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Which difficulty defeated Richardson's early forecast attempt?

  • A.The absence of any computing machinery capable of performing the arithmetic within a useful time
  • B.An error in the equations
  • C.The lack of upper air observations over the ocean where the systems being forecast had originated
  • D.Unfiltered gravity waves in the initial data

Answer: D

Richardson's initial pressure field contained an imbalance that excited large amplitude gravity waves, producing a predicted surface pressure change of 145 hectopascals in six hours. The equations and the arithmetic were essentially correct. The episode led directly to the development of initialisation techniques and to the use of filtered equation sets, and it is the standard illustration of why balance in the initial conditions matters so much. Naming the cost of a choice alongside its benefit is what turns a fact into a design decision.

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