The best forecasts one is going to get are the TAFs and I find they are usually there or thereabouts
I disagree.
On the Met Office website, although there might not be a single source which is better than a TAF, there are several sources which, when combined together, can give a much more accurate picture.
A typical day's weather briefing, for me, might start with looking at the TAF. The TAF will forecast a large period of Prob40 Tempo bad weather.
Next, I'll look at the Metform 215 to figure out what's causing the weather. Perhaps a front, for example. Do the timings on the TAF co-incide with when the front is forecast to arrive? Very frequently not. Which direction is the front coming from? Are there any airfields in the region the front is coming from which publish METARs? If so, check the METARs from these fields, and find out where the weather is up to right now. Also find out what the weather is like in front of and behind any precipitation.
Last step is to look at the weather radar. This shows where the precipitation is right now, where it's going and how fast it's moving. From this, you can work out if it's likely to pass overhead your area at all (very often it's not), or if it is, when. Combine this with your knowledge (from the METARs) of what the weather's like in front of the precipitation, and you've got a good idea of exactly which parts of the day are likely to be flyable for VFR and which aren't.
This is
far more accurate than relying on any one single source. And it's all free on the Met Office website (although I have to admit that the subscription weather radar is far better than the free one).
FFF
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