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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
TODAY’S EXTREMES
Hottest: Millmerran State School, Queensland, Australia; Collegiate High School, Port Elizabeth, South Africa; both 35°C
Coldest: Rantakylan Koulu, Mikkeli, Finland, -13.3°C
Windiest: Paible School, Bayhead, North Uist, UK; Aizpute Secondary School, Latvia; Peninsula Elementary School, Moses Lake, Washington State, USA; all Force 8
Driest: Cardinal Gibbons High School, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, 21% relative humidity
Wettest: Paible School, Bayhead, North Uist, UK, 12 mm
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 March, click here.
NB: It is early spring in the northern hemisphere, early autumn in the southern.
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND INDONESIA
"A nice day" said the students of the International School at Jakarta, Indonesia. Calm and almost cloudless with a temperature of 27.4°C at 7 am Local Time (00:00 GMT). Maximum temperature 30°C, minimum 24°C. Both temperatures close to the average for March. "Fine, warm and sunny" at 2.30 pm Local Time (06:30 GMT) at the American School in Singapore. Calm with a partly cloudy sky (4 oktas). Temperature 30°C at the time of the observation. Maximum temperature 34.0°C, minimum 27.0°C. Both temperatures above average for March.
"Overcast but relatively calm" at Pembroke School, Oamaru, New Zealand. Wind 9 km/h from the north-east. Temperature 16°C at 10 am Local Time (21:00 GMT on 10th). Cloud cover 8 oktas of altostratus.
"A clear fine day with a few small cumulus clouds on the horizon" at Millmerran, Queensland (175 km west of Brisbane). A very pleasant day for early autumn. Temperature 25.0°C at 11.30 am Local Time (01:30 GMT) and the wind very light (Force 1 from the east). Maximum temperature 35.0°, minimum 19.0°C. Both a few degrees higher than average for March. Warmer than average in Victoria, too. Temperature at Donald 29.0°C at 3 pm Local Time (04:00 GMT). Maximum 33.0°C. Only 3 oktas of cloud (altocumulus). Wind 15 km/h from the south-west.
"A beautiful warm sunny day but quite blustery" at the Marine Discovery Centre in Woodbridge, Tasmania. Only one okta of cloud at 12.45 pm Local Time (01:45 GMT). Temperature then 25°C, which is several degrees above average for March, and the wind 24 km/h from the north-east. No cloud at all at 3.05 pm Local Time (07:05 GMT) at Greenwood Senior High School in Western Australia. Temperature then 26.3°C and the wind 15 km/h from the south-west. Maximum temperature 28.6°C, minimum 14.7°C. Temperature at Greenwood dropped to 19.9°C by 13:38 GMT. Still no cloud. "A typical calm, cool, night after a mild, sunny, autumn day", the students reported. Temperatures about average for the time of year.
AFRICA AND ASCENSION
"Warm and cloudy" and heavy drizzle falling at Two Boats School on Ascension Island at 12.30 pm Local Time (12:30 GMT). Sky completely overcast with cumulus and altostratus cloud. Temperature 26°C and the wind 9 km/h from the north-east. Maximum temperature 29°C, a degree or two above average for March. Drizzle, too, at Greenside High School, Gauteng, South Africa. Drizzle slight, though. Cloud at 2.30 pm Local Time (12:30 GMT) nimbostratus and altostratus, the wind a very light breeze from the north-east. Temperature 20.0°C. Maximum temperature 23.0°C, minimum 18.0°C. Both temperatures about average for March.
