View source for Met Office

{{Short description|United Kingdom's national weather service}}
{{redirect|Meteorological office|other uses|National meteorological service}}
{{Redirect|UKMET|the weather prediction system|Unified Model}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name     = Met Office
| nativename      = 
| nativename_a    = 
| nativename_r    = 
| logo            = Met Office.svg
| logo_width      = 150px
| logo_caption    = Logo of the Met Office since 2000
| seal            = 
| seal_width      = 
| seal_caption    = 
| formed          = {{start date and age|1 August 1854}}
|type             = [[Executive agency]]
| preceding1      = 
| dissolved       = 
| superseding     = 
| jurisdiction    = United Kingdom
| headquarters    = [[Bracknell]], Berkshire (before December 2003)<br>[[Met Office Operations Centre]], [[Exeter]], Devon (since December 2003)
| motto           = Per scientiam tempestates praedicere
| employees       = 2,223 (March 2022)<ref>{{cite web|title=Met Office annual report and accounts 2021 to 2022 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/met-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022 |publisher=gov.uk}}</ref>
| budget          = 
| minister1_name  = [[Liz Kendall]] MP
| minister1_pfo   = [[Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology]]
| deputyminister1_name = [[Patrick Vallance]]
| deputyminister1_pfo = [[Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation]]
| chief1_name     = [[Penny Endersby]]
| chief1_position = Chief Executive
| parent_department = [[Department for Science, Innovation and Technology]]
| child1_agency   = 
| website         = {{Official URL}}
| footnotes       = 
| chief2_name     = Stephen Belcher
| chief2_position = Chief of Science and Technology
}}

The '''Met Office''', previously the '''Meteorological Office''' until November 2000,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb261-nationalmeteorologicalarchive | title=Meteorological Office Archive | access-date=5 December 2013|quote=In November 2000 the organisation underwent a corporate rebrand and officially changed its name to simply the "Met Office".}}</ref> is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an [[executive agency]] and [[trading fund]] of the [[Department for Science, Innovation and Technology ]] and is led by CEO<ref name="CEO2018">{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/met-office-chief-executive-stands-down|publisher=Gov.uk|title=Met Office Chief Executive stands down|access-date=5 March 2018}}</ref> [[Penelope Endersby]], who took on the role as Chief Executive in December 2018 and is the first woman to do so.<ref name="Endersby"/> The Met Office makes meteorological predictions across all timescales from weather forecasts to [[climate change]].

Although an executive agency of the UK Government, the Met Office supports the [[Scottish Government]], [[Welsh Government]] and [[Northern Ireland Executive]] in their functions and preparations ahead of intense weather and planning for extreme weather alerts. Met Office policies can be used by each government to inform their planning and decision making processes. The Met Office has an office located in the Scottish capital, [[Edinburgh]], and a forecasting centre in Aberdeen in the north–east of Scotland, which are some of the services used to help the Scottish Government with objectives such as [[Climate change in Scotland|climate change]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Devolved administrations |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/services/government/devolved-administrations |website=Met Office |access-date=24 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref> 

== History ==
[[File:Robert_Fitzroy.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]] [[Robert FitzRoy]], founder of the Met Office]] The Met Office was established on 1 August 1854<ref>{{cite web |title=Foundations of the Met Office |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/story/vQXx1dNViS4-JQ |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref> as a small department within the [[Board of Trade]] under [[Vice Admiral (Royal Navy)|Vice Admiral]] [[Robert FitzRoy]] as a service to [[sailor|mariners]]. The loss of the passenger vessel, the [[Royal Charter (ship)|''Royal Charter'']], and 459 lives off the coast of [[Anglesey]] in a violent storm in October 1859 led to the first gale warning service. FitzRoy established a network of 15 coastal stations from which visual gale warnings could be provided for ships at sea.

