Changes to BBC Weather site

Richard - I'm relieved to see some changes afoot. I use the weather site regularly but I have to confess it's been an incredibly frustrating experience since the big redesign.

The biggest irritation has been not being able to easily scan the 24hr and 5-day forecasts. The current way of having to click a small text link each time to see wind (and 'following 12hrs') has been maddening - and the temperatures don't stand out enough. Your second screen grab above suggests you appear to recognize this, and it looks like it could be a big improvement in this regard. Look forward to seeing it go live.

The new look seems good, however, I do hope that the option will still be there to use Farenheit. Menbers of my family live in the USA, and only use Farenheit, so I also do this to relate to all places in the world.

I have noticed that approximately since the last recent round of changes a few weeks ago, that the maps are quite frequently inaccessible, much more often than used to occur. Frustrating! I use XP SP3 and Firefox.

Temperature and wind speed are not currently shown, so it means using another website

I still wish you would show the wind directions for the entire country on one page along with the temp shown by numbers and not colours,i dont really understand why you need to make reading the weather so hard and put it on diff pages,being able to see the wind directions and speed is important to me as a fisherman and wildfowler.please keep it simple and show the whole lot on one page .......thank you

Do I understand that the 5 day is moving from "day weather" and "night weather" to a single summary for the whole 24 hours (e.g. I can see Saturday day "Light Rain Shower", Saturday night "Light Rain")

I agree with #1 that it is useful to have wind speed and direction at a glance. I often use a push bike and wind speed will make a difference to comfort and journey times. In any event I think wind speed is important in a weather forecast

Richard - Like the first comment in this string I am delighted to see change because the experience has been, I am afraid to say it, maddening and frustrating since the initial redesign.

What causes me immense frustration is (i) no figures for temps on the maps, just the shades for temperature, which is, I have to say, hopeless for informative value and (ii) no pressure charts showing fronts. The former is about to be rectified, I think.

Could I politely ask that the latter is also ?

So basically, from what I can see, the site is returning to its old look. Great I say, the new look has been quite user unfriendly, having all the information hidden away and displayed as text.
The old look showed everything at a glance, much better. So if it's going to be like that again, I really look forward to it!

I'm glad that you're having another go at it and especially that wind speed and direction will be indicated. for locations but agree with the post above that requests wind strength and directions to be shown on the whole UK map. When this is shown on the televised forecast, it really helps one to understand where and how the weather is moving.
I'm also glad that you've been responding to the feedback - any chance that you could persuade the Radio 4 website editors to do the same?

Is it absolutely necessary that the 'Find a forecast' box's background colour is that eye-burning deep orange? Presumably this element will be located at the top of the page anyway, so even if it used the normal off-white background colour, it would be noticed by the majority of us just the same. Would you not agree that the orange risks detracting from everything else?

I hope it will be possible to differentiate between the colours for fog,frost and snow in your revised system

The new look looks good; looking forward to using it. I differ on the sentiments expressed about Fahrenheit, though; this antediluvian unit of temperature should be killed off as soon as possible, along with the yard, the furlong, the hogshead, the inch, the gill, the fluid ounce, the chain, the foot, the bushel, etc, etc,...

I am delighted the Weather site is improving further- the text is difficult to take in at a glance, and the classic layout is best, with the coloured temperature squares. One suggestion is to keep the classic symbols maybe as an option as they are the best. The BBC weather is second to none- superb work!

I can understand that you wanted to change the original site, just to update its architecture and design if nothing else. I think you got carried away in the re-design and actually made it harder to interpret the information quickly. I'm sure I was one of many that provided feedback on the beta design that said this. So it's good to see you bring back a better 5-day summary that is closer to the old design.

Where did all the wind go? It's been so flat calm since the redesign..
absolutely no wind at all!
Seriously, please supply some wind information!!!!

I cope fine with it as it is now,improvements are welcome but I think it will be designed for those who aint computer literate.

@QPR

Making the most requested information available at-a-glance has nothing to do with computer literacy and everything to do with usability.

It's not about not knowing how to find wind speed.
It's the nuisance of having to click to access it each time.

The redesign earlier this year was undoubtedly a vast improvement in terms of look-and-feel, but took a few steps back in terms of usability. What Richard has posted above looks like a good step forward.

