Weather forecast

[Odsox]

The weather forecast is quite important to us, especially at this time of year, but which one do you use?
I used to use Metcheck but found that they almost always got the temperature wrong, especially overnight lows (too high).
I have been using the BBC weather, but since the beginning of the month they have switched to Meteogroup, which I believe is a New Zealand company, and I have been running them side by side with the UK Met Office forecast since.

Well for down here at least the NZ one is rubbish.
Today for instance they are forecasting totally overcast all day https://www.bbc.com/weather/2966356 and the Met Office are forecasting unbroken sunshine all day https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/wea ... 2018-02-20

Well, the clouds cleared early evening yesterday and there's hasn't been a cloud in the sky ever since, it's a glorious day here and nearly 10C as I drink my elevenses.
I think I'll still compare the two for a week or so yet though.

[Green Aura]

When we lived down in Manchester we used to laugh at the BBC weather forecasts because what they predicted usually happened, just 24-48 hours later. So almost completely useless, in our experience.

Up here it's even worse, each village has its own micro-climate, because of the mountains, and the nearest weather stations are Altnaharra or Lairg, both roughly 50-60 miles away. In 2010, when the UK had the bad snow, Altnaharra was the coldest place in the UK for several days at -23C (if memory serves) - we, on the other hand had very little snow in our village, although a couple of miles out in any direction was a different story.

So we don't rely on weather forecasters very much! I do follow an amateur weather forecaster on FB-"Highlands and Islands Weather" - he lives in the Cairngorms and seems to be very good for the big things. When the BBC were giving dire warnings of one of the many named storms we've been having, he told us it wouldn't hit our area and he was right.

Not much help to you, though.

[Odsox]

Yes, I have that problem too. Our own weather forecaster Met Éireann is fairly accurate, but they only do today and tomorrow and I like to have some idea of the week ahead.

What is odd on my original post is that you have 2 professional companies giving 2 totally different forecasts for the same place, not even a forecast really as it was the present weather when I posted it.

[Flo]

I've found the UK met office to be as good as any but we do have a reporting station just up the road. Mind there are days when they change their minds by the hour. I keep an eye on their radar rain chart and their surface pressure charts. It may be 50 years since the fleet air arm trained me as a weather observer but I've not lost it completely. An eye on the sky still tells me a lot.

[Odsox]

Well I'm pleased that I held off starting my maincrop tomatoes. It looks like this cold weather is going to last for some time, and I would have had to put them in my large heated cloche affair, along with all the other tender stuff, like peppers and aubergines etc.
It's quite big, but not that big.

[Green Aura]

It's rather pleasant here. Last evening we were able to sit out for a little while and watch the sunset.

It can't last though - we discussed putting the whirligig back out, so expect blizzards and high winds any day.

[MKG]

I use the Met. Office ever since I discovered that you can fine-tune it to narrow it down to a local weather station. It's now wrong only on rare occasions - certainly it's good enough to make plans.

[diggernotdreamer]

I look at the Yr forecast, doesn't seem to be too bad

[Flo]

I dare say that none of the weather forecasts will suit as there's snow in the south east of the UK.

[MKG]

We got a light covering this morning which had gone an hour later. It's just tried again and got nowhere. Situation normal, then. I've been here for nearly 16 years and we've had settled snow only once, I think.

[Odsox]

Not too sure what's going to happen here in the far south west.
Storm Emma is due to clobber us on Friday, with either snow turning to rain or snow turning to more snow, depending on who you listen to.
Either way it's not going to be nice.

[Green Aura]

Bit cloudy. That's all.

[Odsox]

For goodness sake, it's -2.5c at the moment, minus two point five!!
That's by far the coldest it's been down here since we moved here in 1994.

Plus there is some mysterious white stuff on the ground.
I think I'll go back to bed until it goes away

[MKG]

I spoke too soon. Still - it's very pretty.

[Flo]

Anyone who's short can have some of our plenty up here in Northumberland. It's close the schools weather as buses and pupils all seem to be stranded in the garage/at home.