Smithy
dissapated before reaching the West Coast
It didn't dissipate it went steaming north up the West coast
Re: the point about the vis being not too bad in Glasgow and being worse than forecast in Belfast
That's a statement of fact - don't need a lesson in viz. Glasgow viz was good (much greater than 10k) apart from one actual of 6k.
but the fact is that the weather didn't turn out as bad as it looked it was going to be. I don't really see the problem with that.
... no problem if you're taking a knitting class but not for aviation flight planning
A "tad" - Prob 40 - Gust 35 ?!
with the data they have at the time
I watched it track up through Ireland on radar - I also looked at the actuals from Shannon, Dublin and Belfast - perhaps they could have done the same and updated the TAF.
Saying that the Met Office isn't fit for purpose is a little harsh though
Not fit for my purpose (such as making a safe decision to go flying) and it seems many others such as the sailing community.
Don't forget the mistake could have been the other way round - a good forecast which turns into a very bad one.... which happens often too.
There are limitations to forecasting
Not sure the Met office agrees :
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/marine/safesee.pdf