The Great Meteorological Thread

[Ian D J]

Indeed, I have seen THAT thread.

You could start a University-related thread, as after all it's about now that people like you will be starting university so it might be a nice place to let people know what it's all being like. I should imagine it'll come with it's fair share of trials and tribulations as well as the rewards that will be reaped out of it all.
I have to be honest and say that I'm quite thick as *****, especially since I dropped out of a science course on an ordinary BTEC course at Brighton College back in the mid-80's. I had this idea of making meteorology as a careers thing, but unfortunately my poor little brains couldn't assimilate that much information in such a short space of time, especially with my hearing loss.
So, really, what you read in here are all self taught, especially since my passion for meteorology remains as strong as ever.

Anyway, all the best on the next chapter of your life and hope you've been able to pack everything you need for it in your car.

 

[norvic-boy]

Indeed, I have seen THAT thread.

You could start a University-related thread, as after all it's about now that people like you will be starting university so it might be a nice place to let people know what it's all being like. I should imagine it'll come with it's fair share of trials and tribulations as well as the rewards that will be reaped out of it all.
I have to be honest and say that I'm quite thick as *****, especially since I dropped out of a science course on an ordinary BTEC course at Brighton College back in the mid-80's. I had this idea of making meteorology as a careers thing, but unfortunately my poor little brains couldn't assimilate that much information in such a short space of time, especially with my hearing loss.
So, really, what you read in here are all self taught, especially since my passion for meteorology remains as strong as ever.

Anyway, all the best on the next chapter of your life and hope you've been able to pack everything you need for it in your car.

Just to clarify I'm straight ...

Yeah it'll be interesting to blog the goings on at Pontins, as there has already been tonnes of drama! And i feel there is more to be had!

So, really, what you read in here are all self taught, especially since my passion for meteorology remains as strong as ever.

And you've taught yourself very well

Now refining it all Getting pretty excited now!

 

[Cobra]

I was thinking this would be the safest part of the forum for me... however... no. Now you've seen that thread!

I don't think that there is anyone left on TP that hasn't seen that thread Toby


Good luck at Uni hope everything goes well

Its actually been a nice day here for a change
very light winds and around 21oC got loads done in the garden ready for the onslaught of that
crap weather that you (Ian) seem to have ordered :razz:

 

[Ian D J]

I don't think that there is anyone left on TP that hasn't seen that thread Toby


Good luck at Uni hope everything goes well

Its actually been a nice day here for a change
very light winds and around 21oC got loads done in the garden ready for the onslaught of that
crap weather that you (Ian) seem to have ordered :razz:

Did make me choke on my toast at the time.

Indeed, the weekend and the first half of next week does look set to be unsettled and windy. However, I'm quite confident of a dry, dry and a sunnier-than-usual end to September, and that settled trend will last well into October. However I think we will need to start thinking about night frosts and fog by that time. Ideal conditions for that misty valley dawn shots, which I hope to get some over the next couple of weeks

 

[Cobra]

Blimey! frosts in October?
b****r that
Oh well its better than wet and wild that's more normal October weather.

 

[Cobra]

Well its been a bit of a weird one today.
Hissing down and wind this morning, that stopped around 1-ish.

It then turned into a really nice day, Simpson skies with a 5-10 mile breeze, I guess around 19-20oC.

I managed to get a huge pile of washing dried outside in less than an hour.
So that was a bonus.

As I type, there is now a storm rumbling around out there, with the odd sheet lightning flash,
coming in from west by north west.

 

[Ian D J]

Well its been a bit of a weird one today.
Hissing down and wind this morning, that stopped around 1-ish.

It then turned into a really nice day, Simpson skies with a 5-10 mile breeze, I guess around 19-20oC.

I managed to get a huge pile of washing dried outside in less than an hour.
So that was a bonus.

As I type, there is now a storm rumbling around out there, with the odd sheet lightning flash,
coming in from west by north west.

Hi Cobra! I like that "Simpsons Sky" description.

