"Will" wrote in message
...

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This posting expresses the personal view and opinions of the author.
Something which everyone on this planet should be able to do.
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Col, I think there is an element of truth in what you say. But in these days
of
litigation, auditors and bean-counters breathing down your neck what would you
do ? Also it's so easy in hindsight of course ! All in all I think the Met
Office forecasters once again did a splendid job in alerting us to the
possibilities, if it had come off fully (or even stronger) then nothing much
would have been said on here I suspect. Also don't forget that the Met Office
predicted areas in terms of percentage risk, these were not far out in the
Irish
Sea region but perhaps too high over Scotland and northern Ireland, but would
anyone else had done any better ? I doubt it.

In these increasingly litagatious times, I can't blame them.
It's just very sad that our forecasts have effectively become distorted
to account for this trend.
If severe gales are forecast and then it's just a bit windy then the public
just sighs with relief and nobody bothers with the fact that they got it
wrong. But if it's the other way round.......
Admittedly with this storm they were already pulling back on the expected
windspeeds this morning, compared to what was being forecast last night.
In fact as soon as I woke up this morning and heard nothing I knew that
something was up.

Incidentally, has anybody ever tried suing the Met Office?
I would imagine it would be rather difficult in practice.
I think you would have to prove negligence to the extent that procedures
weren't followed that stopped vital information getting through, rather
than just a situation in which the forecasters to the best of their knowledge
predict one thing, but in fact turns out to do another.

Col
--
Bolton, Lancashire.
160m asl.
http://www.reddwarfer.btinternet.co.uk