Seven day weather forecasts, what's the point. Being an ex seaman I realise the importance of accurate short term weather forecasts. However, what is the point of the seven day forecasts such as the BBC's online one. Until I recently retired I ran a small building company and if we say considered opening up a roof I would check the weather for a good day, invariably it would be wrong, in fact over the course of six months I compared forecast for five days ahead and on 7 out of 10 occasions it was different to the forecast. This Saturday I am driving at Lydden Hill, on Monday the forecast for Saturday was full sun by Tuesday it was going to be cloudy, Thursdays was rain in the afternoon and today it's gone back sunny in the morning and a cloudy afternoon. Again what is the point of the 7 day forecast, I would suggest the Met Office ask for a refund on their £94 million pound super computer I believe they recently purchased. ( Rant over)

The point of the forecast is to give the general public something to talk about, and that would not happen if the forecasts were accurate.

Maybe that's one reason the bbc have not renewed their met office contract!

Find a spider in your garden. They will never, or hardly ever, build a net when its going to rain. They usually build one early in the morning so you have weather predicted for the rest of the day. Not much use in winter when they hibernate and only applies to the immediate vicinity.

Also the flying ants, the day they appear guarantees a dry day but can only be used to predict one or two days a year.

F@@k knows how many spiders 95 million would buy.

[Edited on 4/11/16 by 02GF74]

£94M Super Computer or £50 Tablet, put garbage in you get garbage out.....

In this case its probably the analytical software was developed in some emerging country where staff work for next to nothing.

You need one of these:


weatherstone

The basic problem is that Britain's weather is very unpredictable, and even the best forecasters struggle. Their biggest mistake (IMHO) is trying to do a a 7-day forecast, when even 24 hours is difficult.

I have the Accuweather app on my phone & tablet - they get their data from a different source to the met office. I usually compare the two to get an answer! Accuweather is also available on-line. I also look at Will It Rain Today? and make my own guess about whether there's rain on the way in my neighbourhood (the most accurate method in the short term).

The trouble also stems from the fact that the 'big computer' that the met office uses doesn't seem to take into account 'local effects'. Here in Lincolnshire, whenever there is a westerly, we are in a 'rain shadow'. When the BBC muddy puddles forecast shows rain, we rarely get it!

Are you beyond hacked off?

It's the weather, it's difficult to predict. Sometimes it rains sometimes it doesn't.

I was once told that the 7 day forecasts now are as accurate as the 24 hour forecasts were twenty years ago, so that is a reasonably good guide on what several million pounds worth of computer gets you!

I remember when forecasts were 'sun with a bit of cloud and a chance of rain or snow'. Basically they didn't know so they covered all bases!!

that new computer is only just meant to have started running in September (if it wasn't delayed) and isn't meant to be at full capacity until sometime in 2017....

so basically £97m or not we are still using the old one for a while yet

quote:

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Originally posted by Slimy38
I remember when forecasts were 'sun with a bit of cloud and a chance of rain or snow'. Basically they didn't know so they covered all bases!!

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quote:

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Originally posted by 02GF74
Find a spider in your garden. They will never, or hardly ever, build a net when its going to rain.
[Edited on 4/11/16 by 02GF74]

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Weather forecasters do a pretty good job considering they are basically predicting the future....

All of my work (flying related) is weather dependent... I use the met office website for an idea of what is coming and then 24 hrs before start watching the pressure charts and rainfall radars to make an estimation of where things are moving... The BBC simplify the data too much to be useful to me.... Learn to read synoptic charts and radar and you will have more luck predicting what is going to hit...

Amazing being able to schedule flights between fronts of rain visible on the radar.

2am news and weather on 5live..

The night will dry and clear with a small chance of rain in the west.....

There's me driving up the A19 in the east with my wipers on...

The hourly forecasts are rubbish never mind the 7 day ones!