Photos: Met Office powers ahead

These three boxes form one of the NEC SX-6 supercomputers, which represent the previous generation of systems at the weather centre. The centre has a full run through the main supercomputer bank every hour. The results are then run through the output processors to create the myriad variety of weather information supplied around the country.

This information includes detailed charts for different sectors of the world's seas, to the charts specific for air traffic information (for everything from airliners to gliders), to forecasts for retailers, such as supermarkets, who need to know if it is time to stock up with barbecues or waterproof clothing.

Some of these customers pay for their specific, detailed information while many receive it for free. It allows the weather centre to run on a break-even basis.