Piers is getting a roasting

At http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/05/putting-piers-corbyn-to-the-test/ … this has come about as Piers Corbyn of www.weatheraction.com fame has made a couple of 'public' forecasts- they are usually available only for a fee. This is probably a ploy to get more attention, a salesman's pitch to attract the punters who will pay to see what exactly the July weather has in store for us in Europe and North America. Anthony, and friends, intent to monitor his claims for July. The big problem is that Piers method is not 100 per cent – far from it. He admits as much. For example, he made the bold claim that May would be the coldest May for many a year, in stark contrast to the Met Office which was not expecting anything out of the ordinary. For three weeks it was coolish, damp, and grey skies dominated. However, the last 10 days of May coincided with a heat wave which meant that the May average figure was nothing out of the ordinary, to the delight of his detractors, many of them being the CAGW faithful. Piers likes to wind them up like a clockwork toy – and can get them aeriated so they blow a fuse. Hence, they bite back when he gets it wrong – and some of the comments below the post reflect this attitude. Now, it seems a very large sunspot coincided with the heat-wave in the UK and this is what caused the problem, the Jet Stream sticking somewhat to the south west of Cornwall as a result of the solar activity. The cool weather duly returned in early June – but the May average remained unprepossessing. This implies Piers Corbyn cannot predict sun spots or CMEs and relies on past patterns. This is not a lot different to the odd mainstream meteorologists that looks at past records in the search for a pattern – and the various amateur weather forecasters. Piers claims a scientific methodology based on real physics – not the mickey mouse physics that involves co2 levels. He claims he has developed a system based on solar activity in association with lunar affects, hence the charge he is an astrologer. The test being mounted by Anthony might prove to be an eye-opener and is worth keeping tabs on it over July. Piers has in the past come up with some very good predictions and has a faithful following. However, the Sun can foil his forecasts – as it did in May (see also http://climaterealists.com/?id=9746 and those with time on their hands or an ear that can pay attention while you are doing something else, the Watts link above also takes you to a long conference talk by Corbyn in Germany last year where he outlines his methodology to an attentive audience.