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Click on today's infra-red satellite images below for full size version (source: Nottingham University)
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What a difference a day makes! In Melbourne yesterday, the temperature reached 38°C. Just one day later, it could manage only 18°C (mid-afternoon local time). Yesterday's hot winds from the north were replaced by today's cool winds from the south. In much of Victoria, there was rain or drizzle from breakfast-time to early afternoon (i.e. from about 2100 UTC on Thursday to about 0300 UTC today). A cold front from a depression (976 mb) centred (near 55°S 150°E) over the Southern Ocean far to the south of Tasmania brought the rain and drizzle. To the west of this front, there was a flow of air from the south and south-west. This air was cool and moist because it had originated over the ocean some way south of Australia. Today's JMA/GMS5 satellite images and the weather charts from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology show this front very clearly.
At the American School, Bombay, at 0600 UTC (1130 local time), there was a temperature of 24°C, a 4/8 cloud cover and a 15 kph breeze from the north-west. Visibility was impaired by smoke. A small amount of precipitation was measured (2 mm). Bombay's weather does not seem to have been as pleasant today as yesterday. At the MetLink school in Muscat, Oman, however, the weather returned to normal! It was warm and sunny again (temperature 25°C), with a relative humidity of only 29%. The satellite image that covers Oman (and the Arabian Sea and western India, too) showed cloud over Iran and northern parts of Saudi Arabia but none over Oman. The forecast for Oman for the next few days is for clear skies, with maximum temperatures in the upper twenties Celsius.
Notice that the Weather Underground web page that provides the latest weather data for Oman and forecasts for the next few days contains a feature called 'Historical Conditions'. This has a drop-down menu that allows you to look up the weather on any day of the year in recent years. The equivalent pages for many other stations around the world contain the same 'Historical Conditions' facility but the pages for some stations do not.
How often does rain fall in Oman at this time of year or, indeed, any other time of year? To find websites that might help answer this question, click here.
At our MetLink schools in Zambia and Zimbabwe this morning, the weather was fine, with the sky partly covered by medium and/or high cloud. Our schools in Zimbabwe recorded 15 mm of rain, but our school in Zambia recorded only a few millimetres. This is the wet season over tropical parts of southern Africa, but notice that rainfall varies considerably from day to day. There was a lot of shower activity over western parts of tropical southern Africa today, but not over eastern parts.
In South Africa, Hilton College recorded 19.6 mm of rain and the sky was still pretty cloudy (7/8 cover). An area of low pressure (1008 mb) was still present over Kwazulu-Natal, but the activity of this depression did seem to be decreasing, judging by the smaller extent of cloud associated with it than yesterday.
How much wetter than normal has the weather been recently in the parts of South Africa now affected by floods? To find websites that might help answer this question, click here.
In Uganda and Ethiopia, the weather was again sunny and dry. At Ascension Island, however, the weather was wet.
At the American School, Cyprus, this morning, the weather was again quite cold (temperature only 7°C at 0600 UTC), but the sun was again shining. Pressure was still high (1029 mb) over Turkey. Pressure was still low near Malta today, with the depression that was yesterday over southern Italy now centred south-east of Sicily (1014 mb). The Achille Ferris Primary School reported a north-westerly wind of 33 kph and 5 oktas of cloud. They also reported rain and hail with short sunny periods. Those who visit Malta on holiday in the summer might be surprised that weather like this occurs there, but it's not, in fact, uncommon in winter.
There was again fog this morning at the Gabriel Pereira School in Portugal, though the sun was starting to appear when their weather observation was made (at 1030 UTC). The winds over Portugal were today light north to north-easterly. Once again, the weather at Tarragona was very pleasant, with sunshine, a light south-easterly wind and a temperature of 18°C. At the MetLink schools in Finland and Sweden, temperatures were, yet again, above average for the time of year. At Bor, the temperature remained above freezing all night. At both Vörå and Bor, winds were from the south-west. Almost everywhere in Scandinavia, temperatures were above freezing today. As weather charts show, a deep depression (954 mb) lay off northern Norway and pressure was high across central Europe (1029 mb over Romania). Between these two pressure systems, there was a broad belt of westerly winds.
