BRLSI Geography & Adventure - The Shipping and Inshore Waters Forecasts

Dr Michael Sharpe FRMetS, DipStat(Open) Senior Scientist, Verification Systems & Operational Products, Meteorological Office, Exeter

Since 1861 the Met Office has issued some form of forecast for vessels in the sea areas around the UK. Today the iconic Shipping Forecast continues to be hand written by operational meteorologists and its performance is routinely monitored by scientists, forecasters, and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Drawing on over a decade of personal experience in the assessment of marine forecasts, this talk will explain the meaning behind all the well-known terms within the forecast, outline the methods used to continuously monitor its performance, and present various statistics to assess whether this very British forecast can be trusted.