On 28/01/13 22:20, John Hall wrote:
In article
,
Jim writes:
Weather Action forecasts are the only long-range weather forecasts
that have proven skill verified by independent academic statisticians
and published in scientific literature.
Early Weather Action (Solar Weather Technique) skill was independently
verified in a peer-reviewed paper by Dr Dennis Wheeler, University of
Sunderland, in the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial
Physics, Vol 63 (2001) p29-34.
snip

I know that Dr Wheeler is highly regarded, but I'd like to know exactly
what it was he was examining and what his conclusions were. I have a
feeling that the connection between what he was looking at and Weather
Action might prove rather tenuous.


I found the title and abstract via a quick search:

"A verification of UK gale forecasts by the ‘solar weather technique’:
October 1995–September 1997"

"In recent years the ‘solar weather’ technique of weather forecasting
which takes into account of the influence of the sun has received much
attention. No attempt has hitherto been made to determine the success,
or otherwise, of elements of these forecasts, which include solar
predictors and are prepared 6–11 months in advance of the events they
predict. This paper conducts an evaluation of these forecasts but
confines attention to the prediction of gales. Skill levels are assessed
over different seasons. The results, whilst differing greatly between
the seasons, reveal a degree of success that cannot readily be accounted
for by chance and suggest that this system of forecasting continues to
be assessed over a longer time period to further investigate these
findings."

You have to pay to get hold of the full article.