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Contains modified EUMETSAT Meteosat data (2026). GoodSeeing computes cloud fractions and aggregate verification statistics from cloud masks. EUMETSAT data policy and attribution. Independent verification, not EUMETSAT endorsement.

Independent cloud verification

Cloud forecast, tested.

A fixed 30-location cohort pairs the ~12-hour cloud forecast with an independent satellite mask for each astronomically dark hour.

Cloud only · not the full GoodSeeing score
11,671Verified completed-night hours
30 / 10Locations toward gate
47 / 14Completed nights toward gate
100%Publication gate
Published skill · rolling 90 days

Two cohorts. Never averaged together.

Download auditable CSV
Populated skies · 0-24h lead

Peirce skill +0.56

50% observed clear-hour base rate · +0.56 Heidke skill · 22.6 point cloud MAE.

3,196 matched hours · 47 nights · 8 locations · cells 1252/354/343/1247 (hit / false alarm / miss / correct cloudy) · updated 2026-11-03

Dark-site references · 0-24h lead

Peirce skill +0.54

42% observed clear-hour base rate · +0.54 Heidke skill · 22.2 point cloud MAE.

8,475 matched hours · 47 nights · 22 locations · cells 2532/805/1067/4071 (hit / false alarm / miss / correct cloudy) · updated 2026-11-03

Completed-night evidence

One night or one location—without the spreadsheet.

~12h reference forecast
Acadia National Park2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · GOES
40.6 ptcloud MAE · 7 matching classifications · 3 discrepancies · 50% observed clear
Alice Springs2026-11-01 · 8 dark hours · HIMAWARI
25.1 ptcloud MAE · 4 matching classifications · 4 discrepancies · 75% observed clear
Aoraki Mackenzie (Lake Tekapo)2026-11-01 · 6 dark hours · HIMAWARI
12.0 ptcloud MAE · 6 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 0% observed clear
Big Bend National Park2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · GOES
45.9 ptcloud MAE · 3 matching classifications · 7 discrepancies · 80% observed clear
Cherry Springs State Park2026-11-01 · 11 dark hours · GOES
13.0 ptcloud MAE · 11 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 0% observed clear
Chicago2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · GOES
20.1 ptcloud MAE · 10 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 0% observed clear
Columbus2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · GOES
0.6 ptcloud MAE · 10 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 0% observed clear
Cosmic Campground2026-11-01 · 11 dark hours · GOES
88.1 ptcloud MAE · 1 matching classifications · 10 discrepancies · 91% observed clear
Death Valley National Park2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · GOES
1.6 ptcloud MAE · 10 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 100% observed clear
Houston2026-11-01 · 11 dark hours · GOES
14.8 ptcloud MAE · 10 matching classifications · 1 discrepancy · 9% observed clear
Jasper National Park2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · GOES
49.9 ptcloud MAE · 3 matching classifications · 7 discrepancies · 90% observed clear
Los Angeles2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · GOES
0.6 ptcloud MAE · 10 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 100% observed clear
Mauna Kea2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · HIMAWARI
13.0 ptcloud MAE · 10 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 0% observed clear
Mont-Mégantic2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · GOES
14.9 ptcloud MAE · 8 matching classifications · 2 discrepancies · 50% observed clear
Nelson2026-11-01 · 7 dark hours · HIMAWARI
9.1 ptcloud MAE · 7 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 0% observed clear
New York City2026-11-01 · 10 dark hours · GOES
32.3 ptcloud MAE · 5 matching classifications · 5 discrepancies · 30% observed clear
Queenstown2026-11-01 · 6 dark hours · HIMAWARI
1.4 ptcloud MAE · 6 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 0% observed clear
Siding Spring Observatory2026-11-01 · 8 dark hours · HIMAWARI
53.1 ptcloud MAE · 4 matching classifications · 4 discrepancies · 100% observed clear
Sydney2026-11-01 · 8 dark hours · HIMAWARI
24.8 ptcloud MAE · 7 matching classifications · 1 discrepancy · 13% observed clear
Toronto2026-11-01 · 11 dark hours · GOES
12.9 ptcloud MAE · 11 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 18% observed clear
Uluru-Kata Tjuta2026-11-01 · 9 dark hours · HIMAWARI
0.0 ptcloud MAE · 9 matching classifications · 0 discrepancies · 100% observed clear
Wood Buffalo National Park2026-11-01 · 11 dark hours · GOES
7.2 ptcloud MAE · 10 matching classifications · 1 discrepancy · 100% observed clear
Declared validation cohort

