The Weather Forecast

I will break the ice in true British style by talking about the weather, or more specifically about the weather forecast. My old geography teacher always moaned about the weather forecast because of the dumbing down of it all. Firstly they don’t show the jet stream, which is a passage of air in the upper atmosphere that essentially controls the weather, they even show the jet stream in America but broadcasters deem us as not intelligent enough to comprehend it. And secondly the presentation of the weather forecast is no longer done by meteorologists but by attractive men and women reading a script and waving their arms.

My problem with the weather forecast is far less sophisticated; it is one of those petty irritations I so often write about. The clue as to what a weather forecast is, is in the name, a forecast of weather, that is what the weather is going to do in the future. This is very useful, it helps us plan our outfits and excursions but also gives us a scapegoat when the weather tricks us all and the country grinds to a halt under a foot of snow or countless barbeques are ruined by thunderstorms. However I can appreciate that the weather is pretty difficult to predict as it is based mainly on what it has done in the past so if they get it wrong and I get drenched, I don’t really mind.

We have established that the point of the weather forecast is to predict weather so why do they tell us what the weather is doing now? I always thought that windows were invented for the very reason of seeing outside so telling me it is sunny is a waste of your time and mine. So then, why does the weather forecast go on to tell you what the weather did earlier? I was there Mr Weatherman, I experienced the cold wind and as a result I put my coat on, but thank you for telling me this redundant information. What is even worse is when they get it wrong, how can one possibly get the weather wrong when describing what it did only a few hours ago? I had spent an afternoon in central London and it had rained and rained and rained for hours. I came home still dripping, got changed and watched the news. There was the weatherman on the London news telling me what the weather had done earlier. He claimed that it had been a lovely day all across London, not a cloud in the sky and glorious high temperatures. How wrong he was, it had not been a lovely sunny day and I had the damp clothes to prove it. I briefly imagined a cartoon-style raincloud that followed me around, raining on me and me only but it seemed more feasible that the weatherman was an imbecile.

You should check out the blog of my biology friend Katie Barry at http://worldofkatiebarry.blogspot.com/ She is just starting out in the blogging world and needs some air time.

And a shoutout for Claire because...well because she asked for one.

Finally, happy birthday to Irritated Mutterings, we are 1 today.