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This is the routine posting notice advertising the availability of the
FAQ for the newsgroup uk.sci.weather. Details of how to get the full
version are listed below.
This posting contains the index so you can see the scope of the FAQ,
and whether there is anything there to interest you.
It also summarises the changes since the last main update.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

Date of FAQ: 15 Jul 2003
------------------------
Issue: 37
The uk.sci.weather FAQ/Glossary available at:

http://www.booty.demon.co.uk/uswfaqfr.htm
( includes access to other meteorology related FAQ's: there is also an
alphabetical index for the whole of my site here )

Summary of changes since last version:
Section 1:
1.1 (added) site for a 'fallback' version of the FAQ/Glossary
Section 2A:
2A.23(added) more on CAPE & SHEAR
2A.24(added) more on Helicity
Section 2B:
2B.21(altered) contact number Met Office
Section 2C: none
Section 3:
3.2 (added/altered) Q/A name, Les Crossan's site added
3.11 (altered) url for TORRO British weather extremes
3.13 (added) GMDSS site for world-wide marine forecasts
Section 4:
4.19 (added) WeatherOnline
4.21 (deleted) Weatherpictures
Section 5A: none
Section 5B: none
Section 6A: none
Section 6B: none
Section 6C: none
Section 6D: none
Section 7A: none
Section 7B: none
Section 8: none
Glossary : Funnel cloud, Horizontal vorticity, Tornado, Vertical
vorticity

* against the index number indicates a slight textual
change/correction or addition.
** against the index number indicates a complete rewrite, or a new
entry.

This article is copyrightc)2003 Martin Rowley. It may be freely
distributed for non-commercial purposes only, provided that this
copyright notice is not removed. Parts may also be used, as long as
some appropriate acknowledgement is made.
================================================== ====================
==

Index:
1. General introduction.

*1.1 About this FAQ
1.2 About uk.sci.weather
1.3 About the author, and his relationship to this FAQ.
1.4 About the units used in this FAQ.

2. Questions relating to general meteorology.
2A: Basic information and definitions.

2A.1 What are 'jetstreams'?
2A.2 Where are the principal jetstreams in the atmosphere, and what
are their characteristics?
2A.3 Why is the Polar Front Jet so called, and why is it important
to
us in NW Europe?
2A.4 Stable and unstable airmasses - what does all this mean?
2A.5 Thickness: what is it?
2A.6 What are the names for the various levels of the atmosphere and
of what significance are they?
2A.7 What are the heights corresponding to the pressure levels in
the
atmosphere?
2A.8 What are the various types of satellite imagery available?
2A.9 What height are the clouds?
2A.10 Why do some high flying aircraft leave white trails in their
wake?
2A.11 There are other 'trails' visible from aircraft - what are they?
2A.12 What is an 'inversion'?
2A.13 What's the difference between a 'shower' and an 'outbreak of
rain'?
2A.14 What's the difference between an air frost and a ground frost?
2A.15 When do maximum and minimum temperatures occur?
2A.16 What is the dew point?
2A.17 What's the difference between Humidity and Relative Humidity?
2A.18 Does the dew point temperature have to be above a certain value
for a thunderstorm?
2A.19 Why does the weather sometimes get 'stuck in a rut'?
2A.20 What is a trough?
2A.21 How do I use a geostrophic wind scale?
2A.22 What are some typical and extreme values of thickness?
*2A.23 How does a single-cell shower differ from a multi-cell
thunderstorm, or even a 'supercell'?
**2A.24 What is 'helicity'?
2A.25 Snow situations at lowland locations are often marginal in
maritime NW Europe. Why is this so, and why do forecasters find
it so difficult to get it right?
2A.26 So, what are the factors that can modify the temperature
structure in the lowest few hundred metres in marginal snow
situations?
2A.27 How do I convert millibars to inches etc?
2A.28 What is the 'Dew Point Depression'?
2A.29 How do I tell how far away a thunderstorm is?
2A.30 Why does the wind "blow", and what factors are involved?

2B: Background and special topics.

2B.1 The October 1987 storm - a 'hurricane', or not?
2B.2 What does the terminology in the Shipping Forecast mean?
2B.3 Can I go anywhere to look at archived weather data, monthly
summaries etc?
2B.4 When was the concept of an "air mass" proposed?
2B.5 So, how is an 'air mass' defined?
2B.6 How will 'global warming' affect rainfall patterns over north-
western regions of Europe?
2B.7 Is there a system of classifying synoptic weather types over the
British Isles?
2B.8 How can I obtain details about periodicals/magazines that are
published in the British Isles which deal with meteorology?
2B.9 Would anyone be interested in my weather observations?
2B.10 What is the North Atlantic Oscillation?
2B.11 What is the Central England Temperature series?
2B.12 What impact does 'El Nino' have on the weather over Europe?
2B.13 What are 'sferics', and how are they obtained?
2B.14 How do I set my barometer?
2B.15 Why does some rainfall leave a coloured dust on my car?
2B.16 What is the history behind lettering Bracknell fronts/centres?
2B.17 Can I have a guided tour of Met Office 'FAX' charts?
2B.18 What is an "Indian Summer", and why is it so-named?
2B.19 What is a 'Polar low'?
2B.20 I want to learn more about 'the weather' - how do I go about it?
*2B.21 Maps, diagrams, leaflets, books, posters, videos etc., etc....
how can I get hold of these?
2B.22 What is the Shapiro-Keyser cyclone model?

