Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues Chevron right
New flash flood threat looms in Texas as heat scorches recovery zone. Chevron right

Columbus, OH

77°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

77°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

Why weather forecasts stopped: The 75th anniversary of V-E Day

By John Roach, AccuWeather staff writer

Published May 6, 2020 7:34 PM EDT

Copied

A crowd gathers to celebrate V-E Day at Piccadilly Circus in London, England, on May 8, 1945. The statue of Eros in the center of the square has been boarded up throughout the war for protection from bombing. (AP Photo)

On May 8, 1945, the Daily Mirror in England published a weather forecast calling for rain and pointing out the “sudden warm snap of yesterday will not continue.”

Never has a country celebrated so wildly the inaccuracy of a weather forecast. 

Of course, on that May 8, England also was rejoicing on V-E Day, Victory in Europe, signaling the end of World War II there. So people may have been celebrating that triumph instead of the flawed forecast, but nonetheless there was sun, temperatures in the mid-70s and the end of the nightmare of war. 

May 8, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of V-E Day, the unconditional surrender of Germany after six years of war and the deaths of millions of soldiers and civilians worldwide. 

Weather forecasts played a part in that victory. That forecast on May 8, 1945, was the first in six years as England tried to restrict any information that would help the Germans. 

“For nearly six years the British people had been denied the traditional daily weather forecast in an attempt to prevent the Germans from gaining any useful information with regard to their own bombing and naval plans,” according to the book ‘The Day the War Ended’ by Martin Gilbert. 

The Allies, on the other hand, previously had broken the German Enigma code used to encrypt communication, so they were able to access and use German weather observations. 

“This gave Allied meteorologists a weather advantage – because they already controlled most of the Atlantic and the Allies knew the weather upstream over the Atlantic Ocean and across the United Kingdom,” said AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers. 

By knowing the German weather conditions, Allied meteorologists gained enough extra information to advise General Dwight D. Eisenhower about the conditions for the planned D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. 

“The success of the Normandy landing and this whole mission, of course, helped Eisenhower’s career – and he later became President of the U.S. for two terms,” Myers said. “Superior knowledge of weather conditions and forecasting ability were the keys to a critical victory.”

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Weather News

President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues

Jul. 11, 2025
Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

Jul. 11, 2025
Severe Weather

Is the US seeing worse flooding this summer? Here’s what’s happening

Jul. 11, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Thunderstorms to fuel flash flooding threat in Texas

11 hours ago

Weather News

President Trump visits flood-ravaged Kerrville as search continues

9 hours ago

Weather News

Camp Mystic’s owner warned of floods for decades

20 hours ago

AccuWeather Ready

Is your house in a flood zone? This map has the answer

14 hours ago

Severe Weather

Is the US seeing worse flooding this summer? Here’s what’s happening

19 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

14 hours ago

Weather News

Viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng celebrates her first birthday

19 hours ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

18 hours ago

Business

Samsung is looking into more AI devices potentially including earrings...

18 hours ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

1 day ago

AccuWeather Weather News Why weather forecasts stopped: The 75th anniversary of V-E Day
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...