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Sources: BBC, National Weather Services, Intellicast, Space Science and Engineering Center, the Met Office, Yahoo! Weather
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
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TODAY’S EXTREMES
Hottest: Banani International School, Lusaka, Zambia, 31°C
Coldest: Vörå-Oravais-Maxmo Högstadieskola, Vörå, Finland, -18.9°C
Windiest: St Theresa’s National School, Cashel, Co.Galway, Ireland, 81 km/h
Driest: Pasadena City College, California, relative humidity 16%
Wettest: Jakarta International School (Indonesia), 112.1 mm of rain
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TODAY’S REVIEW OF METLINK OBSERVATIONS
Have you looked at today’s weathercams? If not, click here.
To view today’s observations in the database, click here.
To find out how your observations compare with the average for January, click here.
EASTERN AND SOUTHERN ASIA
"Very wet; more local flooding", said the students of the Jakarta International School. Rain of medium intensity falling at 7 am Local Time (00:00 GMT). Calm, completely overcast, relative humidity 100%. Temperature 24°C. Maximum temperature 29°C; minimum temperature 22°C. Jakarta’s rainfall total for January 2002 well above average. Maximum and minimum temperatures about average for the time of year.
Calm with a clear sky at Keio Girls’ High School in Tokyo, Japan. Temperature 9.4°C at 10 am Local Time (01:00 GMT). Relative humidity 34%. Maximum temperature 14.2°C, minimum 6.8°C. Several degrees warmer than average for the time of year.
Morning mist and fog again at New Delhi but sunny by noon again. Only one okta (of cirrus cloud) at 12.35 pm Local Time (07:05 GMT). The wind then north-easterly Force 1 and the temperature 17°C. Maximum temperature 22.2°C, minimum 5.6°C. The maximum a little above average for the time of year, the minimum a little below.
AFRICA AND ASCENSION
Temperature about average for the time of year on Ascension Island: maximum 29°C, minimum 24°C, temperature at 12.30 pm 26°C. Cloud cover 3 oktas (cumulus, cumulonimbus and altocumulus). Relative humidity 58%. Wind 15 km/h from the north. No rain. A very pleasant day. For a webcam picture of Ascension today, click here. Nice but fairly humid in Kampala, with a temperature of 24°C at 11.50 am Local Time (09:50 GMT). Wind very light: Force 1 from the north at 10 am Local Time, calm at 11.50 am. Cloud amounts small: 4 oktas at 10 am and much less at 1.50 am. Main cloud type cumulus.
Dry weather at the Banani International School in Lusaka, Zambia. Temperature 24°C at 10 am Local Time (08:00 GMT) and the wind a very light breeze (Force 1) from the north-west. Fairly cloudy, though, with 7 oktas of altostratus. Maximum temperature 31°C, minimum 18°C. Dry, too, and warmer than average for the time of year at Marondera in Zimbabwe, where the temperature at 8 am Local Time (06:00 GMT) was 23.2°C. Maximum temperature 26.5°C, minimum 22.1°C. The wind from the south-east (Force 2) at the time of the observation and the cloud amount 5 oktas of cirrostratus. "Starting to cloud over this morning", the students of Peterhouse commented.
A fresh south-westerly wind (33 km/h) and slight rain falling at Highbury Preparatory School in KwaZulu-Natal this morning. Observation time 7 am Local Time (05:00 GMT). Temperature then 18°C. Maximum temperature 25°C, minimum 17°C. Cloudy with light drizzle this morning at Hilton College, also in KwaZulu-Natal. Sky overcast at 8 am Local Time (06:00 GMT), the main cloud type cumulonimbus. The wind a very gentle breeze from the north-west. Precipitation, too, this morning at Pretoria Boys’ High School, South Africa, where slight rain was falling at 10.59 am Local Time (08:59 GMT). Temperature then 25.4°C and the cloud cover 4 oktas of stratus. The wind from the east, Force 2. Maximum temperature 29.4°C, minimum 19.9°C. No precipitation at Pretoria this afternoon. Temperature at 2 26 pm 26.6°C.
