Understand
Retired meteorologist helps filmmakers tell the story of D-Day weather forecasters in new film Pressure
Overview
Retired Met Office chief forecaster Martin Young served as a technical adviser on the film Pressure, which dramatises the tense 72-hour period leading up to the D-Day landings. Young used his 40 years of experience to help ensure the film accurately portrayed the scientific and practical challenges faced by meteorologists in June 1944.
Key points
- Martin Young, a former chief forecaster for the Met Office, worked as a technical adviser on the film Pressure.
- The film dramatises the 72-hour period before the D-Day landings, focusing on the crucial role of weather forecasters.
- Young helped ensure authenticity by advising on technical dialogue, hand-drawing weather charts, and verifying historical details.
- The film highlights the conflict between Scottish meteorologist Group Captain James Stagg and American counterpart Irving P Krick over differing forecasts.
- Young noted that forecasting more than 24 hours in advance was unrealistic given the science of 1944, creating immense pressure for the meteorologists.