Are there too many weather warnings?

pistolpetes11

Casualsingby wrote: »

Red warning for City Centre and its a bit of slush. I'm aware other areas have red conditions but city centre isn't close, it's a bit of slush. Met Éireann concentrate on Dublin most as it's the highest densely populated area of the county. A red warning isn't Warranted for the city centre it's a bit of slush.

They didn't just do warning for the City centre , they done Dublin as a whole , the City centre is a small enough part and overall the Warning was Valid

Casualsingby

Artane2002 wrote: »

There's more to Dublin than the city centre. The red warning didn't say 'red warning for Dublin City Centre only'

And that's exactly my point it's a blanket warning for Dublin when the city centre is at best a yellow. That's why they need to improve their warning system and get rid of blanket county warnings, introduce a bubble type warning.

Tobinjl91

Met Eireann can never win with all the moaners on here :rolleyes:

Either they didn't give enough warning for something or they've overestimated the warning. Just because temple bar or your part of the city got a light dusting doesn't mean other places aren't much worse.

Just enjoy the snow :rolleyes::rolleyes:

amadangomor

Casualsingby wrote: »

And that's exactly my point it's a blanket warning for Dublin when the city centre is at best a yellow. That's why they need to improve their warning system and get rid of blanket county warnings, introduce a bubble type warning.

Have to agree with this, I'm a few hundred metres from the Meath border and thaey had a red warning today and here in Westmeath we were on yellow when the conditions on either side of the border were exactly the same. Need to break up the counties into zones and do it on that basis.

seamus

jasper100 wrote: »

Red warning was completely OTT. A bit of snowy and a bit cold but nothing exceptional, extreme or severe.

Just as well they didn't issue one then.

pegasus1

amadangomor wrote: »

Have to agree with this, I'm a few hundred metres from the Meath border and thaey had a red warning today and here in Westmeath we were on yellow when the conditions on either side of the border were exactly the same. Need to break up the counties into zones and do it on that basis.

Zones like counties...:rolleyes::p

mugsymugsy

Posting alerts by county is a bit crazy but then how else do they do it. Another one from Virginia here in East cavan and as others have said when I see an alert for Meath I take notice.

Local schools here were closed and others in surrounding areas closed up halfway through the day.

Can't believe this is only the start of it! Unreal never seen anything like it before.

tom1ie

amadangomor wrote: »

Have to agree with this, I'm a few hundred metres from the Meath border and thaey had a red warning today and here in Westmeath we were on yellow when the conditions on either side of the border were exactly the same. Need to break up the counties into zones and do it on that basis.

Would they be able to localize forecasts that well? What with the wind blowing snow all over the place, the snow doesn’t exactly obey county lines.

Casualsingby

mugsymugsy wrote: »

Posting alerts by county is a bit crazy but then how else do they do it. Another one from Virginia here in East cavan and as others have said when I see an alert for Meath I take notice.

Local schools here were closed and others in surrounding areas closed up halfway through the day.

Can't believe this is only the start of it! Unreal never seen anything like it before.

Like so

amadangomor

pegasus1 wrote: »

Zones like counties...:rolleyes::p

LOL . Some counties are fairly big and have a range of topography/climate type so for example Wicklow could be split into coastal Wicklow, highland Wicklow and western Wicklow,.

Would be an actual Science based way of giving warnings instead of based on how the country was divided into counties a few hundred years which does not work as I've outlined already.

Would add subtelty to the warning system that more accuratly reflects what's happening on the ground.

Cork Boy 53

[QUOTE=sdanseo;106289341]UKMO have issued red warnings for Scotland. Very rare to see that since their impact-based criteria for red is so much higher.
The comments here sound positively scary

Apparently the first ever red warning issued for snow in the UK.

sryanbruen

Cork Boy 53 wrote: »

[QUOTE=sdanseo;106289341]UKMO have issued red warnings for Scotland. Very rare to see that since their impact-based criteria for red is so much higher.
The comments here sound positively scary

Apparently the first ever red warning issued for snow in the UK.

The first red warning for snow in the UK was 18 January 2013 from what I know.

EDIT: Never mind, it was 2 February 2009.

patmac

Cork Boy 53 wrote: »

[QUOTE=sdanseo;106289341]UKMO have issued red warnings for Scotland. Very rare to see that since their impact-based criteria for red is so much higher.
The comments here sound positively scary

Apparently the first ever red warning issued for snow in the UK.

These warnings have only been in force since 2013 so not too surprising.

skeleton_boy

sryanbruen wrote: »

The first red warning for snow in the UK was 18 January 2013 from what I know.

First red snow warning for Scotland according to the BBC

sryanbruen

skeleton_boy wrote: »

First red snow warning for Scotland according to the BBC

Yeah, it was just that Cork Boy said the UK, which confused me.

jimbobaloobob

I think the amount of warnings is proportional to the increase in people doing things for their famous for five minute videos.

piuswal

Casualsingby wrote: »

And that's exactly my point it's a blanket warning for Dublin when the city centre is at best a yellow. That's why they need to improve their warning system and get rid of blanket county warnings, introduce a bubble type warning.

I’m afraid you are displaying lack of knowledge of weather forecasting and its challenges with your comments.

Let us step back from Dublin City Centre to the source of this weather.

Have a look at Europe, Google Maps or whatever and see Europe, from the top of Norway to Northern Italy and from Moscow to Galway.

Since Met Eireann issued a Weather Advisory last week regarding the current weather what we are getting now, it has travelled, roughly, across the area mentioned, c 4 million sq km or so.