This is much better. I never understood why you changed it. Sometimes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" really is the way to go.

Thanks for listening

I am delighted that you are changing the site. I do not like the recent changes at all. I will also add that I am completely computer literate.

Relieved to hear of the changes. Like others here, I have missed the detail that was available previously.
Do you have any influence on the BBC TV weather? Why, why, why is time wasted on the 'fly-around-the-country-at-a-particular-time'? What we all want is the multi-day forecast. We don't need a snap-shot in time, or focus on particular football match locations, etc - give us the five day forecast - PLEASE. The whole point of the forecast is to help us to plan.
Thanks - keep up the good work!

My main concern is that there seems to be an assumption that changing the presentation somehow makes the information more reliable. There have been a number of changes to screens, accessibility, symbols, etc but little attention seems to be paid to accuracy. I have mailed comments on a number of occasions where there was inconsistency/discrepancy between narrative and symbols and maps. If the narriatve states heavy rain, the synbols show sunny intervals and the maps indicate neither, then presentation, however well designed, is irrelevant.

I find the sunrise and sunset times for each day of particular interest, will these be available with the new layout?

My only gripe at the moment is, the local weather videos are often up to 24 hours behind. This becomes quite an amusing experience as one is watching a forecast of what has already happened. Is that deja vu, hindsight or just plain old annoying. I find myself saying "no it won't", "well it didn't" and occasionally "yes it did - well done". Keep those videos up to date and I'll be more than happy.

My main use of the webpage is to start up the video of broadcast TV forecast.
1. Can we have all the different regional forecasts to choose between? If I am going away for the weekend i might not want my local forecast but that for another region. You could make that selection with NO EXTRA CLICKS if you had a BBC regional map as the object to click within, to start the relevent regional forecast.
2. Can the window for the video of broadcast TV forecasts be placed more centrally and nearer the top of the web page so fewer people end up having to scroll down or across to get to it?

Your site was brilliant until the february redesign. I find it so dumbed down now that I don't use the bbc anymore except for the atlantic forecast. I would like to see a 3 page forecast along the lines of the old sysytem showing iosbars , frontal systems , temperatures , wind direction and speed precipitation and radar. The 3 pages should be the atlantic , the british isles and the local forecast. One affects the other , how can I put the local forecat into perspective if i cannot see the weather systems over the British isles and what is coming in from the Atlantic.Please , please , can we have the proper weather maps back?
Or failing that would you consider doing a basic and advanced forecast . A basic one for people who are happy just to see symbols next to the place they live and a more advanced version for people who do have some understanding of meteorolgy, with proper weather maps. Please just do something - the bbc used to be so good. Anyway I am back to the met office to check my local forecast this morning.
H.Sierakowska

I hope you will be able to correct the current problem I have with the site, which is that when I click on the area chart (any area) through the 3-hour forecasts I am suddenly presented with a blank screen with nothing on it except the place names. Click again and I jump to the next screen and it's okay again.

Like many of the other contributors I preferred the pre-February version. But it seems there are so many different requirements amongst the site users that we need some means of setting up our own profiles allowing us to choose the style of presentation we prefer. I can then have the weather radar at the top, the cyclists can have the wind details, the sunseekers can have the UV data. Even the fahrenheit fans could then be accommodated as well.

I really really hope the changes are better than the 'old' re-design.

Oddly - the feedback page from the previous re-design has been deleted - why?
https://bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/journalismlabs/2009/04/making_the_new_bbc_weather_sit.html

I share other people's comments on useless temp maps without numbers, lack of isobars, wind arrows and poor layout of 5 day forecast. It's almost comical - the (nearly always) blank rain maps for local regions is hilarious - what is the point of these. The only map I tend to use is the Atlantic view.

I want to come back to the BBC - but am currently using a different website for weather information. I'm not the only one either.

Best of luck BBC - do us proud.

I am relieved that the forthcoming system will, in large measure, be a return to the previous configuration - but with improved graphics.

If only you could reintroduce the Atlantic pressure charts as was. The present Atlantic charts are a graphics numbskull. Let's have the charts with isobars and fronts - at least as an option. The closeness of the isobars and the location of severe depressions a few days out are really informative if you need to check your fences or plan not to make trips outside on those days. This stuff is important to older and retired individuals. If such material can be shown regularly on broadcast TV, why not on the website?

