If the stats issued to by the Met Office to the media are
to be believed, Oxford has been smashing sunshine records
out of sight over recent days, with 16.0 hours on Sunday
and 16.4 hours on Tuesday.

As the sun is supposed to be above the horizon for 15 hours
and 40 minutes at Oxford at this time of the year, clearly
something is amiss. The Met Office is, of course, known for its
accuracy and attention to detail, so they must have discovered
that the sun is now above the horizon for longer than
heretofore, presumably as a result of a change in the tilt
of the Earth's axis.

It is sad that they have chosen not to share this mildly
interesting information with the rest of the nation.

Philip Eden

CORRECTED VERSION
If the stats issued to by the Met Office to the media are
to be believed, Oxford has been smashing sunshine records
out of sight over recent days, with 16.0 hours on Sunday
and 16.4 hours on Tuesday.

As the sun is supposed to be above the horizon for 16 hours
and 40 minutes at Oxford at this time of the year, and as
sunshine recorders (both CS and KZ) do not record sunshine
within approximately half an hour of sunrise and sunset, clearly
something is amiss. In 100 years of sunshine measurement at
Kew (where the daylight is three minutes shorter than Oxford
in midsummer) 15.7 hours was the highest.

The Met Office is, of course, known for its accuracy
and attention to detail, so they must have discovered
that the sun is now above the horizon for longer than
heretofore, presumably as a result of a change in the tilt
of the Earth's axis.

It is sad that they have chosen not to share this mildly
interesting information with the rest of the nation.

Philip Eden

In message , Philip Eden
writes

CORRECTED VERSION
If the stats issued to by the Met Office to the media are
to be believed, Oxford has been smashing sunshine records
out of sight over recent days, with 16.0 hours on Sunday
and 16.4 hours on Tuesday.

As the sun is supposed to be above the horizon for 16 hours
and 40 minutes at Oxford at this time of the year, and as
sunshine recorders (both CS and KZ) do not record sunshine
within approximately half an hour of sunrise and sunset, clearly
something is amiss. In 100 years of sunshine measurement at
Kew (where the daylight is three minutes shorter than Oxford
in midsummer) 15.7 hours was the highest.

Yes I noted these figures with some amazement too! Although very sunny
of late here too, just 50 miles or so NW of Oxford, we certainly haven't
had wall to wall sunshine on any day. On Tuesday for instance, we only
had 8.9 hours of sun in Coventry while Oxford recorded that incredible
16.4hr.

Even more interesting for me though, with records dating back to 1892,
15.9 hours of sunshine in a day is our record, and that's unlikely to be
broken, unless the Met Office know any different!
--
Steve Jackson,
Bablake Weather Station,
Coventry, UK
http://www.netlink.co.uk/users/bws

Here we go again, very interesting stats Philip, thank goodness you are
around to point out these "inaccuracies" What on Earth are future
generations going to make of the data supplied in the late 20th/early 21st
centuries, especially when plugged into the climate change debate.

Of course, the sunshine stats only confirm recent comments that "the sun is
stronger than usual for this time of year"!

Regards,
Simon

Simon Keeling

--
Weather Consultancy Services Ltd
The Weather Centre, 188 Common Road, Wombourne, Staffordshire, England. WV5
0LT.
Tel: 08700 738 100 Fax: 01902 895242 email:
http://www.weatherweb.net
http://www.atlanticweather.co.uk
"Steve Jackson" wrote in message
...
In message , Philip Eden
writes

CORRECTED VERSION
If the stats issued to by the Met Office to the media are
to be believed, Oxford has been smashing sunshine records
out of sight over recent days, with 16.0 hours on Sunday
and 16.4 hours on Tuesday.

As the sun is supposed to be above the horizon for 16 hours
and 40 minutes at Oxford at this time of the year, and as
sunshine recorders (both CS and KZ) do not record sunshine
within approximately half an hour of sunrise and sunset, clearly
something is amiss. In 100 years of sunshine measurement at
Kew (where the daylight is three minutes shorter than Oxford
in midsummer) 15.7 hours was the highest.

Yes I noted these figures with some amazement too! Although very sunny
of late here too, just 50 miles or so NW of Oxford, we certainly haven't
had wall to wall sunshine on any day. On Tuesday for instance, we only
had 8.9 hours of sun in Coventry while Oxford recorded that incredible
16.4hr.

Even more interesting for me though, with records dating back to 1892,
15.9 hours of sunshine in a day is our record, and that's unlikely to be
broken, unless the Met Office know any different!
--
Steve Jackson,
Bablake Weather Station,
Coventry, UK
http://www.netlink.co.uk/users/bws

"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...

CORRECTED VERSION
If the stats issued to by the Met Office to the media are
to be believed, Oxford has been smashing sunshine records
out of sight over recent days, with 16.0 hours on Sunday
and 16.4 hours on Tuesday.

I had always believed that the "Oxford" in the media
reports was Brize Norton. Because the tables were originally
designed (and are indeed still used by) the national
newspapers, there is a 5pm deadline (used to be 6pm
or 7pm before new technology in the newspaper
industry improved things). This means that sunshine
figures for much of the year but especially in summer
are split between two days. Occasional odd or
impossible numbers in the lists I had always put down
to a mis-counting of the hours in one or both "halves".

The Oxford/Brize figures for the last week are as follows:
Date media true
9th 3.8 1.9
10th 7.4 9.8
11th n/a 10.1
12th 9.1 10.5
13th 16.0 8.8
14th 13.8 11.1
15th 16.4 14.1

Even given the problems outlined above, it is simply not
possible to rationalise these two sets of figures.

Philip Eden

"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...

"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...

CORRECTED VERSION
If the stats issued to by the Met Office to the media are
to be believed, Oxford has been smashing sunshine records
out of sight over recent days, with 16.0 hours on Sunday
and 16.4 hours on Tuesday.

I had always believed that the "Oxford" in the media
reports was Brize Norton. Because the tables were originally
designed (and are indeed still used by) the national
newspapers, there is a 5pm deadline (used to be 6pm
or 7pm before new technology in the newspaper
industry improved things). This means that sunshine
figures for much of the year but especially in summer
are split between two days. Occasional odd or
impossible numbers in the lists I had always put down
to a mis-counting of the hours in one or both "halves".

Apparently it was all down to a small procedural problem
at Brize Norton, to be put right forthwith.

Thanks.
Philip Eden

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 01:57:21 +0100, "Philip Eden"
philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote:


CORRECTED VERSION
If the stats issued to by the Met Office to the media are
to be believed, Oxford has been smashing sunshine records
out of sight over recent days, with 16.0 hours on Sunday
and 16.4 hours on Tuesday.

As the sun is supposed to be above the horizon for 16 hours
and 40 minutes at Oxford at this time of the year, and as
sunshine recorders (both CS and KZ) do not record sunshine
within approximately half an hour of sunrise and sunset, clearly
something is amiss. In 100 years of sunshine measurement at
Kew (where the daylight is three minutes shorter than Oxford
in midsummer) 15.7 hours was the highest.

The Met Office is, of course, known for its accuracy
and attention to detail, so they must have discovered
that the sun is now above the horizon for longer than
heretofore, presumably as a result of a change in the tilt
of the Earth's axis.

It is sad that they have chosen not to share this mildly
interesting information with the rest of the nation.

Is this the start of the "The Day After Tomorrow" scenario? How long before the
glaciers reach Coventry? 6 weeks?

JPG




Philip Eden