The BBC has apologised for incorrectly forecasting “hurricane force winds” to hit the UK as it works to fix data issues.
The error comes after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, with US officials warning that "life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding" are occurring in central parts of the southern state.
Storm Milton's arrival comes just two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused substantial damage across the south-eastern US.
Today, the BBC showed London was set to experience winds of more than 13,000mph on Thursday while Nottingham would have overnight temperatures of 404C.
Bit of a glitch with the BBC Weather app at the moment - needless to say, the UK is not expecting hurricane force winds of 15759mph. It’s an unfortunate data glitch - apologies, we are working on it. pic.twitter.com/W7QSTbpgDn
— Jen Bartram 🐈⬛ (@JenBartram) October 10, 2024
BBC broadcast meteorologist Matt Taylor assured the public that Hurricane Milton, the category three storm that made landfall in Florida overnight, was not on its way to the UK.
“Don’t be alarmed folks – Hurricane Milton hasn’t made it to us here in the UK!”, he wrote on X alongside a screenshot of an extreme prediction on the weather app.
“There’s been a data glitch between our suppliers and the app/online. Folk are working to solve the issue.
“No need to panic buy plywood and candles.”
Lead BBC weather presenter and meteorologist, Simon King, also assured users of the website and app that there will not be “14408mph winds, hurricane force winds or overnight temperatures of 404C” in a social media post.
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Meanwhile, BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood told BBC Breakfast viewers that the weather centre was experiencing a “technical glitch” that they were trying to fix “right now”.
A statement from BBC Weather on social media said: “You may have noticed some data issues on our app and website. We are working hard to fix it quickly.
“Sorry – please bear with us.”
It added that the accurate weather headlines for Thursday included colder, clearer air moving in, rain and drizzle in the south and blustery showers near the east coast.
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