The Great Storm Of 2013

[Ardiles]

[Being a bit boring]
I know it's easy to take the piss, but I think the forecasters did a great job this time.  They correctly forecast that there was going to be severe weather as early as the middle of last week...and pretty much got the timing right as well.

What they slightly over-estimated was the severity, but that's never going to be an exact science anyway.  I'd far rather they slightly over-estimated (so people over-prepare slightly) than the other way around.  And as Bogus Dave says, people have died as well.  So pretty tragic for some.

What I find a lot less forgiveable is the rolling news coverage from the likes of Sky News: trying to hype the situation at breakfast time this morning, by which time everyone already knew that the disruption was not on the scale expected.  Having reporters on the beach at Brighton going 'Ooh, look, there's a big wave' is not news.  They had the pier in the background and the reporters had clearly been sent there in the vain hope that they would be able to capture live coverage of it falling in to the sea.  But, sadly, it was not to be.
[/Being a bit boring]

[jimmy_onions]

the problem with coverage like that from sky news is that it seems to wind the country up into a state of hysteria, to the point where the powers that be decide they have to cancel all trains before a single leaf has blown from a tree, or in the case of last year, closed all schools before a single snow flake hits the grounds...

[Red Frog]

[/Being a bit boring]

Can you let a few more of us into the secret of how to turn off the "Being a bit boring" key?

[Ardiles]

 

[ghanimah]

the problem with coverage like that from sky news is that it seems to wind the country up into a state of hysteria, to the point where the powers that be decide they have to cancel all trains before a single leaf has blown from a tree, or in the case of last year, closed all schools before a single snow flake hits the grounds...

The reason they are so keen to cancel all trains in the event of potential weather disruption is that it doesn't affect their punctuality targets – because they can argue it’s out of their control. But trying to run the trains and the possibility of them being late would.

The reason they are so keen to cancel wholesale trains is that doesn't affect their punctuanlity tragets. But trying to run

[horlock07]

Don't know what all the fuss has been about, it was probably the least windy it has been for about a fortnight up here this morning!

So they were forecasting high winds and rain, they may have well just said 'the south of england will experience some north west weather on Monday' 

[suttonred]

Been driving round South London today, lots of big trees down. They cancelled the trains because there could have been a disaster if one had come down if front of or on top of one, right call Imo, as most of the trees seem to have come down between 8 and 9am when the lines would have been busiest.

[DarloSTFC84]

I drove to work (Otterbourne, Winchester) this morning from Ludgershall....at 05:45...it was a nightmare...I can see why they cancelled some public transport as a precaution...if it had carried on like that, it would've been a nightmare day...luckily it wasn't!.....hopefully it'll be alright to travel home in at 18:30...although my usual luck suggests otherwise 

[Samdy Gray]

Don't know what the fuss was about.

Heard a few noises about 5am when the wind got up, but surveying the garden this morning there doesn't appear to be anything out of place.

Drive to work took no longer than usual with exception of the 2 sets of road works in Wootton Bassett. In fact, if the road works weren't there I'm sure the commute would've been quicker than usual, the roads were very quiet.

[4D]

Half term Sam 

Bhajis last night?

[fatbasher]

Don't know what the fuss was about.

Heard a few noises about 5am when the wind got up, but surveying the garden this morning there doesn't appear to be anything out of place.

Drive to work took no longer than usual with exception of the 2 sets of road works in Wootton Bassett. In fact, if the road works weren't there I'm sure the commute would've been quicker than usual, the roads were very quiet.

Half term may have had something to do with the roads being quiet.

[Bewster]

Very windy on the South Coast -  first time I've been blown like that for ages

[Ardiles]

Have you just turned into Finbar Saunders, or was that completely unintentional?

[Bewster]

 

[4D]

Half term may have had something to do with the roads being quiet.