Where's our weather thread?

[Tenner Huey]

Metcheck are a bunch of cowboys anyway, wouldn't trust a word they say!

[caz1984]

Have you been to these forums before caz1984? Sorry but I had to ask.

Pointlessly speculating about the weather is part of the Glasto frequenter's constitution (and lo, a river did fall unto those sweaty revellers) (hopefully not). We all know that a) there's no accurate form of prediction and we can't stop it whatever the weather wil be. But right now, worrying about the weather at Glastonbury Festival is my universe-given right and I plan on exerting it thoroughly.

[marjorie dawes]

I certaintly have, and I've been exactly the same with all of the other Glastos I've been to - worrying about what the weather's going to be like, obsessively checking all of the forecasts! And then getting there and realising all of the forecasts didn't really bear any relation to the actual weather.

And there have always been a few people on these lengthy Glasto weather threads saying exactly what I said in my last post, and although I know that it can be fun discussing/fretting about the festival weather, it's not worth getting in a state about it. Glasto's going to be amazing whatever the weather's like!

[mjs]

In other words they have absolutely no clear idea yet ...

Can anyone please supply a LINK ( ) for that earlier suggestion of a drought in June -- a long range forecast on Sky apparantly said this, but I haven't seen anything to substantiate it .....

Anyone else share my current worry that we're getting too much lovely weather NOW?

Peaking too early, limited quota/ration of good UK weather being used up too soon, etc.??

Edited May 1, 2007 by mjs

[LusciousLucy]

National news Beeb and ITN both announced that this will be the hottest summer on record...ok its still 7 weeks til the event...but at this rate either its just going to stay gorgeous for eternity...well that what it seems like at the mo...or we will be utterly unlucky and the ONE weekend of rain...will be on the bloomin 23rd June!

I would hate for it to be wet especially after all this lovely weather we have been experiencing..is it lulling us into a false sense of security? Just keep those anti-rain dances going...ignore any long term forecast sites until the week before and STILL pack the wellies regardless!!!

[William of Walworth]

Metcheck now decides on a 70% chance of rain! I think they've just got a random number generator going at the moment!!

[William of Walworth]

National news Beeb and ITN both announced that this will be the hottest summer on record...ok its still 7 weeks til the event...but at this rate either its just going to stay gorgeous for eternity...well that what it seems like at the mo...or we will be utterly unlucky and the ONE weekend of rain...will be on the bloomin 23rd June!

I would hate for it to be wet especially after all this lovely weather we have been experiencing..is it lulling us into a false sense of security? Just keep those anti-rain dances going...ignore any long term forecast sites until the week before and STILL pack the wellies regardless!!!

[sundaypapers]

In other words they have absolutely no clear idea yet ...

Can anyone please supply a LINK ( ) for that earlier suggestion of a drought in June -- a long range forecast on Sky apparantly said this, but I haven't seen anything to substantiate it .....

[marjorie dawes]

Obviously it's not as immediately trustworthy as, say, a BBC forcast

[sundaypapers]

oh the irony. they can't get the weather right on the exact day you look at the forecast on most days. says cloudy, yet look out the window and its sunny.

we'll just have to hope. either way who cares, mud fest or not it'll be fantastic (assuming you dont camp in a ditch again that is!)

[marjorie dawes]

Is that true. I mean is that actually true?

Edited May 2, 2007 by marjorie dawes

[Late]

If it can rain on one side of a street, but not the other how the hell can a few animated clouds scattered over a map of the UK be of any use?

I have a passionate hatred for weather forcasting!

[sundaypapers]

what, that bbc arent exactly 100% reliable or that it will be fantastic? both are true yes.

[windy_miller]

Acording to the Indendant the other day, its supposed to get up to 40 C this summer!

[marjorie dawes]

Well I was referring to the weather.

I think most people would accept that weather prediction can never be 100% reliable. I was simply questioning the truth of your statement that the BBC's weather forcasting is almost always the reverse of reality.

I agree, however, that Glasto WILL be fantastic regardless of the weather. I'm just pining for a return of hot and dry festival weather after two muddy years.

[sundaypapers]

i was meaning it's not actually as reliable as the statement "trustworthy as, say, a BBC forcast", not that its always the opposite. do they do get it right sometimes. and wrong. Michael Fish anyone?

