Many people consider long range forecasts to be no more than guesswork. That’s a little unfair. There is some real science behind these outlooks.

However, says Netweather.tv’s director Ian Michaelwaite: “When forecasters get long range forecasts wrong it can bring chaos, such as much lower stockpiles of grit and salt being pre-ordered as has been the case this year.”

So, with the fanfare reports of the coldest winter for 30 years directly contradicting the Met Office forecast of a mild winter, what can we do to get it right?

Perhaps we should now be using at least one other weather forecaster to compare to the Met Office. A coordinated approach using seasonal forecasts with monthly, weekly and daily updates is now crucial as we limp unconvincingly through the last steps of a very cold winter and into spring.

Just a thought…