The new [[electric telegraph]] enabled rapid dissemination of warnings and also led to the development of an observational network which could then be used to provide synoptic analysis. The Met Office started in 1861 to provide weather forecasts to newspapers. FitzRoy requested the daily traces of the photo-[[barograph]] at [[Kew Observatory]] (invented by [[Francis Ronalds]]) to assist in this task and similar barographs and as well as instruments to continuously record other meteorological parameters were later provided to stations across the observing network.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sir Francis Ronalds: Father of the Electric Telegraph|last=Ronalds|first=B.F.|publisher=Imperial College Press|year=2016|isbn=978-1-78326-917-4|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ronalds|first=B.F.|date=June 2016|title=Sir Francis Ronalds and the Early Years of the Kew Observatory|journal=Weather|doi=10.1002/wea.2739|volume=71|issue=6|pages=131–134|bibcode=2016Wthr...71..131R|s2cid=123788388 }}</ref> Publication of forecasts ceased in May 1866 after FitzRoy's death but recommenced in April 1879.

=== Connection with the Ministry of Defence ===
[[File:The Meteorological Office, Bracknell - geograph.org.uk - 489065.jpg|thumbnail|right|Former Met Office building in [[Bracknell]], [[Berkshire]], before relocation to [[Exeter]], since demolished]]
Following the [[First World War]], the Met Office became part of the [[Air Ministry]] in 1919, the weather observed from the top of [[Adastral House]] (where the Air Ministry was based) giving rise to the phrase "The weather on the Air Ministry roof". As a result of the need for weather information for aviation, the Met Office located many of its observation and data collection points on [[List of Royal Air Force stations|RAF airfields]], and this accounts for the large number of military airfields mentioned in weather reports even today. In 1936 the Met Office split with services to the [[Royal Navy]] being provided by its own forecasting services.

It became an [[executive agency]] of the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] in April 1990, a quasi-governmental role, being required to act commercially.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

===Changes of ministry===

Following a [[machinery of government]] change, the Met Office became part of the [[Department for Business, Innovation and Skills]] on 18 July 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/122350-uk-met-office-switches-departments-in-whitehall-shake-up.html|title=UK Met Office switches departments in Whitehall shake-up|publisher=Clickgreen.org.uk|access-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722040027/http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/122350-uk-met-office-switches-departments-in-whitehall-shake-up.html|archive-date=22 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> and subsequently part of the [[Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy]] following the merger of BIS and the [[Department of Energy and Climate Change]] on 14 July 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Machinery of Government Changes:Written statement - HCWS94|url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-07-18/HCWS94|website=Hansard|date=18 July 2016|access-date=22 July 2016}}</ref>

Although no longer part of the MOD, the Met Office maintains strong links with the military through its front line offices at RAF and Army bases both in the UK and overseas and its involvement in the Joint Operations Meteorology and Oceanography Centre (JOMOC) with the Royal Navy. The [[Mobile Meteorological Unit|Mobile Met Unit]] (MMU) are a unit consisting of Met Office staff who are also [[RAF Reserve|RAF reservists]] who accompany forward units in times of conflict advising the armed forces of the conditions for battle, particularly the RAF.

== Locations ==
[[File:Ukmo-exeter-panorama.JPG|thumb|The 2003 headquarters building on the edge of Exeter]]

In September 2003 the Met Office moved its headquarters from [[Bracknell]] in Berkshire to a purpose-built £80m structure at [[Exeter]] Business Park, near junction 29 of the [[M5 motorway]]. The new building was officially opened on 21 June 2004 – a few weeks short of the Met Office's 150th anniversary – by [[Robert May, Baron May of Oxford]].

It has a worldwide presence{{spaced ndash}}including a forecasting centre in [[Aberdeen]], and offices in [[Gibraltar]] and on the [[Falklands]]. Other outposts lodge in establishments such as the MetOffice@Reading (formerly the Joint Centre for Mesoscale Meteorology) at [[University of Reading]] in Berkshire, the Joint Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Research (JCHMR) site at [[Wallingford, Oxfordshire|Wallingford]] in Oxfordshire, and there is a Met Office presence at Army and Air Force bases within the UK and abroad (including frontline units in conflict zones).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/defence/mmu.html |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070705161546/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/defence/mmu.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 July 2007 |title=Met Office defence: Supporting operations |publisher=Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk |date=13 May 2014 |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> [[Royal Navy]] weather forecasts are generally provided by naval officers, not Met Office personnel.

