大象传媒

EXTREME WEATHER

Michael Fish has become a household name

Inside Out celebrates 50 years of TV weather forecasting with the weathermen who turned the science of meteorology into an art.

It's 50 years since the first weather forecast appeared on our television screens.

Half a century later the style of forecasting and presenting the nation's favourite obsession has changed beyond recognition.

Today's TV presenters have modern technology at their finger tips, making forecasting more accurate than ever before.

But in an era of global warming, our weather continues to baffle even the most experienced men at the Met.

Strange weather

Weather can behave in some very strange ways, confusing not only the public but the experts.

1987's 'hurricane' surprised the weather forecasters, and wrecked havoc

Remember the infamous 'hurricane' of 1987 when television weatherman Michael Fish made the casual quip...

"A woman rang in and said there was a hurricane on the way. Well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't."

Needless to say the storm hit the next day with a vengeance rarely seen in this country!

Avalanches, giant hailstones, coal raining down and tornadoes are just some of the weird weather experiences to have hit England over the century.

Under the weather

The Midlands has had more than its fair share of strange weather over the last three decades.

One of the most dramatic weather events happened in July 1968 when a shower of red rain fell over the Midlands and southern England.

It was actually sand blown over 1,000 miles inside a massive pressure system from the Sahara desert in Africa.

Here's Inside Out's potted guide to some of the Midland's most extreme weather experiences.

• Raining frogs -1954: Sutton Coldfield experiences raining frogs

• Severe winters - 1955 and 1959: Gruelling conditions on East Midland roads

• Highest rainfall - 1960: Horncastle, Lincs experiences highest UK rainfall in three hours

• Dust storms -1968: The Midlands are covered in red Saharan dust

• Drought - 1976: The East Midlands swelters in a long, hot summer heatwave

Global warming

The weather sometimes behaves in odd ways and global warming is one of the most frequently cited culprits.

Global warming is caused by the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Many meteorologists believe that this has led to more frequent weather extremes including floods, droughts and heat.

So what are the experts forecasting for the East Midlands over the next decade?

White winters could be a thing of the past

Climate models predict that we can expect the following...

• The UK climate will become warmer

• Hot summers will become more frequent and very cold winters will become rare

• Winters will become wetter and summers may become drier everywhere

• Snowfall will decrease whilst heavier winter precipitation will become more frequent especially in the Midlands.

Forecasting the weather

Before weather forecasters, most people relied on observing the weather for themselves, often using nature as their guide.

Today's weather men and women use the latest in computer technology.

Look to the skies - early 大象传媒 and Met Office weather forecasting equipment

"We have a marvellous computer model," says Michael Fish, Britain's longest-serving TV weather forecaster.

"It does very accurate forecasts five, six, seven days ahead which was totally impossible when I first started."

The other thing that's changed is the status of the weather presenter.

Today they are celebrities in their own right, and some like Michael Fish and John Kettley are household names.

John Kettley even had a song named after him, the hummable novelty record "John Kettley Is A Weatherman" by A Tribe of Toffs.

But Fish, who retires this year, isn't so keen to be turned into an icon. "I'm just a civil servant doing a job," he insists, although he also admits that fame brings its pitfalls.

"I don't have any private life any longer," he says.

As for John Kettley, he's happy to remain in the spotlight. He's also optimistic about the weather, and is predicting that the rest of this winter will be "pretty mild", with not much fog and snow!

Remember it was John Kettley that said it!