Stormy Weather II

[Serial_Apologist]

If it's any consolation, S_A, RT might not be on sale until tomorrow because of yesterday's Bank Holiday.

Gosh - what a relief!!!!! Thanks ferney - would would I do without my vital weekly literary fix?

[BBMmk2]

"Well the weather's a bit disappointing today compared with yesterday". Kate Kinsella this lunchtime on BBC1 London News with the understatment of the century as we languish under one of her "thundery showers" - actually quite a big MSC, covering the whole of London and beyond, and not in any hurry to move away. Two and a half hours of continuous moderate to heavy rain now, some reports now coming of flooding in parts of E London. Most of the lightning has been of the cloud-to-cloud variety, and invisible in shape owing to a thick layer of clag obscuring visibility that'd been covering the sky all morning, so that one only knew of the approach by loud rumblings to the east. Five minutes ago I had my first glimpse ever of an aircraft being hit by lightning, less and half a mile to the north. Normally this will do little damage beyond making a small hole; in the instance the plane, a smallish probably business jet, just continued on its journey north-west. With any luck someone will have captured the moment of impact on camera. Oddly enough, Blitzordnung seems to be registering very few of the actual discharges today, making me wonder if some of the network's sites have been put out of action.

i was caught in a thunder clap and lightning down town today!

[Serial_Apologist]

i was caught in a thunder clap and lightning down town today!

Ms Kinsella stated that skies were now clearing and temperatures everywhere should reach 24 degrees C. That was at 1.30. It's now 4.35 and the temperature here is 14 C right now, and hasn't managed to exceed 15 C all day! All the residual humidity is making for a lot of clag, but at least the main storm area has retreated to the SW, with a lot of rumbling down towards Surbiton.

Nevertheless it still annoys me very much that the forecasters don't pre-check their current data before sending their hapless representatives out in front of the TV cameras. Had someone back at HQ done so at say 1.15 he or she would have taken account of a steepening pressure gradient caused by the Scandinavian high, which had been keeping our winds broadly coming from the eastern quadrant moving slightly west, allowing colder air off the N Sea to re-invigorate the convergence belt running from Kent to Merseyside, thus generating large areas of persistent thundery rain, because with that simple data to hand they would not be making idiotic pronouncements, but rather issuing yellow and amber Rudds to areas prone to the worst, such as the area around Meopham where the M25 and M20 meet where flooding is taking place and traffic is stranded.

Ever since the BBC ditched getting its information from the Met Office last year, the forecasts have been getting more and more inaccurate. How much does our licence fee pay to these useless people?

[cloughie]

i was caught in a thunder clap and lightning down town today!

Very very frightening Galileo!

[DracoM]

Ms Kinsella stated that skies were now clearing and temperatures everywhere should reach 24 degrees C. That was at 1.30. It's now 4.35 and the temperature here is 14 C right now, and hasn't managed to exceed 15 C all day! All the residual humidity is making for a lot of clag, but at least the main storm area has retreated to the SW, with a lot of rumbling down towards Surbiton.

Nevertheless it still annoys me very much that the forecasters don't pre-check their current data before sending their hapless representatives out in front of the TV cameras. Had someone back at HQ done so at say 1.15 he or she would have taken account of a steepening pressure gradient caused by the Scandinavian high, which had been keeping our winds broadly coming from the eastern quadrant moving slightly west, allowing colder air off the N Sea to re-invigorate the convergence belt running from Kent to Merseyside, thus generating large areas of persistent thundery rain, because with that simple data to hand they would not be making idiotic pronouncements, but rather issuing yellow and amber Rudds to areas prone to the worst, such as the area around Meopham where the M25 and M20 meet where flooding is taking place and traffic is stranded.

Ever since the BBC ditched getting its information from the Met Office last year, the forecasts have been getting more and more inaccurate. How much does our licence fee pay to these useless people?

Totally smack on.............which is why I use www.yr.no

[teamsaint]

Staying in Whitby for a couple of days.
The whole area blanketed in mist/ fog today, which gradually started clearing from about mid day, but still lingering in places in mid afternoon.
Was advised by friends about the likelihood of such conditions in these parts. Perhaps they should get the BBC contract. Might be savings to be made........

None of which stopped us enjoying a nice 6 mile walk to Sandsend. Still not seen more than a shadowy outline of the abbey though .

[Serial_Apologist]

Totally smack on.............which is why I use www.yr.no

But even they say 22 C for London today!