On its way it has encountered a range of modifying factors.

Cities adding varying amounts of heat, mountains and valleys changing the wind flow, the influences of different vegetation, frozen water and open seas to list some.

It crosses into Britain, dumps a lot of snow there and then moves across the Irish Sea picking up energy again and finally impacts on Ireland.

Now add in the vertical extent, for simplicity let us say 10 km. We are now talking about a volume of 40 million cubic km.

During the week or so that it has taken to get here, that volume has had to be repeatedly measured and analysed and millions upon millions of mathematical calculations run, with the slightest error in the initial measurements being magnified over and over again, to arrive at values for the conditions over the island of Ireland, c 80,000 sq Km, which is just 2% of the area it has travelled over.

Now, you want Met Eireann to differentiate Dublin City Centre from its surrounds.

Let us be generous and say DCC is 2 by 2 km, 4 sq km. That is .005 % of the island, which in turn is 2% of the area over which the weather has travelled and been modified

and you want Met Eireann to distinguish between the City centre and the suburbs!

Really!

Charles Babbage

The Red warning has been extended to the entire 26 counties while the 6 counties is yellow. Someone is off beam here. Few of the models show much snow in Monaghan or Donegal.

Radharc na Sleibhte

It’s madness. Schools and businesses now are gonna close in Sligo, Mayo, Donegal today? For what exactly? Freezing cold and the very very feint possibility of a tiny bit of snow or hail here? High winds, freezing temperatures and snow are not a new phenomenon in the north west...!!!

Red warning, there has been a hail shower in Glenties. Please everybody stay indoors.

They need to adjust these red warnings, either the parameters for issuing or something, particularly now with what comes (shutdown) as a result of them being issued. And yes “people could die, just because it wasn’t bad in your area” etc etc..... But that’s exactly the point. They have issued a general nationwide red warning again when there is absolutely no need to do so again. Red warnings must be reserved for definitive specific chaos/danger/threat to life in a definitive area. They should up the parameters of orange or create an amber warning and save red for “get in your bunker”. Maybe we are just more weather hardy on the Atlantic coast but two days now sitting around and looking out the window at the same weather we always get, I don’t know.

_Dara_

Blizzards aren’t common anywhere in Ireland.

greenpilot

Red warning for the west not warranted. No snow here yet schools now jumped at the opportunity to close. Just back in from walking dog. Bit cold, bit windy, usual stuff. Now need to find babysitters as work has remained opened. Completely overhyped. Ballaghaderreen area.

beefburrito

greenpilot wrote: »

Red warning for the west not warranted. No snow here yet schools now jumped at the opportunity to close. Just back in from walking dog. Bit cold, bit windy, usual stuff. Now need to find babysitters as work has remained opened. Completely overhyped. Ballaghaderreen area.

Check out Lahinch

http://www.lahinchsurfshop.com/lahinch-web-cam-271257cm1.html

It's not overhyped

igCorcaigh

greenpilot wrote: »

Red warning for the west not warranted. No snow here yet schools now jumped at the opportunity to close. Just back in from walking dog. Bit cold, bit windy, usual stuff. Now need to find babysitters as work has remained opened. Completely overhyped. Ballaghaderreen area.

Mod Edit: To avoid mis-information, the red warning is in effect now.

DOCARCH

igCorcaigh wrote: »

The red warning is for later today.

It's actually in effect now! As of 2300 yesterday.

http://www.met.ie/nationalwarnings/default.asp

Discodog

Very bad to issue the nationwide Red at 11pm. Many parents simply won't know. Here in West Galway the conditions are no different to yesterday. Emma isn't due until tonight.

_Dara_

Discodog wrote: »

Very bad to issue the nationwide Red at 11pm. Many parents simply won't know. Here in West Galway the conditions are no different to yesterday. Emma isn't due until tonight.

This afternoon.

Discodog

_Dara_ wrote: »

This afternoon.

Around 8pm this evening according to Hirlam & ME.

firemansam4

A Nationwide red warning is totally unwarranted, schools closed for 2 days and there is hardly a few flakes of snow most places in Donegal. Most charts show there will be little to no snow that will make it as far north as Donegal on friday. Complete over reaction from met eireann.

dharma200

greenpilot wrote: »

Red warning for the west not warranted. No snow here yet schools now jumped at the opportunity to close. Just back in from walking dog. Bit cold, bit windy, usual stuff. Now need to find babysitters as work has remained opened. Completely overhyped. Ballaghaderreen area.

good grief. Have you seen any of the weather models? Have you looked a few miles down the road? Have you seen that people ehave to drive through 1. lucky areas like yours straight into inches and inches of compacted ice and snow?
Galway city is so dangerous I cant even tell you.
The motorway between Gort and Tuam deadly
Cars parked up as they cannot move,
Blizzard coming tonight along with high winds with possible electric outages
wind chill factor -10

While you may have not been affected and unfortunate you have to find baby sitters, have a think for the people down the road who are stranded. People who have driven through two counties to get to work like my partner and who nearly lost the car.
People who might loose electricicty later with the storm and no heating source.
People who actually have more than a myopic view of their own back yard. Ther eis a reason it is country wide because people who have to drive might well have to leave one small town and go into another.
Stay safe later.

_Dara_

Discodog wrote: »

Around 8pm this evening according to Hirlam & ME.

Met Éireann is forecasting blizzard conditions of Munster and Leinster this afternoon and evening. And because it’s a storm, there’s probably a degree of uncertainty about the other two provinces.

The below forecast was issued in the small hours and is still in place.