I agree with lots of comments, especially those who have regretted its dumblng down...and Fahrenheit is good for those with USA connections.
Sorry to say, though, that Berwick upon Tweed is not catered for.....it is stuck out in the north sea, and on cusp of Scotland/England, and you so rarely get it right. Although it is very annoying to see a big sun on the site and look out to pouring rain, it is more rewarding to see Heavy showers when the sun is beaming down upon us!

Lets see the wind arrows back please, and also what about including the jet stream, as it is the major factor of our weather. If you feel we cant cope with this new info, then educate us, we are not thick, you know, no more dumbing down!

PLEASE can you include a (fixed) link to a WMV version of the Forecast Video? This is such a useful shortcut and used to exist before flash came along! It still 'exists', but I cannot see a new link where it tells me to look!! This is the old link:
https://bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/summaries/weather/hc_weather_uk_bb.asx
Thank You!

I very much hope that it will still be possible and easy, as it is at the moment, to set the whole page to report in Farenheit and mph and for that setting to remain as a fixture and not need resetting each time the page is accessed.

Dear Sir,

I thouroughly enjoy the BBC News 24 Weather forecast.

Please put in the anticipated wind strength and direction when showing the next days forecast, as you only show it on the current day.

My feeling is that if you can display the temperature symbol you can display the wind symbol.

Keep up the good work.

Eddie Ginn

The way the site looks is of little importance

You would be far better off ensuring that the forecast is accurate

Something at the moment that you completely fail to do

I still long for a return to the previous version. I now fear that things may get even worse. The page local to wherever the the user was had become iconic. I'm a Trustee of a charitable outdoor activities centre and a print-off was part of the morning briefing for the instructors. A laminated version was on the notice-board near the cafe at Rydal Hall. Both applications ended abruptly when what I styled as 'becoming too clever by half' in an E-Mail complaint occurred (ignored by the way).

I also use the weather as a jumping-off point to all other aspects of the BBC. So, I'm looking for a clear brief representation of today's forecast and an even briefer five-day indication. I'd like it to load instantly and for all the page to be visible with no scrolling or clicking. To aid this aim no links to mini-movies or moving graphics or any other nonsense. And I'm looking at it from a desktop - my heart goes out to the increasingly large group who are accessing via notebooks PDAs and so on.

So, as I've said before - less is more!

Actually, I think you'll find that if communication is a critical factor, the way a site looks is of the utmost importance. But this isn't an either/or thing. No-one is claiming it's the only thing that matters.

As for forecasting, most Met office forecasts seem fairly accurate to me, at least as far as can be reasonably expected for the various periods ahead - an hour, a day, 5 days, etc.

I think we all have a natural tendency to attach greater significance to the occasions when forecasters get it wrong. Some people experience greater difficulty than others in recognizing and accounting for this cognitive flaw in themselves.

Regardless, to say that forecasters "completely fail" to achieve accurate forecasts is clearly ludicrous. Offering criticism in a constructive and measured way is usually far more effective (and gets taken far more seriously) than resorting to indignant splutterings.

@Woody, #19 - because breaking things that work perfectly well only to fix them again (and generating endless reports to justify it, levels of management to oversee it, and contrived, bureaucratic structures to fund and facilitiate it) is what keeps people in jobs in a country that hasn't actually produced or created anything of merit in about thirty years. It's not going to change anytime soon, irrespective of how counter intuitive and counter-productive it may seem, and when it does, expect to see your tax bill skyrocket to fund the additional welfare payments. Bureaucracy is the only thing we're good at.

@Aerospike, #13 - typical liberal arrogance in demanding that because YOU dislike or don't relate to something NO-ONE else should be allowed to use it and if they can't or won't, it's OK because there's some obscure EU thoughtcrime law that can be used to not only force them to adopt the Continental alternative but to jolly well like it too! (My wife is also American and has no idea what Celcius is and how a number on that scale relates to the likelihood of it being hot or cold outside, but then I suspect the fact that 'English' measurements are still preferred by our God-bothering, car-driving, superdupermorbidlyobeese transatlantic cousins count as a major black mark against them by the oh-so-enlightened pro-EU brigade).

