Weather forecasts - is there really any point?

[Uhtred]

I’ve been checking the likely weather for practice week and early TT week. The BBC website forecast (no longer the UK Met Office, but - I think - an outfit called Meteo) suggests generally dry, but light showers next Tuesday, and more substantial rain on Friday 31st. Contrast this with the weather app on my phone, which predicts rain every day from tomorrow until, and including, Saturday 1st June. Another website I have - forecast.co.uk - is somewhere in between, but suggests rain on days that the BBC say will be dry, but better, sunnier, weather on 1/2/3 June which the Beeb says will be dry but dull.

How can this variation stack up? Somebody is going to be dead wrong. This is bollocks. I propose the complete withdrawal of public funds from weather forecasting. If anyone wants to waste their money on these witchdoctors, let it be the private sector. As for me, I’ll open the bedroom window at 06:00 each morning and make my own call for the day.

[Kitten Mittens]

If it helps... AccuWeather seems quite OK for me! 

[prism10]

Which government would cease to provide public funding. The UK government or the Manx government?

[Rushen Spy]

I find the weather reports fairly useless even when checking on the very day in question. I find it amusing because they often go in and edit it to make it look like they got it right.

[Uhtred]

6 hours ago, prism10 said:

Which government would cease to provide public funding. The UK government or the Manx government?

Any government! Get a strip of seaweed and a pine cone!

 

[Bobbie Bobster]

54 minutes ago, Uhtred said:

Any government! Get a strip of seaweed and a pine cone!

Better than a piece of electrical cord and an orange, I guess.

[Neil Down]

Here you go

 

[dilligaf]

Love the new avatar

[Neil Down]

1 hour ago, dilligaf said:

Love the new avatar

Have you worked out what it is?

[P.K.]

I'm convinced that the Ronaldsway Met Office consists of someone sticking their head out of a Control Tower windy and then writing down what they see.

For some reason their tide predictions are also usually a metre out from The Admiralty effort. Go figure....

[Neil Down]

24 minutes ago, P.K. said:

I'm convinced that the Ronaldsway Met Office consists of someone sticking their head out of a Control Tower windy and then writing down what they see.

For some reason their tide predictions are also usually a metre out from The Admiralty effort. Go figure....

To be fair, the beach is a fair way from the control tower

[dilligaf]

9 hours ago, Neil Down said:

Have you worked out what it is?

No

[Neil Down]

44 minutes ago, dilligaf said:

No

You will...

[Jetfour]

I remember, back in the 1970’s, phoning Ronaldsway Met Office one Sunday morning to obtain a wind forecast for our yacht passage from PSM back to Strangford Lough. 4 pennies in the slot and press button B.  A less than jolly man answers the phone and, in response to the question, “What wind speed and direction can we expect in the next eight hours?” Comes the answer, after much fumbling, “Ahhh... well you’re looking at westerly at 115-120 knots.”    Dear God says I, it looks quite nice over the breakwater.”   “Oh sorry,” says he, “that’s at 30000 feet!”

Now, you’re not allowed to phone them direct. Umm.

[kevster]

On 5/22/2019 at 9:54 AM, Neil Down said:

Here you go

 

That's not really forecasting though - it's telling you the weather at the time