Weathermen reap whirlwind

Press, 1 February 1988, Page 6

Weathermen reap whirlwind

NZPA-Reuter London An official report ordered by the British Government has attacked weather forecasters for ' giving insufficient warning of the worst storms in 300 years which killed about 20 people last October, the “Sunday Times” said. The newspaper said the report blamed Meteorological Office staff for incompetence by failing to interpret data properly and relying too heavily on computers. Weathermen warned Britons of the storm’s intensity only hours before the hurricane-force winds began lashing southern England, causing up to £3OO . million ($BO4

million) in damage. Weather staff . had argued the storm was a freak and blamed the lack of weather observation ships. But British newspapers said forecasters in France and the Netherlands issued storm warnings based largely on the same information available to British meteorologists. The “Times” said the study would be used to draw up a blueprint for improving weather forecasting to prevent a repetition of the disaster. Weathermen were again taken to task this week-end for failing to predict torrential rains which caused wide-spread flooding.