== Forecasts ==

=== Weather forecasting and warnings ===
The Met Office issues Severe Weather Warnings for the United Kingdom through the [[National Severe Weather Warning Service]] (NSWWS). These warn of weather events that may affect transport infrastructure and endanger people's lives. In March 2008, the system was improved and a new stage of warning was introduced, the 'Advisory'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/guide/colour_warnings.html |title=Met Office warning colours |publisher=Metoffice.gov.uk |date=19 November 2008 |access-date=15 May 2010}}</ref>

The Met Office along with Irish counterpart [[Met Éireann]] introduced a [[Winter storm naming in the United Kingdom and Ireland|storm naming system]] in September 2015 to provide a single authoritative naming system for the storms that affect the UK and Ireland.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ahlstrom|first1=Dick|title=Storm-naming system yet to be put in place as Rachel peters out|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/storm-naming-system-yet-to-be-put-in-place-as-rachel-peters-out-1.2067463|accessdate=17 January 2015|publisher=Irish Times|date=15 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Met Éireann plans to start naming storms from next year|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/met-eireann-naming-storms-1842107-Dec2014/|accessdate=17 January 2015|publisher=The Journal|date=21 December 2014}}</ref> The first named storm under this system, [[Storm Abigail|Abigail]] was announced on 10 November 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/archive/2015/storm-Abigail |title=10 November 2015 - The Met Office has named Abigail as the first storm as part of the Name Our Storms project. |publisher=Met Office}}</ref> In 2019, the Met Office and Met Éireann were joined by [[Netherlands|Dutch]] national weather forecasting service the [[Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute]] (KNMI).<ref name="met2019">{{cite web |title=Storm names for 2019-20 announced |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2019/storm-names-for-2019-20-announced |website=Met Office |accessdate=13 January 2020}}</ref>

=== Weather Prediction Models ===
The [[Unified Model]], or UM, is the principle modelling suite used by the Met Office. Released in 1990, it is named as such for its ability to be run over a range of scales in space and time. The UM forms the basis of all operational [[Numerical weather prediction|Numerical Weather Prediction]] at the Met Office, for both deterministic and [[Ensemble forecasting|ensemble forecasts]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Met Office Unified Model| url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/modelling-systems/unified-model | access-date=26 October 2025}}</ref> 

Deterministic forecasts include the [[Unified Model#UKV model|UKV model]] which runs at 1.5km resolution over the UK and 4km in surrounding areas out to a maximum of 120 hours. In addition is global deterministic forecast at 10km resolution out to 6 days, which then provides the boundary conditions for the UKV model.<ref>{{cite web | title=Met Office Forecasting Models| url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/approach/modelling-systems/unified-model/weather-forecasting | access-date=26 October 2025}}</ref>

Ensemble forecasts are also run for both the UK and globally. The UK ensemble (MOGREPS-UK) has 18 members and operates at a 2.2km resolution out to 5 days, while the global ensemble (MOGREPS-G) runs at 20km out to 7 days. The global model also has 18 members, which then provide interpolated [[Ensemble_forecasting#Stochastic_parametrisations|physics perturbations]] and necessary boundary conditions for the corresponding members of the UK ensemble.<ref>{{cite web| title=Met Office Ensemble Forecasting | url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/weather/ensemble-forecasting/mogreps | access-date=26 October 2025}}</ref> 

===Flood Forecasting Centre===
{{main|Flood Forecasting Centre}}
Formed in 2009, the [[Flood Forecasting Centre]] (FFC) is a joint venture between the [[Environment Agency]] and the Met Office to provide flood risk guidance for England and Wales. The Centre is jointly staffed from both parent organisations and is based in the Operations Centre at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exeterscience.org/news/33/129/Flood-Forecasting-Centre-moves-to-Exeter.html|title=Flood Forecasting Centre moves to Exeter|publisher=Exeter Science|access-date=4 June 2011}}</ref> 

