Page 1© Crown copyright Getting more from the Met Office Malcolm Weatherall 18 th April 2007

Page 2© Crown copyright Why am I here?  The Civil Contingencies Act 2004  Met Office are not Cat 1 or 2 responder  Do have an obligation under CCA to provide weather information to Cat 1 and 2 responders.

Page 3© Crown copyright Removing the brick wall  TO PROMOTE A CLOSER WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MET OFFICE AND THE POLICE FORCE  MOVE ON FROM THE “PASSING THE MESSAGE OVER THE WALL” SCENARIO

Page 4© Crown copyright The threat from severe weather  Not top of list identified threats  Most likely to affect us all

Page 5© Crown copyright January 18 th 2007

Page 6© Crown copyright February 8 th 2007

Page 7© Crown copyright Boscastle 16 th August 2004

Page 8© Crown copyright North Yorkshire Floods 19 th June 2005

Page 9© Crown copyright Birmingham Tornado 28 th July 2005

Page 10© Crown copyright Snow Bodmin and M11

Page 11© Crown copyright Glasgow snow 12 th March 2006

Page 12© Crown copyright Impacts on police operations  Snow  Staff attendance issues  Motorists trapped in snow  Public stranded in city centres  Increased number of calls from public  Mobility of vehicles- 4 wheel drive hire  Possible power outages  Comms  Availability of fuel  Looting

Page 13© Crown copyright Impacts on Police Operations  “A Honda 4x4 and Landrover donated by a local garage were available. Fortunately few emergency calls were received other than low level antisocial behaviour of snowball throwing etc”  “Perhaps presence from police and others at the Local Authority command centre would have helped pool resources and tackle issues in a multi-agency approach rather then on an insular basis. A fire tender could need a snow plough to get through and this is best done in a shared control room”

Page 14© Crown copyright Public behaviour  “I was out in Glasgow last night and had a fantastic time before trying to endeavour home in the snow in my strappy toeless sandals and ended up in the Royal Infirmary with frostbite affecting my little toe. I will never wear strappy sandals again. This is a serious warning to all girls and some boys...”  “People were skipping in the queue and the police were very unwilling to help at first - they were lucky that there wasn't a riot. The most helpful advice I received from them was that I should have checked the weather forecast before I went out - cheers guys! “

Page 15© Crown copyright Impact on police operations  Heatwave  Health and safety of staff  Health of dogs/horses  Increased road traffic on weekends  Forest/moorland fires  Increase in alcohol abuse  Potential civil unrest  Increase in anti social behaviour  Drowning incidents  Motorcycle accidents- Safety campaigns  Power loss?

Page 16© Crown copyright Impacts on police operations  Heavy rain  Road closures due to flooding  Increase in road accidents  Reduction in crime  Thunderstorms can trigger alarms

Page 17© Crown copyright Impacts on police operations  Severe gales  Fatalities  Increase in road accidents  Road closures  Health and safety of staff  Power loss  Availability of fuel  Comms  Looting

Page 18© Crown copyright Impacts on police operations  Fog  Risk of major road traffic collision  Impact on CCTV monitoring

Page 19© Crown copyright Increase in call volume  “ it has a huge affect. For example during the heavy winds in late January this year the amount of calls we received increased almost tenfold compared to the norm for that time of day. This huge demand lasted some 4 hours before normal levels of calls returned. We received as many calls that required resourcing during this 4 hour period than we normally receive during an entire 24 hour period”

Page 20© Crown copyright Increase in call volume  “Many of these calls were not police specific in that they involved a whole range of issues such as power lines down, telephone cables down, flooding on roads etc etc. The police by default become the multi agency call centre”  “Our call volume increased by 1,000 calls on the day of the snow”

Page 21© Crown copyright Warning and informing  National Severe Weather Warning Service  Part of the Public Weather Service  Funded by Central Government

Page 22© Crown copyright Warning and informing  Early warnings  Days before the event  % Risks  Flash warnings  Hours before the event

Page 23© Crown copyright National Severe Weather Warning Service  IMPACT DRIVEN  Severe Gales/Storms  Heavy Rain  Snow/Blizzards  Fog  Icy Roads  Heatwave

Page 24© Crown copyright Dissemination of warnings  By fax to Police Control Rooms  By  Generic address  Also appear on the Met Office web site

Page 25© Crown copyright Removing the brick wall from the Met Office  A team of Met Office advisors now exists to support Cat 1 and 2 responders  Open up a communication channel with control rooms  Aid in interpretation of warnings  Assist with severe weather plan- contacts!  Attend exercises  Attend/Support Gold/Silver

Page 26© Crown copyright Weather intelligent  Check the weather forecast  Day to day basis  Major event planning  Think impacts 

Page 27© Crown copyright Some caution needed with web forecasts

Page 28© Crown copyright Where else can we help?  Industrial accidents  Fuel depots  Chemical plants  Nuclear power stations

Page 29© Crown copyright Where else can we help?

Page 30© Crown copyright Where else can we help?

Page 31© Crown copyright The plume

Page 32© Crown copyright Example of NAME

Page 33© Crown copyright Buncefield Oil Depot Name Model Output 11 th Dec. 14:00hrs Visible Sat Pic 11/14:15

Page 34© Crown copyright Buncefield Oil Depot Visible Sat Pic 12/14:00 Name Model Output 12 th Dec. 14:00hrs

Page 35© Crown copyright

Page 36© Crown copyright The Chemet Service  Requested by Blue Light Services  Normally fire service  Extra info may be required at Gold/Silver  Gold Commander from Police Force  Advisor network  Trusted source of weather information  Plumes can be mocked up for exercises

Page 37© Crown copyright Don’t believe what you read in the press

Page 38© Crown copyright Advisor Contact Details  Available to take away  Make contact and introduce yourself now NOT during a crisis!   Phone