Indeed, there has been more in the way of showers across the UK today, with the odd crack of local thunder. Over here at Kent this morning was quite overcast and showery - nothing too heavy. It then lead to a decent enough afternoon with sunny spells and some cloud (especially over the Channel).

I'm kinda hoping that a few beefy showers will track eastwards along the English Channel and give me something of a Channel light show tonight.

 

[Cobra]

Hope you got your light show Ian
It was "all over" before it got dark, so quite boring really,
the temps have dropped quite rapidly too

 

[jeangenie]

I don't think that there is anyone left on TP that hasn't seen that thread Toby

Is it true *That* thread's going to be a sticky?

Toby - I hope you arrived safely with all your bits and pieces (!) in tack. A blog would be great.

Ian - did you get your light show?

I'm getting fed up with sunshine and showers - it's hard to plan anything. But Ian's predictions are spot on, as always.

Jean

 

[Ian D J]

Hi everyone!

Sadly, nope, didn't get to see a light show last night but wasn't terribly surprised about that.

Again, today will be another day of showers and sunny spells. Most of those showers will be concentrated over the South of the UK where they may become locally heavy with possibly some hail and thunder.
But at the same time, those showers will start to die away over the Western side of the country and Scotland by the afternoon.

 

[Ricardodaforce]

Well it reached 35C today, which is unusual for September. From tomorrow the temperatures drop with Monday being the coolest day of the week at 26C.
Wind has picked up too this afternoon.

 

[andy_fozzy]

Well it reached 35C today, which is unusual for September. From tomorrow the temperatures drop with Monday being the coolest day of the week at 26C.
Wind has picked up too this afternoon.

:razz:



Today's weather was MAD!
Ian, again you were spot on

About 5-10 minutes after these were taken, boy did the heavens open up!!

This was at work (Southampton Airport)
and during the downpour, two stunning lightning bolts landed right on the airfield, followed by the biggest thunder rumbles I've heard all summer!

Airside Operations thought the first bolt hit the runway, but after an inspection, lucky all was clear.

 

[Ian D J]

Hi Andy! Looks like it has been a day of fun and games where you are. Did you know that the best place to see waterspouts and funnel cloud formations is at the Solent area? It's to do with the sea/land make up that makes it easy for air of different humidity and temperature to all converge together.

Over here at Kent, it wasn't that dramatic, it stayed quite dry and bright for most of the day, apart from a quickie common-as-your-garden type light shower at around 2 apm.
But did manage to capture this nice bit of backlit glaciated cumulus (where the tops of cumulus turns into ice crystals) at sunset time.

 

[andy_fozzy]

Hi Andy! Looks like it has been a day of fun and games where you are. Did you know that the best place to see waterspouts and funnel cloud formations is at the Solent area? It's to do with the sea/land make up that makes it easy for air of different humidity and temperature to all converge together.

Over here at Kent, it wasn't that dramatic, it stayed quite dry and bright for most of the day, apart from a quickie common-as-your-garden type light shower at around 2 apm.
But did manage to capture this nice bit of backlit glaciated cumulus (where the tops of cumulus turns into ice crystals) at sunset time.

I have heard you mention that before actually.
Is there any time of the year best to see them, or anytime?

Fun and games indeed mate! The rain was seriously heavy. Perhaps the heaviest yet this year. Would have liked a bit more thunder and lightning, but can't have it all I guess!!!

Interesting shot mate, and another thing I have learned today

 

[Ian D J]

Actually, it's about now as the Channel is at it's warmest, so whenever the air does become unstable (like what it tried to do today) then there's a good supply of moist humid warm air already on tap for cumulus cloud to feed on, while at the same time the landmass continue to turn colder - so there's that contrasting airmass effect.
I've seen a waterspout form over the Strait of Dover a few times, and all were spotted between September and November.

 

[Ian D J]

Mornin' all you awakenin' souls and hope you are having a good start to the working week.