====Scottish Flood Forecasting Service====
In Scotland this role is performed by the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service, a joint venture between the [[Scottish Environment Protection Agency]] (SEPA) and the Met Office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding/flood_forecasting_service.aspx|title=Scottish Flood Forecasting Service|publisher=Sepa.org.uk|access-date=4 June 2011|archive-date=26 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326071104/http://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding/flood_forecasting_service.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Seasonal forecasts ===
The Met Office makes seasonal and long range forecasts and distributes them to customers and users globally.<ref>{{cite web|title=Long-range global and regional forecasts|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/seasonal-to-decadal/long-range/forecasts|website=Met Office|access-date=21 July 2017|language=en}}</ref> The Met Office was the first climate and weather forecast provider to be recognised as a Global Producing Centre of long range forecasts by the [[World Meteorological Organisation]] and continues to provide forecasts to the WMO for dissemination to other national meteorological services worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/seasonal-to-decadal/gpc-outlooks|title=Seasonal Forecasts|website=Met Office}}</ref>

Met Office research has broken new ground in seasonal forecasting for the [[wiktionary:extratropics|extratropics]] and has demonstrated its abilities in its seasonal predictions of the [[North Atlantic Oscillation]] and winter climate for Europe and North America.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Seasonal Predictions of the North Atlantic Oscillation | doi=10.1002/2014GL059637 | volume=41 | issue=7 | journal=Geophysical Research Letters | pages=2514–2519| bibcode=2014GeoRL..41.2514S |year = 2014|last1 = Scaife|first1 = A. A.| last2=Arribas | first2=A. | last3=Blockley | first3=E. | last4=Brookshaw | first4=A. | last5=Clark | first5=R. T. | last6=Dunstone | first6=N. | last7=Eade | first7=R. | last8=Fereday | first8=D. | last9=Folland | first9=C. K. | last10=Gordon | first10=M. | last11=Hermanson | first11=L. | last12=Knight | first12=J. R. | last13=Lea | first13=D. J. | last14=MacLachlan | first14=C. | last15=Maidens | first15=A. | last16=Martin | first16=M. | last17=Peterson | first17=A. K. | last18=Smith | first18=D. | last19=Vellinga | first19=M. | last20=Wallace | first20=E. | last21=Waters | first21=J. | last22=Williams | first22=A. | url=https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/10871/34601/1/Scaifeetal_2014.pdf | hdl=10871/34601 | s2cid=127165980 | hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Knapton|first1=Sarah|title=The Met Office can now predict winter weather one year in advance|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/10/17/met-office-can-now-predict-winter-weather-one-year-in-advance/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/10/17/met-office-can-now-predict-winter-weather-one-year-in-advance/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Telegraph|date=17 October 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== Supply of forecasts for broadcasting companies ===
One of the main media companies, [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] produce forecasts for [[ITV Weather]] using the Met Office's data and animated weather symbols.

The BBC used to use Met Office forecasts for all of its output, but on 23 August 2015, it was announced that the BBC would be replacing the Met Office with [[MeteoGroup]], a competing provider, as part of the corporation's legal obligation to provide best value for money for the [[Television licence|licence fee]] payers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34031785|title=Met Office loses BBC weather contract|date=23 August 2015|access-date=7 June 2019|language=en-GB}}</ref> The BBC still uses some Met Office data for certain forecasts, particularly severe weather warnings and the ''[[Shipping Forecast]]''. In July 2025, the BBC announced that it would be partnering with the Met Office again in future.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=30 July 2025 |title=Groundbreaking new BBC and Met Office partnership to deliver a world class public weather service |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2025/met-office-bbc-public-weather-service |website=BBC}}</ref>

=== World Area Forecast Centre ===
{{main|World Area Forecast Centre}}
The Met Office is one of only two World Area Forecast Centres or WAFCs, and is referred to as WAFC London. The other WAFC is located in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], and known as WAFC Washington. WAFC data is used daily to safely and economically route aircraft, particularly on long-haul journeys. The data provides details of wind speed and direction, air temperature, cloud type and tops, and other features.

=== Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre ===
{{main|Volcanic Ash Advisory Center}}
As part of its aviation forecast operation the Met Office operates the London [[Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre]] (VAAC).<ref name=LVAAC>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/index.html |title=London VAAC |publisher=Metoffice.gov.uk |date=19 November 2008 |access-date=15 May 2010 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070108144933/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/index.html |archive-date=8 January 2007}}</ref> This provides forecasts to the aviation industry of [[volcanic ash]] clouds that could enter aircraft flight paths and impact aviation safety. The London VAAC, one of nine worldwide, is responsible for the area covering the [[British Isles]], the north east Atlantic and [[Iceland]]. The VAAC were set up by the [[International Civil Aviation Organization]] (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, as part of the International Airways Volcano Watch (IAVW).<ref name=IAVW>{{cite web|url=http://www.icao.int/anb/iavwopsg/ |title=International Airways Volcano Watch |publisher=Icao.int |date=26 March 2010 |access-date=15 May 2010}}</ref> The London VAAC makes use of satellite images, plus seismic, radar and visual observation data from [[Volcanism of Iceland|Iceland]],<ref name=Witham>{{Cite web|url=http://sacs.aeronomie.be/workshop/talks1/Witham_VAAC_Oct2006.ppt|title=Overview of VAAC Activities presentation}}</ref> the location of all of the active volcanoes in its area of responsibility. The [[NAME (dispersion model)|NAME dispersion model]] developed by the Met Office is used to forecast the movement of the ash clouds 6, 12 and 18 hours from the time of the alert at different flight levels.

=== Air quality ===
{{Main|UK Dispersion Modelling Bureau}}
The Met Office issues [[air quality index#United Kingdom|air quality]] forecasts made using [[NAME (dispersion model)|NAME]], the Met Office's medium-to-long-range [[atmospheric dispersion modelling|atmospheric dispersion model]]. It was developed as a nuclear accident model following the [[Chernobyl accident]] in 1986, but has since evolved into an all-purpose dispersion model capable of predicting the transport, transformation and deposition of a wide class of airborne materials. NAME is used operationally by the Met Office as an emergency response model as well as for routine air quality forecasting. Aerosol dispersion is calculated using the [[United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols model]].

The forecast is produced for pollutants and their typical health effects are shown in the following table.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Pollutant!! Health Effects at High Level
|-
|Nitrogen dioxide<br />Ozone<br />Sulphur dioxide||These gases irritate the airways of the lungs, increasing the symptoms<br />of those suffering from lung diseases.<br />&nbsp;
|-
|Particulates<br />&nbsp;||Fine particles can be carried deep into the lungs where they can cause<br /> inflammation and a worsening of heart and lung diseases
|}
'''<big>Decadal Predictions</big>'''

The Met Office coordinates the production and collation of decadal climate prediction from climate centres around the world as part of its responsibilities as World Meteorological Organisation [https://hadleyserver.metoffice.gov.uk/wmolc/ Lead Centre for Annual to Decadal Climate Prediction]. These predictions are updated each year and a summary, the Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update is published each year.

===IPCC===
{{main|Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change}}
Until 2001 the Met Office hosted the [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] working group, chaired by [[John T. Houghton|John Houghton]], on climate science. In 2001 the working group moved to the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]].<ref name="Pearce">[[Fred Pearce|Pearce, Fred]], ''The Climate Files: The Battle for the Truth about Global Warming'', (2010) [[Guardian Books]], {{ISBN|978-0-85265-229-9}}, p. XVI.</ref>

