on the weather

In England it's important to know the weather. Especially these days when I have an allotment and seven potentially free days in which to indulge myself. My browser has a quick link to the BBC-Met. Office local forecast for Gloucester - it's the closest they get. This site gives a full forecast at three hourly periods for the next 24 hours, followed by a brief forecast for the next five days. It changes hourly and most of the time fails to keep up with the weather.

Basically, it doesn't work.

But we keep persevering with it, in hope, because Brits are, as anyone who knows us will tell you, weather-obsessed. Paradoxically, we complain constantly about whatever weather we're given, too wet, too hot, too cold, too windy, and yet we're optimistic it'll improve.

I once heard a Met. Office spokesman explain how difficult it was to predict with any degree of accuracy a short-range forecast, say tomorrow or next weekend; it was much easier to do long-range ones, say in a month's time. A year hence is even better, a relative cinch. It doesn't take a genius to realise what a futile endeavour forecasting is. It will rain sometimes, we're not sure when.

All this is, in some way, confirmed in this forecast for the coming summer; it will be hotter and drier than the previous two summers. "Good news, finally", says BBC forecaster Laura Tobin. "Compared to last summer, which was miserable... it will probably be positive for the majority of people."

YIPPEE!

However, a grey cloud, the Met. Office's government services director, Rob Varley warns, "They are not forecasts which can be used to plan a summer holiday or inform an outdoor event."

Right, as you were....

Nevertheless, allotmenteers, keep your barrels filled!