Weather blunder sparks £1m storm

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Bournemouth in Dorset was supposed to suffer thundery showers, according to the Met Office, but instead it actually had sunshine on the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures hitting 22 degrees.

However, tourism bosses said around 25,000 visitors stayed away from the town because of the "negative" prediction for rain.

Mark Smith, head of Bournemouth Council's tourism department, said: "We do suffer badly from inaccurate weather reports.

"The forecast was for thundery showers throughout the day but after 9am it remained bright and sunny and was the hottest day of the year so far.

"The average amount spent by visitors per head is £41, so even for one day that cost us over a million pounds."

Met Office spokeswoman Helen Chivers admitted it did get the forecast for Bournemouth wrong.

"The forecast was for a bright start, clouding over with showers, heavy and thundery in places, during the morning and continuing throughout the afternoon," she explained.

"We get observations from satellites and local stations and all of that goes into the computers, and you take the best guidance out of that.

"For the weekend we were looking at developments over France and they had some particularly nasty thunderstorms."