Dark references and populated skies

30 fixed sites
Urban and suburban cohort · 8
Dark-site reference cohort · 22
Big Bend National ParkTexas, United States19.9 pt error69 nights · 651 matched hours · 59% observed clearCherry Springs State ParkPennsylvania, United States20.5 pt error69 nights · 613 matched hours · 44% observed clearDeath Valley National ParkCalifornia, United States11.7 pt error69 nights · 633 matched hours · 80% observed clearCosmic CampgroundNew Mexico, United States27.5 pt error69 nights · 633 matched hours · 55% observed clearAcadia National ParkMaine, United States19.6 pt error69 nights · 602 matched hours · 50% observed clearMont-MéganticQuebec, Canada19.3 pt error69 nights · 595 matched hours · 36% observed clearJasper National ParkAlberta, Canada26.2 pt error69 nights · 561 matched hours · 35% observed clearWood Buffalo National ParkAlberta, Canada26.7 pt error69 nights · 507 matched hours · 27% observed clearExmoor National ParkEngland, United Kingdom31.2 pt error49 nights · 374 matched hours · 45% observed clearGalloway Forest ParkScotland, United Kingdom15.8 pt error49 nights · 351 matched hours · 8% observed clearNorthumberland Dark Sky ParkEngland, United Kingdom23.5 pt error49 nights · 348 matched hours · 15% observed clearBannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)Wales, United Kingdom20.4 pt error49 nights · 371 matched hours · 24% observed clearElan ValleyWales, United Kingdom19.5 pt error49 nights · 369 matched hours · 21% observed clearKerry Dark Sky ReserveIreland30.5 pt error49 nights · 367 matched hours · 39% observed clearIsle of CollScotland, United Kingdom21.6 pt error49 nights · 335 matched hours · 19% observed clearAoraki Mackenzie (Lake Tekapo)Canterbury, New Zealand22.6 pt error69 nights · 568 matched hours · 43% observed clearSiding Spring ObservatoryNew South Wales, Australia17.7 pt error69 nights · 609 matched hours · 70% observed clearUluru-Kata TjutaNorthern Territory, Australia20.7 pt error69 nights · 639 matched hours · 60% observed clearMauna KeaHawaii, United States34.5 pt error69 nights · 651 matched hours · 26% observed clearAlice SpringsNorthern Territory, Australia21.8 pt error69 nights · 626 matched hours · 67% observed clearQueenstownOtago, New Zealand21.7 pt error69 nights · 559 matched hours · 19% observed clearNelsonNelson, New Zealand24.1 pt error69 nights · 585 matched hours · 56% observed clear
Reading the evidence

Four outcomes, one threshold

Clear = cloud ≤30%
Match: clearForecast clear · satellite clear
False alarmForecast clear · satellite cloudy
MissForecast cloudy · satellite clear
Match: cloudyForecast cloudy · satellite cloudy
Limits, skill definitions and data sources

Peirce skill is the observed-clear detection rate minus the probability of falsely detecting clear sky during an observed-cloudy hour. It measures discrimination after accounting for how often the sample was clear: +1 is perfect, 0 has no discrimination, and a negative value is worse than the corresponding constant decision. Heidke skill is shown as a secondary chance-corrected score. The observed clear-hour base rate sits beside every skill score, and samples above 85% clear are flagged as low-information. The two cohort classes are never averaged into a published headline. GoodSeeing's NASA climate pages measure usable nights, not hourly clear occurrence, so that different-granularity statistic is not substituted for an hourly base rate. This verifies cloud only—not the full observing score. Satellite masks can miss thin cirrus, smoke and haze, and they do not measure atmospheric steadiness. Forecasts come from MET Norway; independent masks come from NOAA GOES, EUMETSAT Meteosat and Himawari. Comparable results begin with the first full observing night on 25 August 2026. Observations never alter the forecast shown for that hour. Download the rolling contingency counts and metrics as CSV.

Method changelog

25 August 2026: the comparable series was reset to require exact UTC-hour matches, one astronomical-darkness boundary and version-qualified satellite masks; earlier display-resampled observations remain archived but do not enter public results.

3 September 2026: the publication counter was clarified as a completed-night snapshot. Incoming observations can increase during a day, but a night counts only after the UTC date closes and its required coverage passes.

4 September 2026: the publication metric was frozen before release: Peirce skill leads, observed base rate is adjacent, populated and dark-site cohorts are reported separately, and raw contingency counts are downloadable.