The £30m ‘supercomputer’ that helped the Met Office predict St Jude’s storm

The IBM computer has helped the forecasters to proudly count themselves as the best in the business

A contractor works on clearing the debris after a tree fell on car during the storm (Getty)

A combination of “the best forecasters in the world” and technological advancements including a £30m ‘supercomputer’ allowed the Met Office to accurately predict St Jude’s storm four days before it formed.

A spokeswoman from the Met Office on Tuesday likened the scientists engaged in mathematical modelling – using staff in IT, technology, quality control data, observatories and the forecasters themselves – to a football team.

“How many players does it need to take to score a goal?” said Laura Young. “It takes our whole team to come up with the predictions based on a combination of people and systems using computer modelling.

“Obviously our supercomputer helps to do that with millions of calculations and equations, based on the laws of physics, to try and figure out what the weather is going to be like. There have been a lot of developments over the last 30 years and weather forecasting is an evolving science. Today, our four day forecasts are as accurate as our one day forecasts 30 years ago. That’s how far we have advanced.”

The IBM supercomputer, capable of 100 trillion calculations a second from sources around the world including satellites and buoys at sea, has helped Met Office forecasters to proudly count themselves alongside their counterparts in Japan, another island on the edge of much larger land mass, as the best in the business.

Ms Young said: “If you are part of a much bigger land mass, like the US, it is easier to make weather predictions well in advance whereas in the UK they form over the sea and can form very quickly.

“Things can still take you by surprise, though. This is the UK after all.”