EUROPE
Cold again in Finland, with minimum temperatures of —18.9°C at Vörå and —16.6°C at Vasa. For a webcam view of a road in snowy Finland today, click here. Very different at Bor School in southern Sweden, where rain has fallen and melted all the snow. The temperature at Bor +2.9°C at 8 am Local Time (07:00 GMT) and rain of medium intensity then falling. Maximum temperature 6.1°C, minimum +2.8°C. Heavy snow falling at Oslo at 12.15 pm Local Time (11:15 GMT), with the temperature then +2.8°C after a minimum of —2.8°C. "Deep snow — good snowballing conditions!", the students reported. For a webcam view of Oslo today, click here.
Still very warm for the time of year in Constanta, Romania, with the temperature above 10°C for much of the day. Sunny this morning but a little cloudier this afternoon. Sunny today in Toulouse, where the cloud amount at 12 noon Local Time was only one okta (of cirrus). Temperature then 13.0°C. Maximum temperature 16.0°C, minimum +2.0°C. Thus, warmer than average for the time of year. Sunny, too, in Bozen, northern Italy, this morning. Only 3 oktas of altocumulus and cirrus cloud. Temperature then +3°C and the wind calm. Maximum temperature 10°C, minimum 0°C. Bozen therefore another place warmer today than the average for the time of year. Warm for the time of year in Strasbourg, too. Maximum temperature topped 12°C today. Temperature 8.0°C at 8.30 am Local Time (07:30 GMT), 10.0°C at 1 pm and 12.0°C at 5.30 pm. Wind from the west (9 km/h at 8.30 am and 1 pm; 24 km/h at 5.30 pm).
"A very sunny and warm day", said the students of Carmela Sammut Primary School, Malta. Temperature there 17°C at 10 am Local Time (09:00 GMT). Maximum 20°C, minimum 8°C. The maximum 5°C above average, the minimum close to the average.
"Clear skies, sunny, lovely weather", the students in Madrid reported. The sky cloudless and the wind Force 1 from the north at 3.20 pm Local Time (14:20 GMT). Temperature then 11°C, the day’s maximum at that time. Minimum temperature 2°C. Slightly warmer than average for the time of year in Madrid.
Wet and windy across the British Isles today. Gusts of 120-150 km/h in many western and northern areas. Buildings damaged. Bridges closed to high-sided vehicles. Power lines down. Fallen trees blocking roads and railways. Conditions difficult for shipping. Waves breaking over coastal roads. Heavy rain swelling rivers. Flood alerts in many places. Nowhere escaped the atrocious weather, which was wet and windy right across the British Isles today and very windy indeed in some places. For a BBC feature on the stormy weather and the havoc it caused, click here.
At St Theresa’s National School in County Galway at 10.30 am today, rain of medium intensity falling (from cumulonimbus clouds) and the wind speed 81 km/h (from the south-west). "Flooding due to high tides", the students reported. Force 8 gales reported from several schools: Milford Haven School in Pembrokeshire; Richard Lander School in Truro; Chaldon Primary School in Surrey; St Oswald’s Primary School in Sheffield; Roose Primary School in Cumbria; and Portgordon Primary School in Morayshire. "Strong gusts of wind" at the Medina Valley Field Centre on the Isle of Wight. Gusts up to 120 km/h at Belvue School at Northolt, near London. "Extremely windy in exposed places", at Pinewood School on the Wiltshire/Oxfordshire border.
The winds early in the day from the south or south-west almost everywhere in England, Wales and Ireland, from the south or south-east over Scotland. The winds tended to veer to south-westerly or even westerly during the day. Mild in the British Isles today. Temperatures near 10°C in the middle of the day almost everywhere.