For what it's worth, the latest design is of little conseuence to me, since the February rejig prompted me to search for alternate sources - I find Weather.com infinitely preferable on the accuracy stakes (without all the unnecessary resource-hogging graphical tomfoolery), much better on US forecasts, and above all temperatures presented in Fahrenheit (along with isobars on maps, wind speed and direction etc) are readily available.

"Regardless, to say that forecasters "completely fail" to achieve accurate forecasts is clearly ludicrous"

Unfortunately as far as Harlech is concerned it is far from ludicrous. The amount of times the forecast said it was heavy rain, thunder ect and I look out of the window and the sun is streaming down. No I am sorry
“Something at the moment that you completely fail to do” is a very accurate description of the sites performance over the last 12 months

I too commented during beta and post implementation phases of the new look. As far as I can tell most comments were ignored except for the introduction of a key to the map symbols and colours.

I still much preferred the old look. It had all the information presented in an easily digestible format. Like others, my main hobby is weather dependant. I need to know primarily precipitation and wind, but temperature is useful, although not absolutely essential. All will have their different needs.

I am still waiting for the wind map to return. In the meantime I use a site run by a one man amateur. It presents all the data I need - so why can't the BBC do it with all their resources?

I recall that one of the stated aims of the redesign was to make it easier to present the web site and the broadcasts in a compatible fashion, and yet they seem to have diverged considerably. I also recall reading that the BBC was seeking a new supply of wind data. Well, however bizarre that might have sounded at the time, it is clear from the broadcasts that the wind information is now available to the BBC, so please let us have it on a map, with numbers and not just thick or thin arrows. I want to know that the wind speed and direction is going to be in some detail rather than just thick lines or thin lines that are not easily translated into numbers.

Firstly, thank you for your weather web pages. The new format you started in Feb was easy to access and almost all the info I needed was provided and reliable. Since then it has improved. I also appreciate the recent addition of local videos now available at weekend. I find the local and national videos accurate except on the rare occasions when the weather changes quickly. However, I do have one 'negative' comment. Occasionally, the 24 hour summary is at odds with the video forecasts and when this happens I've found it to be the summary which is wrong. I've now less trust in the summary, which is a pity, as it is quickly accessed when I'm in a hurry. So, when I need to be more confident of the forecast I have to take more time to check one or both of the videos.

1. The `key' gives symbols I cannot obtain.
2. The colours for fog, rain, snow and temperature
overlap; what am I seeing?
3. Can we have isobars, wind direction and speed, etc?
4. The maps are great; just fill them in more.

This new weather website is absolute rubbish!! The graphics differ from the 3 hourly outlook and the 4 day outlook is complete fabrication.Also the green heavy rain symbol only appears when the rain is already upon us.
Mark Chichester

1. Please can we have easy access to the Atlantic pressure chart. Many many people understand these and can make their own deductions from them. I find that I can forecast for my own area far more accurately than the five-day graphics.

2. I have to agree with some of 44. While the text forecasts are usually accurate, the graphics, for this area at least, are often miles out.

Anyway - you can please all of the people...

It looks like if I want to print both the 5 day forecast and the 24 hour forecast I will now have to do this twice on 2 separate pieces of paper. We print the weather from your site each morning (from a screen shot so they're on the same sheet) for our hotel guests who would like to see both that day and how the next few days will be. It looks like that will no longer be possible.

PLEASE include a synoptic chart for Britain and the N. Atlantic in the new set-up. I agree with other comments regarding information on the wind strength and direction. Essential to many.

Most concerns abut the site relate to convenience and detail of information.

One failing is far more serious. The elimination of wind from the site apart from a single MPH for midday is a public safety matter. It is scandalous and should be a matter for the Trust. Many people have been driven to other web sites for that information. The irony is that on the TV forecasts, the information is shown but of course in a few seconds.

The sad reality of this site is that you have not in the past pre-consulted with customer and once you have signed you contract with the web site contractors are reluctant to change things. Perhaps action is being taken to stop this vicious cysler of inefficiency.


I won't mention the many inconvenience faults(as this post is long enough), but I will reiterate one professional failing mentioned above. The forecasts for the same place from different parts of the site often do not match . This leads to a loss of faith in the site and complaints are never responded to .

