Francis Alfred Wilson, FRMetS, CMet (Chartered Meteorologist), (born 27 February 1949) is a Scottish-born
weather forecaster
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...
, from
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
, who was a presenter and the Head of Weather on the BBC's '' Breakfast Time'' and ''
Breakfast News
''Breakfast News'' is a breakfast news programme which first aired on BBC1 on 2 October 1989. The programme was previously known as '' Breakfast Time''. It was planned to launch on 18 September 1989 but was held back by two weeks due to techn ...
'' from 1983 until 1992, and
Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
Dr Challoner's Grammar School
Dr Challoner's Grammar School (also known as DCGS, Challoner's Boys or simply Challoner's) is a selective grammar school for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form, in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. It was given academy status in January 2 ...
. He grew up in
Chesham
Chesham ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about north-west of Charing Cross, central London, and part of the London metropolitan area, London ...
, firstly in Pond Park. Around the age of 16, he looked after an Alsatian dog called Wander, at a kennel at
Wigginton, Hertfordshire
Wigginton (''Wigentone'' - 1086) is a large village and civil parish running north–south and perched at on the edge of the Chiltern Hills and aside the border with Buckinghamshire. It is part of Dacorum district in the county of Hertfordsh ...
. When he took flying lessons, and had to land a light aircraft, and could feel turbulence, he took an interest in weather. After leaving school, he gained his private pilots licence, but didn't want to be a commercial pilot. He took a year off to go travelling around Europe.
He graduated with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree in
Physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
from
Imperial College London
Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...
, taking a meteorology module in his last year.
Career
Wilson worked as a
Meteorological Office
The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...
forecaster from 1972, with five years at Prestwick Airport. He then worked at the
RAE
Rae may refer to:
People
*Rae (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Rae (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Nicknames for
*Rachel (given name)
* Rachelle
* Raquel
* Raven (given name)
* Reema
*Reena ( ...
in
Farnborough, Hampshire
Farnborough is a town located in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England. It has a population of around 57,486 as of the 2011 census and is an important centre of aviation, engineering and technology. The town is probably best known for it ...
with the airborne RAF Meteorological Research Flight (MRF), using a high-altitude
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
aircraft for three years, This aircraft would have taken part in the 1974 Global Atmospheric Research Program. In later years the research aircraft was a
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Gr ...
. From 2001 MRF was superseded by the NERC(FAAM) at Cranfield in
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...
. He became a Fellow of the
Royal Meteorological Society
The Royal Meteorological Society is an organization that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Members can be lay enthusiasts. It publishes vari ...
in 1973, and later a Chartered Meteorologist.
In 1978, he joined
Thames TV
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992.
Thames Television broa ...
as weatherman, where he wore jeans, and an open-necked shirt, which gained him much
fan mail
Fan mail is mail sent to a public figure, especially a celebrity, by their admirers or "fan (person), fans". In return for a fan's support and admiration, public figures may send an autographed poster, photo, reply letter, or note thanking the ...
, possibly for the audacity or novelty. He joined the BBC's '' Breakfast Time'' team in 1983, using computer-generated graphics for the first time on British television. At the BBC, he would have to get out of bed at 3am, five times a week, which he did not like. He presented from Lime Grove. On the way to work, he would collect satellite information from Imperial College. On 15 July 1985, an episode of ''Favourite Walks'', in Chesham, was shown.
Wilson joined Sky News in 1993 and, until June 2010, headed the weather department, which broadcast weather forecasts for Europe 24 hours a day.
In 1979, Wilson was invited by
Ian Anderson
Ian Scott Anderson (born 10 August 1947) is a British musician best known for being the chief vocalist, Flute, flautist, and acoustic guitarist of the British rock band Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull. He is a multi-instrumentalist who also p ...
Shipping Forecast
The ''Shipping Forecast'' is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The for ...
on the track "North Sea Oil", and the spoken introduction to "
Dun Ringill
Dun Ringill (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Dùn'', 'fort', ''Ringill'', 'point of the ravine') is an Iron Age hill fort on the Strathaird peninsula on the island of Skye, Scotland. Further fortified in the Middle Ages, tradition holds that it was ...
".
In 1998, Wilson was invited to
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
by
Sir Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400.
Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...
to advise on meteorological conditions for his
Virgin Earth Challenge
The Virgin Earth Challenge was a competition offering a $25 million prize for whoever could demonstrate a commercially viable design which results in the Negative carbon dioxide emission, permanent removal of greenhouse gases out of the Earth's ...
balloon attempt.
Awards
Wilson has won the title of "Best Television Weather Presenter - Worldwide" at the International Television Weather Forecasters Festival in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2003. He also won a Gotcha Award after being pranked by
Mr Blobby
Mr Blobby is a character originally featured on the British Saturday night variety show '' Noel's House Party'', broadcast on BBC One. Created by Charlie Adams, a writer for the show, Mr Blobby is a bulbous pink figure covered in yellow spots, w ...
. He is also the author of seven books, including ''The Great British Obsession'' (1990).
Publications
In the 1980s he wrote children's books about weather, published by Macdonalds.''Liverpool Echo'' Saturday 16 July 1983, page 2
Personal life
His son Josh Wilson was born in April 1982.His second son James Wilson was born November 1990