A quote Edward Lorenz's paper "Maximum Simplification of the Dynamic Equations." Tellus, Vol 12, Num 3, August 1960.

... In order to make the best attainable forecast of the future weather, it would be desirable to express the physical laws as exactly as possible, and determine the initial conditions as precisely as possible. Yet the ultimate achievement of producing perfect forecasts, by applying equations already known to be precise, if such a feat were possible, would not by itself increase our understanding of the atmosphere, no matter how important it might be from other considerations. For example, if we should observe a hurricane, we might ask ourselves, "Why did this hurricane form?" If we could determine the exact initial conditions at an earlier time, and if we should feed these conditions, together with a program for integrating the exact equations, into an electronic computer, we should in due time receive a forecast from the computer, which would show the presence of a hurricane. We then might still be justified in asking why the hurricane formed. The answer that the physical laws required a hurricane to form from the given antecedent conditions might not satisfy us, since we were aware of that fact even before integrating the equations.

It is only when we use systematically imperfect equations or initial conditions that we can begin to gain further understanding of the phenomena which we observe. For if we omit the terms representing specified physical processes, such as friction, from the equations, or if we fail to include certain observable features, such as cloudiness, in the initial conditions, we may, by comparing the mathematical solutions with reality, gain some insight concerning the relative importance of the retained and omitted features. Of course, in doing so we forgo the opportunity of simultaneously making the best attainable forecast.