Upon awakening at 6.15 am this morning and looking out the window, I noticed a tiny clear gap in the very uniform stratocumulus cloud layer where I expected the sun to rise. So I grabbed the camera and walked down to the harbour area.

I'm glad I did that as I got these two shots out of it. Both photos are completely unprocessed and unaltered.

 

[DuncanDisorderly]

Both are fantastic.
Love the first shot - very moody and slightly sinister!

 

[Ian D J]

Both are fantastic.
Love the first shot - very moody and slightly sinister!

Hi Duncan and hope you had a good day.

Thanks for the kind comment about those two photos. Actually, the first one I'm very pleased because no alterations or adjustments had been carried out on it. I used the camera's manual setting to get the kind of levels I wanted and I think in my books that's what I call old skool type photography.

Anyway, back on topic (about meteorology ), today has been a really lovely day here at Folkestone, it was about 75% sunny (with cumulus blotting out the sun from time to time in the early afternoon), much better than I thought. I've spent four hours polishing up and servicing both my motorbike and push bike and did it all in the front lawn. As I type, as well as both machines gleaming like the proverbial new pins, I can feel this warm glow on my face.

Tomorrow does look set to be not quite so pleasant across the UK as it'll become more overcast with outbreaks of rain, especially over Western and Southern parts.
It'll be a day of sunny spells and showers for Scotland.

However, looking further ahead, I am confident of things settling down and brightening and warming up as we head into the end part of September and into the first half of October.
Just that in the past couple of days, the medium range outputs has been quite sure of "Indian Summer" for later on in the Autumn, so I'm gonna go along with that.

 

[jeangenie]

Andy - we had the rain over here in the Forest yesterday, but only heard one very small rumble of thunder - and we're about 20 mins from Soton airport. Thunderstorms seem to be skirting round us this summer.

I've only ever seen one small water spout in the Solent. It was at the Salterns Sailing Club in Lymington, and the kids were racing. The back end of the fleet got a nasty shock when it hit them!

Ian - Those shots were well worth getting up for! Both excellent, but the first one has got a magical quality about it.

How can you tell whether a cumulus cloud is glaciated or not, Ian? Do they look different?

Jean

 

[Cobra]

Well it reached 35C today, which is unusual for September. From tomorrow the temperatures drop with Monday being the coolest day of the week at 26C.
Wind has picked up too this afternoon.

:razz:


There are some stunning shots in there guys
Not a bad day at all today, typically autumnal around 06:30 this morning.
a nip in the air and quite a heavy dew.
But all in all a pleasant day with a light breeze

 

[neil_g]

Andy - we had the rain over here in the Forest yesterday, but only heard one very small rumble of thunder - and we're about 20 mins from Soton airport. Thunderstorms seem to be skirting round us this summer.

I've only ever seen one small water spout in the Solent. It was at the Salterns Sailing Club in Lymington, and the kids were racing. The back end of the fleet got a nasty shock when it hit them!

Ian - Those shots were well worth getting up for! Both excellent, but the first one has got a magical quality about it.

How can you tell whether a cumulus cloud is glaciated or not, Ian? Do they look different?

Jean

Yesterday was lame for thunder, Saturday was better had some nice fork lightning looking out over towards Winchester from Eastleigh.

Had some heavy bursts of rain yesterday though, drains couldn't handle it.

 

[jeangenie]

Yesterday was lame for thunder, Saturday was better had some nice fork lightning looking out over towards Winchester from Eastleigh.

Neil, We didn't get that either! But then Winchester is the opposite direction to us. I think we're protected by the island from the south-westerly storms which then get dumped on Winchester.

Today there's high patchy clouds and the sun playing hide and seek behind them.

Jean

 

[Ian D J]

Mornin' from a rather overcast Folkestone, although it is trying ever so hard to brighten up a little. Still feels very mild and is still dry, though, despising the brisk S.W. wind. Pretty much all usual stuff, really!

