Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A new report has taken aim at Met Office forecasts and their financial impact in Devon amid fears the entire tourist industry is potentially losing 'millions' of pounds arising from supposedly ambiguous weather predictions. The report, published by Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parks, has cast a negative light on weather analysis in Woolacombe. Some Devon businesses that rely on the tourism industry were worried ahead of Easter that considerable rain forecasts were being projected. Research conducted in the report alleged the chance of rain was potentially a false alarm and would take money out of the pocket of those relying on tourists. Spells of rain did, in fact, hit the region over the weekend. In response, the Met Office said it innovates and refines its processes continually to make sure its forecasts are as useful as they can be. A Met Office spokesperson said: "Thanks to this commitment to accuracy, our four-day forecast is now as accurate as our one-day forecast was 30 years ago." An excerpt from the Woolacombe report reads: "The results were surprising: across the 53 days we tracked, over 40% had a forecasted 10% or higher chance of rain and on 16 of the days not a single drop fell. We came to this conclusion following weekly benchmarks of the Met Office weather forecast for Woolacombe a week in advance and then compared this to the Woolacombe data from Weathercloud." (Image: https://www.woolacombe.co.uk/) The report concluded that it was not the forecasts which are ‘wrong’, but the way they’re presented. It argued that this could potentially be construed as misleading. "Looking at the daily forecast average, we often see a considerable chance of rain," the report says. "But even when rain does arrive, it’s frequently in the evening or for just an hour or two. That detail matters. If you're planning a beach day and see a 40 per cent chance of rain for Saturday a week ahead, you might cancel. But what if that rain isn't due until after 6pm? "Take Wednesday 26th February. A week out, the Met Office forecast showed a 50 percent average chance of rain, with 80 percent at 09:00 and 60 per cent at 12:00. The reality? All rain fell between 04:00 and 07:00. The rest of the day was dry. Or Friday 28th March. Forecasts showed over a 40 per cent average chance of rain throughout the day. What actually fell? Just 1.2mm at midday. Hardly enough to dampen a deckchair." (Image: Getty Images) Woolacombe Bay got in touch with Rick Turner, director at Devon amusement park The Big Sheep. Mr Turner alleged that the Met Office's daily forecasts were 'frequently incorrect' but that the ones he really objected to were 'the week ahead ones when tourists are looking for last minute holiday destinations'. He claimed these seem to be 'invariably wrong and misleading.' He said: "My message to the forecasters is to either get it right or don’t do longer term forecasts which are costing my North Devon theme park £100,000s and the whole industry millions of pounds each year in lost bookings and business." "Talk about the areas which are going to be enjoying dry and sunny weather rather than looking for the rain which you find exciting to be forecasting and often incorrectly.” A Met Office spokesperson added as part of their statement: "We offer a range of sources for people to receive their weather forecast, including our presented forecasts on YouTube, written forecasts online, and our popular weather app, which all provides context and uncertainty. "The app is just one way of accessing a Met Office weather forecast. Our app also includes a rain radar, which visualises live and predicted rainfall for users across the day. It is always important for people to read the text around the forecast and not simply look at the symbols.”