Cloudless with a very light breeze from the north-east at Marondera, Zimbabwe, at 8 am Local Time (06:00 GMT). Temperature then 22.5°C. Maximum temperature 29.5°C, minimum 17.5°C. A little warmer than average for March. Cloudless, too, and warmer than average for the time of year at Kgaswe Primary School, Botswana, where, at 8 am Local Time (06:00 GMT), the temperature was 21°C and the wind a light easterly (9 km/h). Maximum temperature 32°C, minimum 19°C. A contrast at Port Elizabeth, where, at the Collegiate High School at 1.05 pm (11:05 GMT), the sky was overcast and the wind quite strong (33 km/h from the south-west). Temperature 23.5°C. Maximum temperature 35°C, minimum 19°C. Considerably warmer than average for March. Humid and cloudy at Highbury Preparatory School, Kwa-Zulu Natal. Sky overcast with cumulus and altostratus at 7 am and 1 pm Local Time (05:00 and 11:00 GMT). Wind from the north-east (9 km/h) at 7 am, from the east (9 km/h) at 1 pm. Temperature18°C at 7 am, 23°C at 1 pm. Maximum temperature 24°C, minimum 17°C. "It may rain tomorrow", the students predicted.
"Cold for summer", said the students of Micklefield School, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa. Temperature 23°C at 10.30 am Local Time (08:30 GMT). Wind quite strong (south-easterly, 24 km/h). Sky partly cloudy (3 oktas of cumulus). A cloudy and cool start to the day at Penryn College, Mpumalanga, Nelspruit, South Africa, but "mild and sunny later". Temperature at 3 pm Local Time (13:00 GMT) 26°C. Calm and only 1 okta of cloud (altocumulus). "Mostly cloudy with light rain in the afternoon" at Hoërskool Diamantveld, Kimberley, Northern Cape. Temperature 21°C at 11.30 pm Local Time (21:30 GMT), and cloud amount 8 oktas of nimbostratus. Maximum temperature 28°C, minimum 17°C.
Temperature 24°C at 10 am Local Time (08:00 GMT) at Banani International School, Lusaka, Zambia. Cloud cover 5 oktas of altostratus and the wind south-easterly, Force 2. Maximum temperature 34°C, minimum 16°C. A serious weather situation in Zambia. In the words of a Banani teacher: "A dry spell has continued for yet another week, leading to serious crop failure in this part of the country. From weather reports in the south, central, western, Lusaka and eastern parts of the country, the dry spell has destroyed the crops to a level that Zambia will have to import huge amounts of grain this year and the coming one."
EUROPE
Cold with snow in Finland. Minimum temperature —13.3°C at Mikkeli, -10.2°C at Vasa. Cloudy and slight snow falling at both places when the day’s observations were made: at 12 noon Local Time (10:00 GMT) at Mikkeli, 1 pm Local Time at Vasa. "Heavy snow during last three days", the students at Mikkeli reported. Temperature at Mikkeli —5.5°C at noon, maximum temperature —3.2°C. Wind from the south, Force 1. Temperature at Vasa —0.5°8C at 1 pm, maximum temperature +5.4°C. Both places colder than average for the time of year.
At Bor School, near Värnamo, southern Sweden, cloudy and mild with snow during the night, changing to rain during the morning. Temperature at 8.30 am Local Time (07:30 GMT), +4.8°C. Maximum temperature 7.2°C, minimum +0.8°C. Sky overcast with 8 oktas of nimbostratus, Wind Force 1 from the north-west. Mild, too, at Oslo, where the maximum temperature was 12.1°C, about 9°C above average for March. Quite cloudy at 2.20 pm Local Time (13:20 GMT), with 5 oktas of altostratus and stratocumulus. "You can just see the sun", the students reported. Quite windy (south-west 24 km/h) and the temperature 9.5°C.
Cloudy, wet and windy (westerly, Force 8) at Aizpute, Latvia. Heavy rain falling at 1.30 pm Local Time (11:30 GMT), from 8 oktas of nimbostratus cloud. Current temperature and maximum temperature +4°C; minimum temperature +1.0°C. These temperatures about average for March. Weather very different at Aalborg, Denmark, where, at 1.45 pm Local Time (12:45 GMT), the temperature was 12°C and the cloud cover only 2 oktas (cirrus and cumulus). Wind south-westerly 9 km/h. A very mild day, many degrees warmer than average for March.
