How meteorologists helped recreate one of history’s most important weather forecasts
Summary
The film *Pressure* tells the true story of meteorologist Capt James Stagg, who advised General Eisenhower on the weather for the D-Day landings in 1944. Using limited weather data and forecasting methods of the time, Stagg helped decide to postpone the invasion from 5 June to 6 June when a small window of better weather appeared.Key Facts
- Capt James Stagg was a meteorologist responsible for forecasting weather for the D-Day landings.
- The D-Day invasion was initially scheduled for 5 June 1944 but was postponed to 6 June due to bad weather.
- Meteorologists at the time relied mainly on surface weather data and limited observations from ships and aircraft.
- Modern weather forecasting tools like satellites did not exist in 1944.
- Allied meteorologists had an advantage because they had access to German weather data by breaking the Enigma code.
- Multiple forecast teams worked separately and provided different predictions that Stagg had to combine into one recommendation.
- The week before D-Day was unusually hot for May, followed by a major storm before the invasion.
- Researchers say even today’s advanced technology struggles to recreate the accuracy of the 1944 forecast with the data available then.
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