Great Cumbrae: Millport DCNN 6186 – a classic example of most that’s wrong with the Met Office.

55.74936 -4.90788 Met Office assessed CIMO Class 5 Installed 1/1/1959

Great Cumbrae is an island of around 1400 souls in the Firth of Clyde with Millport being its main town. The weather station is in the grounds of the Field Studies Council, a charity offering both educational courses at almost all levels as well as holiday facilities outside term times. The site was automated in 2010 following reasonably diligent manual observations that unfortunately were not maintained through the pre Christmas to post Hogmanay celebrations. It looks fairly inoccuous but there are lots of unnecessary problems.

A recent close up post automation view reveals a total lack of any defined or enclosed observations area.

With no attempt at security there can never be any, even vague, guarantee of being tamper proof. The Met Office regularly refers to “enclosures” and “observations areas” with all their websites showing well enclosed sites. Huge numbers, though, are like this above with nothing to stop extraneous effects such as those demonstrated at Banff with cars parking in close proximity. It is worth noting that claiming weather “records” can be very advantageous to an area and potentially motivated.

“Gravesham councillor Mick Wenban (Con) was shocked to learn the news. {closure of Gravesend weather station} He said: “It’s a real shame because it always put Gravesend on the map by recording the highest temperatures in the country.”

Although the Met Office does acknowledge the site’s poor location (the parapet wall behind is south facing) it somehow fails to notice the extensive shading which should be reflected in its rating as 5S not just 5. The Bing aerial image shows the depth of shade quite clearly.

Further street view imagery going back to the site’s manual reporting days in 2009 indicate the building to the north west is absent so the whole area’s climatology has clearly degraded since its construction.

It is also notable that the screen was not in the best of conditions and required holding upright with ropes and stakes – possibly an indication of the strong prevailing winds off the Clyde experienced at this exposed coastal site.

All of these issues seem not to deter the Met Office from proclaiming this unrepresentative island and coastal site as somehow acceptable to regularly claim the “Extreme” for a region that extends a considerable way inland. And should just 8.8°C really be defined as an “extreme” or is this just another example of “spooky language“?

Yet again, though, by clicking on the link for further insight into the day’s readings at Millport you are directed to the rural Glasgow Bishopton site which is well inland and quoted as 18.3 miles away. Furthermore Bishopton itself is over 11 miles from Glasgow and really seems somewhat misnamed.

Why the Met office feels they should sometimes (but not always) fail to offer the data for the site claiming the extreme is never explained. The stranger still because it is freely available elsewhere. I am confident they will be able to offer an “excuse” rather than a reason for this but it clearly is an unnecessary confusion. Here is this “mysterious” data.

In conclusion Millport weather station is insecure, inaccurate (by siting up to 5°C), in front of a new south facing wall and building elevation, with potentially cars parking alongside, subject to heavy shade, with long term observation and reporting deficiencies, set in a windy maritime site on an island and for which its readings are somehow covert……..but the public is supposed to trust its data and have faith in decisions based on the “evidence” drawn from it.

Source: https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2024/12/10/great-cumbrae-millport-dcnn-6186-a-classic-example-of-most-thats-wrong-with-the-met-office/