Considerably warmer than average, too, in Strasbourg, where the maximum temperature was 16.0°C and the minimum temperature 5.0°C. Cloud cover tended to increase during the day, from 3 oktas of cirrus (including aircraft contrails) at 8.30 am Local Time (07:30 GMT) to 5 oktas of cirrus, cumulus and stratocumulus at 1 pm Local Time and 6 oktas of stratocumulus cloud at 5.30 pm Local Time. Wind very light westerly at 1 pm, otherwise calm. Dry and sunny at the Lycée Robert-Schuman, Luxembourg, where the cloud amount at 11.35 am Local Time (10:35 GMT) was only 2 oktas (cirrus and cirrocumulus). Wind south-westerly Force 1 and temperature 12.0°C. Maximum temperature 17°C, minimum +1°C. Minimum temperature about average for March, maximum temperature well above average.
"Warm and clear" in Milan, where the temperature at 11.15 am Local Time (10:15 GMT) was 18°C (several degrees above average) and the relative humidity low (only 23%). Wind 15 km/h from the north-east. Cloud amount only 1 okta (of cirrus). "Sunny but windy and cold", said the students at Toulouse, where the temperature at 9.30 am Local Time (08:30 GMT) was 12°C. Wind 15 km/h from the west. Cloud amount 6 oktas. Maximum temperature 12°C, minimum 4°C. Cloudy at Constanta, Romania, at 12 noon Local Time (10:00 GMT), with a wind of 24 km/h from the south-west. Cloud cover 7 oktas of stratus and stratocumulus. Temperature 7.6°C. Maximum temperature 10.1°C, minimum 6.8°C. Both considerably above average for March.
The early part of the day was cloudy and cold at Madrid but the day warmed up. The temperature was 9°C at 9.15 am Local Time (08:15 GMT), 15°C at 3.25 pm Local Time. Quite windy at 9.15 am (24 km/h from the north-east) but almost calm (3 km/h from the north-east) at 3.25 pm. Sky overcast with cumulonimbus clouds at 9.15 am, only partly cloud-covered at 3.25 pm (2 oktas of cumulus and cumulonimbus). "Spring is coming soon", the students predicted. Cloudy and humid at Tarragona on the east coast of Spain at 1.45 pm Local Time. Cloud cover 8 oktas of stratocumulus. Relative humidity 86%. The temperature of 13.5°C considered "comfortable". Maximum temperature 18.1°C, minimum 8.1°C. Both about two degrees above average for March.
Winds were quite strong over Scotland today, with south-westerly Force 6 recorded this morning at Farr High School on the north coast and south-westerly Force 8 at Paible School, North Uist. Blustery with rain at both places. South-westerly Force 5 at Queensferry, near Edinburgh. Winds broadly from the south or south-west over the British Isles today, as the weather observations for 12:00 GMT show. Quite cold at Farr High School. Only +2.5°C at 9 am and a maximum temperature of 4.0°C. Warmer and less windy farther south. Only 2 oktas of cloud at Queensferry at 3.19 pm and the temperature then 14.2°C. Maximum temperatures generally 11 to 13°C over England and Wales, a few degrees above average for the time of year. Quite cloudy and damp in southern parts of England and Wales but sunny in northern parts. "Damp but brightening" at Radley College in Oxfordshire at 8.30 am, "overcast and damp" at Truro in Cornwall at 10.15 am and "cloudy, drizzle, grey, dull" at Westbourne House School in West Sussex at 10.30 am. "Like spring", however, at 1 pm at St Oswald’s Primary School in Sheffield and "sunny, quite warm but snow on the fells" at Keswick in Cumbria. "Sunny and breezy" at Honeybourne in Worcestershire.
NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA
"Mostly sunny and brisk" at Raleigh, North Carolina, where the temperature at 12.31 pm Local Time (17:31 GMT) was 16.0°C. Cloud amount 2 oktas of cirrus and wind south-easterly Force 1. Relative humidity very low (only 21%). Maximum temperature 16.0°C about average. Minimum temperature 0.0°C a little below average.