For those frustrated by the elimination of pressure/fronts etc info for the UK, go to https://www.mwis.org.uk/synoptic.php for Met Office data is presented there in a useful way and it includes troughs, that often make much of the weather.

Thank you for permitting these public comments to be made.

I agree with phil999 and hope that the sunrise and sunset times for each day will be available in the new layout.

Along with many other contributors, I would love to see an improved Atlantic Pressure map. Although the basic 5 day existing charts should be kept as it is a very useful guide to the forthcoming weather conditions, why not give us access to the animated Atlantic Pressure charts (that are overlaid with the cloud and precipitation) that are seen all too briefly on the television broadcasts. The charts are obviously available on a continuous basis to the television presenters, so surely it would not be difficult to present them in 3 hour increments on your website in the same way that the UK and regional maps are currently presented.

Improvements are always welcome, but a more accurate, detailed forecast with far more attention to local detail would be my priority list-topper. Any improvements to the site and its appearance are secondary to the accuracy and detail of the information contained within it - let's hope the online site doesn't follow the disastrous path of the TV forecasts!

All these changes are good and can be a lot of fun. But the most frustrating thing is the actual forecast isn't any better than it was when there was no technology. So rather than improving the site all the time, there should be a lot more development in forecasting or showing different scenarios. The other day I went to Gloucester on the basis of clear morning from 6am to midday, and then the first thing I encounter is a rain storm and no clear day at all. Also I would like more save searches available, as I go to a lot of different places. I think ten would be ideal.

Maybe I'm too old, but i've had difficulties with the new design - how about reinstating the 'classic'(pre-feb) post code based at a glance 5 day forecasts for those of us who like to spend just seconds checking the weather, as well as all the more informative sciencey stuff you have planned?

The old site was more or less a design masterclass in functional simplicity, the new, not so much.

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A very useful and informative site as it is, be good to see further improvements.
It would be helpful if my local area could be remembered - I have informed the site before - I live in Billericay, Essex and have that selected as my home page for weather, however, over the course of a few days, my home location is changed by the system to Tilbury, Essex for some bizarre reason.
I was advised to delete a cookie, but the cookie didn't exist, and the change to Tilbury happens gradualy, so unlikely to be a cookie......
Pete (in Billericay)

Having deleted all my cookies and uninstalled and re-installed Adobe Flash Player i am still unable to get the maps on the screen, i have had this problem for almost a week now.

Can anyone suggest anything to help this SW Scotland window cleaner?

Very informative site. But, honestly, graphics is not the best. Not fan at all of these pseudo-realistic images used for the icons.

1. On the website:-
Wind speeds and temperatures in numbers - yes
Pressure charts - yes
Combined forecast (rain, wind, temp etc) - yes
And please return to using the Met Office rainfall radar - more colours giving a better contrast from mere drizzle to downpour.
For those who want pressure charts, they're available here on the Met Office site: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/europe/surface_pressure.html
And the superior rainfall radar: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/radar/index.html
2. TV broadcasts:-
The more frequent use of pressure charts is welcome but it's still not enough. And as others have said, drop the pointless and dizzying circuit of the country.
But there is one way in which the broadcasts could be improved enormously. Please teach the presenters how to use the English language. It's painful listening at times. The two, er, younger presenters (one male, one female) are the worst with their absurdly exaggerated stresses on (frequently) every third or fourth syllable. Here's an example: "SO FAR East Anglia hasn't seen many showers BUT but they're ON their way and you'll get some SOON. MEANWHILE, over the NORTH of England we've had some REALLY heavy rain...it's a REAL HOTCH-POTCH of weather today." I'm sure they're lovely people and nice to their mums but their treatment of the language is criminal and, more to the point, DISTRACTING!
Incidentally, when the BBC dropped the pressure charts from the TV forecasts, it gave as its excuse that because some people didn't understand them they were 'disenfranchised' from the weather. Presumably the use of arrows for wind speeds (and colours for temperatures on the website) reflects the same mentality i.e. the numbers would have been too difficult...

Anything to improve the page loading times will be welcome. Unfortunately the BBC seems to have decided recently to add slow-loading audio and video content to many pages without giving the visitor any choice in the matter. A good start would be to improve this on the weather pages.

Good. The summary forecast will be similar to the previous format, which is far better.

