Peter Gibbs

Peter Gibbs

Peter Gibbs is a familiar face and voice of BBC weather.

He appears as an expert meteorologist on "The Weather Show" for the BBC News Channel and is a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.

He regularly chairs "Gardeners' Question Time", the popular Radio 4 show.

Peter grew up in the Lake District and has always had a love of the outdoors which fed his interest in weather.

After graduating from Newcastle University in 1979 he spent two years living and working in the Antarctic as a meteorologist with the British Antarctic Survey.

Peter was responsible for weather observations and balloon soundings at Halley base on the Brunt Ice Shelf, where temperatures fell as low as minus 40C during the four months of winter darkness.

The Falklands war broke out as Peter was preparing to return to the UK in 1982 and he finally made it back to Southampton on the first ship to return from the war zone.

Peter has been a Met Office forecaster since 1983. A varied career has included forecasting for Tornado jet pilots, for rocket trials in the Outer Hebrides and amazingly, forecasting conditions for chicken farmers in Norfolk!

His television career started in 1993 at BBC Look East in Norwich moving on to join the BBC Weather Centre team in London in 1997.

Peter's time outside work is spent walking and cycling in the Berkshire countryside, or battling with the weather and garden pests in an attempt to maintain his credibility as chairman of Gardeners' Question Time.

So what has Peter got to say about being a weatherman.

What did you do before becoming a Weather Forecaster?

After graduating from Newcastle University I joined the British Antarctic Survey as a meteorologist, spending two years 'on the ice' at the Halley Bay station in Antarctica.

I then joined the Met Office in 1983 as a Forecaster, working at military stations and then Norwich Weather Centre.

When did you become a Weather Forecaster?

Easter 1993, on BBC 'Look East'.

Why did you want to be a Weather Forecaster?

A presenter was needed to join the team of three at Norwich. I was working at the Norwich Weather Centre as a forecaster and thought I might as well go to the audition just to see if I could do it.

To my surprise, I was asked to join the team. A similar thing happened with my move to the London-based BBC Weather Centre in 1997.

Do you get nervous before a broadcast?

Not as much as I used to. Before my very first broadcast I was wondering what on earth I had taken on, but now I get just about nervous enough to help the performance. Some broadcasts are more nerve-wracking than others.

Have you ever made any mistakes?

We all make mistakes but fortunately none of mine have been serious. My most common problem is mixing up east and west.

Is your job hard?

There is a lot of pressure. Every shift is non-stop from beginning to end. Each broadcast needs a lot of preparation. We make up all the graphics ourselves and also have to keep a close eye on the latest weather developments.

Do you enjoy your job?

I like a challenge and this job has plenty of those. Many people's lives are affected by the weather so I do feel some satisfaction if I have managed to put the story across convincingly, especially in times of severe weather.

Could anyone do your job?

Anyone with the right background, experience and broadcasting skills! It's not something you just pick up overnight.