“Sack the staff and buy a few robots” was the opinion of one person who emailed Met Éireann to complain about the quality of its weather forecasting over the summer months.
Under the subject ‘rainfall’, the emailer on July 27th wrote: “What a lot of nonsense you shower of buffoons predicted for the east coast. For years you lot are getting away with nonsense talk. Sack the staff and buy a few robots. BBC weather for me. It’s a beautiful late night. Snap out of it clowns.”
In another complaint, a farmer told Met Éireann that its forecasting "is absolutely rubbish".
In the email dated June 14th, the farmer said: "Hello. Just have to voice my anger at y’day’s forecast. We were trying to make our hay in Co Offaly which was forecast 'very warm ’n dry'."
He continued: “We had no sun at all and it was cool. Also it lashed rain here. D [sic] forecasting is absolutely rubbish.
“All farmers had to wrap the hay with plastic yesterday evening. What d f... is wrong with d weather forecasts lately. Completely wrong again Met Eireann which is adding serious expense and stress to us all. I’m trying v hard not to use v bad language here.”
I often check your website to see what the weather is NOT going to be like
Another complainant living in the north west of the country on July 12th emailed Met Éireann to state: “I often check your website to see what the weather is NOT going to be like.
“I regularly sit here by the window looking out at the opposite of what your forecast tells me it should be doing on the screen in front of me, as I am right now.
"Farmers here laugh when I tell them what site I get my weather information from, several saying that you only really concern yourselves with the weather in Dublin and the east.”
'Not a perfect science'
In response to the emailer from the north west, a customer liaison officer with Met Éireann replied: “I am sorry you are dissatisfied with the service you are receiving through www.met.ie.”
During the course of a longer reply, the officer said that “weather forecasting is not a perfect science and has a potential to change during the day. The model predicts as best it can, but can present some inaccuracies. The forecaster on duty is always the most accurate source of weather information.”
Another person unhappy with Met Éireann forecasting emailed on July 27th to state: “Why is it that Met Eireann seem to be so wrong, so often?"
The person went on to say: "I live in Kilcoole, Co Wicklow. On the east coast of the country where, over the last few days, we have been told to expect thunderstorms (didn't happen), spot flooding (didn't happen), heavy downpours (didn't happen).
Why are your forecasts so consistently wrong?
“On Sunday 25/06/2021 you predicted that Monday through Friday would be wet. (it wasn't!) The next day you changed that to Monday evening through Wednesday it would be wet. Now this morning you have changed that yet again stating only Wednesday would be wet, with 'light showers'.
“Why are your forecasts so consistently wrong? Do you look out a window, see what the current weather is and then revise your forecast accordingly, telling us that is what you predicted?”
In a response email, Met Éireann said: “Thunder and lightning is very difficult to forecast in terms of exact location and there is always a level of risk involved, when looking at a large area.
"There was some extremely heavy rainfall with spot flooding and thunder and lightning in many locations in North Dublin and parts of Leinster, it just did not affect your particular area."
