I've had a rant about the accuracy of the British Weather Forecasters before (see Nice weather – shame about the forecast, January 2008) but this weekend was the 3rd on the trot where the weather we experienced was completely opposite to what was forecast. I don't know how much money is ploughed into both the Met Office and/or the BBC Weather Service, but no matter how much or little it is, it is still way far too much.
Now if I change my or the family's plans based on the forecasted weather then the knock on affect is that we may miss out on doing something we would otherwise have enjoyed. But, for farmers and growers the potential impact of having to change plans could have a major affect on their profitability, their livelyhood. The same applies to the UK's tourist trade -- staff up for a period when good weather is forecast and the employer is saddled with a wage bill that can't be recouped if the weatheris poor. Vice-versa they'd find too few staff for the number of tourists that turn up.
So come on British Weather Forecasters, put a bit more effort into it and GET IT RIGHT! At the moment all you are doing is fostering and underpining the idea that as a profession you are vastly overpaid for the quality of service you provide.
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