"Gloomy, grey, chilly, dark, damp", said the students at Howell Middle School, Victoria, Texas, "a dreary day to return from spring break". Temperature at 8.30 am Local Time (14:30 GMT) 11.0°C and slight drizzle falling from 8 oktas of nimbostratus cloud. Wind from the north, 9 km/h. Maximum temperature 16.1°C, minimum 10.0°C. The maximum temperature well below average for March. The minimum temperature a degree or two below average.
"Cloudy, calm, awaiting the next storm", said the students at Fernley, Nevada. Temperature 5°C and cloud cover 7 oktas of altostratus at 8.45 am Local Time (16:45 GMT). Considerably warmer, 15°C, at Moses Lake in Washington State at 11 am Local Time (19:00 GMT). Windy, though, with a gale-force north-easterly blowing. Cloud cover 6 oktas of cumulus and stratocumulus. Maximum temperature 15.0°C considerable above average for March. Minimum temperature 5.6°C also about five degrees above average.
In California, the temperature at Mendenhall was 22°C at 1 pm Local Time (21:00 GMT) and the temperature at Pasadena 26°C at 3.30 pm Local Time. The wind was the same at both places: 15 km/h from the south-west. The minimum temperature was the same at both places: 11°C. The maximum temperature at Mendenhall was 22°C and the maximum at Pasadena 28°C. Both places were warmer than average. The cloud amount at Mendenhall was 6 oktas of stratus, cirrus and cumulus. Pasadena was reported to be "warm and clear".
At 8.18 pm Local Time (00:18 GMT on 12 March) at the British School in Punta Arenas, in the far south of Chile, the weather was fairly cloudy, with 6 oktas of altostratus. The temperature was 4°C and the wind easterly, 24 km/h. Maximum temperature 11.5°C, minimum 2.9°C.
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 (e.g. the tops of cumulonimbus anvils and the sheets of cirrus clouds ahead of warm fronts) 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.
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND INDONESIA
For a chart showing isobars and fronts over New Zealand at 06:00 GMT, click here. For a chart showing isobars and fronts over Australia at 06:00 GMT, click here. These charts show that an area of high pressure (1030 mb) was centred to the east of New Zealand’s South Island, with a flow from the north-east over South Island (and the anticyclone bringing fine weather). The chart for Australia shows that pressure was low over western Queensland (1007 mb) and over the north of Western Australia (also 1007 mb). As the visible and infra-red satellite images for 03:00 GMT show, skies were clear and surface temperatures high over much of Australia. The areas of low pressure are examples of a phenomenon called a ‘Heat Low’. Pressure was high (1023 mb) over the Great Australian Bight. A cold front from a deep Low (985 mb) over the Southern Ocean brought cloud to western parts of Tasmania.
These two satellite images show that the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) was fairly weak today between Australia and south-east Asia. Cloud amounts were small over Singapore and Indonesia.
INDIA
Today’s 08:00 GMT visible satellite image shows a light grey area over the north-west of the Indian sub-continent. This is dust and sand blowing south-westwards from the desert areas of Pakistan and north-west India towards the Arabian Sea. The chart of air motions at 00:00 GMT at 850 mb (approximately 1,500 m height) shows that winds were broadly from the north-east over the area in question, and the hourly weather observations from Ahmadabad confirm that dust was widespread. At both Ahmadabad and Bombay, smoke was reported. This often occurs over certain Indian cities during the dry season, when concentrations of urban pollution build up under the inversion of the subtropical anticyclone. Today, dust was lifted into the atmosphere over north-west India by strong surface convection which developed during the daytime. As the weather observations for Ahmadabad show, the surface temperature reached 35°C at about 09:00 GMT (2.30 pm Local Time). No dust was reported before 04:00 GMT (9.30 am Local Time) because the surface temperature had not risen sufficiently before then to create strong low-level convection. During the night and in the early morning, smoke associated with urban pollution was the dominant weather reported.
