Met Office knew big freeze was coming but hushed it up

By RACHEL QUIGLEY

Cars try to make their way through the centre of York in the snow at the start of December. Councils could have been better prepared for the cold snap if they had been pre-warned by the Met Office


The Met Office warned ministers to expect an ‘exceptionally cold winter’ but then kept the prediction secret from the public.

The forecaster decided not to reveal the information because it was embarrassed after wrongly predicting a ‘barbecue summer’ in 2009, BBC analyst Roger Harrabin said.

Instead of a seasonal forecast, it offered only monthly snapshots.


Snow ploughs struggle to clear the taxi ways at Heathrow Airport after heavy snowfall in late December. Thousands were stranded at the airport as flights were cancelled and the airport struggled to clear the backlog


The disclosure raises questions over whether transport authorities and councils could have been better prepared for the cold snap which brought chaos before Christmas.

As temperatures fell to a record low, train services were badly disrupted, roads were covered by snow and thousands were stranded at Heathrow as flights were cancelled and the airport struggled to clear the backlog.

Last night Mr Harrabin said: ‘With Britain shivering through a third winter in a row, shouldn’t the weather forecasters have warned us well in advance? Why didn’t the Met Office tell us?

‘The truth is it did suspect we were in for an exceptionally cold early winter, and told the Cabinet Office so in October.


A train skulks through the snow in Horley, Surrey. Train services were badly disrupted last month after transport authorities failed to prepare properly for the immense snowfall


A water fountain was frozen solid in Calverton, Nottinghamshire, after freezing temperatures in December last year


Campaigners have claimed it has become too interested in calling for action to cut carbon emissions.

They say it is in thrall to a belief that temperatures will rise in the long term, and so has neglected its focus on accurate short and medium term forecasts.

The BBC announced last year that it was considering dropping the Met Office as its official forecaster after 87 years. But in July it decided to extend the contract for a further five years.


Ducks waddle across a completely frozen River Ouse in York on Christmas Day


The Cabinet Office said that Met Office forecasts are shared ‘as appropriate’ but could not say if roads authorities, airports and water companies had been passed the explicit deep freeze alert.

A spokesman said: ‘The Met Office provides the Government with regular updates throughout the year to inform short, medium and longer term planning. This information is shared as appropriate between departments and with local responders.

‘Government departments have, since winter 2009, continued to enhance preparedness and build resilience, informed by Met Office advice as well as the recommendations from David Quarmby’s review into last winter’s disruption and Dame Deirdre Hine’s review of the 2009 swine flu pandemic.’


source: dailymail