Hi everyone. The weather has been turning very much chillier recently and as we move inexorably towards Winter the most observant amongst us may have noticed that the 20th (yesterday) say the first flakes of snow and hail fall in the heavy showers that passed by the area. However, those that have read some of the National Press of late may well have expected rather more than this, so what went wrong?

So why do they do it? Well of course the number 1 requisite for the Daily Newspapers is it's quest to sell copies and to do that they need some gritty and newsworthy items to impact readership. For some of the time it's the individual celebrity type stories with scandalous revelations on private lives that get people drooling over their coffee while at other times it's the weather which all UK citizens like a good story about to churn over. After all it's a subject we all fascinate over and talk about everyday of our lives so the Weather is an easy target for the media. Of course to achieve this the editors don't just fictitiously make up the info they print, instead they are fed information by highly sensationalist people from organisations who are in themselves in Weather business to make money rather than to provide a non profit making service. As a result they are primed to give the papers the grains of information they need to produce a full scale stories which is nearly always immensely over exaggerated and impacted by a punchy headline.

So what's the cure? Well the best cure is never believe anything you read in the press about future weather as it is highly vetted and added to without foundation. The freedom of press within the UK allows them to print almost anything they want, especially on subjects like the weather as they cannot be held to account for their inaccurate stories as no particular people are involved. Anyone reading this would be better off avoiding the press and listen to the reliable daily broadcasts issued by our excellent UKMO team and the BBC broadcasts to which they are partnered with. If they don't mention it you can bet your life that it ain't gonna happen.

Alternatively you can turn to many of the amateur weather forecasters that, like myself produce their own un-sensationalist forecasts using  the wealth of charts and data supplied by the internet. For my part I will never over dramatise any weather prediction and will only give severe weather events as and when they are necessary and continue to aim to show what implications such events will have on the General Public's day to day lives.

So what of the truth about the coming weeks. Well as you may have read from my latest forecasts there is very little sign of anything particualrly harsh weatherwise in the coming weeks. In fact it looks quite the opposite with benign and quiet weather with a lot of cloud, very little rain let alone snow and just patchy fog and frost night and morning, all very typical for this stage of the season and outside of the hazard of any freezing fog certainly not disruptive.

Trouble is, all the time there is the gullible public (not everyone are into meteorology as much as we are), the media will continue to feed on that. As a result, we, as the more trustworthy amatuer and pros alike forecasters, will carry on feeling like fighting a losing battle.

A well written piece, Martin.

The headlines in The Express and The Sun in the last few days are a total waste of space and nothing short of fictional sensationalism.

I will stick tried and trusted sources such as Gary Sarre in the future.

Nice post Martin.

Whether Idle and myself were pondering this recently over a sociable beer.

You wouldn't be at all surprised of the energy companies are linked closely with the Media.

Hype sells papers, scaremongering sells fuel.

Is a win/win for these dickheads

I find that when telling people what the weather is really like they get disappointed . Then seem to try and get away....

The other problem with this type of reporting is that it discredits meteorologists in general. At the best of times, weather forecasting is an inexact science and prone to inaccuracies. However, when the public reads these stories which inevitably don't come true, it feeds into a "weather forecasters, what do they know?" attitude. Of course, we know that these stories have nothing to do with real meteorologists, but the public in general won't always see it that way.

Yes I agree, this is very annoying.

I dearly hope for a mild winter to make a total mockery of said newspapers and their contributors.

Scaring the elderly, in the infirm, the vulnerable, makes money.  Causing them worry and angst is good for business.  What billionaire would resist the opportunity to add to his vast fortune?  Eh Mr Desmond? 

I guess some consider Mr Burns a role model.

Exactly.

The press are in the perfect position and they know it. When it doesnt come true they blame the meteorologists. and the public never look at the issue closely enough to realise the truth.

In fact I was talking to someone today about this non-existent snow we were promised. She said "the Weathermen always exaggerate just to cover themselves." I tried to explain that the only people who exaggerated were the media, but she didnt buy it!.

OH dear.Whats the point, perhaps there is no hope for mankind!

Great post Martin - When I see the headlines of the Express - you have to laugh. That newspaper is 100 times worse then than the Wail as some people nickname it.

I just ignore the bollocks and stick to the facts.

In fact I don't read any newspaper for weather forecasts these days now.

They are not worth it.

It's the arrogance of these so-called reporters that gets me. Even when they are proved wrong, they blatantly deny that they were!

I would argue that these 'weather forecasters' would probably not be even heard of if it wasn't for journalists (I use that term loosely) who so willingly accept everything that is fed to them. It is they that are the ones to blame. They are the ones who generate the big headlines and the story.

Ha! Funny you should mention this Martin I recieved an email from a colleague this evening

Quote:

"Weather temp to drop to -9c next week according the Daily T.W.#.T newspaper, so get your thermals out..."

People still believe mars bars help you work rest and play...

A very good post Gibby.

I never take any notice of what the papers say. Between reading your forecast every morning and following the MetOffice forecasts, that tells me all I need to know about the weather.

It's a classic example of a symbiotic relationship based on BS.

The amateur "forecaster" gets traffic to their site by mention of the name in the Press, and the paper gets a few 1000 extra copies sold with an apocalyptic front page weather headline.

No-one loses, except of course the punter who buys the paper and believes the hype, and the "proper" forecasters who despite not uttering a word to the press, get labelled as incompetent when the apocalypse fails to materialise.

And still it goes on!

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/444385/Long-range-UK-weather-forecast-warns-snow-storms-and-Arctic-winds-could-last-SIX-months

Honestly, this is just getting ridiculous. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear this prat Nathan Rao is doing this deliberately to wind us all up.

Come on Nathan, admit it, you look at this forum.

We've now gone from three months of snow to SIX months of snow. Seriously, this is ridiculous.

As as journalist myself, if I constantly produced such utter drivel and diatribe, I would have been sacked years ago.

Obviously Rao's main purpose on this planet to to spout nonsense and sell papers....but the sad fact is, the more sensationalist it gets 96 months of heavy snow), the more old and vulnerable people start to panic.

It beggars belief.

Jonathan Powell says "it has been so cold in November"! ??

Has it really?

I could swear this below says we are bang on the November average.

Agree completely Gavin.

The other losers are those on low incomes who are already worried about spiralling heating costs and how they are going to keep warm this winter. The last think pensioners need is to read this nonsense and be worried sick about something that is probably never going to happen.  Normal winters are cold enough!

Sorry, Steve, but that is just bonkers conspiracy theory 

The energy companies advertise in the papers as they do everywhere else. But there is no conspiracy, just some pretty poor journalism at one end of the market. 

The shareholders and owners of the right wing media are IMHO in a cosy relationship with the shareholders and owners of the BIG 6 energy companies.  I daresay they may even have cosy chats next to wood burning stoves in their large homes and gentlemen's clubs.  It is a  logical thing to say that the coverage given to the supposed cold spell by all the papers, with the Express at the extreme end of the spectrum, has been over the top.