Author Topic: New Met Office mountain weather forecast  (Read 3451 times)

Lyle Brotherton

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 939
  • Competent and safe navigation sets you free.
    • View Profile
New Met Office mountain weather forecast
« on: June 20, 2014, 08:21:35 AM »
Visiting the Yorkshire Dales last week I tried out the new mountain weather forecast website from the Met Office www.metoffice.gov.uk/mobile 



It has been designed specifically for browsers used by mobile phones with fast downloading and graphics optimised for mobile phone screens.

The 5-day forecast was very accurate. It provides plenty of detailed information, everything from rainfall and temperature to visibility and wind speed, even surface pressure charts (The surface pressure pattern using isobars).
“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance” - Plato

Oakleaf

  • Global Moderator
  • Jr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 59
    • View Profile
    • Profile on LinkedIn
Re: New Met Office mountain weather forecast
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2014, 05:23:40 PM »
Lyle

Stick that onto top the ever growing list of thank you's!  ;)

Had a quick look and it is an very easy to use site - weather is a big issue for me and it's incredibly frustrating how hard it is to find a reliable forecast. Metcheck used to be pretty good, but has decidedly gone off the boil over the last year or so.

Whilst I have to take into account our location - with the Cairngorms, Monadhliaths and Grampian ranges casting quite a weather shadow here, forecasts generally pan out to be sheer guesswork!

At a particularly boozey BBQ I once quizzed a Met Officer from the Special Forces Flight about weather forecasting - looking suitably hurt by his initial 'How the 'F' should I know' reply ( I'm a sensitive soul ), he kindly explained the hanging rope method. Whilst I'd heard it many, many times before, his rendition was whitty and original so I gave him 9/10 for artistic interpretation.  :)

Course on this weekend, so we'll see how this BBC service measures up - rain predicted for the Sunday range session.

Pete McK

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 374
    • View Profile
Re: New Met Office mountain weather forecast
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2014, 06:05:12 AM »
Really neat site and works well on my iPhone. I like the Use my Current Location feature, when you accept the cookie, it provides you with the weather forecast for your location :)

Oakleaf

  • Global Moderator
  • Jr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 59
    • View Profile
    • Profile on LinkedIn
Re: New Met Office mountain weather forecast
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2014, 08:12:41 AM »
Well after a three day trail in the admittedly awkward Moray area ...   it was three for three; and not in a good way.  Wrong every single segment of every day.  Back to the piece of rope!  :-\

Callum

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 512
    • View Profile
Re: New Met Office mountain weather forecast
« Reply #4 on: June 27, 2014, 11:36:32 AM »
Useful link :)

These are the sites we tend to use in planning, on our desktops, for the weather forecasting. The first link is specific to the area we work in:

http://www.lakedistrictweatherline.co.uk/
http://www.metcheck.com/UK/
http://www.bbc.com/weather/
http://www.mwis.org.uk/



Oakleaf

  • Global Moderator
  • Jr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 59
    • View Profile
    • Profile on LinkedIn
Re: New Met Office mountain weather forecast
« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2014, 05:51:42 PM »
metcheck used to get my vote everytime - certainly upto about two years ago.

It was uncanny - something like 70% of the time they even had the three hour window temperature spot on!  Drifted a bit in recent times - though in fairness the location here is rather sheltered from a Southerly or Westerly aspect and that changes things radically.

Trouble is that deer have fantastic weather forecasting abilities - we can dress for the occasion, but in trying to plot how best to get onto animals - or even if they'll be moving at all - the weather over the next 12 hours or so is critical.

Nothing beats a 3AM meet up with a client, when all you've seen on the way over is animals heading back to cover!