About me

My name is James. I am NOT a professional meteorologist.

I simply know a reasonable amount about meteorology, am able to interpret weather models and then write in clear English.

About this page

Full forecasts for 5+ days are issued twice a week, normally on Monday and Thursday evenings. I try to go to 7-10 days where possible, though at that stage I am normally talking in vagueness. Occasionally I will take a look further ahead, months if possible.

Seasonal forecasts are issued at the beginning of each season, for the 3 months ahead.

If there are major events like snow, thunderstorms, etc that cannot be reliably forecast in detail in advance, I will normally update during the day – depending on my schedule.

My weather forecasts are only amateur forecasts, you may want to use them in conjunction with professional bodies such as the Met Office.

I do not provide any advice as to what you should do when severe weather is expected.

How this page happened

Well, I have studied weather models since I learned of their existence online circa 2003/04. I used to make predictions for upcoming weather for my friends, say for example in 2008 I predicted snow long in advance – yet my friends didn’t remember and therefore didn’t believe me when I said, “I predicted this”.

So I started a blog in 2010. And then moved that onto Facebook as it was easier for people to find.

I had no intentions of gaining 10,000+ followers. I was quite happy with 25 followers – it was just a little hobby for me that didn’t involve going to the pub (I spent a lot of time in the pub in the 2000’s! and early 2010’s!).

Then I made a really dumb Daily Express style post, got quoted in a local online website that I’d never heard of, had several people sending me abuse – yet jumped to 200 followers.

Not the way I wanted to do it as I try to do everything with integrity. Lesson learned, but my new followers learned to trust my forecasts.

Slowly over time, the page has grown into this unstoppable monster which I no longer have choice but to keep going. Good job I’m single!

Now I’ve decided to build a website – partly because I don’t trust Facebook, but also to give people more options in how they follow my forecasts, with e-mail subscriptions and RSS available. And maybe one day, I will turn this into an app. Maybe!

A bit more about me

Born in Hull, I never really knew what I wanted to be, so when it came to having to choose what to do at college, I stroppily mumbled “be a weatherman” and ended up choosing A-levels so that I could study Meteorology at Reading University.

I didn’t get the required B in A-level physics, but Reading University offered me the opportunity to study Maths and I was desperate to leave Hull (it was a dreadful place to live in the 1990’s…much improved now), so I did.

I didn’t finish my degree in Maths. However I did have lots of fun and really enjoyed living in Reading – so much so that I lived there for a good 15 years or so. And one year in Great Hollands Estate in Bracknell.

Around the time that I started my weather page was when I started studying to become a software engineer (or web developer if you prefer).

And then in 2016, I moved to London to fulfil my dream. But though I love London, I still have a soft spot for Reading, still have many friends there – and most importantly, I still write the forecasts.