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BBC Weather is the department of the

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(British Broadcasting Corporation) responsible for both the preparation and the broadcasting of weather forecasts. On 6 February 2018, BBC Weather changed supplier from the government Met Office to MeteoGroup, after being required to put its weather services out to tender. Previously, the government Met Office had been the provider of weather information for 94 years.

History

The first BBC weather forecast was a

shipping forecast The Shipping Forecast is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. ...

, broadcast on the radio on behalf of the Met Office on 14 November 1922, and the first daily weather forecast was broadcast on 26 March 1923. In 1936, the BBC experimented with the world's first televised

weather map A weather map, also known as synoptic weather chart, displays various meteorological features across a particular area at a particular point in time and has various symbols which all have specific meanings. Such maps have been in use since the m ...

s, brought into practice in 1949 after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The map filled the entire screen, with an off-screen announcer reading the next day's weather.

Advancement of technology

On 11 January 1954, the first in-vision weather forecast was broadcast, presented by George Cowling. In an in-vision the narrator stands in front of the map. At that point, the maps were drawn by hand in the London Weather Centre, before being couriered across London.Hunt, Roger
"The end of weather forecasting at Met Office London"
''Weather'', June 2007, v.62, no.6, pp.143–146 The forecasts were presented by the same person who had composed them, and had relatively low accuracy. The London Weather Centre which opened in 1959 took the responsibility for the national radio weather broadcasts. Radio forecasters were chosen by a BBC audition from the forecasters at the London Weather Centre. In 1962, the installation of a

fax machine Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...

and an

electronic computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These program ...

in the Met Office led to more accurate and quicker forecasting.

Satellite photography Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell i ...

was available from 1964, but was of a poor quality and was given on paper, with the coastline etched in

felt-tip pen A marker pen, fine liner, marking pen, felt-tip pen, felt pen, flow marker, sign pen (in South Korea), vivid (in New Zealand), texta (in Australia), sketch pen (in South Asia) or koki (in South Africa), is a pen which has its own ink source ...

. This did not change until 1973 with the installation of a new computer, increasing processing power of the Weather Centre greatly, leading to forecasts twice as accurate as earlier ones.

Graphical technology

As computational capability improved, so did graphics technology. Early hand-drawn maps gave way to magnetic symbols, which in turn gave way to bluescreen (CSO) computer-generated imagery technology, each of which allowed the presenter greater control over the information displayed. Early magnetic symbols tended to adhere poorly to the maps, and occasional spelling errors (such as the presenter writing 'GOF' instead of 'FOG') marred some broadcasts, but allowed the presenter to show how weather would change over time. The symbols were designed to be 'self-explicit', allowing the viewer to understand the map without a key or legend. On 18 February 1985, computer graphics were introduced although the basic design of symbols was kept the same. These forecasts were widely acclaimed for their simplicity, winning an award from the Royal Television Society in 1993. On 2 October 2000, BBC Weather underwent a more significant change. Whilst there was not much change to the existing weather symbols new symbols giving information on pollen and sun levels were introduced. A new more detailed map of Britain was used based on satellite data.

Great Storm of 1987 controversy

Possibly the most famous of the forecasters is the now semi-retired

Michael Fish Michael Fish, (born 27 April 1944 in Eastbourne, Sussex) is a British weather forecaster. From 1974 to 2004, he was a television presenter for BBC Weather. Career Educated at Eastbourne College and City University London, Fish was the lon ...

. Famous for his informal manner and eccentric dress sense (he once wore a blue and green blazer emblazoned with all the weather symbols), he was a viewer favourite despite an unfortunate comment before the Great Storm of 1987. During a

weather forecast Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...

some hours before the storm, Michael Fish started his forecast with the now infamous line "Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way. Well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't". Although he was factually correct, as it is impossible for a proper hurricane to reach the UK latitudes, and he was actually referring to a Florida hurricane ( Floyd), and he went on to accurately forecast stormy conditions over the south of England, the statement has gone down in popular culture as one of the worst mistakes made so publicly.

Weatherscape XT Graphics (2005–2018)

BBC weather forecast from Broadcasting House newsroom

The weather symbols were replaced in May 2005 after 29 years and 9 months on air by a controversial format as the forecast underwent another redesign, with the flat map replaced by a 3D globe, and weather conditions shown by coloured areas. Cloud cover is indicated by the brightness of the map, while

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water ...

and

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

are indicated by animated blue and white areas respectively. The graphics are provided by Weatherscape XT, which was developed by the commercial arm of the New Zealand

Metservice Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited (MetService - Te Ratonga Tirorangi) is the national meteorological service of New Zealand. MetService was established as a state-owned enterprise in 1992. It employs about 300 staff, and its headqua ...

. The move polarised opinion; some saw it as more accurate and modern, while others disliked the brown colour chosen for the landmass and the presumed high cost of the graphics. The angling of the map, in order to show the curvature of the Earth, led to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

appearing little larger than

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, and Shetland being almost invisible while exaggerating

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and the

South East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

. This led to many Scottish commentators accusing the BBC of having a London bias. As a result, the map was realigned, and the moving tour of the UK was lengthened. The new look won a prestigious Silver Award at the Promax/BDA Awards in 2006. Criticism has continued, however, with some viewers complaining about the colour scheme, and of a lack of detail in the forecast about weather developments beyond 36 hours. There have been continuous developments. In 2006, a rippling effect was introduced to define seas and oceans.

