[ftv]

BBC Breakfast at 06.30 today told me it was pouring where I live. Stuck my head out the door - clear blue skies, no sign of rain.How do they get it so wrong with all their computers etc

[hugon]

You do know in the areas they mention, it may be raining in one part and not in another?

Shame on the BBC for not being able to provide up to date information for just above your house. Why do I even bother paying my licence fee?

[ftv]

Originally Posted by hugon

You do know in the areas they mention, it may be raining in one part and not in another?

Shame on the BBC for not being able to provide up to date information for just above your house. Why do I even bother paying my licence fee?

But I can see for miles - there's no rain and the sun is shining They said it would rain all day

[scorer]

Originally Posted by ftv

But I can see for miles - there's no rain and the sun is shining They said it would rain all day

Maybe it's dry rain.

[hugon]

Originally Posted by ftv

But I can see for miles - there's no rain and the sun is shining They said it would rain all day

Maybe; but I doubt you can see the entire region the weather forecast covered. Still , if you want to be pedantic, go ahead.

[hendero]

Originally Posted by ftv

BBC Breakfast at 06.30 today told me it was pouring where I live. Stuck my head out the door - clear blue skies, no sign of rain.How do they get it so wrong with all their computers etc

Apparently, when any forecaster predicts bad weather they are more likely to be wrong than when they predict good weather. Plus, isn't it better psychologically that they tell you it's going to rain but then it's sunny, as opposed to the other way around?

[epm-84]

On Wednesday evening I checked the regional forecast at bbc.co.uk/weather. It showed a heavy band of rain moving across my area at 6am, being heavy at 9am but clear by mid-day. The band of rain arrived at 4pm yesterday.

[albertd]

Don't blame the BBC, blame the Met Office if you must, they provide the forecast data.

[ftv]

The rain actually arrived at 3 pm so they were only about six hours out. I must remember that re future forecasts

[Object Z]

UK weather prediction?
It's down there with water devining and ghost hunting as a science IMO.

And , yes, it's not the BBC, ITV or Skys fault.

Mind you (IMO) they do spend far too much on waffly presenters and silly graphics,when a C4 style weather slide and v/o would suffice.

[GeorgeS]

Its not a forecast if its describing what is CURRENTLY happening. The BBC Weather service is a joke anyway. Use the Met office rain rajar web page if you want to see what the real likelihood of rain for the next several hours is.

[AaronG]

BBC weather online is absolute garbage. It's just providing a running commentary on the weather.

It'll go from Sunny to Rain to Thunder to Overcast back to sunny depending on what's happening outside.

I think it should have to stand by the courage of its predictions and if it predicted it'd be sunny outside but it turned out to pee it down, it should be forced to keep the 'sunny' logo on there

[tv.mark]

Originally Posted by ftv

BBC Breakfast at 06.30 today told me it was pouring where I live. Stuck my head out the door - clear blue skies, no sign of rain.How do they get it so wrong with all their computers etc

You had clear blue skies at 6.30am?

[mossy2103]

Originally Posted by AaronG

BBC weather online is absolute garbage. It's just providing a running commentary on the weather.

It'll go from Sunny to Rain to Thunder to Overcast back to sunny depending on what's happening outside.

I think it should have to stand by the courage of its predictions and if it predicted it'd be sunny outside but it turned out to pee it down, it should be forced to keep the 'sunny' logo on there

so are you saying that it is indeed a highly localised forecast for your street, exactly reflecting the weather as it happens in your area (as indicated by the first part of your post) or that the forecast is not localised and often does not accurately reflect teh weather conditions in your area?

Because, if it is indeed going to be correct for localised areas (even areas as wide in area as maybe 10 miles or so)
then any forecast is going to have to be pretty accurate, perhaps the sort of accuracy that you would be unlikely to see from any forecast, BBC, ITV, SKy or local farmer

[GeorgeS]

Originally Posted by mossy2103

so are you saying that it is indeed a highly localised forecast for your street, exactly reflecting the weather as it happens in your area (as indicated by the first part of your post) or that the forecast is not localised and often does not accurately reflect teh weather conditions in your area?