Wind should be with the rain and cloud map. Loss of functionality there. I have to say I have found this new version less well-presented thatn its predecessor

Thank you so much for listening to feedback on the new site and reintroducing some of best features of the old site which was so easy to see at a glance. I am really looking forward to the improvements.

Why is the video forecast set for the wrong area? Workington is not in the northwest tv area!

Great news to see comprehensible temperatures coming back on maps in time for winter and that wind directions/speeds can be seen in the same context. As an earlier contributor said it would also be great to see pressure charts so that we don't always have to switch to western europe to see how weather systems are developing.

...what was wrong with the old weather page? It had all the info you needed, plus it used the traditional BBC weather symbols, which I always thought gave a certain uniqueness to the look and feel of BBC weather reporting. These new pages are cluttered and have half of the info the old page ever had. The updates mentioned in the article go someway to alleviating this but why fix something that was not broke in the first place? Also how about embedding the weather TV reports into the page?

The biggest frustration for me is the forecast itself. I live in Edinburgg, one mile from the city centre. If I get tomorrow's forecast for Edinburgh, it is different from the forecast for my postcode. For instance when I looked up Sunday's forecast (on Saturday) it said sunny intervals and 8C. For my postcode it was 6C and showers. Actully it was 4C on Sunday with a howling wind. Of course the two forecasts could be said to be corroect since the sun was visible for a few seconds and there were certainly showers in between driving driving rain. The overwhelming characteristic of the day was the howling wind however so the two forecasts were useless. It is the same for tomorrow's forecast, 2C diffence from being one mile from the city centre. Of course this is a mistake in some algorithm that the BBC use and I have reported it by email. So someone in India is now looking at it.

Re. the temperature contour map, could we please have at least one numbered circle to indicate what a colour represents. I can see the blues are different to the above zero temperatures but after that it gets very hazy (Johnson is colourblind). Of course I can read the temps from other maps but this would give me the same 'at a glance' advantage from this map as those who enjoy full colour vision.

The changes look fine, however it does not seem to cover the serious differences sometimes seen between the 3 hour updates and the graphic. I live near Colchester and often the two versions bear little resemblance to each other. This point has also been mentioned by GCox in comment 48. Does it apply to other parts of the country?

I complained bitterly when the new website was introduced, because the visible and infra red satellite images which show the actual picture, and the trend over the past 12hrs diaappeared. But at least I can still access the pressure chart off the Atlantic map. All this helps me to asess whether a snapshot forecast of cloud, sun or rain is likely to be correct. Other gripes: The computer generated shadows for cloud cover often suggest the weather will be overcast all day! The temperature colour chart is next to useless, need actual figures. Windspeed and direction needed too - at least thats coming back. The video link to the national forecast is good, but the local one is often out of date. Thanks. D West

please could you update monthly outlook still has last weeks summary

Can we have an option to display temperatures, wind speeds and the jet stream?

I've just been told about this. I've been using the met office web site in preference to this one since you changed it.

As far as Fahrenheit goes, as long as the default is centigrade (celsius) then I'll be happy. I don't understand (nor do I want to) that old system.

Why have we lost the synoptic pressure charts? Your site has become difficult to predict changes in wind speed and direction. I am having to use other sites to see predicted patterns and timing of wind forecasts.

The biggest complaint I have with the BBC Weather site, as with the TV forecasts, is the ridiculous 3D animations. It's largely impossible to distinguish between rain and showers, or how prolonged or spread out either is likely to be; it's also pure guesswork from the the sludge of browns and greys as to whether we're getting overcast weather (and if so, how) or the possibility of sunny spells.

The reason why the vast majority of TV companies and weather websites around the world use tried-and-trusted weather symbols is simple - it's what most people want. And because of that, I suspect the Met Office website - a model of clarity, accuracy and user-friendliness - will remain the no 1 site of choice for most people in this country.

And that's a real shame given the talent and traditions within the BBC Weather team.

I think the new changes will be a useful addition to the site, however I like so many other users will still have to visit other sites for more detailed forecasting tools (including 3D models), hopefully the creativity of the site designers will address some these issues in the future.

What I miss most from the old site is being able to see cloud, precipitation, temperature(in figures), and windspeed and direction all on the same chart. Whenever possible I still use the BBC london site and go to 'weather ' on that where you are still showing all these. Is this a subtle prejudice against cyclists? we really need to know these things usually quickly just before setting out. I hate having to burrow round different pages and tabs with a high powered java'd interface that my relatively small brained computer cant cope with if its running anything else.

