Charlotte meteorologist Brad Panovich explains chance of rain, talks AI in meteorology and more

Axios

15-04-2025

We recently caught up with WCNC's chief meteorologist, Brad Panovich, to hear his thoughts on the Apple weather app — and why he thinks you should delete it.
Why it matters: During the interview, we hit on a few other topics in the world of meteorology, including what "chance of rain" means, AI replacing your local meteorologist and federal cuts impacting forecasts.
On the chance of rain. A few years ago, a trend on TikTok made many people realize they didn't understand what the chance of rain in a forecast actually meant.
Panovich explains it like this: The probability of precipitation, AKA "chance of rain," is how much of the area will see rain multiplied by the confidence in the forecast that it will rain.
"So, 100% chance of rain doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a heavy all-day rain," Panovich says. "It just means we're 100% confident that everybody's going to get some rain at some point."
That said, it might just be a short shower, not a reason to cancel your beach plans.
On whether AI could replace your local weatherperson. So far, it hasn't. Panovich says he's been using AI for years as a tool to improve weather models and save time.
"It just makes our job easier," Panovich says. "I can focus more on communicating the forecast, putting out better graphics...so people understand it, and I don't have to spend as many hours crunching numbers."
On federal cuts impacting the forecasts. Government cuts have led the National Weather Service to reduce weather balloon launches across the U.S.
Those balloons gather crucial information for forecasting, such as a three-dimensional view of the atmosphere.
"If there's a cold front in North Dakota right now and it's going to be our weather this weekend, we would not have a good sampling of that storm," Panovich says, "because the weather balloons in Fargo or Grand Forks are not being launched."