2C: The newsgroup: "uk.sci.weather - it's history, myths & legends"

2C.1 What is a "Bartlett High"?
2C.2 Why does usw come alive at the prospect of snow?
2C.3 How did the newsgroup come to be & when?
2C.4 When did the FAQ series come into being?
2C.5 What's wrong with the phrase "mini-tornado"?
2C.6 Where can I find a complete copy of the newsgroup Charter?

3. Questions relating to sources of information.

Where can I find ......
3.1 ... a map of the BBC Shipping Forecast areas?
**3.2 ... sites relating to Severe Local Storms?
3.3 ... information on Climate change?
3.4 ... information about Noctilucent cloud?
3.5 ... information regarding atmospheric remote sensing?
3.6 ... sites relating to the use of computers in meteorology?
3.7 ... more information on dew point, relative humidity etc?
3.8 ... information on using Beaufort wind force estimates,
and use of Beaufort letters for weather reports?
3.9 ... information relating to ozone concerns, both at stratospheric
and near-surface altitudes?
3.10 ... a site relating to Tropical Storms (Hurricanes, Cyclones
etc.)?
*3.11 ... sites detailing extremes, notable past events etc?
3.12 ... information relating to radar imagery?
**3.13 ... sites specifically relating to leisure-marine meteorology?
3.14 ... a site explaining atmospheric halo phenomena?
3.15 ... sites explaining upper air soundings?
3.16 ... a site explaining NWP model output?
3.17 ... a site for decoded SYNOP data as daily summaries?
3.18 ... sites for past weather & climatological summaries?

4. Pointers to other sources of information.

4.1 SCI.GEO.METEOROLOGY NEWSGROUP FAQs
4.2 TORRO
4.3 ROGER BRUGGE'S WEATHER LINKS SITE
4.4 ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
4.5 UNIV. OF EAST ANGLIA - SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
4.6 BBC WEATHER CENTRE
4.7 UK WEATHER INFORMATION SITE
4.8 DARREN PRESCOTT'S SITE (FOR PLOTTED CHARTS)
4.9 ANT VEAL'S UK WEATHER CENTRE
4.10 WILL HAND'S WEB SITE
4.11 IRISH METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
4.12 PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION
4.13 PRODATA ASSOCIATES/AUTOMATIC WEATHER STATIONS
4.14 WEATHER INFORMATION SITE
4.15 FROSTED EARTH WEATHER SITE
4.16 THERMODYNAMIC DIAGRAMS
4.17 JACK HARRISON'S GLIDING AND WEATHER SITE
4.18 MET OFFICE WEB SITE
**4.19 WEATHERONLINE
4.20 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF THE ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
**4.21 (vacant) [ WEATHERPICTURES not available ]
4.22 PA WEATHERCENTRE
4.23 UK RADIO SCANNER & WEATHER PAGES (COLIN MARTIN)
4.24 MET EIREANN - IRISH METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE

5A: Some books that are worth reading.

5A.1 ... Handbook of Aviation Meteorology
5A.2 ... Pilots' Weather
5A.3 ... A course in elementary meteorology
5A.4 ... Guinness Book of Weather Facts and Feats
5A.5 ... Weatherwise
5A.6 ... Observer's Handbook
5A.7 ... Essentials of Meteorology
5A.8 ... Climate, history and the modern world
5A.9 ... Teach yourself weather
5A.10 ... Regional Climates of the British Isles
5A.11 ... Aviation Weather
5A.12 ... Climate and the British Scene
5A.13 ... Images in weather forecasting
5A.14 ... Meteorology and Flight
5A.15 ... Guide to Weather
5A.16 ... Maritime Weather and Climate
5A.17 ... Glossary of Meteorology (AMS/2nd edition)
5A.18 ... Collins Guide to the Weather of Britain and Europe
5A.19 ... Meteorology Today: an introduction to weather, climate
(etc.)

5B: Some magazines/periodicals etc.

