Which Source Of Weather Reports Do You Find Reliable?

[Janus]

Just seen a weather report online  mirror news   forcasting  -10 degree blizzard and 6cm of snow for the UK. 

 

I looked at the BBC and saw no mention of such weather. 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by Janus
typo

[Axe]

The BBC online regional forecast.

[whiteowl]

31 minutes ago, Janus said:

Just seen a weather report online  mirror news   forcasting  -10 degree blizzard and 6cm of snow for the UK. 

 

I looked at the BBC and saw no mention of such weather. 

 

 

I've been seeing reports of these blizzards for weeks now and nothing has happened, total clickbait.

 

It's like the annual Daily Express headline, usually in September, announcing the "Worst winter in living memory approaching". That's just to sell papers.

[RollingJ]

Those produced by trained meteorologists who actually know what they are doing. The problem with 'The Mirror' - and most 'newspapers' is that they get their 'information' from dubious sources and hype it up for 'newsworthiness'

[hauxwell]

I sometimes go onto Google asking what the weather will be in Newcastle.  Then click the link, weather report from the Met office.   It’s nearly always right.
 

 

[Annie Bynnol]

    The only weather source in the UK is the Met Office, For example Crookes weather forecast.

Every other UK source pays them for their information, the cost varies on the detail and extent of the information wanted/needed by the media, government, council, energy company, farmer etc. The Met Office also collates, shares and buys information from other countries and private companies, so that other companies do provide forecasting and can be as accurate in the short term. Long term forecasting uses some of the largest computers in the world - with the accuracy reducing with time and the variation in importance of local conditions. 

     The UK has one of the most quickly changing weather systems in the world-and in the Met Office the most accurate  weather service. In determining you source you should consider if their Yorkshire forecast can determine differences between Sheffield and Scarborough, between Moscar and Meadowhall,  the frequency of updates and the quality of interpretations.

      For an instant assessment I look over Dore(south for me) the wind direction and pressure*, for the next hour or two  use the current reports for Leek and for a tonight, Dublin, in winter and for any longer the Met Office. 

 

* a cheap barometer is as good as any as it is the change up or down that is important.

[RollingJ]

5 minutes ago, Annie Bynnol said:

    The only weather source in the UK is the Met Office, For example Crookes weather forecast.

 

I would disagree with that - there are other online forecasting sources which give quite accurate predictions, although as with the Met Office, it depends on how 'local' you want to be, and how far ahead you want to look.

[Annie Bynnol]

     The 'other online sources' will be reliant on one or other of the Atlantic coastal nations national met offices ie Canada, France Norway, US, UK, Portugal, Spain and Iceland. Some data is collected through other private companies which charge/exchange information. Some of theses countries like ours are required to publish data and forecasts so it quite easy for a  good amateur to combine this with their local knowledge and observations to make a forecast. These other 'online sources' will be no better than our met office, although the presentations and graphics might be better.

[RollingJ]

4 minutes ago, Annie Bynnol said:

     The 'other online sources' will be reliant on one or other of the Atlantic coastal nations national met offices ie Canada, France Norway, US, UK, Portugal, Spain and Iceland. Some data is collected through other private companies which charge/exchange information. Some of theses countries like ours are required to publish data and forecasts so it quite easy for a  good amateur to combine this with their local knowledge and observations to make a forecast. These other 'online sources' will be no better than our met office, although the presentations and graphics might be better.

I use an app on my iPad for such as the rain/snow risk in the next 'X' hours - how large the number is depends on whether I'm planning for the afternoon/next gay/whatever - that is constantly updated radar data. For longer term (3-5 days, as that is at the limits of reasonable forecasting), I find MetCheck are usually reasonably accurate - especially if you read the metrologists summaries.

 

From observation, I would dispute the Met Office is accurate (at times). One occasion that stick in my mind was when I was away on the South Coast - their 'forecast' was for a totally sunny day, and yet checking  a rainfall radar showed a mass of heavy rain on its way from the Irish Sea - and that forecast claimed to have been updated 10 minutes before I checked. Not an isolated occurrence either - I just picked one which stuck in my mind.

[butlers]

For outdoorsy folk 

MWIS  .

Often some literal hair raising reports on there