What makes weathermen go wrong?

Washington: The models used to predict the weather can't accurately track highly influential climatic elements, which is why forecasts often go wrong, a researcher says.

You look forward to a sunny forecast, but end up cursing the weatherman after a thorough soaking on your way to the office. But Julie Crockett, mechanical engineering professor at Brigham Young University, says it is not the weatherman's fault - something very few people know.

The models used for predicting weather can't accurately track highly influential elements called internal waves, says Crockett, the International Journal of Geophysics reports.

Atmospheric internal waves are waves that propagate between layers of low-density and high-density air. Although hard to describe, almost everyone has seen or felt these waves, according to a Brigham statement.

Cloud patterns made up of repeating lines are the result of internal waves, and airplane turbulence happens when internal waves run into each other and break.

"When internal waves deposit their energy, it can force the wind faster or slow the wind down such that it can enhance large scale weather patterns or extreme kinds of events," Crockett said. "We are trying to get a better feel for where that wave energy is going."

Internal waves also exist in oceans between layers of low-density and high-density water. These waves, often visible from space, affect the general circulation of the ocean and phenomena like the Gulf Stream and Jet Stream.

Both oceanic and atmospheric internal waves carry a significant amount of energy that can alter climates.