Very wet in many parts of the British Isles. Heavy rain at Bradfield College in Berkshire at 8 am and rain of medium intensity at 5 pm. Rain of medium intensity, too, at 2.30 pm at King’s Lodge Primary School in Wiltshire. Heavy rain at Coed Cae Junior School in south-east Wales at 2 pm and rain of medium intensity at Norwich School, George Watson’s College in Edinburgh and St Patrick’s Primary School in Lancashire. Slight rain at the Malahide Community School in Dublin but ‘only’ drizzling at Honeybourne First School in Worcestershire, Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham and some of the schools already mentioned above. The children of Lawford Primary School in Essex were less than impressed by the weather today. They said it was "dull, windy, coldish, breezy, horrid, disgusting, yucky, darkish"! What more can be said? That’s how it was across the British Isles today. Three webcams pictures sum up the weather of Britain and Ireland today: click here for pictures of Dublin, Manchester and Plymouth.
NORTH AMERICA
A "mix of sun and cloud" at Edmonton in Alberta and temperatures considerably higher now than they were a week ago. Temperature at 9.30 am Local Time (16:30 GMT) —8.0°C. Maximum temperature —3.0°C, minimum —10.0°C. Wind from the south-west Force 2. Sunny at Aurora in Illinois, too, with "sunglasses needed", the students reported, the reason being that sun was "shining brightly on the newly-fallen snow". Temperature -2°C at 1 pm Local Time (07:00 GMT) and wind 24 km/h from the west. Maximum temperature 0°C, minimum —11°C. "Foggy and calm, then clearing" at Moses Lake in Washington State. Temperature 1.1°C at 11 am Local Time (19:00 GMT). Overcast with 8 oktas of altostratus. Maximum temperature 6.1°C, minimum —2.8°C.
Very warm for the time of year at Raleigh in North Carolina, with a temperature of 19°C at 7.43 am Local Time (12:43 GMT). Overcast with 8 oktas of stratocumulus and a wind of 15 km/h from the north. Maximum temperature 19°C, minimum 17°C. For a webcam view of North Carolina this afternoon, click here.
Still colder than average in California. Maximum temperature 16°C at Pasadena, 12°C in Livermore. Minimum 4°C at Pasadena, -3.3°C at Livermore. Temperature at Reseda 12.8°C at 1040 am Local Time (18:40 GMT). Cold, too, in Nevada, where the temperature at Fernley was 0°C at 8.27 am Local Time (16:27 GMT). Sunny over California and Nevada, though, with small amounts of high cloud. For a view from Mount Wilson at 8.02 am Local Time (16:02 GMT), click here.
TODAY’S ANALYSIS
On the so-called ‘visible images’ from satellites, what you see is more or less what you would see with your own eyes if you were in the satellite and looking in black and white. On the so-called ‘infra-red images’, the whitest areas are the coldest and the blackest the hottest. Thus, high clouds show as white areas. Medium-level clouds and very cold land areas show as grey. For information on how to obtain satellite images of the highest quality, see the Notes section below.
AUSTRALASIA AND SOUTHERN ASIA
For a chart showing weather observations over Japan at 06:00 GMT today (3 pm Local Time), click here. This shows that winds over Japan were broadly from a westerly point. Temperatures were below freezing on Hokkaido, a few degrees above 0°C in northern Honshu and about 10°C over the southern part of Japan. Today’s satellite image for 12:00 GMT shows that cloud amounts were generally small over Japan and the clouds at low level (as they appear grey, rather than white, on the satellite image, which is an infra-red image).
This image also shows that a tropical depression lay over Sri Lanka and southern India today. Skies were largely clear of cloud over northern India. The reason for the white streak of cloud running north-eastwards from the vicinity of Mumbai (Bombay) is not known. The whiteness of the streak indicates that the cloud is in the upper troposphere, where temperatures are low. Contrails persist in the upper troposphere if the air at that level is moist, but why there should be persistent contrails only in that region is not obvious to the author of this report.
Today’s 12:00 GMT satellite image from Wisconsin shows that the ITCZ was again active over the eastern half of the Indian Ocean, Indonesia and the western part of the Pacific. As is usual at this time of year, the axis of the ITCZ lay a few degrees south of the equator in most parts of the eastern hemisphere. The ITCZ was very active today over Jakarta as it has tended to be recently. For an 03:00 GMT visible satellite image that shows the whereabouts of the MetLink schools in Singapore and Indonesia in relation to ITCZ cloud clusters, click here. As can be seen, the ITCZ lay somewhat to the south of Medan International School and the Singapore American school.
