On 05/10/2017 12:32, Richard Dixon wrote:
On Thursday, 5 October 2017 12:21:56 UTC+1, Graham P Davis wrote:

Met Office computer forecast was also going for storms on the Sunday.
When someone asked me in the pub on Monday evening what the weather
would be like on on Friday at Wentworth - he was going to the golf
tournament - I warned him that there'd be storm force winds. In each
successive run of the computer forecast during the week, it looked as
though it was chickening out and if I'd seen the guy on Wednesday
evening, I'd've told him not to worry!

I think in Glenn Shutts' paper (think it might be an internal Met Office paper) on the storm about a "successful fine mesh forecast" (here fine mesh was 50km!) there was talk about a 5-day run being absolutely bang on - so this seems to tally with it !

Richard

I have a copy of the official report (unfortunately I can see neither a
MO number nor an author. There is a letter from one Norman Lynagh sent
to the Independent, which actually defended the Met Office from the
opprobrium heaped on it by the tabloids. One thing that came out of the
storm was the Met Office Press Office and I benefited by being the first
full time press officer (before me as a manager and a part time Press
and Public Officer.

The report is very matter of fact and doesn't try and obfuscate the
facts, in keeping with the scientific organisation the Met Office was in
those days. Not sure it would be the same today though.

Metman2012 wrote:

On 05/10/2017 12:32, Richard Dixon wrote:
On Thursday, 5 October 2017 12:21:56 UTC+1, Graham P Davis wrote:

Met Office computer forecast was also going for storms on the Sunday.
When someone asked me in the pub on Monday evening what the weather
would be like on on Friday at Wentworth - he was going to the golf
tournament - I warned him that there'd be storm force winds. In each
successive run of the computer forecast during the week, it looked as
though it was chickening out and if I'd seen the guy on Wednesday
evening, I'd've told him not to worry!

I think in Glenn Shutts' paper (think it might be an internal Met Office
paper) on the storm about a "successful fine mesh forecast" (here fine mesh
was 50km!) there was talk about a 5-day run being absolutely bang on - so
this seems to tally with it !

Richard

I have a copy of the official report (unfortunately I can see neither a MO
number nor an author. There is a letter from one Norman Lynagh sent to the
Independent, which actually defended the Met Office from the opprobrium
heaped on it by the tabloids. One thing that came out of the storm was the
Met Office Press Office and I benefited by being the first full time press
officer (before me as a manager and a part time Press and Public Officer.

I remember writing that letter. I got a telephone call from someone at The
Independent who was wanting to write a piece slamming the Met Office for
incompetence. I said it wasn't quite like that and we ended up having a very
sensible conversation. The upshot was that I was invited to write a letter
expressing my opinions, which I did.

On the evening of the day following the overnight mayhem ITV did a live
programme on the storm lasting 30 or 60 minutes (can't remember which). It was
fronted by Trevor Phillips who has gone on to greater things since then. To
enhance the live 'feel' it was all done amongst the journalists in the ITV
newsroom with hand-held cameras. Nothing was prepared in advance so it really
was 'seat of the pants' stuff. Sat on the corner of a journalist's desk, I was
interviewed by Trevor Phillips. He asked me a whole series of leading questions
with the obvious intention that I should lambast the Met Office. I would have
none of it and gave what I think were reasoned responses. I don't think ITV
were too happy about it. They had seen it as an opportunity to have a go at one
of the bastions of the Establishment.

Happy memories!


--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
https://peakdistrictweather.org
Twitter: @TideswellWeathr