Island Echo readers can expect to see faster, more accurate weather reports for the Isle of Wight in the future thanks to a new partnership with IW Met Service.
The great British weather is always a talking point amongst local communities and no more so than here on the Island, where the weather has a greater impact due to our geographical isolation.
Island Echo has been working closely with forecasters at the Isle of Wight Meteorological Service in recent months to ensure that readers are getting the latest weather information in an accurate, detailed and rapid manner.
Following a successful trial period, the decision has been taken to stop reporting all Met Office weather warnings on Island Echo. From today (Sunday), all stories relating to weather will be based on advice issued by the IW Met Service. This information will be made available exclusively to Island Echo before any other news source; that means islandecho.co.uk is the best place to get the latest Isle of Wight weather news as it breaks.
Readers will still be able to easily recognise the severity of each warning for rain, wind, fog, snow, ice and thunderstorms using the yellow, amber and red system. However, the difference now will be that the warnings are specific to the Isle of Wight, will be available much sooner and will contain detailed information down to the town or village it may effect.
Today’s news comes following the launch of a brand new website for the forecasting group, www.iwmetservice.co.uk. Here you can find all the latest forecasts on a daily basis, as well as greater detail on any weather warnings as they are issued. Local businesses and events are encouraged to explore the premium services offered by IW Met Service.
Darren Toogood, Editor of Island Echo has said:
“We have been working with Jamie Russell at IW Met Service for quite some time now and I have been nothing but impressed with the service he provides. Our ethos’ are aligned and, much like Island Echo, IW Met Service is leading the way in a digital era.
Article continues below this advertisement “Time after time the weather forecasts and warnings we have received have been spot on and are often delivered days before national counterparts issue a warning for the Isle of Wight. Jamie and his team’s unique understanding of the Island’s weather system has been proven so I am pleased and excited to be taking this next step.
“Island Echo is always looking at ways in which to continue developing news reporting on the Isle of Wight and this partnership is just one of many new developments we will be announcing in the coming weeks and months”.
Jamie Russell, Chief Forecaster at IW Met Service has said:
“We have been working hard to bring about some dramatic improvements to IW Met Service.
“Not only have we now launched a brand new website, we have made some significant improvements to the reliability of our forecast updates. In addition, we have completed a much needed re-branding including improved visual and video forecasts.
“We will be rolling out further improvements over the coming weeks”.
