Slighty OT but did anyone else see Townlands RTE One Wednesday 13th 7.00pm? It looked at Ireland's obession with the weather and people's jobs that depended on it (lighthouse keeper, artist who uses raindrops, racehorses - ground soft/firm). The final couple of minutes showed Evelyn Cusack walking down a corridor in Montrose, almost knocking the cameraman over when opening the door to the weather studio, and a behind the scenes look at the weather studio and the gallery she is in contact with.
Apparently tonight was the first "Holiday Weather" of the season. I'm sure it usually starts earlier than this but never mind. The graphics are slightly different, starting on blue with circular pictures of 'holidays' accross the screen. The globe zooms out of one of these circles. More sea information is given... the outlook slides are slightly different. Only Europe was covered, and half the forecast covered the English coast. According to Auntie Penrith is now in Wales, and the Scottish destinations slide has little of Scottish location... unless you count Berwick as a Scottish holiday destination.
Michael Grade was asked about the weather presentation on Breakfast earlier; can any of you tell me what he said please? I had to answer the door just as he was getting to the meat of his response. I assume he brushed it off but he did seem to be a bit critical to start with.
Basically, he said that he was in close contact with the makers of the graphics and mentioned that he was aware of the criticisms with the brown colour and that something may be done.
Basically, he said that he was in close contact with the makers of the graphics and mentioned that he was aware of the criticisms with the brown colour and that something may be done.
Basically, he said that he was in close contact with the makers of the graphics and mentioned that he was aware of the criticisms with the brown colour and that something may be done.
That's not quite what he said if I recall. I believe he said that he'd been keeping a close eye on how the new graphics were greeted by the public. He mentioned the occasional use of the isobars, and he also said that he personally "disliked the brown colour of England's green and pleasant land" (or words to that effect), but that there were very good reasons for the land being brown. However, I don't remember him actually saying that he was in touch with the designers of the software, nor that something was going to be done about it, though I'm sure others will correct me if I'm wrong.
The start to the Holiday Weather was very good and they seem to use more of the graphics with this bulletin. Don't think that the bulletins at the moment show off the technology to its fullest.
Another example of Weatherscape at its best this morning...
Carol Kirkwood was doing the forecast live from Newcastle in torrential rain this morning. She introduced the 'current situation across the country' with not a single shower showing on the map anywhere in the North East.
At least with the previous set-up they could over-ride the computer if it was showing them blatantly wrong information.
Likewise, I was listening to the weather on BBC Radio Ulster yesterday morning, in the car, windscreen wipers going full tilt: what did they say as the rain lashed down?
That's right.
"It will be a dry day throughout Northern Ireland."
On a day like this BBC Weather is more pointless than ever. Tuning into Tyne Tees at 1.25 for the Tyne Tees Weather Bob Johnson has the perfect opening slide. Yes, fog. "You'll see this looking east, west, down or up". And of course the weather map is covered in fog. And symbols showing the severity of the rain, and wind direction. He didn't bring up the temperatures though ("not worth showing").
Switch over to BBC1 for the BBC National Weahter and according to them at present we have some "light rain"... some "sunny intervals".... and "light winds". No mention of fog.... I can't even see the Tyne Bridge on Look North!
Switch over to BBC1 for the BBC National Weahter and according to them at present we have some "light rain"... some "sunny intervals".... and "light winds". No mention of fog.... I can't even see the Tyne Bridge on Look North!
That could be because the new-look BBC weather doesn't include any kind of graphical representation of fog, so maybe it's easier just not to mention it now.
Incidentally, the weather graphics broke down this morning on Breakfast, so Carol Kirkwood was did at least two bulletins (that I saw) with no graphics at all. Simon McCoy asked her, "Where are your maps... which our viewers love
so
much?"