Over England and Wales, the weather was much better today than yesterday, though wind speeds of 20-30 kph tended to make the day feel a little chilly. In many places, the day began with a ground frost, the skies having been clear of cloud overnight. At some places (for example, Radley and Thorpe) there was a slight air frost overnight. During the morning, which Edgbaston Prep called a "lovely day for a walk", small cumulus clouds built up. In many parts of southern Britain, six or more eighths of stratocumulus cloud built up. Over Wales, though, clouds became deep enough for showers to form, as Coed Cae's report indicates.
The nearest depression to the British Isles was over Iceland and the Denmark Strait. This had two centres of low pressure, one of 960 mb over southern Iceland, the other of 966 mb a little to the east of southern Greenland. A cold front lay well to the west of Scotland and Ireland, with south-westerly winds ahead of it. Over all parts of the British Isles today, winds blew from a point between west and south-west. The front was approaching the British Isles quite quickly, as D2 Meteosat images show, and the spell of settled weather was expected to be short-lived. The front was expected to reach south-east England by mid-morning on 12 February. Saturday was expected to be a windy, showery day.
There was sunshine in Edmonton today, but the wind was quite strong (24 kph). It was definitely a day to wrap up warm. At James Gibbons School, the temperature was -19°C at 1600 UTC (0900 local time), two degrees lower than at the same time yesterday. The lowest temperature recorded at the school was -23°C. At Edmonton International Airport, temperatures were even lower. By 0000 UTC (1700 hours on Thursday, local time), the temperature there was twenty degrees below zero, and it remained below -20°C right through the night, falling to -27°C just before dawn. An anticyclone (1033 mb) was centred over southern Saskatchewan, giving south-easterly winds at Edmonton.
How much does wind direction determine temperature in Alberta? During MetLink, temperatures at Edmonton have been near freezing point with a north-westerly wind and below -20°C with a south-easterly wind!
What would you wear if the temperature was -20°C and the wind blowing at 24 kph? Why not ask the students of James Gibbons School? The email address of their teacher, Chris Jackson, is CJackson@epsb.edmonton.ab.ca.
To visit the website of your national weather service, click
here, but please note that some countries do not appear
to have websites. If your country is not listed and you know it has a
website, please tell me the web address (URL).
What a difference a day makes! In Melbourne yesterday, the temperature reached 38°C. Just one day later, it could manage only 18°C (mid-afternoon local time). Yesterday's hot winds from the north were replaced by today's cool winds from the south. In much of Victoria, there was rain or drizzle from breakfast-time to early afternoon (i.e. from about 2100 UTC on Thursday to about 0300 UTC today). A cold front from a depression (976 mb) centred (near 55°S 150°E) over the Southern Ocean far to the south of Tasmania brought the rain and drizzle. To the west of this front, there was a flow of air from the south and south-west. This air was cool and moist because it had originated over the ocean some way south of Australia. Today's JMA/GMS5 satellite images and the weather charts from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology show this front very clearly.
The Low (1001 mb) that was centred near Port Hedland (Western Australia) yesterday moved eastwards a little today to become centred (999 mb) over the eastern part of the Great Sandy Desert. The cloud associated with it was mostly medium and high cloud. The monsoon was again active over the northernmost parts of Australia, with the greatest activity over the Gulf of Carpentaria.
At the American School, Bombay, at 0600 UTC (1130 local time), there was a temperature of 24°C, a 4/8 cloud cover and a 15 kph breeze from the north-west. Visibility was impaired by smoke. A small amount of precipitation was measured (2 mm). Bombay's weather does not seem to have been as pleasant today as yesterday. At the MetLink school in Muscat, Oman, however, the weather returned to normal! It was warm and sunny again (temperature 25°C), with a relative humidity of only 29%. The satellite image that covers Oman (and the Arabian Sea and western India, too) showed cloud over Iran and northern parts of Saudi Arabia but none over Oman. The forecast for Oman for the next few days is for clear skies, with maximum temperatures in the upper twenties Celsius.
Notice that the Weather Underground web page that provides the latest weather data for Oman and forecasts for the next few days contains a feature called 'Historical Conditions'. This has a drop-down menu that allows you to look up the weather on any day of the year in recent years. The equivalent pages for many other stations around the world contain the same 'Historical Conditions' facility but the pages for some stations do not.
How often does rain fall in Oman at this time of year or, indeed, any time of year? To find websites that might help answer this question, click here.
Today's DTOT Meteosat images show that the ITCZ was a comparatively weak feature over the equatorial Atlantic, with activity greatest between 20°W and the coast of Brazil. Over the Gulf of Guinea, cumulonimbus systems were few and far between.