I do understand the benefits for some, especially for the small minority of the world population that are American.

However until the BBC and the remainder of the media totally stops using Fahrenheit temperatures there will continue to be confusion and uncertainty.

It is as if somebody is illogically trying to wait for the old people to die before taking the inevitable step.

I hope the weather maps are still available. These are useful, but would be far more so if they included an an arrow showing wind direction (with length calibrated to indicate wind speed) I suggested this some time ago, but received no reply.

Love the new format. HOWEVER, it drives me round the bend when i read 'rain shower' instead of rain showers, 'white cloud' instead of white clouds. are we only having one shower and one white cloud????????????????

I do like the new look, But you need a map of the uk and wind arrows, ie bigger arrows the stronger the wind and colours blue for cold wind white arrows average temp winds and orange for warm winds just like before, im a keen cyclist race at national level? There a rumour going around that you can go faster in low pressure than high is this true?

Can you please explain why despite setting my home town as Basingstoke it always reverts to Andover when I click for a five day forecast.
I have tried resetting it time and time again but it always reverts to Andover.

Hi,
After spending some years in Denmark, I have got used to their met-office award winning homepage.

It is very clean, and has a great balance of near, mid and long-range forcasts. They have a wealth of information for the most ardent weather watchers, and some excellent graphics. The animated weather maps are miles ahead of anything I've seen in Britain :(

Well worth looking at while updating your pages. I'm not saying cloning it, but maybe some useful pointers.

Danish Meteoroligical Institute - www.dmi.dk

could we please have pressure conversion included on the weather page??

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Another vote in favour of a return to the clarity and usability of the site before the (awful) re-design. The question left is why it was allowed to be inflicted on users in the first place.

I look forward to a fully integrated weather page, along the lines of those I have witnessed from various of our European neighbours. I grappled with the new BBC page for a few weeks, but now use the Met. Office and various "independent" forecasters, all of whom seem to understand the needs of all of their users and "contour" their sites to suit the umbrella brigade and the deep-sea fisherman in a seamless interface.

Since your update to this service it has become almost completely useless! Take today for instance (01/112/2009). This morning, looking at the weather map, one would be forgiven for thinking it was raining hard. But no, that was the frost! Later, at about 21:00 it will be raining. I really can't see the difference between these at all! The map used to show all the necessary information. We had the weather symbols telling us whether it was cloudy, rainy, sunny etc. We had temperature symbols, wind symbols with speed and direction, even UV and pollen! In short we had all the information we could possibly imagine at a glance on a map. Now we have to dig through the text and other graphics and try to mentally superimpose these onto the map. Ever since the change, the site has lacked clarity, usability and presentation. Any further update should ensure that the map shows all the weather information, at a glance, unambiguously like it used to do. Not necessarily in exactly the same format (although I can't think why not since by the old addage, it wasn't broken so it should never have been fixed) just as long as it achieves the goal of getting all the information in in visual format.

I wish you would go back to the old weather page it was a lot better
one could see the wind arrows and understand it better.

I think the BBC needs to decide if it runs a weather information service or a meteorological site. But then, I suppose, there are lots of two bit meteorologists in the BBC who fancy themselves as celebrities....

As for the weather site now .... sorry BBC, it's not that good either.

when i read the headline, my initial thought was that they would have changed to provide an accurate forecast, from recent predictions, it would appear that i was wrong. your site still fails to be accurate on the weather.

how much money is being wasted on this nonsense?

Sorry BBC, but I have to agree with most of the negative comments about your last changes to the weather forecast site, which have been posted on this blog. I would especially concur with the difficulties in distinguishing extreme cold from rain, as is currently the case. Also, the written info rarely concurs with the map.
The pre-Feb version maps gave all the information that was required ie temperatures, wind strength and direction, as well as the rain tracking. For those of us who possess the ability to interpret the synoptic charts these are most desirable. Like some of the commentators I go to the Atlantic pressure chart to attempt to discover what is really happening. However, it is often the case that the picture does not appear.

I like the new look. The present one is a bit messy to be honest.

