Met Office To Spaff £1.2bn On New Computer

[puppet]

It always amuses me when someone living next to a river is expected to follow the met office alerts rather than just open the curtains. Our steading has been flooded at least 10 times by what, at present, is a piddly wee burn.
Never yet had a call to warn us yet but averted plenty other floods by being vigilant ourselves

 

[Goweresque]

Doesn't really matter how fast their computer is, if they keep programming it with climate change b*llocks the forecasts will continue to come out wrong, just faster.............

 

[capfits]

I think this great news.
If it can process models and data points faster then this leads to better forecasts then it is truly a win win not only for the economy of this country, but of those further afield.
Less waste of resources, with better resource management to suit the conditions to hand.
Traditionally it has been the Met Office that has been among the leaders of super computing in this country.

 

[Swarfmonkey]

Anyone want to place a bet on how the costs will balloon and how many years it'll be delivered late?

I'll put a quid on £2.4bn and 5 years.

 

[Paddington]

After the great storm of 1987 Michael Fish stated that the UKMO could predict 24 hours ahead with accuracy, this is now 3 or 5 days depending which spokesperson you talk to. Simon Keeling did an article about how they forecasted the weather for the Allied landings in 1944. No satellites or computers, just a network of observers, but they managed a three day accurate forecast for the invasion.

 

[puppet]

Apparently the new system can pinpoint a forecast to 100m a couple of days ahead. I can see that being useful if it means I can just cut the far end of a hayfield and leave the rest until the forecast improves.
Or just cut round the outside and leave the middle if unfavourable.
Or move my lambing sheep to the next field which will be dry.

Aye right.

 

[Forkdriver]

Weather forecasts rely on common datasets. The data is processed in different ways, and the accuracy or not relies on the processing of that data. As a sailor I look at various forecasts and try to extrapolate the average but unless we are in settled periods as at present, you can't rely on the forecast to bet the farm. Beyond 3days accuracy declines rapidly.

 

[Warp Land Farmer]

Weather forecasts rely on common datasets. The data is processed in different ways, and the accuracy or not relies on the processing of that data. As a sailor I look at various forecasts and try to extrapolate the average but unless we are in settled periods as at present, you can't rely on the forecast to bet the farm. Beyond 3days accuracy declines rapidly.

@Dave W

 

[BrianV]

I think this great news.
If it can process models and data points faster then this leads to better forecasts then it is truly a win win not only for the economy of this country, but of those further afield.
Less waste of resources, with better resource management to suit the conditions to hand.
Traditionally it has been the Met Office that has been among the leaders of super computing in this country.

That's a joke right, £1.2 billion spent on a computer that will be no more accurate than what they already have, never ceases to amaze me that money can be found for the most worthless causes while governments plead poverty! How many other billions have been wasted on cycle lanes that virtually no one uses.

 

[Wombat]

They cannot even get 12hr forecasts right with what they have let alone wasting 1.2bn on something that might be vaguely better

 

[yellow belly]

They for the rain today earlier in the week

 

[Lincs Lass]

Hope they arent getting it from Currys ,,when it goes wrong ,customer services wont give a monkey's

 

[Hilly]

Met Office and Microsoft to build climate supercomputer

The Met Office will work with Microsoft on a supercomputer which will help model climate change.

www.bbc.co.uk

I'm looking forward to the forecast being much less crap then.

At least your remaining optimistic !

 

[Hilly]

Anyone want to place a bet on how the costs will balloon and how many years it'll be delivered late?

I'll put a quid on £2.4bn and 5 years.

Not Scotland you know