Significant difference between BBC and Met Office

[WitchWithoutChips]

BBC weather says that it will be 40° here on Monday.

Met Office says it will be 35°.

Please can anyone explain why there is such a discrepancy?

Because the BBC thought it would be a great idea to tender the weather to a foreign company.
No consideration that if they went with the metoffice it would help fund another uk government organisation.

Oh and the cheapest bidder isn't always the best one. Trust the met office over the bbc

Spot on! I salute you Sandcastles24!

Oh I didn't know that! Since when?

They’re always so different. All year round.

Weather forecasts are generated by modelling. Multiple models are run and each one generally give a slightly different result (which the difference generally getting smaller the closer you get to the forecast time/date). The forecaster uses their own experience and judgement to decide which forecast or combination of forecasts to release. The BBC no longer uses the met office as their forecast provider (it's now meteogroup) so there can be a difference of opinion/model output that means the forecasts are different. Also, the met office and meteogroup are using slightly different combinations of starting data to get the models going, so there is always going to be some variation in the output.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/23/met-office-loses-bbc-weather-forecasting-contract

Actually that might be wrong, it looks like meteogroup don't model themselves but use the outputs of a European, American and British one (made by the met office). The BBC split from the met office in 2018, meteogroup were cheaper I guess. You get what you pay for!

Fat fingers, 2015!

Let's reconvene on Monday to see who was right

My Dad’s a fisherman and takes a keen interest in the weather. He always goes with the Met office over the BBC.

The ensemble forecasting pages on the met office website are quite interesting, if you like that sort of thing....

I knew that the BBC and the Met Office had parted company. I’m curious about the difference that equipment / expertise / modelling makes and I wonder how much information meteorological companies share with each other.

This is interesting and explains the service provided. I’ve just removed bbc weather app from my phone and tablet.

Yes the bbc weather forecast is no longer as good as the met office now they no longer get their weather from there. It’s been very apparent for 2-3 years now. I think it’s ridiculous they don’t have a statutory partnership to be honest.

Only a two degree difference here, take your pick between 37 and 39.

Looking at the Met Office weather rather than the BBC is something that Mumsnet told me to do a few months ago.

It was on a day when the wind in London was worse than in any of the major winter storms (trampolines blowing about, trees down) and the BBC weather app said "a bit breezy" or something like that.

@Sloebluewalls the BBC forecast can be worth looking at though as it goes for 2 weeks and can give you an idea of what's coming. But then within a week I'd switch to the met office for the more accurate prediction.

My dh is obsessed with what the beeb say weatherwise, always wrong! Weather underground for me

BBC weather app is generally rubbish

Just checked. Met Office forecast 30 on Sun, 34 on Mon and 35 on Tues. For the same 3 days BBC Weather say 32, 40(!), 36.
I hope that the Met Office are more accurate especially on Monday.

One thing you need to bear in mind when comparing the two services is that, as far as I am aware, the Met Office is still sending civilian staff out to theatres of war/conflict in order to provide accurate local weather forecasts for the troops on the ground at those particular locations. I can't see the BBC faciliating that with their new provider....

The BBC weather is never going to agree with the met office who they divorced from and it's like when Scotland never agree with England on government matters, its a principle thing, can't be seen to agree.

I remember @ohyoubadkitten having informative comments on this when bbc dumped the met

Today - now

BBC - Sleet until 9am

Met Office - heavy then lighter snow until 10am

Let's just say, IT'S NOT SLEETING. I always use Met Office over BBC, even if they do have Tomasz

Aah..
Zombie thread, that explains a lot!

However, my Dad was a met. man. I never understood why the British Government does not back its own institutions.. Trust the Met. Office!