On Saturday, August 9, 2014 1:02:12 AM UTC+1, Tudor Hughes wrote:
The heavy rain they forecast was for the morning and my total was nil. Neither was there any rain here during the day. The current rain is a different batch so in no way does it mitigate their error. I can't remember from the 5.57 Radio4 forecast if rain was forecast for this evening, so chaotic, casual and skimpy was it. Nothing must be allowed to intrude on the frivolities of the Eddie Mair Show! I seem to remember something about TS Bertha.. I think the Met Office have been obsessed by this and taken their eyes off the ball. Even allowing for the BBC-imposed difficulties under which they labour this was a pretty poor forecast. I am now getting the distinct impression that as far as the general public go the Met Office is not trying very hard. Better stop there or this rant will go supercell.

The 0757 R4 forecast on Friday was also more concerned with Saturday being a 'good looking day' than last night. I do wonder what the service would be like if you paid for it - it seems that the forecasts are going the same way as other 'free' stuff out there in the public domain ie not very good. If you complain the reply is 'Well it's free, what do you expect?'

On 09/08/2014 09:32, Scott W wrote:
On Saturday, August 9, 2014 1:02:12 AM UTC+1, Tudor Hughes wrote:
The heavy rain they forecast was for the morning and my total was nil. Neither was there any rain here during the day. The current rain is a different batch so in no way does it mitigate their error. I can't remember from the 5.57 Radio4 forecast if rain was forecast for this evening, so chaotic, casual and skimpy was it. Nothing must be allowed to intrude on the frivolities of the Eddie Mair Show! I seem to remember something about TS Bertha. I think the Met Office have been obsessed by this and taken their eyes off the ball. Even allowing for the BBC-imposed difficulties under which they labour this was a pretty poor forecast. I am now getting the distinct impression that as far as the general public go the Met Office is not trying very hard. Better stop there or this rant will go supercell.

The 0757 R4 forecast on Friday was also more concerned with Saturday being a 'good looking day' than last night. I do wonder what the service would be like if you paid for it - it seems that the forecasts are going the same way as other 'free' stuff out there in the public domain ie not very good. If you complain the reply is 'Well it's free, what do you expect?'


I do wonder whether the weather is going through a particularily
unpredictable phase? I can't remember it being quite so localised as it
has been lately, te good old depressions running from west to east with
a very predictable patterns seem to have alluded us nowadays.

Just trying to give the forecasters some room for excuses.

--
Keith (Southend)
"Weather Home & Abroad"
http://www.southendweather.net
Twitter:@LawnscienceEssx

In message ,
Scott W writes
The 0757 R4 forecast on Friday was also more concerned with Saturday
being a 'good looking day' than last night. I do wonder what the
service would be like if you paid for it - it seems that the forecasts
are going the same way as other 'free' stuff out there in the public
domain ie not very good. If you complain the reply is 'Well it's free,
what do you expect?'

But it /isn't/ free - or not if one pays any tax anyway. One might as
well use the same argument about the NHS or the fire brigade.
--
John Hall Weep not for little Leonie
Abducted by a French Marquis!
Though loss of honour was a wrench
Just think how it's improved her French. Harry Graham (1874-1936)

The NHS is free but not for much longer with privatisation by stealth. As for the MetO perhaps a better measure is 'value'. What price can you put on the previous observer network and various weather centres? You can get a forecast for any postcode now but how good is it compared with UKMO 10-15 years ago?

On Saturday, 9 August 2014 09:18:54 UTC+1, Scott W wrote:

12.2mm (in my 5in gauge) in Wanstead - which was more than my nearest official site, St James Park, which recorded 9.8mm! Ron's site just up the road to me recorded 24.4mm from the episode. Despite appearing to be frontal the rain was incredibly varied over short distances... Heathrow is reporting 22.2mm, while Kenley just 13.4mm.

Your figure is exactly the same as mine. Kenley is just a mile and a half to the SW of me and our various figures are usually pretty close.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, NE Surrey TQ 352595, 557 ft, 169 m

On Saturday, 9 August 2014 10:33:06 UTC+1, John Hall wrote: But it /isn't/ free - or not if one pays any tax anyway. One might as well use the same argument about the NHS or the fire brigade. -- John Hall

Exactly; it's supposed to be a public service but is simply getting worse and worse. R4 forecasts have descended into the impressionistic rather than factual. Step forward, Claude Monet, your time has come. I never want to hear how the weather will *feel*. Just give me a weather element and *I* will tell *you* how it feels, which may well be different from what the next person feels. The public is being simultaneously edged out and infantilised.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, Surrey.