On 29/12/2014 15:19, John Hall wrote:
In message , Malcolm
writes

Paul Simons, in his Times 'Weather Eye' column today comments on the
OTT reports in the media

After commenting that the promised "scorching hot" summer, then "an
arctic freeze, a nightmare of ice, snow and a nightmare of sub-zero
temperatures", and most recently "the wettest winter for 33 years", he
goes on to say that "There is clearly a gulf between sections of the
media and meteorlogists. The more sensational forecasts have often
come from dubious sources with little meteorological background, but
they make stunning headlines."

What a beautiful put-down :-)


The BBC website has an article headlined "Record 2014 freeze for
England, Wales and Northern Ireland". Of course it doesn't mention that,
prior to this spell, 2014 had been exceptionally lacking in winter cold
so that the record doesn't amount to much.
I saw that and thought that how can you have a record for one year.
Stating that it was the coldest night of the year would have been far
more accurate and less alarmist (not to mention it wasn't unusual fro
December anyway). But then, don't let the facts get in the way of a
good story.