=== High performance computing ===
Due to the large amount of computation needed for [[Numerical Weather Prediction]] and the [[Unified model]], the Met Office has had some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. In November 1997 the Met Office supercomputer was ranked third in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.top500.org/site/49064|title=United Kingdom Meteorological Office {{!}} TOP500 Supercomputing Sites|publisher=Top500.org|author=Mark Twain, Kevin McCurley}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Computer
! Calculations per second
! Horizontal resolution (global/local)
! Number of vertical levels
|-
| 1959  	
| [[Ferranti Mercury]]  	
| 3 [[kiloflop]]s
| (N.A./320&nbsp;km)
| 2 levels
|-
|1965
|[[English Electric KDF9]]  	
|50 kiloflops
|(N.A./300&nbsp;km)
|3 levels
|-
|1972
|[[IBM System/360]] 195  	
|4 [[megaflop]]s
|(300&nbsp;km/100&nbsp;km)
|10 levels
|-
|1982
|[[CDC Cyber]] 205  	
|200 megaflops
|(150&nbsp;km/75&nbsp;km)
|15 levels
|-
|1991
|[[Cray C90|Cray Y-MP C90]]/16  	
|10 [[gigaflop]]s
|(90&nbsp;km/17&nbsp;km)
|19 levels
|-
|1997
|[[Cray T3E]] 900/1200  	
|430 gigaflops
|(60&nbsp;km/12&nbsp;km)
|38 levels
|-
|2004
|[[NEC SX-6]]
|2.0 [[teraflop]]s
|(40&nbsp;km/12&nbsp;km)
|50 levels
|-
|2006
|[[NEC SX-8]] and SX-6
|5.4 teraflops
|(40&nbsp;km/4&nbsp;km)
|50 levels
|-
|2009
|[[Power6|IBM Power6]]
|140 teraflops
|(17&nbsp;km/1.5&nbsp;km)
|70 levels
|-
|2015
|[[Cray XC40]]
|16 [[petaflop]]s
|(10&nbsp;km/1.5&nbsp;km)
|70 levels
|-
|2025
|[[Microsoft Azure]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Better forecasts ahead as Met Office transitions to a supercomputer in Azure cloud | date=19 May 2025 | url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2025/better-forecasts-ahead-as-met-office-transitions-to-a-supercomputer-in-azure-cloud }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=UK weather forecast more accurate with Met Office supercomputer | date=19 May 2025 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyg4ygerpjo }}</ref>
|60 [[petaflop]]s
|(10&nbsp;km/1.5&nbsp;km)
|70 levels
|}

=== Customer service===
Since 2012 the Met Office Contact Centre (known as the Weather Desk) has been part of Contact Centre Panel's 'Top 50 Companies for Customer Service' programme.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Met Office wins top Customer Service Awards {{!}} Met Office|url=https://www.wired-gov.net/wg/news.nsf/articles/Met+Office+wins+top+Customer+Service+Awards+05112015152500?open|access-date=16 November 2021|website=www.wired-gov.net|language=en}}</ref>

In 2015 the Met Office won awards in the following categories:<ref>{{cite web|title=Met Office Scoops Top Customer Service Awards|url=http://www.igovnews.com/#!/news/view/563b805d8d525b311292b26b|website=iGov News|access-date=27 September 2016}}</ref>
* Rated 1st Overall for Combined Channels
* Most Improved Overall for Social Media
* Rated 2nd Overall for Call Service
* Rated 1st Overall for Email Service
* Best in Public Sector
* Best Extra Small Centre

== Weather stations ==
Reports (observations) from [[weather station]]s can be [[Automatic weather station|automatic]] (totally machine produced), semi-automatic (part-machine and part manual), or manual. Some stations produce manual observations during business hours and revert to automatic observations outside these times. Many stations feature "present weather" sensors, [[closed-circuit television|CCTV]], etc. There is also a network of 'upper air' stations, using [[radiosondes]]. The six main radiosonde stations in the UK are Camborne, Lerwick, Albemarle, Watnall, Castor Bay and Herstmonceux.

Some stations have limited reporting times, while other report continuously, mainly [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] and [[Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)|Army Air Corps]] stations where a staffed met office is provided for military operations. The "standard" is a once-hourly reporting schedule, but automatic stations can often be "polled" as required, whilst stations at airfields report twice-hourly, with additional (often frequent in times of bad weather) special reports as necessary to inform airfield authorities of changes to the weather that may affect aviation operations.

Some stations report only [[CLIMAT]] data (e.g. maximum and minimum temperatures, rainfall totals over a period, etc.) and these are usually recorded at 0900 and 2100 hours daily. Weather reports are often performed by observers not specifically employed by the Met Office, such as [[Air traffic control]] staff, coastguards, university staff and so on.