AFRICA
Today’s chart of isobars and fronts over Africa and adjacent oceans at 06:00 GMT shows that Tropical Cyclone Hary was then centred just to the east of Madagascar. It also shows several depressions over the Southern Ocean between 40°S and 60°S, with the cold front of one of them extending almost to Cape Town. Pressure was high over the South Atlantic (1022 mb) and to the south-east of Madagascar (1029 mb). A shallow depression brought cloud and rain to southern and eastern parts of South Africa but high pressure brought clear skies and fine weather to most parts of Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana.
The visible and infra-red satellite images for 12:00 GMT today show the ITCZ a degree or two north of the equator over the Atlantic Ocean, a little to the south of the equator over Africa. Some clusters of cumulonimbus clouds with extensive anvils can be seen clearly on both the visible and infra-red images.
EUROPE
Today’s 06:00 GMT chart of isobars and fronts over Europe shows that pressure was low (998 mb) over Greece, with fronts extending across Turkey. As the 12:00 visible satellite image and the 12:00 GMT chart of significant weather show, these fronts brought with them cloud and precipitation. Pressure was high (1030 mb) across eastern, central and south-western parts of Europe, bringing generally fine weather, with temperatures above average. Areas of low pressure centred near northern Scotland and the fronts associated with these depressions brought cloud and precipitation to northern Scotland, southern Scandinavia and the lands to the east of the Baltic Sea. In northern France, the Benelux countries and northern Germany, warm sector weather occurred. As can be seen from the run of the isobars, winds over the British Isles were from the south-west.
For satellite views of clouds over the British Isles at 13:48 GMT today, see the visible and infra-red images from Dundee University. These show frontal cloud over northern Scotland, a line of cumulonimbus clouds over northern Ireland and cirrus cloud over southern and central parts of England and Wales. Skies are fairly clear of cloud over northern England and southern parts of Ireland. Notice, particularly on the infra-red image, the condensation trails over south-east England and southern North Sea.
NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA
For a chart showing isobars and fronts over North America and, indeed, much of the northern hemisphere, at 12:00 GMT, click here. This shows that pressure was high over eastern and western parts of the USA and comparatively low in between. Fronts associated with a deep area of low pressure centred to the west of British Columbia brought cloud and rain to Oregon and Washington State. The visible and infra-red satellite images of North and South America at 18:00 GMT show that many parts of the USA were clear of low cloud but not of high cloud. Most of Chile, however, is free of both low and high cloud. Cloud amounts are large only in the far south, where Punta Arenas lies.
For Today’s Review of MetLink Observations, click here.
For Today’s Analysis, click here.
NOTES
You can obtain satellite images of the highest quality from the Dundee Satellite Receiving Station, Dundee University, Scotland. First, though, you must complete an on-line registration form. Registration is free and the images are free. Do not hesitate to register. The staff at Dundee welcome new users and you gain access to images of very high quality. You go first to http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/ and click on the button labelled "Register for free images". All you do then is fill in the form, press the button labelled "Create account", remember the user name and password you chose and start using the site.
From the satellite station’s home page, i.e. http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/, you click on "Home for registered users" and then choose the images you require. I suggest you begin with "Geostationary satellite images — view the whole earth". On this page, which provides links to the latest images from geostationary satellites, you select whichever image you require. If you want an image from a previous day, choose "Archive".
Images from the following satellites are available: METEOSAT (which covers Europe and Africa), Japanese GMS (which covers the western part of the Pacific, Australia and Indonesia), US GOES-EAST (which covers North and South America), US GOES-WEST (which covers the eastern Pacific) and IODC (which covers central Asia, southern Asia and the Indian Ocean).
From all of these satellites, images can be obtained in Visible and Infra-Red formats. From METEOSAT and IODC, images showing distributions of water vapour can be obtained. From METEOSAT, colour-enhanced images of Europe can be obtained.
If you wish to view images from polar-orbiting satellites covering western Europe and the eastern Atlantic from Greenland and northern Scandinavia to western Asia and North Africa, go from "Home for registered users" to AVHRR Images — latest images or, for archived images, AVHRR Images- Archive.
To return to Today’s Analysis, click here.