Because, if it is indeed going to be correct for localised areas (even areas as wide in area as maybe 10 miles or so)
then any forecast is going to have to be pretty accurate, perhaps the sort of accuracy that you would be unlikely to see from any forecast, BBC, ITV, SKy or local farmer

The BBC doesn't take weather seriously as a science. Instead its treated as an entertainment slot. The fact that no other UK tv outlet is any better is irrelevant. US local stations are much better at weather than UK local tv. Its not difficult to achieve but the first step would be to treat viewers as grown ups

[mossy2103]

Originally Posted by GeorgeS

The BBC doesn't take weather seriously as a science. Instead its treated as an entertainment slot.

Then maybe you should look (and listen) more closely at some of the forecasts, on TV and the more detailed info online.

And yes, there is no reason why the weather cannot be made entertaining - if it gets the message across, then why not. But that is a different argument from the forecasts being wrong.

The fact that no other UK tv outlet is any better is irrelevant.

Why? Ah, of course, because it's NOT the BBC. And it's always much more fun to have a poke at the BBC isn't it. And that is becoming far too predictable on this forum. Whatever the point, the BBC is at fault, there can be no other reasonable explanation. And if it's pointed out that it's not something confined to the BBC (i.e with wider implications) then it's conveniently dismissed as irrelevant.

Sorry, but it is just as relevant - even more so in fact. Because IF they are all wrong (and I don't believe that, on balance, the forecasts are, regardless of broadcaster) then it implies that there is something seriously wrong at the Met Office (which is where the vast majority of the data emanates).

US local stations are much better at weather than UK local tv. Its not difficult to achieve but the first step would be to treat viewers as grown ups

See my first comment.

[Sofa King]

Why do you need to know the weather for what's happening right now?

SKY News have always got the weather spot on, i don't pay attention to the BBC.

5 DAY FORECAST! WTF? The only weather they can surely predict is 24 hours ahead, why the need for 5 days, dumbasses

[Mikeandhersonq]

Originally Posted by Sofa King

Why do you need to know the weather for what's happening right now?

SKY News have always got the weather spot on, i don't pay attention to the BBC.

5 DAY FORECAST! WTF? The only weather they can surely predict is 24 hours ahead, why the need for 5 days, dumbasses

To plan? To not have a meeting outside when it might be pouring down with rain? To not go play sports in the snow? Do keep life reliable? I mean why would you want an unreliable life Sofa King? Why? Why?

[ftv]

Originally Posted by tv.mark

You had clear blue skies at 6.30am?

Dunno where you are but it's light here at 6.30 am

[ney]

I think most weather forecasts are now 95% right. Unlike years ago when they would not be 75%/80% right.

Darren

[Jules 1]

Originally Posted by GeorgeS

The BBC doesn't take weather seriously as a science. Instead its treated as an entertainment slot. The fact that no other UK tv outlet is any better is irrelevant. US local stations are much better at weather than UK local tv. Its not difficult to achieve but the first step would be to treat viewers as grown ups

Actually the BBC weather forecasts on local TV are very good, and provide good amounts of synoptic charts and information. And if the US are better than us at weather forecasting, how come their forecast model GFS is less accurate than the European model ECMWF, and has been consistently over the past few years.

[Jules 1]

Originally Posted by ney

I think most weather forecasts are now 95% right. Unlike years ago when they would not be 75%/80% right.

Darren

Indeed any serious analysis of weather forecasts shows an massive increase in the accuracy of weather forecasts over the years.

It is not 100%, but constant improvements are being made.

[gomezz]

The forecasts are usually very good at telling is *what* the weather is going to be. When is another matter as weather systems can speed up or slow down unexpectedly.

[Jules 1]

Originally Posted by Sofa King

Why do you need to know the weather for what's happening right now?

SKY News have always got the weather spot on, i don't pay attention to the BBC.

5 DAY FORECAST! WTF? The only weather they can surely predict is 24 hours ahead, why the need for 5 days, dumbasses

Each to their own, but IMO the BBC is by far the best weather forecast on the TV, and most people agree with this.

As for 5 day forecast, the accuracy of 5 days forecast is now about as accurate as day 2 forecast 30 years ago, that the improvement we are seeing.

[SteveBentley]

Certainly the BBC's online forecast is, in my experience, generally useless of late, totally failing to predict torrential rain on Thursday afternoon for example.

These forecasts are generated automatically from the Met Office model with no intervention from the BBC's meteorologists. The TV and radio forecasts are further refined by meteorologists, who are able to look at the underlying data and use their expertise to produce something which is more accurate.