Meteorology: Bad weather ahead

Vision in Bad Weather

Current vision systems are designed to perform in clear weather. Needless to say, in any outdoor application, there is no escape from “bad” weather. Ultimately, computer vision systems must include mechanisms that enable them to function (even if somewhat less reliably) in the presence of haze, fog, rain, hail and snow. We begin by studying the visual manifestations of different weather conditi...

Chromatic Framework for Vision in Bad Weather

Conventional vision systems are designed to perform in clear weather. However, any outdoor vision system is incomplete without mechanisms that guarantee satisfactory performance under poor weather conditions. It is known that the atmosphere can significantly alter light energy reaching an observer. Therefore, atmospheric scattering models must be used to make vision systems robust in bad weathe...

Rainmakers: why bad weather means good productivity.

People believe that weather conditions influence their everyday work life, but to date, little is known about how weather affects individual productivity. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we predict and find that bad weather increases individual productivity and that it does so by eliminating potential cognitive distractions resulting from good weather. When the weather is bad, individuals appe...

Climate change and infectious disease: stormy weather ahead?

Extreme weather events are becoming more intense, and are likely to become more frequent as the world climate changes.1,2 For epidemiologists, one important aspect of these trends is their impact on infectious disease. In this issue of EPIDEMIOLOGY, Woodruff et al.3 demonstrate a strong association between heavy rainfall and outbreaks of Ross River virus disease. Ross River virus is mosquito bo...

The Impact of Weather Forecasts on Day-Ahead Power Prices