Met Office to install new weather computer

The Met Office computer will give earlier warning of freak events

The Met Office has signed a £33m contract with IBM for a new supercomputer to improve weather predictions.

When finished in 2011, the new system will be 30 times more powerful than the Met Office's current computer, improving short range weather forecasts and giving earlier warning of low probability, high-impact weather such as local flash floods.

The computer will also be used to gather research on climate change.

The system will become the second most powerful in the UK and within the top 20 most powerful in the world – the equivalent of about 100,000 PCs.

“In a world where the effect of extreme weather events is becoming more severe and the potential impact of global warming is becoming ever more apparent, the Met Office plays an increasingly vital role in researching and forecasting these events," said Met Office chief executive John Hirst.

"The new supercomputer is an important step in delivering our strategic targets.”

A discrete part of the system will be used for collaborative scientific research supported by the Natural Environment Research Council and Met Office.

As part of the agreement, IBM will also provide a mid-life system upgrade, support and maintenance services during the five-year contract.

The computer will be based in IBM's System p server, which the supplier claims operates around 70 per cent of weather computers worldwide.