As Hurricane Milton battered Florida, the BBC was left battling a major glitch on its weather app which predicted storms in Oxfordshire towns.

The BBC Weather website and app are today experiencing a data fault issue - leading to incorrect forecasts of hurricane force winds in the UK and across the globe.

Abingdon and Woodstock were among towns in Oxfordshire where residents got a surprise when checking for the latest forecast. But some towns were unaffected by the glitch with 'light cloud' the forecast for Banbury.

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Graphics showed estimated wind speeds of 13,508mph in London and 5,293mph in Rome - far in excess of any genuine hurricane such as Milton which struck Florida overnight.

(Image: BBC) Presenter Matt Taylor said in a social media post: "Don't be alarmed folks - Hurricane Milton hasn't made it to us here in the UK.

"There's been a data glitch between our suppliers and the app/online. Folk are working to solve the issue."

BBC Weather said it was aware of an issue with a third-party supplier and it is working hard to fix the problem.

In another post, presenter Simon King said: "Oops, don’t be alarmed by some of our BBC Weather app data this morning.

"Be assured there won’t be 14408mph winds, hurricane force winds or overnight temperatures of 404C."

Forecasters have also acknowledged the issue on TV bulletins.

(Image: BBC) In a statement, BBC Weather said: "We have an issue with some of the weather data from our forecast provider which is generating incorrect numbers and text on our BBC Weather app and website.

"It’s mainly been impacting wind readings but some temperatures are also displaying wrongly.

"We recognise there is huge interest in weather today and this is incredibly frustrating.

"We are really, really sorry about this and working very hard to fix the problem."

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A BBC spokesperson also apologised and said it was working with its supplier to fix the issue as soon as possible.

Temperatures of 404C in Nottingham, 384C in New York and 378C in Sydney were among those being displayed.

Hurricane Milton has now hit Florida, with more than two million homes and businesses left without power, with whole neighbourhoods going dark.

Deaths have been confirmed in St Lucie County on the state’s east coast where officials said tornadoes had hit, although the number of fatalities is unclear.

Millions fled the state throughout Wednesday as dozens of flash flood, tornado and storm surge warnings were put in place.

The "extremely dangerous" and "life-threatening" Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.