Anyway we'll see

[Tenner Huey]

I'd like to point out that what Michael Fish said wasn't actually incorrect:

"He came under significant, but largely unfounded, public criticism in the wake of the Great Storm of 1987; a few hours before the storm broke, on 15 October 1987, he said during a forecast: "Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way... well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't!".

That evening, the worst storm to hit South East England since 1703 caused record damages and killed 19 people.

In fact, Fish's comment about the hurricane was referring to Florida[1], in a link to a news story that preceded the weather bulletin about destruction in the Caribbean: he was seeking to reassure somebody who was travelling to Florida, but the edited clip, taken out of context, has been repeated so often that it has become famous as a "bungled" forecast. Fish did go on to warn of high winds for the UK, warning viewers to "batten down the hatches", although the storm that actually occurred was far stronger than predicted (albeit, technically, not a hurricane)."

He's still a bit of a muppet, and quite up himself; he got really annoyed when security here wouldn't let him in without an escort a few years back cos he was a BBC employee, not a Met Office one

[jimbob_no1]

Has anyone heard about the new technology now helping weather prediction? I can't find the article as it was months ago when i read it, but it was talking about being able to detect rain in a very small geographical area using atmospheric signal distortion on mobile phone cell transmitters. Apparently the signal changes depending on air pressure - a bit like a massive barometer network - the networks just need the software to interpret and distribute the data.

The problem was it was only good for things like "It's going to rain here in half an hour!" - wasn't much use for the further than that. But it would be useful if your mobile phone operator could text you when it was just about to rain so you could quickly prepare for it! Those extra few minutes might be useful, but then again you could probably just look at the horizon!!!

[Tenner Huey]

Last month was the warmest April in the UK on record, with virtually no rain in some areas, the Met Office said.

The average temperature was 10.2C (50.4F), beating the previous April high of 9.2C (48.6F), recorded in 1943.

Rainfall in the driest region, East Anglia, was only 5% of the expected amount, and even in the wettest parts of Scotland it was down 30%.

BBC forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said it had been an "absolutely incredible" month across the whole of the UK.

The mean temperature of 10.2C was 3.3C higher than the long-term average of 6.9C (44.4F) recorded throughout the period of 1971 to 2000.

'Normal for July'

Mr Schafernaker said figures so much above the average were "almost unheard of".

The maximum on any one day was 26.5C (79.7F) in East Sussex, "a normal July temperature", he added.

Sunshine hours were also as much as 50% higher than average across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Meteorologists had said they expected this April to be the warmest in central England for more than 300 years.

Growth is stalling because there has been no rain

John Hammond

Met Office

Met Office forecaster John Hammond said: "This has been the warmest April on record and certainly one of the driest."

In Suffolk, England's most easterly county, there was just 2.6mm of rain, compared with the normal monthly average of 44.2mm.

The warm weather at the end of the month prompted the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to issue its first "summer smog" warning for 2007.

'Desperate for farmers'

Mr Hammond said the unseasonal heat and drought was causing major problems for farmers and growers, especially in the east of England.

"I understand that growth is stalling because there has been no rain," he said.

"They're desperate for some rain."

He added that May had started off with more of the same dry, warm conditions, but a spell of wetter weather was possible from the end of next weekend.

Here's hoping June is similar

[Abbathehorse]

You're loving this weather thread aren't you Tenner!!! You meteorologists eh, with your fancy words!

Edited May 2, 2007 by Abbathehorse

[Tenner Huey]

Think you'll find it's spelt meteorologists

[Abbathehorse]

Think you'll find it's spelt meteorologists

[Tenner Huey]

Damn you and your crazy editing!

[William of Walworth]

Hey, Tenner man, didn't know til now you were a meteorologist!

Anyone sensible will know that the driest April in history with unpreceented extra warmth thing is utterly meaningless as far as projecting to June is concerned!

Is there any scientific basis for my somewhat paranoid fear that we're using all the good weather up too early/peaking too early?

Is this beautiful weather now, displacing rain that would normally fall in April, until June?

Calm, measured reassurance please!

[William of Walworth]

And what do you think of that Sky forecast of dry/warm June that sundaypapers was talking about??