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Click on today's infra-red satellite images below for full size version (source: Nottingham University)
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At Southmoor Primary School at 0030 UTC (1130 local time), there was a light north-easterly wind and a temperature of 26°C. That sounds very pleasant to those of us in the winter hemisphere! An anticyclone (1017 mb) was over Tasmania at 0600 UTC today, and the light north-easterly wind was consistent with this. Remember that winds blow anticlockwise around anticyclones in the southern hemisphere. The satellite image for 0600 UTC shows a line of cloud stretching across the ocean from southern New Zealand to Western Australia. The weather chart from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology showed this to be a warm front for part its length (the western part), a cold front for the rest of its length. There was a lot of cloud over central and north-western Australia. This was mainly high cloud, much of it associated with a large area of low pressure (998 mb) centred over north-west Australia.
At the American School, Bombay, at 0845 UTC (1345 local time), there was a temperature of 29°C, a low humidity, a light south-westerly wind and hardly any cloud. Again, this sounds very pleasant. The hourly weather observations from Bombay's Santacruz Airport indicate, however, that smoke was observed continuously from 1300 UTC on 8 February right through to the afternoon of the 9th. This smoke seems to be quite a frequent occurrence at Bombay. There was no such problem at the MetLink school in Oman, where the temperature was 25°C at 0900 UTC, the wind light south-easterly and the weather warm and dry.
The sequence of satellite images from 0300 to 1500 UTC shows that cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds over the southern half of Africa built up during daylight hours. At the MetLink schools in Zimbabwe, where observations were made early in the day, there were thin high clouds. At the MetLink school in Zambia, the weather was cloudy and rainy at 0800 UTC (1000 local time). There, they reported a fall of rain amounting to 32 mm. The depression that has brought cloud and rain to Kwazulu-Natal these past few days was still active today, as the weather report from Hilton College shows. In Uganda, which lies near the northern edge of the cumulus-type activity, cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds built up during the day. At Addis Ababa, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but the wind was quite strong - 33 kph. At Ascension Island, in contrast, there was hardly a breath of wind but there was quite a lot of cloud. Their temperature was 26°C at 1300 UTC.
At the American School, Cyprus, this morning, the weather was cold (temperature only 6°C at 0600 UTC). The sun was shining, though, and the school's weather report said that no rain was expected. Pressure was high (1027 mb) over Turkey. Pressure was high, too, 1039 mb, to the west of southern Portugal. Satellite images indicate that cloud this morning had largely cleared by this afternoon. At Tarragona, the MetLink school reported sunshine, a light south-easterly wind and a temperature of 18°C. Very pleasant! Malta, however, was near an area of low pressure, and satellite images show that there was a lot of cloud associated with this weather system. There was rain this morning at Geneva, but the weather had improved by 1300 UTC (1400 local time), according to the weather observation made by our MetLink school at that time.
At the MetLink schools in Finland and Sweden, temperatures were still above average for the time of year. At Vörå, the temperature was, however, below freezing. At 1105 UTC, their temperature was -5.3°C, having risen to +0.6°C during the previous 24 hours. At Bor, the temperature was +2.7°C at 0730 UTC, after reaching 6.1°C during the previous 24 hours. Vörå had a light north-westerly wind, being in the circulation of a depression centred just to the north of Norway. Bor was receiving milder air from a depression over southern Scandinavia.
Today was a much quieter day in the British Isles than yesterday, as the reports from MetLink schools show. A ridge of high pressure from the High off Portugal extended across England, Wales and Ireland. In the north of Scotland, though, there was again a windy day with rain. As weather charts indicate, there were gales over the North Atlantic west of Ireland and Scotland.
At the James Gibbons School in Edmonton, the temperature was -15°C at 1600 UTC (0900 local time). This was somewhat lower than of late. Between a depression (970 mb) over the northern part of Hudson Bay and a High (1035 mb) over the north-west of Canada, there was today a broad flow of air from the Arctic. In many places affected by this flow, temperatures were below -20°C and in some places they were below -30°C.
At Southmoor Primary School at 0030 UTC (1130 local time), there was a light north-easterly wind and a temperature of 26°C. At Melbourne Airport, the temperature reached 28°C at 0300 UTC (1400 local time). An anticyclone (1017 mb) was centred over Tasmania at 0600 UTC today, and the light north-easterly wind was consistent with this (for winds blow anticlockwise around anticyclones in the southern hemisphere). The satellite image for 0600 UTC shows a wavy line of cloud stretching across the ocean from southern New Zealand to Western Australia. The weather chart from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology showed this to be a warm front for part its length (the western part), a cold front for the rest of its length. There was a lot of cloud over central and north-western Australia. This was mainly high cloud, much of it associated with a large area of low pressure (998 mb) centred over north-west Australia, near the Bonaparte Archipelago. The monsoon was active over the Cape York Peninsula.