{{div col |colwidth=30em}}
* [[Eskdalemuir Observatory]]
* [[Lerwick Observatory]]
* [[Penkridge weather station]]
* [[Prestatyn weather station]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prestatynweather.co.uk |title=Prestatyn Weather website |publisher=Prestatynweather.co.uk |access-date=15 May 2010}}</ref>
* [[Stonyhurst Observatory|Stonyhurst]]
* [[Sutton Bonington weather station|Sutton Bonington]]
* [[Wye weather station]]
* [[RAF Benson]]
* [[RAF Brize Norton]] weather station
* [[RAF Coningsby]]
* [[RAF Cottesmore]]
* [[RAF Cranwell]] weather station
* [[RAF Kinloss]] weather station
* [[RAF Leeming]] weather station
* [[RAF Leuchars]] weather station
* [[RAF Linton-on-Ouse]] weather station
* [[RAF Little Rissington]] weather station (supported by [[RAF Brize Norton]])
* [[RAF Lossiemouth]] weather station
* [[RAF Lyneham]] weather station
* [[RAF Marham]] weather station
* [[RAF Northolt]] weather station 51.55 N 0.417 W
* [[RAF Odiham]] weather station
* [[RAF Shawbury]]
* [[RAF Waddington]] weather station
* [[Wattisham Flying Station]] weather station
* [[RAF Valley]]
* [[Middle Wallop Flying Station]] weather station
{{div col end}}

==Meteorological Research Unit and the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM)==
{{main|RAF Cardington}}
Meteorological Research was carried out at [[RAE Bedford]] with instruments being carried by barrage balloons until the RAE facility closed in the 1980s.

The Met Office association with [[RAF Cardington|Cardington]] continues by maintaining a Meteorological Research Unit (MRU). This is responsible for conducting research into part of the atmosphere called the [[boundary layer]] by using a tethered balloon which is kept in a small portable hangar.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/science/creating/first_steps/atmos_aircraft_data.html/ |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090224131122/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/science/creating/first_steps/atmos_aircraft_data.html/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 February 2009 |title=MET Office Research facilities (website accessed: 12/08/10) |publisher=Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/areas/observational-studies/boundary-layer/ |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100618232928/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/areas/observational-studies/boundary-layer/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 June 2010 |title=Met Office – Boundary layer (accessed: 12/08/10) |publisher=Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref>

===FAAM===
{{main|Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements}}
[[File:FAAM BAe146 (G-LUXE) takeoff RIAT 14thJuly2014 arp.jpg|thumb|FAAM BAe146-300 takes off at [[RIAT]], [[RAF Fairford]], England]] 
The Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM), part of the [[National Centre for Atmospheric Science]], is based at [[Cranfield Airport]]. It is a collaboration with the [[Natural Environment Research Council]].<ref name=autogenerated1/>

The FAAM was established as part of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ncas.ac.uk/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215230949/http://www.ncas.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=107&Itemid=107|url-status=dead|title=National Centre for Atmospheric Science - Home|archivedate=15 February 2012|website=NCAS}}</ref> itself part of NERC, to provide aircraft measurement for use by UK atmospheric research organisations on worldwide campaigns. The main equipment is a modified [[BAe 146|BAe 146 type 301]] aircraft, registration G-LUXE, owned and operated by [[BAE Systems]] on behalf of Directflight Limited.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.directflight.co.uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000304162200/http://www.directflight.co.uk/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 March 2000 |title=Directflight Limited official website |publisher=Directflight.co.uk |date=1 April 2014 |access-date=30 June 2014 }}</ref>

Areas of application include:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.faam.ac.uk/public/updates.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009072025/http://www.faam.ac.uk/public/updates.html|url-status=dead|title=FAAM web reports page|archivedate=9 October 2006}}</ref> 
* [[Radiative transfer]] studies in clear and cloudy air;
* [[Troposphere|Tropospheric]] chemistry measurements;
* [[Cloud physics]] and dynamic studies;
* Dynamics of [[mesoscale meteorology|mesoscale]] weather systems;
* [[Boundary layer]] and turbulence studies;
* [[Remote sensing]]: verification of ground-based instruments;
* Satellite ground truth: [[radiometric]] measurements and winds;
* Satellite instrument test-bed;
* Campaigns in the UK and abroad.

