The BBC told people to “not be alarmed” after its weather app said on Thursday morning that the UK was being buffeted by a hurricane.
The broadcaster said the UK was not expecting “hurricane force winds” of 15,759mph, contrary to the information on its weather site and app.
The BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty asked the weather presenter Carol Kirkwood on air what was happening. “Lots of people are getting in touch this morning, as I’m sure you’ll be aware as well at the weather centre,” she said. “The BBC app is giving some rather confusing information. Can you explain it?”
Kirkwood replied: “It certainly is, we’re having a technical glitch at the moment. It’s showing wind speeds far too fast. In fact, hurricane strength, and of course that is not the case at all, so please do not be alarmed. We are, as you say, well aware of it and we are on it, we’re trying to fix it right now, so hopefully that will sort it out.”
'We are on it'
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) October 10, 2024
On #BBCBreakfast Carol reassured viewers that there is a 'technical glitch' with the BBC weather app and there is no hurricane in the UKhttps://t.co/g98lIxeBuI pic.twitter.com/6G9KJooNSP
On X, the senior BBC presenter Jen Bartram posted: “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.”
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
At 6.43am, BBC Weather posted: “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. In the meantime, here are Thursday’s weather headlines: Colder, clearer air moving in – Rain and drizzle in south – Blustery showers near east coast.”
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.
— BBC Weather (@bbcweather) October 10, 2024
In the meantime here are Thursday's weather headlines:
-Colder, clearer air moving in
-Rain and drizzle in south
-Blustery showers near east coast pic.twitter.com/xwW1FQ4TsD
A BBC spokesperson said: “We’re aware of an issue with our third-party supplier, which means our Weather app and website are wrongly predicting hurricane wind speeds everywhere. That is incorrect and we apologise. We’re working with our supplier to fix this as soon as possible.”