The site is still useless - for one simple reason. Going to the Weather page from the News site always pushes "Garston" in Herts as the location, regardless of the fact that I have set it to my local postcode. I have tries this from home and work and from other computers with a different postcode and it's still broken. Tried reporting this via e-mail without even an acknowledgement.

Pointless.

Very, very pleased to see the return of a map view with weather and spot temperatures.
I stopped using BBC Weather when this was dropped in the February redesign.
From my perspective, we are now nearly back where we were (thank goodness) although with a lot of intervening expense and effort, and 10 months of reduced functionality.
This is the next best thing to being able to wave a magic wand and undo all this year's improvements.
Now if we can just have the wind arrows on the map back...

I live in Kendal, a town of over 25000 souls. The weather forecast is based upon readings taken at Shap - a town of significantly fewer people that is over twelve miles away from Kendal and almost 1000ft higher. It could be bright sunshine in Kendal yet the weather report tells me it is extremely windy and snowing. Surely you could establish a weather station that is more appropriately placed.

On Sunday I used the teletext forecast for the week (Mon-Fri). According to the information it was something like.
Mon -2 min to 6 max C.
Tues 2 min to 8 max C.

...but how can it be minimum tempreture on Tuesday as +2 C. when there is a frost of -2 C. on Monday night ??
I thought perhaps they meant there was a frost on Sunday night(carried throught to Monday morning).

....obviously not !!

Please amend this discrepancy.

It's reassuring to read that many fellow weather watchers are as unimpressed with the actual forecasts themselves as I am. One can argue the merits of the graphics or appearance of the site until Doomsday - but whilst the BBC (and other) forecast providers continually pander to an audience who basically want soundbite forecasts for a soundbite lifestyle, we will continue to have to sift through endless gross over-generalisations and glossing-over of details and local anomolies. In the past there have been some dreadfully inaccurate detailed forecasts, but that was way-back-when in the days of pretty limited technology. One would have thought that with the unimaginably vast acceleration of technological advances, present day detailed forecasting would be unimaginably better than it is ........

David McNamara 94
This is a Met Office problem and not the BBC. The Met are very fussy who they take feeds from. We in Whitstable are Manston, 20 miles away, with a different climate . One of the few good things the BBC site re-design did was to admit this. Previously they claimed that such data was for the towns mentioned... a total sanctioned lie and one they refused to correct despite being asked in writing.

Whenever they mess up you have to wait for the next redesign. If they used model driven development for their software , they could make corrections like that easily and very cheaply.


I cannot recommend too highly https://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/. Zoom in to your area (or anywhere) and be amazed by the information at local weather stations near you. Click on each station to get more detail. Not only does Wundermap tell you what is happening where you are, you can get an instant contemporaneous picture around you; so if one summer day the weather is not to your satisfaction where you are you can drive 20 miles say to get a better experience.

Misc.

One long standing complaint from me which they continue to ignore is that fog and snow are indistinguishable.

Also the temperature charts have no key. Doooooh.

It is incredible that the local 'general ' graphic has neither wind nor temperature.

I bet everyone involved on the last re-design got nice bonuses and no comeback. Whether the disappearance of wind or Arlene, it is all part of dumbing down and the gradual deterioration of this country.

G Cox (97)
Thank you very much for the post. I apologise to the BBC and will enjoy making use of the link you provided. In the meantime I will wait for the heavy snow that is forecast for any moment now, and say a silent prayer for the dear folk of Shap who are probably experiencing what I can only anticipate.

hi, is it possible to have a regular 6 hourly update? even if forecast is unchanged it would give some reassurance that the next 12 hrs at least will be accurate. thanks

I actually have no problem in distinguishing frost (very pale blue) from rain (tends to be darker and more defined around the edges). What stumps me are the white blobs - I can never tell if they're heavy fog or light snow. Perhaps if they occurred more regularly I'd be used to it. Perhaps fog could be made 'blurrier' and more transparent (so that even heavy fog never becomes opaque white)?

Really, I can fully appreciate the difficulty in expressing so many similar things like this using colour alone. It would be a shame to return to using symbols, because you don't get the same precision or sense of cloud/rain sweeping across an area. For that reason, I think returning to symbols would definitely be a backwards step.

Maybe just a few tweaks are needed, plus make the KEY more obvious!