== Directors general and chief executives ==
* [[Napier Shaw|Sir William Napier Shaw]] 1905–1920
* [[Graham Sutton|Sir Graham Sutton]] 1954–1965
* [[Basil John Mason|Sir Basil John Mason]] 1965–1983
* [[Sir John Houghton]] 1983–1991<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200605150065 |magazine=[[New Statesman]] |title=Reason and Light |access-date=22 April 2008 |first=Caspar |last=Henderson |author-link=Caspar Henderson |date=15 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209151459/http://www.newstatesman.com/200605150065 |archive-date=9 December 2006}}</ref>
* [[Julian Hunt, Baron Hunt of Chesterton|Julian Hunt]] 1992–1997
* Peter Ewins 1997–2004
* [[David Rogers (meteorologist)|David Rogers]] 2004–2005
* Mark Hutchinson 2005–2007
* [[John Hirst (businessman)|John Hirst]] 2007–2014
* [[Rob Varley]] 2014–2018<ref name="CEO2018"/>
* [[Penelope Endersby]] 2018–<ref name="Endersby">{{cite news |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/2018/new-appointment |title=Professor Penelope Endersby to be new Met Office Chief Executive |work=Met Office |access-date=18 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018201757/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/2018/new-appointment |archive-date=18 October 2018}}</ref>

==Arms==
{{Infobox COA wide
| image             = Met Office Coat of Arms.svg
| year_adopted      = 1990<ref>{{cite web |date=1990 |title=Met Office Grant Of Arms |url=https://library.metoffice.gov.uk/Portal/Default/en-GB/recordview/index/631679 |website= |location= |publisher=National Meteorological Library & Archive |access-date=15 February 2025}}</ref>
| crest             = Within a Coronet the rim Or the finials composed of alternate sails and Mullets of four greater and as many lesser points Argent a Sea Eagle (Haliaetus albicilla) wings close holding in the dexter claw a Pole headed by a Weather Cock having below its points North South East West all Gold
| escutcheon        = Per fesse Bleu Celeste and Vert goutty deau a Fess nebuly Argent and in dexter chief a Mullet of four greater and as many lesser points Argent
| motto             = <strong>Per Scientiam Tempestates Praedicere</strong>
| notes             = Mantled Purpure and Bleu Celeste doubled Argent
}}

== See also ==
* [[Climatic Research Unit email controversy]]
* [[Climate of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Climate change in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Burns' Day storm]]
* [[Eskdalemuir Observatory]]
* [[European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts]]
* [[Great Storm of 1987]]
* [[Met Éireann]], the Irish meteorological service, which separated from the UK Met Office in 1936.
* [[North West Shelf Operational Oceanographic System]]
* [[Weather system naming in Europe]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord|50|43|38|N|3|28|30|W|display=title}}

== Further reading ==
* Hunt, Roger, [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wea.81/abstract "The end of weather forecasting at Met Office London"], ''Weather'' magazine, [[Royal Meteorological Society]], June 2007, v.62, no.6, pp.&nbsp;143–146
* Walker, Malcolm (J M), ''History of the Meteorological Office'' (December 2011) [http://www.cambridge.org/9780521859851 Cambridge University Press] {{ISBN|978-0-521-85985-1}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links |wikt=Met Office|commons=Met Office|b=no |n=Met Office|q=no |s=no |v=no |species=no |display=Met Office}}
* {{official website}}
* [https://archive.today/20121222200906/http://archiveshub.ac.uk/data/gb261nationalmeteorologicalarchive Met Office (National Meteorological) Archive]
* [https://research.reading.ac.uk/meteorology/research/research-groups/metofficereading/ MetOffice@Reading at University of Reading]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090416134401/http://www.jchmr.org/ Joint Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Research]
* [http://metofficenews.wordpress.com/ Met Office news blog]
* {{YouTube|user=TheMetOffice}}

{{The Met Office}}
{{Department for Science, Innovation and Technology}}
{{National meteorological organisations}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Met Office| ]]
[[Category:Atmospheric dispersion modeling]]
[[Category:Climate of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Companies based in Exeter]]
[[Category:Department for Science, Innovation and Technology]]
[[Category:Economy of Devon]]
[[Category:Executive agencies of the United Kingdom government]]
[[Category:Governmental meteorological agencies in Europe]]
[[Category:Information technology organisations based in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Devon]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1854]]
[[Category:Science and technology in Devon]]
[[Category:Trading funds of the United Kingdom government]]
[[Category:1854 establishments in the United Kingdom]]