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A rainy Masters? One prediction says yes

By |  March 20, 2014
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Photo: KSHB

Weather can be an unpredictable force and with the Masters on the mind, there has been a long-term forecast of rain during the tournament.

Gary Lezak, chief meteorologist at KSHB in Kanas City, Mo., makes predictions about the future. Lezak may not have a crystal ball at his disposal, but instead uses a theory called Lezak’s Recurring Cycle (LRC). “My company (Weather 2020) is based on the knowledge of the cycling weather pattern. I can make these weather forecasts from day one all the way to 50, 100, even 250 days into the future as soon as I know the weather pattern,” says Lezak.

Utilizing these cycles of weather patterns, Lezak successfully predicted the unusual weather for the 2014 Super Bowl in New Jersey. “The Super Bowl forecast was one we made 50 days before the Super Bowl, but we gained confidence (in January when we made our prediction four weeks out) that it would warm up into the 50s as we moved into the Super Bowl and no chance of snow. We even said it might snow a day or two later and it did. It may have been the best forecast I made in my entire career because it ended up being in the 50s that day,” says Lezak.

According to Lezak, a unique weather pattern is established each fall in October or November. This pattern cycles throughout the year, allowing the meteorologist to make predictions well into the future. Though the details can be difficult to pin down, Lezak says his predictions through Weather 2020 are more accurate than a more traditional seven day forecast. “A 50 day forecast will be as accurate as a three or four day forecast is today using the LRC.”

iPad Launch

Photo: KSHB

As far as the Masters is concerned, the forecast is both good and bad. “I think it’s going to rain for the practice rounds on the Masters, then dry out. For the Masters tournament itself, there may be one brief period of rain, but most of that tournament is going to be in the 70s and nice. That’s our forecast based on the pattern,” says Lezak.

Weather 2020 currently offers an app for IOS7 devices that provides forecasts 12 weeks in advance. The long-range weather predictions can be helpful for everything from planning events and vacations to long-term plans on the golf course. Lezak suggests that this app could reduce uncertainty of weather patterns for superintendents.

“When is it going to be wet? When is it going to be dry? When is the most likely time to have rain and storm systems? You’ll be able to use the app to see which weeks will be wet, which weeks will be dry. It’s really a cool tool as we evolve from here,” says Lezak.

The app should be available for Android users within the next year.

This is posted in Online Exclusive

About the Author: Molly Gase

Molly Gase was an Associate Editor for Golfdom and Athletic Turf. Gase is a recent graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University with a master’s degree in Magazine, Newspaper and Online Journalism.


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