Since we are onto a new page and to save people going back a few pages to find the link to my own weather forecast blog, here it is again:

http://thecloudmaster.webs.com/

The blog is usually updated at between 7 am to 9 am every day:


Hope you all have a good day today.

 

[Ian D J]

Andy - we had the rain over here in the Forest yesterday, but only heard one very small rumble of thunder - and we're about 20 mins from Soton airport. Thunderstorms seem to be skirting round us this summer.

I've only ever seen one small water spout in the Solent. It was at the Salterns Sailing Club in Lymington, and the kids were racing. The back end of the fleet got a nasty shock when it hit them!

Ian - Those shots were well worth getting up for! Both excellent, but the first one has got a magical quality about it.

How can you tell whether a cumulus cloud is glaciated or not, Ian? Do they look different?

Jean

Hi Jean and Cobra and ta for the lovely comments regarding my photos.

The tops of cumulus cloud takes on that wispy look as supercooled water droplets (droplets that stays as liquid at minus 40 C) suddenly turn into ice crystals.
Then at that point, that's where that humble cumulus usually turns into a cumulonimbus - the thunderstorm cloud.

However, in the case of that photo, there wasn't enough convection to make that cumulus grow any bigger and the lot fizzled out after dusk, and what ice crystals came out of that particular cumulus became as "left over" cirrus clouds.

 

[jeangenie]

Thanks, Ian. That's a really clear explanation, and I have noticed that wispyness sometimes, but my long-ago 'O' level Chemistry is defeated by water droplets that remain liquid at -40 C! How does that happen?


Thanks for re-posting the link to your forecast blog - I'm just off to see what tomorrow has got in store for us!


Jean

 

[Ian D J]

Thanks, Ian. That's a really clear explanation, and I have noticed that wispyness sometimes, but my long-ago 'O' level Chemistry is defeated by water droplets that remain liquid at -40 C! How does that happen?


Thanks for re-posting the link to your forecast blog - I'm just off to see what tomorrow has got in store for us!


Jean

Pure water can remain as liquid at such low temperatures, but the moment it comes into contact with even the most tiniest of dust particles, or even already iced-up crystals, then it freezes instantaneously and you get to see that wispy look (and it also explains how every snowflake has a grain or dust in the middle, that's how their formation is triggered off . . . think about that next time you catch a flake in your mouth ).

It is believed that the sudden freezing process produces an electrical charge as negative and positive ions are parted inside such a cloud, and that is why lightning most often occur exclusively to cumulonimbus clouds - iced up tops where the positive charged ions are stored, and the cumulus base which is still as water vapour all containing negative ions. Find a spot on the ground that contains lots of positive ions and . . . *BANG!* the lot is fused together as the insulation layer that is the air itself are unable to keep the ions apart for much longer.

Anyway, that's enough sciences lesson for today. And now, for something a little bit relaxing as I show you this HDR shot I've just put together (used a Lumix TZ45 as it has autobracketing). This was taken on a beach only a five minutes walk from my house earlier on this morning.

 

[Cobra]

Thanks for the science lesson Ian.
and yet again, a stunning image
Talking of ice crystals, I am begining to see a few "sun dogs" now and again, usually around 8-9am. I'm guessing this is more a Autumn / Winter "occurrence"?

However, they are mostly quite boring at the moment

 

[Ian D J]

Thanks for the science lesson Ian.
and yet again, a stunning image
Talking of ice crystals, I am begining to see a few "sun dogs" now and again, usually around 8-9am. I'm guessing this is more a Autumn / Winter "occurrence"?

However, they are mostly quite boring at the moment

Hi Cobra, and hope you are having a good day so far. The sun's now suddenly come out to play after what it has been a very dull and gloomy morning.

Sun dogs can actually be seen all the year around as long as there are clouds laden with ice crystals (cirrus and broken cirrostratus) to create that light refraction effect.
But they are at their colourful best at sunrise or sunset where they are seen 22 degrees to the left or right of the sun. It's where the light shines through "more" of those cirrus clouds as it's all viewed at a low angle (whereas the midday sun "cuts straight" through the cloud from above).

