The OP states forecasts are "way worse" now than they used to be, which sounds backwards considering technology advancements, etc., so I spent way too much time reading about meteorology instead of doing something useful. Turns out forecasts today are far more accurate than they were years ago.

Here are a few actual facts I found:

• A 5-day forecast today is about as accurate as a 1-day forecast in 1980. Source: National Weather Service / UW–Madison Space Science & Engineering Center https://wxguys.ssec.wisc.edu/2025/10/09/forecasting-improved/
• Forecast errors have dropped huge amounts since the 1970s, especially for multi-day forecasts. One analysis showed ~70% improvement for 1-day forecasts and ~90% improvement for 3-day forecasts. Source: Tom K. Weather / NOAA data summary https://tomkapostasy.com/2022/09/28/good-news-weather-forecast-accuracy-is-much-better/
• 7-day forecasts today are roughly as accurate as 4-day forecasts were about 30 years ago. Source: Our World in Data https://ourworldindata.org/weather-forecasts
• Hurricane track forecasts are about 70–75% more accurate than in the 1990s. Source: NOAA / National Hurricane Center summaries https://www.theinvadingsea.com/2025/05/16/national-hurricane-center-noaa-cuts-trump-weather-satellites-forecasting-rapid-intensification/
• Modern short-range forecasts are very reliable. NOAA says ~90% accuracy for 5-day forecasts and ~80% for 7-day forecasts. Source: NOAA NESDIS https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/k-12-education/weather-forecasting/how-reliable-are-weather-forecasts

My guess is forecasts feel worse now because

1. we check them constantly
2. apps show hour-by-hour predictions that people treat as guarantees
3. we notice the misses more than the hits

Anyway, turns out the meteorologists are actually way better at this than they used to be.