This is more a weather-related ramble than a proper WR, but still... I
went to the Loton Park hillclimb (Shropshire/Wales border) yesterday, so
the weather was of considerable interest. I'd been following the regional
forecasts for the West Midlands on the Met Office website for a few days,
and it was noticeable how much they changed from day to day.

Even on Friday evening, the general summary was along the lines of
"rather cool and cloudy with perhaps some drizzle", when in fact it
turned out to be 24C with virtually unbroken sunshine (and it felt very
warm indeed!). 36 hours in advance, the forecast was - at least from the
general public's point of view - completely wrong.

Of course I don't mean to gripe, as I know how hard some situations are
to forecast, and (as with the infamous snow/rain winter events). Even so,
what you'll hear in the bus queue is, "Why can't they even get whether
it's going to be sunny right?" For better or for worse, "will it rain/
snow/be sunny in my back garden?" *is* what people expect weather
forecasters to be able to tell them.

And if there continues to be barely any serious coverage of meteorology
in the popular media, and TV weather forecasts taken up with a time-
consuming "fly-over" that often adds very little to the forecast itself,
then that's certainly not going to change. I know the BBC (and co) don't
care, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop saying it.

Anyway, since there has been comment about the desirability of reports
from places other than SW England (hopefully Worcs isn't considered SW),
I'll quickly mention that it's even more glorious today: currently 25.3C
with a light W breeze and just one or two small cumulus clouds. A good
day for watching cricket, had Worcestershire unfortunately not lost by an
innings already...

--
Bewdley, Worcs. ~90m asl.

hopefully Worcs isn't considered SW
It is as far as I'm concerned G but I don't have a problem
with where [OBS] and [WR] emanate from.

Anne