Weather focus 'is flawed' Liverpool Daily Echo, First Edition, News Section, page 23, Thursday 18 March 2004 SCIENTISTS at Oxford university say they have discovered what could be behind some wayward weather forecasts. The researchers say small atmospheric fluctuations ignored by meteorologists may have a far greater impact on weather systems than previously thought. The fluctuations, known as inertia gravity waves, can often be seen from the surface of the Earth as stripy features in clouds. A computer model showed that the waves could be leading to "significant errors" in some forecasts. But it could be some time before the Met Office took the idea on. Atmospheric physicist Dr Paul Williams said: "It is a bit delicate as it's an admission that something is not quite right."