Weather conspiracy theory.

[Gromit]

During this summer of recession and people losing their jobs, it would be better for our Economy if people spent their holidays and their money on these shores rather than abroad.

Do you think the Met Office really got the forecast so wrong?

Could they have been told to be over optimistic?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-120298 2/Met-Office-left-red-faced-Britains-forecast- barbecue-summer-turns-washout.html

[rov1200]

I think a lot of people have no other choice than to holiday at home. It is only the likes of Cameron who can afford it. Brown did wonders for the tourist industry by having his hols in the Lake District.

The downside is because of the extra demand hoteliers and guest houses have increased their already exhorbitant charges.

[DaisyMae]

Yet another conspiracy theory!!! I think it very unlikely that enough people would have been tempted to spend their holidays at home this year in case we had a so called 'barbecue summer'. Most people tend to book their holidays just after Christmas or even as far back as last year - several months before the Met Office's daft prediction - so I don't think it would have made enough difference overall to warrant the risk of a conspiracy which, if discovered, would bring more odium upon an already struggling government.

[R1Geezer]

weather cannot be predicted, end of!

[ludwig]

All conspiracy theories are started by the powers that be to keep you distracted from the real truth, that they're lizards in human skins.

I think they just got it wrong, and now they're busily telling us that August is going to be really crap so that no-one can turn round and say August was worse than they said it would be. Same reason they now issue a severe weather warning in just about every broadcast - they're terrified that there's going to be another hurricane that they didn't predict.

[LazyGun]

I tihnk people should learn to understand the story behind the headlines a little more, rather than always seeking an easy answer and casting about looking for someone to blame all the time.
Met office long range forecasts are of necessity going to be imprecise - The Met Office suggested in April that the odds were in favour of a hot summer, but also pointed out there was a 1 in 3 chance of a washout.

[jno]

Experience shows they can indeed get it wrong: they've done it for three years in a row now.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8173533.st m

Anyone who bases their holiday plans on long-range forecasts is heading for disaster.

<written from a rat-infested B&B in Clacton during my staycation>

[anotheoldgit]

Hello Gromit

Glad to see you have finally seen sense and are now posting regularly from the Daily Mail. Have you finally discovered that Daily Mail posts get a much better response than those from those other rather boring newspapers.

To get back to your post regarding the horrible weather we are experiencing this summer. Although last night's TV weather forecast said today would be a little more settled, this lunch time we had a lengthy thunderstorm along with torrential rain.

Isn't it now time we did away with these useless weather forecasts, who really takes any notice of them? One can usually tell what the day's weather is going to be like by looking out of the window.

The TV studios could get rid of all those weather girls/men and all the useless gimmicks that go to make up these waste of space weather forecasts, the only one that is important is the shipping forecast.

[Gromit]

LazyGun

It was the Met Office who first used the phrase 'Barbecue Summer'.

[anotheoldgit]

Thanks for the three stars Gromit

[LazyGun]

Gromit - Your initial post alluded to a conspiracy. I think its far more likely that the media, as ****** off with the weather as anyone else, and in the absence of a new major new story ( having covered swine flu, our boys in afghanistan, MPs expenses to exhaustion) decided to blame the Met Office.
I am saying that the Met Office may very well have made an optimistic statement regarding a barbeque summer back in April, but they still offered odds of 1 in 3 that we might have a year as bad rainfall wise as the previous 2.
Conspiracy - none
Media hype - 100%

[ludwig]

I don't know why the bother making long range forecasts anyway. They should just say look, we've got a reasonable idea what's going to happen over the next few days, but beyond that, it's anyone's guess.
In this country that would be a pretty accurate summary of things.

[New Judge]

Unless there is a huge settled mass of high pressure over the country the weather forecasters have little success with their forecasts. I have been looking at their forecasts for two to five days out in some detail for the past eighteen months or so. For day three, the forecast changed on no less than 48% of the occasions before that day became day two. For day five it changed 87% of the time before day five became day two. (By "changed" I mean from rain to sun, sun to cloud, etc., not simply a change of forecast temperature). So theres almost 50% chance that a three day forecast will be revised and a 90% chance that a five day forecast will be revised. And that's without even bothering to compare the forecast with the actual, which is another story.

Anybody who takes any notice of �long range� forecasts and makes plans or spends money dependant on them should not be surprised if their plans are thrown into disarray. As for the costs involved, it is often less expensive to get a cheap and cheerful holiday in Spain or Greece for a fortnight than it is to spend a week in a dreary English seaside hotel.

Of course, you destroy the atmosphere by flying for a couple of hours each way and threaten the future of mankind (or so I'm led to believe) but at least you will have a reasonable chance of being able to step outside when you are on holiday.