[Serial_Apologist]

Staying in Whitby for a couple of days.
The whole area blanketed in mist/ fog today, which gradually started clearing from about mid day, but still lingering in places in mid afternoon.
Was advised by friends about the likelihood of such conditions in these parts. Perhaps they should get the BBC contract. Might be savings to be made........

None of which stopped us enjoying a nice 6 mile walk to Sandsend. Still not seen more than a shadowy outline of the abbey though .

Sounds like a nice setting for MR James's ghost story "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad"!

[Serial_Apologist]

More storms heading west over Kent I fear - lightning right now just north of Tunbridge Wells, on the M20, which already got flooded earlier. It doesn't feel much like thunder any more out there, but these sorts of storms aren't dependent on surface heat, generating by other means, and I fear we might be in for an interrupted night down here.

[Petrushka]

Ever since the BBC ditched getting its information from the Met Office last year, the forecasts have been getting more and more inaccurate

Have to agree. The forecasts on the BBC website are very unreliable, sort of 'make it up as we go along' feel about it with anything beyond 24 hours nothing more than guesswork. Have fun by choosing a day, say three or four days hence, then watch the enormous variations predicted as it gets closer. The Met forecasts were getting increasingly accurate within a longer time frame just as the BBC ditched them.

[oddoneout]

Yesterday was cold here in the East, not helped in the morning by what, if I wasn't 40 miles inland, I would have called a sea fret for a good part of the morning. The sun broke through very briefly mid/late afternoon but made little and limited difference - washing remained damp despite the brisk breeze.
Overnight a lot of rain(knew I should have cut the grass yesterday!) and a thunder grumble or two; this morning more of the murk. Not appealing for my good deed Wednesday gardening session, but if, as the forecast suggests, it stays 'dry' then something can be done after donning suitable warm clothes and a waterproof(to cope with drippy plants as much as rain)
Watching the change in wind direction over the past 24 hours or so has been mildly amusing - the pot is certainly being vigorously stirred 'up there' - even if it hasn't made material difference to the coolth we are exposed to.

[BBMmk2]

Talk about thu der and lightening last night! Gawd! And during the day as well! I think we be having more tomorrow.

[Nick Armstrong]

The Met forecasts were getting increasingly accurate within a longer time frame just as the BBC ditched them.

Of course, they remain available https://www.metoffice.gov.uk - plus an app for the old mobile. It's interesting to compare their forecasts with the BBC weather - yes, usually the Met Office are more accurate. It will be interesting to see what happens on Friday - whoever sticks a finger in the air for the BBC has changed the forecast to one of zero rain (unlike the Met Office). I'm out and about on the bike all day - if I get wet, I shan't forget that the BBC was talking through its hat.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Of course, they remain available https://www.metoffice.gov.uk - plus an app for the old mobile. It's interesting to compare their forecasts with the BBC weather - yes, usually the Met Office are more accurate. It will be interesting to see what happens on Friday - whoever sticks a finger in the air for the BBC has changed the forecast to one of zero rain (unlike the Met Office). I'm out and about on the bike all day - if I get wet, I shan't forget that the BBC was talking through its hat.

IIRC the Met Office lost the contract for weather reporting for the BBC. On TV there is a small label on the opening frames showing "Brought by...." some provider. So the forecasters have probably been transferred with the contract.

But presumably the raw data is shared / publicly available as there are a number of providers of weather apps. I use the 3 hour rain forecast on this site when I need to know the probabilities (gardening, out and about). It works well on a PC and decent laptop but tablets - not so sure
http://meteoradar.co.uk/expected-rainfall

But like you I rely most on the latest Met Office app on my mobile, and on the desktop:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast

I got a wrong steer from the rain radar yesterday "its a passing shower" I said - for what proved to be the highest rainfall day this year........ Even with the Met Office I continually have to defend the forecast from a sceptical Mrs CS "its a probability, not a written guarantee....."

[Serial_Apologist]

It seems very odd to have companies competing over providing a weather forecast. Are quality requirements down to accuracy or just presentation? I would have thought the computer design whizz kids at the Beeb would be able to design their own CAD or whatever it's called; or is there some Tower of Babel on the Almighty's intentions the criterion basis for tendering? I know there to be competition in weather forecasting in general (not just broadcasting), because the various firms providing "models" of different likelihoods are the basis for the discussions on Weatherworld and other such weather afficionado sites.

Anyway I would caution Caliban about his intentions for tomorrow, unless he doesn't mind taking waterproofs and then sweltering under them, should my expectations of more storms be realised.