Partner Article

Storm over weather forecast

A storm is brewing in Bournemouth, with local officials slating the Met Office over “inaccurate and overcautious” weather forecasts that kept visitors away on Bank Holiday Monday.

While the forecasters predicted rain and thunderstorms, the sun came out and the holiday ended up as the hottest day of the year so far.

Mark Smith, of the local tourism department, told the Daily Telegraph that around 25,000 visitors cancelled their trip to the town because of the grim forecast, costing businesses over £1m.

The Tourism Alliance has already complained to the Met Office, claiming that unnecessarily gloomy forecasts damage British business and reinforce inaccurate stereotypes.

Helen Chivers of the Met Office said: “We get observations from satellites and local stations and all of that goes into the computers, and you take the best guidance out of that. We try and give the most accurate forecast that we can.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .