MET Office uses an upgraded forecasting model to accurately predict severe winter months in advance

MET Office expects to end strings of much-criticised blunders by using the new multi-million pound government supercomputer...

15:54 16 September 2012

In 2009, MET office said that the country can expect a “barbeque summer” and that the chances of chilly winter is very low. However, this wasn’t the case. The country experienced the coldest months for the last 31 years as the temperature dropped below zero degrees and weeks of snowing caused chaos on transport networks. 

 

However, with MET Office’s new and powerful upgraded forecasting model that cost multi-million pounds, they are assuring the public of much precise, accurate weather forecasts. 

 

The supercomputer was installed in 2010 and it has since given accurate weather forecasts. Based on the prediction, December 2010 was the second coldest months in 350 years and that there was a small chance of harsh late winter which was indeed the case. 

 

Spokesman Helen Chivers explained it is useful in planning long-term contingency plans, but is not used for general weather forecasting.

 

She said: “This system gives an indication as to the likelihood of severe weather, and the information proves useful for the Government’s forward planning.

 

“However it can not predict, for example, snow in Scotland in six weeks. It’s another step in the journey of improving forecasts.

 

“It is not used for the immediate and 30-day forecasts we provide to the public.”