On 10/02/2012 22:42, Nick wrote:
On Feb 10, 10:22 pm, wrote:
On 10/02/2012 15:31, Stan wrote:
The met update has reverted back to original idea of cold feb throughout
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
Patchy rain on Sunday, with sleet or snow possible in southeastern
parts. Strong northerly winds developing on Monday and Tuesday with
showers in places, these wintry in the east.
Updated: 1511 on Fri 10 Feb 2012
UK Outlook for Wednesday 15 Feb 2012 to Friday 24 Feb 2012:
Wintry showers are likely over some northern and eastern parts of the
UK on Wednesday, with outbreaks of rain and drizzle more likely
elsewhere. It will probably remain unsettled during the second half of
next week and northern parts of the UK will probably see periods of
rain, with snow possible on high ground, perhaps to low levels at
times in the north and east. The south and west will remain drier and
brighter, although with rain possible at times. Many areas should see
temperatures around normal for a time next week, but it is likely to
become colder than average by the following week. With the weather
likely to remain unsettled, showers or longer spells of rain are
likely across the UK, with further sleet and snow in places.
Updated: 1231 on Fri 10 Feb 2012
UK Outlook for Saturday 25 Feb 2012 to Saturday 10 Mar 2012:
The last few days of February and beginning of March are likely to see
changeable weather. Temperatures are probably going to be average or
below average for the time of year. Being late February/early March,
this suggests that overnight frosts are still likely, especially
during any quieter interludes. Showers and longer spells of rain are
possible with an ongoing risk of snow, mainly in the north and east.
Updated: 1233 on Fri 10 Feb 2012
Looking at the GFS medium range charts and reading between the lines of
the above forecast (especially the bit about precipitation to the north
and east) I think that it will not be the Russian High returning but
rather the Azores High having a little wander to the north, so giving us
the cold N or NW set up which Will has spoken of in another thread. The
850 hPa temperature charts certainly show the cold air coming from
somewhere near Spitzbergen or Greenland rather than somewhere near Moscow..
Aesthetically, this is much to be preferred as the cold easterlies off
the Continent have a habit of being hazy in depth whilst the N or NWlies
can be brilliantly clear which is nice for those who like the starry
skies. It would be nice to have a good view of the impending
conjunction (close approach) of Venus and Jupiter in the evening skies.
I've noticed those two get closer and closer in the past few weeks so
the conjunction is going to be pretty spectacular I should think. This
must incidentally be one of the best appearances of Venus in the
evening sky for some time, with Venus still clearly above the horizon
as late as 8pm, almost 3 hours after sunset.
Nick
These apparitions of Venus happen at regular intervals. There is a
"resonance" between the orbits of Venus and Earth - 8 "Earth" years are
almost exactly 13 "Venus" years - so that conjunctions (when Venus
appears to pass between us and the sun [inferior], or on the far side
[superior] ) and elongations (when it appears to us at its furthest from
the sun) can only occur in one of five months of the year. This has been
known for a long time and is mentioned in "The Da Vinci Code" book,
where these five positions in the orbit of Venus - the goddess of the
"Sacred Feminine" - are matched with the five points of the Pentacle -
the figure representing the "Sacred Feminine".
This year's inferior conjunction is in June, and Venus will actually
pass across the face of the Sun early on 6 June - you will need to wake
up at sunrise to see the last part of this event in the UK. It's worth
getting up for - the transits of Venus occur in pairs 8 years apart
separated by intervals of over a century so it is extremely unlikely
anyone alive today will get another chance to see a transit of Venus. As
the pairs alternate between June and December, even if you do live to
see 2117, the chance of getting a good view of a December transit here
are remote. It will be 2247 before we get such a good view as I enjoyed
that June day nearly 8 years ago.
The other one of the current pair was in June 2004 and visible in late
morning from the UK - I took a day off work and watched the entire
event. Being a pianist, I also obtained a copy of Sousa's "Transit of
Venus" march - Sousa lived at about the time of the previous pair of
transits - and played it during the event. Having done so, I know why
it is not often heard these days - it is not one of Sousa's more
sparkling efforts! If you really must know more, visit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Venus_March
--
- Yokel -
Yokel posts via a spam-trap account which is not read.