BBC Weather Service switch to MeteoGroup

On 23 August 2015, the

...
announced that the Met Office would lose its contract to provide weather forecasts, the BBC stating that it is legally obliged to ensure that licence fee payers get the best value for money. The BBC said that the on-air presenting team was not expected to change and it would still broadcast warnings from the Met Office

National Severe Weather Warning Service The National Severe Weather Warning Service (shortened to NSWWS) is a service provided by the Met Office in the United Kingdom. The purpose of this service is to warn the public and emergency responders of severe or hazardous weather which has ...

and

Shipping Forecast The Shipping Forecast is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. ...

issued on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. A competitive tendering process followed, with MeteoGroup chosen as the new provider in August 2016. On 6 February 2018, the

...
began using the MeteoGroup graphics, which include: * a seasonal "window on the weather" at the start of each bulletin * green land * high quality moving graphics reproduce detailed weather conditions represented by high-resolution data * more "realistic mapping" * a "realistic globe" to display a "variety of data from falling snow particles to areas likely to see the

aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

" * forecasts that offer "improved accessibility for users with colour-blindness" * the possibility to "customise both TV and online forecasts, zooming in on particular areas to provide a more detailed forecast" * a ' chance of precipitation' feature on the app * a ' feels like' factor, for the app, that determines how cold it feels outside, particularly in different wind conditions * up to a 7-day forecast on TV and radio * up to 14 days of hourly forecasts for more UK and international locations—online and on the app Public feedback in January 2018 regarding the subsequent updates and changes to the BBC Website and associated weather applications for mobile devices were generally critical. Many weather watchers were highly critical of the new design, with widespread criticism voiced across the media. Many used the comments section of the blog written by Michael Burnett, the BBC Executive responsible, to voice their complaints. The blog entry dated 22 January 2018 was originally aimed at positively promoting the changes, but this appeared to have the opposite effect when the blog post generated well over 1000 mostly critical comments in under 10 days.

National forecasters

National forecasters still provide forecasts for local news programmes.

Current

* Philip Avery * Darren Bett * Stav Danaos * Chris Fawkes * Alina Jenkins * Sarah Keith-Lucas * Simon King * Carol Kirkwood *

Louise Lear Louise Lear (born as Tracy Louise Barden in 1967) is a British television journalist who works as a presenter for BBC Weather. She has appeared on BBC News, BBC World News, BBC Red Button and BBC Radio. She is also a regular forecaster on the '' ...

* Lucy Martin * Nick Miller * Susan Powell * Ben Rich *

Tomasz Schafernaker Tomasz Schafernaker (born 8 January 1979) is a Polish-British meteorologist who currently works for BBC Weather. Early life Tomasz Schafernaker was born on 8 January 1979 in Gdańsk, Poland, and attended school both in his native Poland and i ...

* Matt Taylor * Helen Willetts *

Owain Wyn Evans Owain Wyn Evans (born 9 March 1984) is a Welsh broadcaster and drummer. He is a radio DJ and TV presenter, and previously a weather presenter on '' North West Tonight'' and ''BBC Breakfast''. Evans is also a regular item presenter for the tele ...

Former

* Jim Bacon * Suzanne Charlton * Peter Cockroft * Daniel Corbett * George Cowling * Bernard Davey *

Alex Deakin Alexander Roy Deakin is a meteorologist and weather forecaster for the Met Office. Deakin appeared regularly on BBC services and was one of the main weather presenters on the ''BBC News at Ten''. In addition, he joined the Weather team on BBC Br ...

* Liam Dutton * Richard Edgar * Barbara Edwards *

Bert Foord Herbert ("Bert") Vernon Foord (22 December 1930, in Appleby, Westmorland – 31 July 2001, in Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire) was an English meteorologist and BBC weather forecaster during the 1960s and early 1970s. The son of a Royal Navy ...

Everton Fox Everton Fox (born 1964 in Cambridge, England) is a British weather presenter, currently working for Al Jazeera English and is notable for being the first ever black weather-presenter to appear on the BBC. Career Everton A. Fox worked for the t ...

* Peter Gibbs * Bill Giles * John Hammond * John Kettley * Isobel Lang * Tori Lacey * Kirsty McCabe *

Ian McCaskill Ian McCaskill (born John Robertson McCaskill; 28 July 1938 – 10 December 2016) was a BBC weather forecaster. Early life McCaskill attended Queen's Park Secondary in Glasgow, and then the University of Glasgow, where he studied geology and c ...

* Rob McElwee * Nina Ridge * Jack Scott *

Laura Tobin Laura Elizabeth Tobin FRMS (born 10 October 1981) is an English broadcast meteorologist, currently employed by ITV. Tobin worked for the BBC before moving to the ITV Breakfast programme '' Daybreak'' in 2012. ''Daybreak'' was later replaced b ...

* Penny Tranter * Sarah Wilmshurst * Francis Wilson * Jay Wynne * Helen Young

Online forecasts

The BBC Weather website provides outlook weather forecasts for UK and international locations using animated symbols and a format similar in design to that used for the televised broadcasts. The website launched in 1997. The website also runs frequent special features about seasonal sports, white Christmas, nature, and meteorological science. It also has world weather, UK outlook, and weather news.

BBC Weather apps

On 20 May 2013, the

...
released the BBC Weather App for both

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

devices (although initially not optimised for

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...

) and Android devices (via the

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...

Store). Both versions were designed by Media Applications Technologies, and their data source was the Met Office.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc Weather

Weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloud cover, cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmos ...

BBC News Television news in the United Kingdom Weather television