Over western parts of tropical southern Africa, but not over eastern parts, there were many cumulonimbus systems today. At our MetLink schools in Zambia and Zimbabwe this morning, the weather was fine, with the sky partly covered by medium and/or high cloud. Our schools in Zimbabwe recorded 15 mm of rain, but our school in Zambia recorded only a few millimetres. In South Africa, Hilton College recorded 19.6 mm of rain and the sky was still pretty cloudy (7/8 cover). An area of low pressure (1008 mb) was still present over Kwazulu-Natal, but the activity of this depression did seem to be decreasing, judging by the smaller extent of cloud associated with it than yesterday.
How much wetter than normal has the weather been recently in the parts of South Africa now affected by floods? To find websites that might help answer this question, click here.
In Uganda and Ethiopia, the weather was again sunny and dry. At Ascension Island, however, the weather was wet.
At the American School, Cyprus, this morning, the weather was again quite cold (temperature only 7°C at 0600 UTC), but the sun was again shining. Pressure was still high (1029 mb) over Turkey. Pressure was still low near Malta today, with the depression that was yesterday over southern Italy now centred south-east of Sicily (1014 mb). The Achille Ferris Primary School reported a north-westerly wind of 33 kph and 5 oktas of cloud. They also reported rain and hail with short sunny periods. Those who visit Malta on holiday in the summer might be surprised that weather like this occurs there, but it's not, in fact, uncommon in winter.
There was again fog this morning at the Gabriel Pereira School in Portugal, though the sun was starting to appear when their weather observation was made (at 1030 UTC). The area of high pressure that had been located off southern Portugal for several days was today near the Azores (1039 mb), leaving Portugal between a ridge of high pressure that extended across France and an area of low pressure over Morocco. The winds over Portugal were, therefore, light north to north-easterly. Once again, the weather at Tarragona was very pleasant, with sunshine, a light south-easterly wind and a temperature of 18°C. At the MetLink schools in Finland and Sweden, temperatures were, yet again, above average for the time of year. At Bor, the temperature remained above freezing all night. At both Vörå and Bor, winds were from the south-west. Almost everywhere in Scandinavia, temperatures were above freezing today. As weather charts show, a deep depression (954 mb) lay off northern Norway and pressure was high across central Europe (1029 mb over Romania). Between these two pressure systems, there was a broad belt of westerly winds.
Over England and Wales, the weather was much better today than yesterday, though wind speeds of 20-30 kph tended to make the day feel a little chilly. In many places, the day began with a ground frost, the skies having been clear of cloud overnight. At some places (for example, Radley and Thorpe) there was a slight air frost overnight. During the morning, which Edgbaston Prep called a "lovely day for a walk", small cumulus clouds built up. In many parts of southern Britain, six or more eighths of stratocumulus cloud built up. Over Wales, though, clouds became deep enough for showers to form, as Coed Cae's report indicates. The dominant influence over the southern part of the British Isles was a ridge of high pressure extending from the High near the Azores. The nearest depression to the British Isles was over Iceland and the Denmark Strait. This had two centres of low pressure, one of 960 mb over southern Iceland, the other of 966 mb a little to the east of southern Greenland. A cold front lay well to the west of Scotland and Ireland, with south-westerly winds ahead of it. Over all parts of the British Isles today, winds blew from a point between west and south-west. The front was approaching the British Isles quite quickly, as D2 Meteosat images show, and the spell of settled weather was expected to be short-lived. The cold front was expected to reach south-east England by mid-morning on 12 February. Saturday was expected to be a windy, showery day.
There was sunshine in Edmonton today, but the wind was quite strong (24 kph). It was definitely a day to wrap up warm. At James Gibbons School, the temperature was -19°C at 1600 UTC (0900 local time), two degrees lower than at the same time yesterday. The lowest temperature recorded at the school was -23°C. At Edmonton International Airport, temperatures were even lower. By 0000 UTC (1700 hours on Thursday, local time), the temperature was 20 degrees below zero, and it remained below -20°C right through the night, falling to -27°C just before dawn. An anticyclone (1033 mb) was centred over southern Saskatchewan, giving south-easterly winds at Edmonton.
How much does wind direction determine temperature in Alberta? During MetLink, temperatures at Edmonton have been near freezing point with a north-westerly wind and below -20°C with a south-easterly wind!
