[VRB_20kt]

The Met Office are trialling a new website:

https://beta.metoffice.gov.uk

They're inviting comments. Whilst I guess in due course they'll be including the GA forecasts, as far as I can see they're absent at the moment. They also appear to be simplifying the weather to just symbols, cloud and rain - no pressure charts, no wind speeds (you get dumped back to the present site); much like the waste of space that is their present phone/tablet app. I wish I could feel more positive, but this looks like it's going to be a huge retrograde step.

[RichardPearse]

It's very easy and understandable to complain when something is redesigned. But I have some familiarity with the process that government departments are supposed to follow when doing this sort of thing in 2018; they're supposed to put user needs first, and be responsive to those needs (sometimes this does unfortunately mean they can't be all things to all people).

So if anyone on the forum has genuine feedback I'd urge you to submit it. It should be getting taken into account.

If you don't ask, you don't get. A bit like voting. Actually no, with the current Brexit omnishambles that's a really bad example. Forget I said it

[Tall_Guy_In_a_PA28]

Wind speed, including gusts, is there if you click the 'more details' tab under the 7 day forecast.

That said, I cannot, on the face of it, see any benefit to the new layout. Perhaps it is better optimised for mobile devices?

[peter272]

Arggh

After the rubbish redesign last time (issues still not resolved), another one??

[RichardPearse]

It's entirely possible that this redesign is in response to the previous one not being done correctly. And I don't know about mobile optimisation but it seems likely - I do know that most of the traffic to most public sector websites (councils, central govt etc) these days is from mobile devices.

Like I said before, if you have comments or feedback, send it in. Try to be constructive though

[joe-fbs]

When MO made such a pig's ear of the aviation service a couple of years ago, I gave more than an hour of my life to them in a call with their developer. It quickly was obvious that he understood nothing of the users for the service i.e. no-one had briefed him. Anyway, as a result of my feedback...the new site remained rubbish. I have rarely used it since, relying on SkyDemon. Presumably that means MO gets income from SD and seeing decreasing traffic on their own service will have an excuse to bin it. Trebles all round for the management.

Using SkyDemon I don't see the F215 and 216 (IIRC the numbers).

[PeteSpencer]

I used to use MO when it was free, in parallel with a small sub to Avbrief, for which I was a beta tester eons ago.

At the last Met Office tweak I ditched it and looking at the present iteration I see no reason for going back.

Peter

[johnm]

I suspect that this another side effect of government trying to get its agencies to generate revenue rather than offer an effective public service....