Herstmonceux: West End WMO03882 – Totally Unacceptable.

50.89100 0.31656 Met Office Assessed Class 4 Installed 1/1/1992

The above image from Bing Maps appears online specifically labelled “Meteorological Office Herstmonceux”. The building adjacent to the observations compound is also labelled “Weather Balloon Hangar”. This is not some amateur meteorologist’s back garden site, this is a major World Meteorological Organisation reporting complex covering over almost the entire range of possible observations. It also demonstrates the level of contempt the Met Office displays regarding reporting standards and site maintenance.

One consideration I have often raised regarding non-existent site security such as at Banff and at Llandwddyn, Cwn Cownwy certainly cannot be claimed against Herstmonceux. This site will have a lot of considerably expensive equipment and cannot be left unsecured. This is what it looks like from the roadside.

There are two sets of security gates and this is a frequently manned site that launches weather balloons. The signage to the right proclaims “Meteorological Office Herstmonceux”. This is a regional office for the UK Government Agency responsible for weather forecasting, climate recording and all the associated consequences their data is responsible for. This site simply must be one to rate as excellent – it is actually appallingly bad.

Have all those staff regularly attending the site failed to notice it sits hard alongside the building known as the “Weather Balloon Hangar”? Can the national weather organisation’s staff not see the height of those trees and hedging to the east of the screen casting long shadows over the site? Below is the 10 metre radius, Class 4 just possibly by exact definition of the distance rules but surely common sense should be guiding these observers.

Has the site always been this bad? Before the Met Office spent significant amounts of taxpayer money developing and “improving” this site, it appeared as below in 2008. No trees, insignificant hedgeing, limited hard standing and little security. It was never well sited to begin with alongside large buildings and a “hangar” but at least the boundary hedging appears reasonably well maintained.

The site has obviously degraded and realistically this important regional site should be regarded as only meeting the lowest possible CIMO Class 5S not the claimed Class 4. That may seem a damning enough conclusion, however, bear in mind the Royal Observatory is also located near Herstmonceux . Until 1992 the Observatory was the original home for the Herstmonceux weather station. The original weather station is still there, in an open area well away from any extraneous heat sources,buildings, shading or overly unnatural influences as below.