A scoring framework for tiered warnings and multicategorical forecasts based on fixed risk measures

Abstract

The use of tiered warnings and multicategorical forecasts are ubiquitous in meteorological operations. Here, a flexible family of scoring functions is presented for evaluating the performance of ordered multicategorical forecasts. Each score has a risk parameter 𝛼, selected for the specific use case, so that it is consistent with a forecast directive based on the fixed threshold probability 1 − 𝛼 (equivalently, a fixed 𝛼-quantile mapping). Each score also has use-case specific weights so that forecasters who accurately discriminate between categorical thresholds are rewarded in proportion to the weight for that threshold. A variation is presented where the penalty assigned to near misses or close false alarms is discounted, which again is consistent with directives based on fixed risk measures. The scores presented provide an alternative to many performance measures currently in use, whose optimal threshold probabilities for forecasting an event typically vary with each forecast case, and in the case of equitable scores are based around sample base rates rather than risk measures suitable for users.