At the American School, Bombay, at 0845 UTC (1345 local time), there was a temperature of 29°C, a low humidity, a light south-westerly wind and hardly any cloud. Again, this sounds very pleasant. The hourly weather observations from Bombay's Santacruz Airport indicate, however, that smoke was observed continuously from 1300 UTC on 8 February right through to the afternoon of the 9th. This smoke seems to be quite a frequent occurrence at Bombay. There was no such problem at the MetLink school in Muscat, Oman, where the temperature was 25°C at 0900 UTC, the wind light south-easterly and the weather warm and dry. The visibility at Seeb International Airport, not far from Muscat, was given as "greater than 7 miles" (11 km) at 1000 UTC.
The sequence of satellite images from 0300 to 1500 UTC shows that cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds over the southern half of Africa built up during daylight hours. At the MetLink schools in Zimbabwe, where observations were made early in the day, there were thin high clouds. At the MetLink school in Zambia, the weather was cloudy and rainy at 0800 UTC (1000 local time). There, they reported a fall of rain amounting to 32 mm. The depression that has brought cloud and rain to Kwazulu-Natal these past few days was still active today, as the weather report from Hilton College shows. In Uganda, which lies near the northern edge of the cumulus-type activity, cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds built up during the day. At Addis Ababa, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but the wind was quite strong - 33 kph. At Ascension Island, in contrast, there was hardly a breath of wind but there was quite a lot of cloud. Their temperature was 26°C at 1300 UTC.
Over North Africa, as CTOT, DTOT and ETOT Meteosat images show, a wavy band of high cloud was conspicuous. Extending from the middle of the tropical Atlantic across the Sahara to the northern part of the Red Sea, this cloud was associated with the subtropical jet stream which was blowing over these regions today in the upper troposphere. In this jet stream, wind speeds were well in excess of 100 knots. For upper-air data over Africa, click here. ETOT (water vapour) images show where the air is moist in the upper troposphere, the whiter the image the damper the air. DTOT (thermal infra-red) images show temperature distributions. The highest, coldest cloud is the whitest on DTOT images. The warmest areas appear black.
At the American School, Cyprus, this morning, the weather was cold (temperature only 6°C at 0600 UTC). The sun was shining, though, and the school's weather report said that no rain was expected. Pressure was high (1027 mb) over Turkey. Pressure was high, too, 1039 mb, to the west of southern Portugal. Satellite images indicate that cloud this morning had largely cleared by this afternoon. At Tarragona, the MetLink school reported sunshine, a light south-easterly wind and a temperature of 18°C. Very pleasant! Malta, however, was near an area of low pressure, and satellite images show that there was a lot of cloud associated with this weather system. There was rain this morning at Geneva, but the weather had improved by 1300 UTC (1400 local time), according to the weather observation made by our MetLink school at that time.
At the MetLink schools in Finland and Sweden, temperatures were still above average for the time of year. At Vörå, the temperature was, however, below freezing. At 1105 UTC, their temperature was -5.3°C, having risen to +0.6°C during the previous 24 hours. At Bor, the temperature was +2.7°C at 0730 UTC, after reaching 6.1°C during the previous 24 hours. Vörå had a light north-westerly wind, being in the circulation of a depression centred just to the north of Norway. Bor was receiving milder air associated with a depression over southern Scandinavia.
Today was a much quieter day in the British Isles than yesterday, as the reports from MetLink schools show. A ridge of high pressure from the High off Portugal extended across England, Wales and Ireland. In the north of Scotland, though, there was again a windy day with rain. A depression (956 mb) was centred over western Iceland and fronts from it affected northern Scotland and the Western Isles of Scotland. As weather charts indicate, there were gales over the North Atlantic west of Ireland and Scotland. Over most parts of the British Isles today, winds blew from the south-west. They were strongest (Force 7-8) in the far north-west of Scotland, lightest (blowing from the west) in south-east England (Force 2-3).
At the James Gibbons School in Edmonton, the temperature was -15°C at 1600 UTC (0900 local time). This was somewhat lower than of late. Between a depression (970 mb) over the northern part of Hudson Bay and a High (1035 mb) over the north-west of Canada, there was today a broad flow of air from the Arctic. In many places affected by this flow, temperatures were below -20°C and in some places they were below -30°C. A Low (1009 mb) was centred near Vancouver.
How much do the Rocky Mountains influence wind speeds and directions in Alberta? What orographic influences occur?