5B.1 ... The Journal of Meteorology
5B.2 ... Weather
5B.3 ... Meteorological Applications
5B.4 ... Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
5B.5 ... COL - Monthly Bulletin
5B.6 ... Weather eye

6. Some notes on observing and reporting weather events to the
newsgroup.

6A ... Recording/reporting the event
6B ... The event itself...what to look out for
6C ... Some thoughts on 'non-standard' instrument siting
6D ... Notes regarding times of weather recording etc

7A: General suppliers of equipment & services.

.... Campbell Scientific Ltd
.... Casella Limited
.... Diplex Ltd.
.... Fairmount Weather Systems
.... ICS Electronics Ltd
.... MetCheck
.... RW Munro Limited (The Munro Group)
.... Prodata Associates Ltd
.... R & D Instromet Ltd
.... Realtime Control
.... Sales and Service Company
.... Skye Instruments Ltd
.... Weather Front

7B: Suppliers of software and associated support services.

.... Richard H. Brockmeier
.... Andrew Broughton / Weather data analysis software
.... University of Liverpool/software
.... MetOS/Angel Dimitrov/Uni. of Sofia (Bulgaria)
.... Colin Tandy/Weather plotting software
.... Weather Graphics Technologies

8. Codes, coding, plotting etc.

8.1 Meteorological codes (numeric) and coding sites
8.2 METAR decoding sites
8.3 Snow groups in SYNOP & METAR reports
8.4 Rainfall groups in SYNOP reports
8.5 Wind groups in SYNOP reports
8.6 Sunshine groups in SYNOP reports (AWS only)

================================
SECTION 1: General introduction.
================================

*1.1 About this FAQ:
It is important to note that this FAQ is not a 'do-it-yourself' course
in meteorology. It simply aims to answer some common puzzling
questions that might be posed by the non-professional whilst browsing
met-related web pages, or lurking in one of the weather newsgroups.

Find it via:
http://www.booty.demon.co.uk/uswfaqfr.htm

( the 'whole-file' version of the FAQ and Glossary can be found via:-
http://www.booty.demon.co.uk/metindex.htm )

A 'fall-back' whole-file version can now also be found at:-
http://www.uksevereweather.org.uk/

Queries, comments, suggested corrections etc., to the author:
Martin Rowley: martinr****booty.demon.co.uk (replace the **** with
the @ symbol) and I should be contacted if you want a text version of
the full FAQ (or the Glossary) sent to you via email.

1.2 About uk.sci.weather:
The following is an extract from the Charter for the newsgroup:


"This group is essentially for the discussion of daily weather
events, chiefly affecting the UK and adjacent parts of Europe, both
past and predicted. The discussion is open to all, but
contributions
on a practical scientific level are encouraged. It may also contain
postings of observations during interesting weather episodes. The
group is expected to be patronised by both amateurs and
professionals
(including academics), but it is primarily for weather enthusiasts
rather than research scientists. Any discussion of climate issues
should be from a scientific standpoint and not a political (or
environmental-activist) one." (See 2C.6 for full copy source)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++
+
PLEASE NOTE: Binary files, (such as interesting satellite images, or
weather charts) should *not* be posted into the newsgroup. To do so is
a great annoyance to users, and contravenes the Acceptable Use Policy
of some ISP's and associated peering carriers. Post such files into
newsgroups specifically set up to carry binary-encoded information,
and then post to *this* newsgroup the location. Alternatively put on
your own web site.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++
+

.... there is a little more about the newsgroup history in Section 2C
(q.v.)

1.3 About the author, and his relationship to this FAQ:

The author is an employee of the UK Meteorological Office (now
known simply as 'the Met Office'). Any views expressed herein are his
own and do not represent the views of the Met Office. In particular,
because of restrictions that UK Civil Servants, and Met Office
employees in particular are obliged to follow, no comment or
information on policy matters, availability of data etc., will be
found in this FAQ.

I have obviously tried to eliminate any errors, but no doubt some
have crept in. Please advise me and I will correct as necessary.

1.4 About the units used in this FAQ:

There is always a problem with units in meteorology, because the
'operational' community use, and are used to, different units to those
of the academic/theoretical persuasion, and so our trade is littered
with anomalies: the most bizarre can be heard 4 times per day on the
BBC shipping forecast, where low values of visibility are given in
metres, and higher values in nautical miles! In this FAQ, I have used
degrees Celsius for temperature as this will be familiar to most, but
for height/altitude, both feet (used by the aviation world), and
metres/km equivalents are given - mostly approximations. Wind speeds,
where given, will be in knots (used in practical observing/aviation
forecasting) and metres/second. The relationship between the two units
is assumed to be knots = 2*m/s, as only approximations are quoted.
Note also that other approximations are often used, for example the
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate is quoted as 10 degC per 1 km, whereas it is
calculated to be 9.8 degC/km. (Q/A 2A.4)


--
Martin Rowley