Morning all

Has anyone ever carried out any research to find out what people actually
want out of a weather forecast?

It seems to be that we get given what we are given but it may be that what
we are given is not what we want.

Or is it that what we actually want is not really what we would like to
receive and that it is better to be given what we are given?

Brian
aberfeldy
10:00 Clear skies, excellent viz, fresh NW'erly and 11 C

Brian Blair wrote:
Morning all

Has anyone ever carried out any research to find out what people actually
want out of a weather forecast?

It seems to be that we get given what we are given but it may be that what
we are given is not what we want.

Or is it that what we actually want is not really what we would like to
receive and that it is better to be given what we are given?

Brian
aberfeldy
10:00 Clear skies, excellent viz, fresh NW'erly and 11 C



For the majority the answer is quite simple: What to wear and what to do?

If I am at work the next day, how should I dress, do I need an umbrella?
If I am spending the day walking, do I need a waterproof, is it warm
enough for shorts? Is it warm enough for the beach this weekend? Should
I plan a barbecue, will it be hot and sunny?

Basically ITV forecasts are more than suitable!

The map should show pictures of suitable clothing to wear. Even better
just dress the weather dolly in suitable attire for tomorrows
conditions. She doesn't even need to speak. Job done.

Seriously though, farmers, for example, obviously have different needs.
Pictures of combine harvesters and ploughs will do fine!


Steve

Has anyone ever carried out any research to find out what people actually
want out of a weather forecast?
Brian

I suspect that it would be impossible to give us what we actually want. At the
most basic level, I want to know whether or not it is actually going to rain
**here**, so that I can either hang out the washing without fearing that it will
get wet, or go for a walk unencumbered by waterproofs.

Unfortunately I also want to know what it will do tomorrow, or at the weekend,
so that I can make good decisions about what to do when.

Also there are occasions when information about precipitation isn't enough - for
example if I want to know which days next week/month/year will have the right
wind conditions to create good lee wave for gliding, or clear air for walking up
hills or taking photographs or observing butterflies or whatever.

Sometimes it would just be good if they managed even to mention the North-East
of Scotland at all. Radio 4 tends to lump the whole of Scotland together, in
spite of the fact that the weather usually varies wildly from east to west
across the country. Quite often they mention the 'south and east' then 'the
north' - without any indication which area includes the Moray area.

Anne

Brian Blair wrote:


Has anyone ever carried out any research to find out what people
actually want out of a weather forecast?

It seems to be that we get given what we are given but it may be that
what we are given is not what we want.

Or is it that what we actually want is not really what we would like
to receive and that it is better to be given what we are given?


Brian,

what people really want is for weather to be simpler than it actually
is.

The response from the non-anorak to your question is usually " I just
want to know if it's going to rain or not" the answer to which is of
course always 'Yes', so when pressed they might also want to know when.
They also don't want to be told about the weather where they are not and
have to filter out that bit of a forecast which applies to them. The
concept of variation with space or time should be avoided.

Of course none of this applies to anyone who is likely to read this so
I'd say go with option three. A meteorologist's view of what should be
given would be better although probably some way from what the media
think we should be given and what we get to be given.

Regards,
Tom

The
concept of variation with space or time should be avoided.

This is an absurd suggestion, given that weather does move and vary and
implies a level of dumbing-down even lower than what we have already.
If the forecast was for rain in the morning, say, and it isn't raining,
anyone with half a brain or more just might want to know whether the rain is
still to come, or has gone, or has petered out.
There is considerable force in the argument that if you treat people
as having some intelligence they will try to show it, and vice versa.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, Surrey.

Yn erthygl , sgrifennodd
TudorHgh :
There is considerable force in the argument that if you treat people
as having some intelligence they will try to show it, and vice versa.

I completely agree. Could someone please tell the British media? I'm not
just thinking of weather forecasts here either.

Adrian

--
Adrian Shaw ais@
Adran Cyfrifiadureg, Prifysgol Cymru, aber.
Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Cymru ac.
http://users.aber.ac.uk/ais uk

I want presenters who at least seem to know what they are talking
about. Not to hear factual inaccuracies or misleading editorials from
newsreader. I want to see synoptic charts and not just meaningless
symbols. I want to hear some science been explained to the masses. I
don't want what we are being given!


"Brian Blair" wrote in message ...
Morning all

Has anyone ever carried out any research to find out what people actually
want out of a weather forecast?

It seems to be that we get given what we are given but it may be that what
we are given is not what we want.

Or is it that what we actually want is not really what we would like to
receive and that it is better to be given what we are given?

Brian
aberfeldy
10:00 Clear skies, excellent viz, fresh NW'erly and 11 C

To me confidence levels would mean a lot. Most of the forecasts are
presented with the utmost confidence - then when things change it is as if
the original forecast never happened. Will's forecasts give you a much
better idea of how good the forecast might be, leading to better planning
and less frustration/whinging (the latter in my case, as you've probably
noticed!) if it doesn't work out, as you knew something else was a
possibility.

Dave

"Brian Blair" wrote in message
...
Morning all

Has anyone ever carried out any research to find out what people actually
want out of a weather forecast?

It seems to be that we get given what we are given but it may be that what
we are given is not what we want.

Or is it that what we actually want is not really what we would like to
receive and that it is better to be given what we are given?

Brian
aberfeldy
10:00 Clear skies, excellent viz, fresh NW'erly and 11 C

*All* the info available.. in other words *honesty* ... Fat chance.
----------------------------------------------------------
"Brian Blair" wrote in message
...
Morning all

Has anyone ever carried out any research to find out what people actually
want out of a weather forecast?

It seems to be that we get given what we are given but it may be that what
we are given is not what we want.

Or is it that what we actually want is not really what we would like to
receive and that it is better to be given what we are given?

Brian
aberfeldy
10:00 Clear skies, excellent viz, fresh NW'erly and 11 C

In article ,
"danny (west kent)" writes:
*All* the info available.. in other words *honesty* ... Fat chance.

There is always going to have to be selectivity in what information is
presented, unless you think it will be possible to persuade the BBC (and
other media outfits) to allow far longer for forecasts than they do now.
--
John Hall
"Home is heaven and orgies are vile,
But you *need* an orgy, once in a while."
Ogden Nash (1902-1971)