Today’s 06:00 GMT weather chart for Australia and adjacent regions shows that barometric pressure was again low over most parts of Australia and the Coral Sea, with pressure high to the south of New Zealand’s South Island (1029 mb) and also south-west of Perth (1033 mb). The cold front running south-eastwards from the Great Australian Bight can be seen clearly on today’s infra-red satellite image for 11:32 GMT, and so, too, can the trough that is shown by a dotted line on the weather chart. The satellite image shows that the Australian monsoon was more active over the Cape York Peninsula and northern parts of the Northern Territory than it has been in the past week or so.
AFRICA
Today’s 06:00 GMT weather chart for southern Africa and adjacent oceans shows that an area of low pressure lay to the east of Durban (1012 mb), with another centred over the south-west coast of Africa near the border between Namibia and South Africa (also 1011 mb). Pressure was high near Gough Island (1022 mb) and midway between Mozambique and Amsterdam Island (1021 mb). Once again, there were many vigorous depressions over the Southern Ocean in the so-called ‘Roaring Forties’ and ‘Furious Fifties’. And as on previous days, a ridge of high pressure extended northwards over the South Atlantic as far as Ascension Island. Today’s visible and infra-red satellite images for 12:00 GMT show that skies were clear over most of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa but fairly cloudy over eastern parts of South Africa, with the cloud associated with the Low off Durban and a trough running north from it across southern Mozambique. These satellite images (and another one for 12:00 GMT) show cumulonimbus activity over Madagascar, northern Mozambique, southern Tanzania, Malawi, eastern Zambia and eastern Angola. Elsewhere over Africa, the ITCZ was rather inactive, in that it did not produce widespread cumulonimbus activity. Sinking air in the Hadley Circulation again maintained clear skies over most parts of North Africa. The reasons why scattered patches of high cloud formed over West Africa and Ethiopia are not known.
EUROPE
The weather chart for 06:00 GMT for Europe and the eastern North Atlantic shows a very deep depression (933 mb) west of Ireland (near 55°N20’W). This depression moved north-eastwards. Satellite images showed the cloud patterns of the depression and its fronts very clearly. For a 12:00 GMT image that covers Europe and the eastern Atlantic, click here. See, too, the full-disk 12:00 GMT METEOSAT visible and infra-red images. The weather chart shows that isobars were closely packed and winds therefore strong all around the depression, with winds particularly strong in the warm sector and behind the cold front. For weather observations over the British Isles at 06:00 GMT today, click here. Pressure was high over the Mediterranean and southern Europe, and the weather observations from the MetLink schools in these parts were consistent with anticyclonic conditions.
Today’s 06:00 GMT chart of isobars, temperatures and significant weather shows that temperatures were low over Finland, northern Sweden and western Russia, with some mist and fog over southern Europe. It also shows rain and strong winds over the British Isles and precipitation over Sweden, northern Germany and the Low Countries. Notice the temperature contrast between Finland and southern parts of Norway and Sweden. Air from over the Atlantic reached southern Norway and southern Sweden, whilst a Low over western Russia fed cold air to Finland. The plotted observations over Scandinavia also show the low temperatures over Finland and the precipitation over Sweden.
NORTH AMERICA
For a chart showing temperatures (in degrees Fahrenheit) and barometric pressure (in mb) over North America at 10:00 GMT today, click here. This shows the huge contrast in temperature between the mild south-east and the cold air over central, western and south-western parts of the USA. Low pressure was centred to the south-west of the eastern Great Lakes and high pressure covered a large part of the western half of the USA. For satellite images that complement the chart and show, in particular, the clouds associated with the depression near the Great Lakes, click here and here.
For Today’s Review of MetLink Observations, click here.
For Today’s Analysis, click here.
NOTES
SATELLITE IMAGES FROM DUNDEE
You can obtain satellite images of the highest quality from the Dundee Satellite Receiving Station, Dundee University, Scotland. For further information, see the ‘Notes’ sections of the MetLink weather reports for 22 and 23 January.
To return to Today’s Analysis, click here.