeteoblue

Real-time

Observations

Satellite imagery and radar, covering what is happening between the stations.

open datapartner

Continuous

External model runs

Global and regional forecast models published by the major weather services.

open datapaid

meteoblue weather engine

  1. 1

    Global models

    Cover the whole globe up to 14 days ahead. meteoblue runs its own and adds the other major global models.

  2. 2

    High-resolution models

    Add finer detail for the next 1 to 5 days, but often disagree on rain. We integrate virtually all of them.

  3. 3

    Learning MultiModel (mLM)

    The most important step: learns which model to trust in which weather situation at your location and combines more than 100 forecasts into one.

  4. 4

    Downscaling

    Adds local detail coarser models cannot resolve, from topography and land cover and, for variables such as wind speed, from physical models of the local flow.

  5. 5

    Nowcasting

    Updates the next 3 to 6 hours with the newest radar, satellite and ground-station observations.

Outputs

Weather API

The post-processed forecast for an exact location rather than the surrounding grid cell.

Raw model runs

Every underlying model, unprocessed, for workflows that need a full set of different forecasts.

Key takeaway

One forecast for your coordinates

meteoblue evaluates more than 100 different forecasts and turns them into the best possible forecast for the exact point you asked for, corrected with real-time observations from stations, radar and satellites, and updated by nowcasts for the hours ahead.
grid cell → point forecast

What Happens to the Data Before You See It

Buying weather data rarely means buying a different model. Almost every model behind a meteoblue forecast is available to other providers too. The difference is made in the steps that turn many conflicting forecasts into one.

Diagram of the meteoblue Learning MultiModel combining many weather model forecasts into one consensus forecast
mLM

meteoblue Learning MultiModel

Weighs every available model by how it behaves at your location in each weather situation, and combines contradictory forecasts into one consensus. Where measurements exist nearby it learns from them; where none do, further post-processing still improves on the raw models.

Diagram of downscaling, turning one value for a coarse grid cell into a forecast for an exact point using terrain and land cover
DOWNSCALING

Downscaling

Adds the local detail coarser models cannot resolve. Topography, land cover and, for variables such as wind speed, physical models turn one value for a wide grid cell into a forecast for your exact point.

Diagram of nowcasting, updating the next hours of the forecast with the latest radar, satellite and station observations
NOWCAST

Nowcasting

Combines the downscaled forecast with the newest observations from radar, satellites and ground stations to predict the next 3 to 6 hours, updated every 5 to 10 minutes. For that short window, nowcasts are the most accurate forecasts available.

How they work together

These steps build on one another. The mLM combines every available model into one consensus forecast, downscaling adds local detail from terrain, land cover and physical models, and nowcasting updates the next few hours with the latest radar, satellite and station data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which forecast is the most accurate?

In our monthly benchmark the meteoblue Learning MultiModel (mLM) has the lowest mean absolute error in the comparison, at 1.06 °C on forecast day 1 against 1.61 °C for the best raw model. The mLM is not a weather model in its own right: it is a post-processed consensus built from the raw models, measurements and machine learning. Among the raw global models the differences are smaller and the ranking shifts between regions and variables, which is why we combine them rather than relying on a single one.

How accurate is a 7-day forecast?

Forecast error grows with lead time, but not evenly. In June 2026 the meteoblue Learning MultiModel had a mean absolute error of 1.06 °C on day 1, 1.53 °C on day 5 and 2.03 °C on day 7, for air temperature measured hourly against verified station data. For comparison, the best raw global model reached 2.44 °C on day 7. The practical difference is not the decimal but the horizon: our day 5 forecast is about as accurate as the best raw model's day 1 forecast.

What do you use as ground truth?

Actual weather station observations, not model reanalysis. Our independent baseline spans national weather services plus a partner network of more than 100,000 stations. Strict quality control filters out unreliable measurements before anything enters the comparison, and only about 60 percent of candidate stations meet the standard. For temperature in June 2026 that left 78,376 stations and roughly 45 million hourly measurements.

Can I see the verification data for my own location?

Yes. For a quick look at any point on the map, the short-term verification meteogram at meteoblue.com/en/weather/forecast/verificationshort plots our forecast against the nearest station for the last 3 to 10 days. Beyond that we can access verification metrics for any individual station worldwide in real time, so accuracy can be checked at the locations that actually matter to you rather than at a global average. Contact us with your coordinates or station list and our team will pull the scores for your sites.

Does accuracy depend on location?

Considerably. Topography, land cover and the frequency of small-scale weather all affect how predictable a place is, and measurement density varies just as much. For temperature in June 2026 the verification drew on 43,903 stations in North America and 22,163 in Europe, against 1,363 in Africa. That is why we publish the station count per continent rather than a single global average, and why we can produce verification for your specific sites on request.

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