Blimey, must be just a north east definition then :-)
Ken

Col wrote:


"Ken Cook" wrote in message
...
Must be a northern saying, Tudor. Any weather at all without precipitation
has always been "fine" in these parts.

To me 'fine' has to be better than simply not raining.
Not raining is simply 'dry'
I would certainly not describe a very dull & overcast but dry
day as 'fine'.
Never mind thick fog!

The term 'Fine' does have a strict definition (or it used to have) but I can't
lay my hands on it. From memory, to be classed as 'Fine' there has to be a
largely clear sky or, at worst, only small amounts of cloud. Dry, cloudy
weather with good visibility is classed as 'Fair'.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
http://peakdistrictweather.org

On Friday, September 26, 2014 6:12:53 PM UTC+1, Norman wrote:


The term 'Fine' does have a strict definition (or it used to have) but I can't

lay my hands on it. From memory, to be classed as 'Fine' there has to be a

largely clear sky or, at worst, only small amounts of cloud.

========

That's certainly how I recall it as well but I also cannot immediately dig up the precise definition.

Given that "fine" must mean that it's dry, it annoys me to death to hear or read the redundant phrase "fine and dry". Or even "fine and dry with lots of sunshine".

There used to be more precision with certain other phrases: "sunny periods" and "sunny intervals" had distinct definitions (sunshine for more than and less than half the time, respectively). I don't know why we had to lose these. More generally the imprecision of much of the language from some of the flightier presenters does nobody any favours.

Stephen.

Stephen Davenport wrote:
On Friday, September 26, 2014 6:12:53 PM UTC+1, Norman wrote:


The term 'Fine' does have a strict definition (or it used to have)
but I can't

lay my hands on it. From memory, to be classed as 'Fine' there has
to be a

largely clear sky or, at worst, only small amounts of cloud.

========

That's certainly how I recall it as well but I also cannot
immediately dig up the precise definition.

Given that "fine" must mean that it's dry, it annoys me to death to
hear or read the redundant phrase "fine and dry". Or even "fine and
dry with lots of sunshine".

Given that fine means it must be dry but dry doesn't necessarily mean
it's fine, I imagine 'dry and fine' would be OK.
--
Col

Bolton, Lancashire
160m asl
Snow videos:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3QvmL4UWBmHFMKWiwYm_gg

On Friday, 26 September 2014 11:12:37 UTC+1, Dave Cornwell wrote:
I think I've heard this term in the Shipping forecast so I assume it has

an official definition. I'd always assumed it to mean at worst clear air

with good visibility and at best clear skies and sunny by day.

Yesterday's forecast for here (BBC News 24, Carol Kirkwood, I think))

mentioned fairly persistent cloud here which was shown on the chart.

This was followed by " ... the fine weather will continue into the

weekend." So does it basically mean just not raining or is this another

example of sloppy forecasting?

Dave, S.Essex

Here's a definitive definition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vQEy3J_DOQ

Col wrote:

Stephen Davenport wrote:
On Friday, September 26, 2014 6:12:53 PM UTC+1, Norman wrote:


The term 'Fine' does have a strict definition (or it used to have)
but I can't

lay my hands on it. From memory, to be classed as 'Fine' there has
to be a

largely clear sky or, at worst, only small amounts of cloud.

========

That's certainly how I recall it as well but I also cannot
immediately dig up the precise definition.

Given that "fine" must mean that it's dry, it annoys me to death to
hear or read the redundant phrase "fine and dry". Or even "fine and
dry with lots of sunshine".

Given that fine means it must be dry but dry doesn't necessarily mean
it's fine, I imagine 'dry and fine' would be OK.

.......but if it's 'fine' there's no need to say 'dry'.

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.
http://peakdistrictweather.org

"Fine" to me means the sun is out, if not necessarily
continuously.

I would agree with that.

Anne

It can't always be dry. In Cornwall we often had persistent fine drizzle!
I always considered fine to be a forecast of a continuation of settled mainly sunny weather, though no heatwave.

Lawrence Jenkins wrote:
On Friday, 26 September 2014 11:12:37 UTC+1, Dave Cornwell wrote:
I think I've heard this term in the Shipping forecast so I assume it has

an official definition. I'd always assumed it to mean at worst clear air

with good visibility and at best clear skies and sunny by day.

Yesterday's forecast for here (BBC News 24, Carol Kirkwood, I think))

mentioned fairly persistent cloud here which was shown on the chart.

This was followed by " ... the fine weather will continue into the

weekend." So does it basically mean just not raining or is this another

example of sloppy forecasting?

Dave, S.Essex

Here's a definitive definition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vQEy3J_DOQ
:-)

On Friday, 26 September 2014 16:57:25 UTC+1, Ken Cook wrote:
Must be a northern saying, Tudor. Any weather at all without precipitation has always been "fine" in these parts. Ken

Although I've no direct experience of it I could well imagine that that use of "fine" is regional and dialectal.
Down here, of course, we are observers of great precision. Any rain, from light to torrential, is "'ammerin' daan", especially if outside a pub. Very light rain is "drizzle". Drizzle itself is of course "very wetting". No it isn't, you can just brush it off, almost, which you can't do when it's been 'ammerin' daan.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, Surrey.