BBC's New Weather Graphics now more than 2 years old, and still as
useless as ever.

Have a read.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/bbcweat...hics_faq.shtml

Anyway, bye for now, I'm off to Crete for a week, temperatures are
expected to be around (40).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=0231

On 10 Jul, 07:51, Bonos Ego wrote:
BBC's New Weather Graphics now more than 2 years old, and still as
useless as ever.

Have a read.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/bbcweat...hics_faq.shtml

Anyway, bye for now, I'm off to Crete for a week, temperatures are
expected to be around (40).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=0231

I particularly like:-

Difficulty Relating Temperatures to Places/Areas
The temperature values shown are tied to the locations indicated on the maps. On the old system, temperature discs covered large areas of the country, and were therefore more imprecise.

On the old map they had north & south coast temperatures for Devon &
Cornwall. They were certainly imprecise, but at least they gave some
indication of varying conditions.

Now they have the new PRECISE method - well for Plymouth. Very useful
if you're on holiday in St Ives, Newquay, Bude etc. I've always found
the temperature forecast for Plymouth very precise when I'm 100 miles
away on on Scilly.

Graham
Penzance

On Jul 10, 9:31 am, Graham Easterling
wrote:
On 10 Jul, 07:51, Bonos Ego wrote:

BBC's New Weather Graphics now more than 2 years old, and still as
useless as ever.

Have a read.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/bbcweat...hics_faq.shtml

Anyway, bye for now, I'm off to Crete for a week, temperatures are
expected to be around (40).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=0231

I particularly like:-

Difficulty Relating Temperatures to Places/Areas
The temperature values shown are tied to the locations indicated on the maps. On the old system, temperature discs covered large areas of the country, and were therefore more imprecise.

On the old map they had north & south coast temperatures for Devon &
Cornwall. They were certainly imprecise, but at least they gave some
indication of varying conditions.

Now they have the new PRECISE method - well for Plymouth. Very useful
if you're on holiday in St Ives, Newquay, Bude etc. I've always found
the temperature forecast for Plymouth very precise when I'm 100 miles
away on on Scilly.

From the above link:

Snipped some doublespeak

The old graphics were considered dull and flat by the audience.

For the majority of the audience showing precise daily wind speeds and
direction is not necessarily helpful.

Our research showed that people were often confused by the amount of
information within a forecast - we therefore aim to keep the
information relevant and useful.

We are able to go in much closer than with the old system and show the
movement of weather across more localised areas, so giving more detail
to the viewer.

The speed of the 'tours' has been reduced.

Making the details (cloud, rain, sunshine etc.), as prominent as
possible and stripping away other information

[In all fairness they]'ve kept the elevation of the maps (mountains
etc.) but we've taken away variations in colour which come from using
standard satellite photography.

On the old system, temperature discs covered large areas of the
country, and were therefore more imprecise.

[This point, touched on in the previous post leaves out the fact that
temperatures change in moments at any location. There is no such thing
as precise for a forecast of this kind.]

We are now able to edit the data received from the Met Office, with
whom we have worked very closely throughout.

[So can we take it the MetO is being similarly stripped of data and
intelligent use thereof? Or is this better understood as more
effective redundancies?]

Health Concerns
We have carried out tests to see how the new system works for people
with visual impairments, for example those with colour blindness. A
huge amount of research was done into the issue and considerable
thought was put into the design and the combination of colours.

Our forecasts are also provided in different ways to ensure that those
people who may have a particular difficulty can get the same
information in a different format - for example temperatures are shown
as numbers on a coloured disc or as coloured gradients on a map.

[In other words instead of using standard meteorological contours that
anyone can follow there are expensive graphics for a few to easily get
the hang of.]

Specialist Users
General television forecasts have never been intended for people whose
lives and/or livelihoods depend on the weather for professional
reasons. There are specialist forecasts available for these people
from The Met Office. So we feel the service for everyone should be
better and more reliable.

[So do the rest of us. What's wrong with havng a reality check on the
box?]

Cost of New Graphics
The cost of the new graphics is not something we will go in to, but
running costs for the new system are lower than for the current one.

[But significantly more than the cost of replacing a light bulb?
Estimates run to over a thousand pounds for them apparently.]

Feedback
As always, we welcome feedback from viewers and users of our forecasts
and will continue to monitor this carefully.

[Or as more accurately translated from the doublespeak:

Vigilant as always, the Carefully Censored Boards welcome compliments
from viewers and users of our forecasts and we will continue to
monitor this carefully. All posts are subject to our breathtakingly
unbelievable terms.]

Weatherlawyer wrote in
ups.com:

snip
Cost of New Graphics
The cost of the new graphics is not something we will go in to, but
running costs for the new system are lower than for the current one.
snip

This bit has always annoyed me. If they're using licence-payers' money to
pay for it, then the costings should not be kept secret. The BBC's argument
is doubtless that confidentiality allows them to get a better deal, but
personally I think that openness is more important than getting the
cheapest possible cost. I'm probably in a minority there, though.

--
Bewdley, Worcs. ~90m asl.

On Jul 10, 10:53 am, David Buttery wrote:
Weatherlawyer wrote roups.com:

snip Cost of New Graphics
The cost of the new graphics is not something we will go in to, but
running costs for the new system are lower than for the current one.

snip

This bit has always annoyed me. If they're using licence-payers' money to
pay for it, then the costings should not be kept secret. The BBC's argument
is doubtless that confidentiality allows them to get a better deal, but
personally I think that openness is more important than getting the
cheapest possible cost. I'm probably in a minority there, though.

It's more probable that unless someone with the know-how pushes the
right buttons, we will never find out. Like I said in my first post,
the BBC is a semi secret society, baffling honest questions from
unsuspecting dupes, with a hoard of censorious editing.