The Met Office launched a major upgrade to its weather forecasting system in early February 2026, officially announced on 9 February 2026. The science-led update — delivered on the organisation’s new cloud-based supercomputing platform — is intended to improve the accuracy and local detail of forecasts, including in pilot urban zones such as Bloxwich in the West Midlands.
The upgrade adds city-scale modelling capability alongside the Met Office’s existing regional and global forecasts. It moves forecasting from a roughly 1.5 km grid toward much higher resolutions (with work aimed at around 100 m ‘city-scale’ output), allowing forecasters to focus on specific neighbourhoods and urban microclimates.
That finer resolution and improved science are designed to sharpen guidance on flash flooding and winter road-surface temperatures — information that can help people planning travel on local routes affected by recent flooding, such as Leamore Lane, and on arterial roads like the A34.
Following severe winter flooding in January 2025, the upgrade is intended to give local authorities and the public earlier, more actionable warnings for high-impact weather. According to Met Office communications, the new operational setup is supported by the organisation’s Azure-based supercomputing capability and the processing of some 50 billion weather observations each day, which helps improve detection of low cloud and fog and enhances temperature forecasts.
The Met Office says these improvements will better support gritting operations during cold weather and are expected to benefit transport operators and other local services that rely on accurate, timely forecasts. The upgrade is the result of a long, well-funded programme of scientific and technical development designed to make forecasts more useful and more reflective of real-world conditions at local scales.
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