Has anyone else noticed that the weather forecast have been really inaccurate lately?

[Rhine]

My phone, my Apple Watch, the BBC and the MetOffice has forecast glorious hot sunshine here today, but I’ve just put my washing out to dry and it’s gone dark, clouded over and started to rain! Last week there was a day where rain was forecast all day and it was hot and sunny. On Saturday it was forecast to be sunshine and showers and it was cloudy and dark with that horrible fine wet rain all day! Non stop!

This is happening more and more often I’ve noticed. Has Covid affected their ability to forecast the weather accurately or something? If I got my job that wrong that often I’d be sacked!

My mind has been blown by this! I always assumed it was satellites that were used to forecast the weather!

DH and I were talking about this over the weekend. We keep being promised days of sunshine - in the future, starting tomorrow, but the current day, when it arrives then turns to overcast or rain

We decided it was a National Strategy for morale boosting - sunshine tomorrow ........

And there was I thinking that you in the UK were having great weather compared to us in Ireland, after seeing the predictions in the Daily Mail.

I thought it was just me. I have complained to DP quite a few times over the past month or so because the weather has been wrong. Usually it's forecast rain so I didn't bother hanging the washing out but it turned out to be a dry sunny day.

Off topic slightly, but where are you all if you are getting rain - it is dry, arid and the land is desperately in need of several days of good downpours where I am. All we get is some pathetic little showers which do no good at all.

It's disheartening. You think we are finally going to get some summer weather and then it's grey and drizzly again. Where has the sun disappeared to?

I had no idea about the planes thing either.

BIL gets satellite info on the weather through a Heath Robinson arrangement of scaffold poles, electrical casing and an old Sky dish. But it is pictures of the present not predictions of the future, so you have to know what you're looking at and how to interpret it.

I love heat and sunshine, so the non appearance of the hot weather is very disappointing! Not that it's been extra rainy (we're in the east) but it's been cloudier and cooler than I like. At least we had a hot spring.

But also we are in the middle of a lengthy period of unstable fronts. The weather is 'changeable' and whatever system you use, that kind of weather pattern is always more difficult to forecast. It's much easier to predict the weather when there is a large and steady area of high pressure...

DH and I were talking about this over the weekend. We keep being promised days of sunshine - in the future, starting tomorrow, but the current day, when it arrives then turns to overcast or rain

Same here. Except that in our case, the forecast for weeks has said that it's going to be glorious the week after next. I'm still waiting.

Glad I found this thread because I've been thinking the same . Accuweather saying no precipitation for 120 minutes but it's belting it down. Saying it will rain but then it's glorious sunshine all day . That app is usually spot on too.

.did not fully appreciate the huge amount of information our aircraft send to the weather forecasters!

As you probably know the RAF operated specific weather observation flights during World War two, and more recently, before datalink, a percentage of flights over the Oceans were required to send basic weather reports (wind and temperature) to the Oceanic Traffic controllers on a regular basis. That was done as part of their routine position reports that were passed by voice on HF ( Short Wave) radio...

That info was then sent on to the Met Office..not sure how, perhaps by telex, perhaps by Carrier pigeon.......

I literally just started a thread on this in chat. Because my achy arm is telling me it's going to rain but the weather forecast just says sunny and a bit cloudy.

Really interesting. (Am fortunate to be in the non-rain zone when rain is predicted.)

...before datalink, a percentage of flights over the Oceans were required to send basic weather reports (wind and temperature) to the Oceanic Traffic controllers on a regular basis. That was done as part of their routine position reports that were passed by voice on HF ( Short Wave) radio...

Yes, indeed, AIREPs. I have made those reports myself many times, and am aware they were used by various air traffic agencies for met information over the Atlantic. However, reading the AMDAR document I was quite surprised at the amount of information our aircraft are sending back that is specifically used in mainstream weather forecasts. Stick AMDAR in the little 'search' box on your iPad and it doesn't give you any clues!

I noticed that too! So interesting to read this thread, we had great sunshine this weekend and the forecast said cloudy all the way through. Then Google asked me how the weather is where I am and I joked it should do it's own research. Seemingly, it can't!

😲. I had no idea! Also assumed all data was collected by satellite!

Stick AMDAR in the little 'search' box on your iPad and it doesn't give you any clues!

It will be a bit ironic if all the data airliners/crews have collected regarding weather and indirectly the climate over the years end up deployed against the industry.

ATB...(and Good Luck)

I don't check the forecast very often but does anyone think it's been an unusually cold and wet summer?

The weather has been shit for about 6 weeks solid now, I know that

I find it amusing to see the forecasters try and bluff their way out of the wildly inaccurate forecasts too.

So on Monday, it’ll be: “Massive heatwave arriving on Friday.”

Tuesday, it changes to: “As we said, the massive heatwave will be arriving on Saturday.”

Wednesday: “Not long to wait now until that massive heatwave, coming Sunday.”

Thursday: “As we expected, more rain expected this weekend I’m afraid.”

Friday: “I know some of you will be hoping for sun this weekend but sorry guys, no end in sight to the rain, you’ll need your brollies if you go out chortle.”

Saturday/Sunday: “Brrrr, cold isn’t it? But don’t worry, as we said earlier this week, there may be higher temperatures middle of next week”.

Mine's been pretty much bang on for weeks now. Only use the BBC app and I'm on the south coast.

This is so interesting. I was moaning to DH the other day about the forecast being so inaccurate - had no idea that data was dependent on flights!

Mind you it seems to be the nature of our seasons now. April has some nice days, May is glorious, June has some nice days, then it pisses it down in July and August, with some nice days in September.

Well it's probably something to do with lovely Tomasz Shcaffernaker being so totally preoccupied with his new hair do, he's clearly taken his eye off the ball (and the meteorology reports)

Yes they've just been bloody making it up haven't they.

@Thunderpunt

Well it's probably something to do with lovely Tomasz Shcaffernaker being so totally preoccupied with his new hair do, he's clearly taken his eye off the ball (and the meteorology reports)

That really made me laugh, I wonder if his new do is intentional or just due to lockdown?