 

[jeangenie]

Ian - 2 science lessons in one day! It's really fascinating, and I have to say (don't blush!) I'm in awe of your depth of knowledge. I'm going to go through those explanations again later on. I'm just grabbing a few minutes while the sun's shining to get the lawns mowed.

That photo is stunning. It looks like a movie still imho, and I'm not a fan of HDR generally. I'll make an exception for this one, though.

Jean

 

[Cobra]

Thanks for the explanation Ian
Its been a bit of a weird day weather wise.
Quite a pleasant afternoon now, mostly clear blue with the odd wisps of cloud passing by in the breeze.
It did start very overcast with wind driven drizzle, but that cleared around mid day,
to what I see now

 

[Ian D J]

Sooooo, who's looking forward to the Indian summer starting next week, as temperatures could touch 80 F on a regular basis across England?

I am, especially after I spent a good couple of hours sitting in the front garden soaking up the sun today.

Seems that Summer has arrived . . . albeit a little bit later than expected.

 

[Cobra]

OO that sounds like something to look forward too Ian
Thanks for arranging that

Any idea how long this is set to last for?

 

[Ian D J]

OO that sounds like something to look forward too Ian
Thanks for arranging that

Any idea how long this is set to last for?

Hi Cobra! Going by the current outputs, a good fortnight by the looks of things.

It's where a very large area of high pressure settles over central Europe thus dragging warm air in from the Mediterranean towards the UK.
Once a set up is in place, that's going to take some shifting.

A pity it isn't mid-July, that would produce 90 F type temperatures across the UK. Still, better late than never.

 

[jeangenie]

Yay!!!! That's fantastic news, Ian. I was already starting to get depressed at the prospect of winter, cold weather, dark nights etc. A 2-week postponement would be great.

Jean

 

[Ian D J]

Yay!!!! That's fantastic news, Ian. I was already starting to get depressed at the prospect of winter, cold weather, dark nights etc. A 2-week postponement would be great.

Jean

Indeed. I am a winter lover (especially when it snows) but I'll settle for this for now.
That's going to make for some misty type photo opportunities in the mornings (bear in mind that nights are rapidly getting longer and so therefore there's more time for nocturnal heat-loss).
But I won't need to get up at 5 am to get those. I do miss seeing them early morning misty scenes when I used to commute to work via them winding country lanes.

 

[Cobra]

Hi Cobra! Going by the current outputs, a good fortnight by the looks of things.

It's where a very large area of high pressure settles over central Europe thus dragging warm air in from the Mediterranean towards the UK.
Once a set up is in place, that's going to take some shifting.

A pity it isn't mid-July, that would produce 90 F type temperatures across the UK. Still, better late than never.

Thanks Ian

 

[norvic-boy]

Sounding good for the Indian Summer

Pretty dull and overcast here at Pontins Southport!

 

[Cobra]

Its actually looking and feeling very storm like here

 

[Ian D J]

Sounding good for the Indian Summer

Pretty dull and overcast here at Pontins Southport!

Its actually looking and feeling very storm like here

Not so here, it's been another fine and warm day at Folkestone, with just the odd cirrus punctuating the blue sky, like giant comma signs.

Hi Cobra, it does look like you are under a weakening cold front that trails all the way back to the Azore, it is a decaying feature as it succumbs to a strenghtening European high pressure.

I'm starting to wonder if the record for the hottest October's day may be under threat if the charts are anything to go by. The current record is 29.4 C at Cambridge on the 1st Oct 1985 . . . could that be beaten this week?
And 1985 had a terrible summer, even worse than the one we've just had! (At least Summer 1985 was more interesting in terms of frequent thundery weather, this year I've only seen the one odd light passing night time bit of lightning that only lasted for ten minutes!).

 

[LauraJ23]

Been a funny day here, this morning was sunny with a slight breeze and clear skies, this afternoon temperature dropped a little and grey clouds descended, it now feels warmer but still fairly overcast.