Yellow weather warnings - sensible precautions or scaremongering?

That reminds me of the time quite recently when there was a computer malfunction on the BBC weather website which said there would be winds of 50,000mph. It was the funniest thing I'd seen for sometime. Apparently it should have read 5mph. People were notified about the mistake.

Well, in this neck of the woods, South Oxfordshire the forecast is winds of 11 mph, gusting 25 with rain

In fact, the sun is shining and there is a slight breeze.

East Renfrewshire schools are closed tomorrow. Our amber warning is now Red.

HS62

I've been 😟 worrying all winter about incoming storms. None of them were as bad as predicted. I actually enjoyed being outside in some of the high winds etc. It was a lot of hype a lot of the time. Some weather stations exaggerating, to save their arsed. We don't want another MICHAEL FISH MOMENT Zdo we one weatherman said. Daft at times. Just use your loaf on the day. Love. Xx

It depends very much where you live, though. Those people flooded out of their homes, yet again, would, I believe, disagree, or those whose roofs were blown off. Sadly, some people lost their lives, too.

There are many authorities in Scotland who have made the decision to close schools and nurseries tomorrow. My grandsons will be at home. My dsil has been told his firm is probably closing too. The police are asking everyone to stay home. I've just gone into the garden to put away as much as I can. A red alert is no joke.

Just watching the news and there is now red weather warning across Scotland and Nothern Ireland. Seems all schools in NI will be closed tomorrow. Not sure what the plan is for Scotland yet. FM & police are advising 3m people not to travel tomorrow.

There are Red Weather Warnings for Ireland and parts of Scotland. Keep an eye on the forecast everybody, especially if you are going out and about. I will be in with my books!

I have moved my garden furniture to an area that does not catch the wind, otherwise, it might blow onto the French windows and smash the, moved the bins to a safe area too. If the heavy winds do not arrive all I need to do is put them back again, so I am glad we have been warned. There is nothing I can do about the wind taking the roof off my home though!!!

Blue sky and sunshine now! Bonkers.

Or ask a farmer or fisherman

Farmers are always pessimistic about the weather!

😯

It's just raining here.

We've just had biblical hailstones and thunder and lightning here in Devon. The sort of stuff where I've had to put my trousers straight in the machine.
The weird thing is, it goes as quickly as it comes like a whhoosh.

They issue warnings about fire every time it is hot and windy here. I’m glad and also that they now tell people to evacuate rather than stay home and try to fight the fires. Mostly you can’t. Now that people have died they realise that so instructions have changed and they are much more careful. Best to be safe, not sorry.

We lived in the South of England when the big storm hit in 1990.

Our children’s school was evacuated, the chimneys on the Victorian buildings were swaying, I watched the old bike sheds lift off the ground and then fall back down in pieces.

It was too dangerous to go out for falling debris, my husband was 14 miles from home, it took him over 4 hours to get back.

We were without power for 6 days, I was able to use my husbands offices during the day to keep the children occupied, I cooked our meals there with the food I had rescued from the fridge and freezer, they had a wonderful time!

Thoe who think that the forecasters exaggerate the dangers have a simple answer - don't watch or read them. Always make sue you have a spade handy to clear up the snow, keep loose items under cover, and have a stock of non-perishable food, then you are not taken unawares.

You could probably judge for yourself when bad weather in imminent in your area, and take any extra precautions. If you know you are not observant enough to read the signs of an approaching storm, then ignore the foregoing, you are better taking a look at those who make their living by forecasting- after all they will come closer than you will. Or ask a farmer or fisherman.

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RosiesMaw2
I live about 20 miles from Birmingham. Looking at various sites, it seems that the worst of the storm will affect mainly Ireland and the North West of Britain.
It's likely to be windy and wet during the early hours of Friday morning in the west Midlands, but improving during the day.

I travelled by train down to Plymouth from Birmingham during a bad storm last year. There were some cancellations but I got there in the end.
I've included screen shots of today's forecast for my area and one of the national forecast.

Like I said on the other thread. The met O is acting defensively, covering their backs. The weather models are all over the place and weather via jet stream is constantly changing as the jet stream moves

Where I live, it will be windy starting this evening via gusts of around 30 to 45 mph, maybe a couple at 60 during the early hours tomorrow morning. Nothing unusual for winter

Sensible precautions should always be taken anyway, outdoor missiles tucked away, wobbly trees cut down

I will be going out tomorrow morning for a local walk, to enjoy the fresh air

As always it is risk v reward

Well ever since the time that Micheal Fish got it wrong about the storm they are covering their backs but of course it is the boy who cried wolf. They are also copying the wretched americans who dont think about the probability of something but if they might be sued for not getting things right.

Well up here we have little microclimates so that if you go up swaledale and down wensleydale you can have rain in one dale and dry in the other. Personally I have always used my own brain and common sense to decide what and how I do concerning the weather. I have sailed and have a farming background so that we are all used to looking at the likely possibility, making sure we have basic provisions in the house in case of sudden snow and at this time of year I carry a spade, spare jumpers etc etc as a precaution and then just look out on the day and make my own decision.

In any case in Yorkshire we are used to making sensible provision and getting on with life. When I lived in London they thought the slightest touch of snow needed a snow plough. we have all lived long enough to trust our own common sense, have family and friends we can contact to see if there is worse weather where we plan to go.

So as a basic, I think if the journey wasnt really necessary you might put it off for a better day and if it is important carry on with care.

Pure sensationalism.
A few short years back Age UK appealed to the tabloid media to desist from their blown-up headlines about winter weather: claims about a 3 month long record-breaking ice age, temperatures plunging to an all-time low, blizzards trapping us all indoors for weeks and pensioners facing starvation.
These screaming headlines were terrifying the elderly, in particular, and so an appeal went out to stop the hysteria.

Needless to say, this appeal was ignored.

Have you decided what to do RosiesMaw? Like you, I've been awake all night with all those weather reports rushing through my mind.
They say, if you don't need to go anywhere, stay put, but not wanting to disappoint someone is also a troublesome issue. I'm starting to feel like I'm chickening out by saying I don't want to go. Especially like yourself, when the date can't be rescheduled.
I'm going to walk the dog on the beach in an hour to clear my head a bit, and make a decision. I know DH is desperate to go.

The BBC tend to predict worse conditions than other sites, here in the Midland we are forecast to be rough winds Friday morning for about 5 hours, it’s frontal weather so the timing might be different, most of the rain will get dumped on Wales and the SW. Up north on high ground it’s going to be much worse.

The real problem is that the weather does not listen to the forecast

Where do you need to travel to from to see that show?
I think if it were me I'd let the train take the strain if poss.

Don't worry!

And I know you'll have a fantastic time at Ballet Shoes 🩰
We've been twice now and it's wonderful

As far as I'm aware this coming storm will affect Southern Ireland and Scotland and possibly northern counties of England. Some gusts of 90 are forecast but the 250 referred to the jet stream. I am taking it seriously and have cancelled appointments in Friday, and my daughter and her partner, who had planned to drive up to Scotland from Nottingham on Friday are travelling on Thursday evening instead.
The scaremongering isn't down to the weather forecasters but to the tabloid press which exaggerate things to sell their papers - there's an element if truth in what they print if you take out the hyperbole!

I’d prefer to get up really early on Saturday and drive up then I think, before it gets too busy. I don’t mind the actual driving in windy weather, but I’m scared of a tree falling on my car. Could you stay over Saturday night instead of Friday night and drive home on Sunday?