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Past Uk Astronomical Events And The Weather


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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam

With the partial solar eclipse on the 3rd of October 2005, here's the weather for some past important UK astronomical events.

8th of June 2004, the day of the Venus Transit. The transit was largely seen across England and Wales under clear skies, it was cloudier further north though.

31st May 2003 The first annular eclipse to be seen from from the UK since 1921. Annularity was across northern Scotland but viewing was plagued by cloud however the annular eclipse was seen in some places. Further south, an eclipsed sunrise was widely seen.

9th January 2001 The last total lunar eclipse to be widely seen across the UK occurring at an ideal time i.e early evening. Skies were largely clear due to high pressure.

17th November 1999 The Leonids Meteor Storm. Sadly, cloud covered much of the country that night with the exterme west and east having the clearest conditions despite the forecast of clearer skies.

11th August 1999 The total eclipse of the sun from Cornwall, south Devon. Alderney and the Scilly Isles was largely obscured by cloud cover but some spots did see totality such as Newquay, Alderney, Scilly Isles and around the Lizard peninsula. The large partial eclipse was largely seen across the rest of the UK.

12th October 1996 This was the first partial solar eclipse to be widely seen across England and Wales since 1984. Cloud plagued viewing from time to time but there were sufficent breaks to witness the event. Across Scotland and Northern Ireland, there was complete cloud cover.

10th May 1994 The first partial solar eclipse to be seen from the UK for 10 years, it was largely obscured by cloud and very few places saw it.

15th February 1961 A very large partial solar eclipse across the UK, with totality through central France, sadly cloud largely obscured viewing.

30th June 1954 Totality across northern part of Unst in the Shetlands. Clouds plagued viewing here but further south, a large partial eclipse was widely seen.

29th June 1927 The first total solar eclipse to be seen from the UK since 1724. Totality across North Wales and Northern England, this was plagued by cloud and fog. there was breaks in the cloud around Preston, Blackburn, Chorley, Giggleswick, Settle, Darlington, Middlesborough, and Hartlepool and these areas witness totality.

8th April 1921 Annular eclipse visible from NW Scotland. It was visible from a number of places in the track.

18th March 1858 The annular eclipse with the greatest covering of the sun to cross the UK with only 0.7% of the sun visible. The track of annularity ran from Lyme Bay to the Wash and was only 14km wide. Cloudy conditions plagued viewing but their was a notable temperature drop and a strange twilight was widely experienced.

11th May 1724 Totality across south Wales and southern England, conditions were generally unfavourable but totality was witnessed from some areas especially from the Salisbury Plains.

22nd April 1715 Totality across central and southern England and Wales including London, this was last total solar eclipse to be widely seen with the naked eye. Clear skies gave perfect viewing and stars and planets were seen during totality. This was witnessed by Halley.

25th February 1598 Total solar eclipse from west Cornwall, Wales, NW England and far eastern Scotland. Legend has it that some people got lost during the eclipse and perished in the snow.

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam

There was a gap of 10 years between the solar eclipses of May 1984 and May 1994, which is unusual. Conditions during the 1994 eclipse were very poor, and the partial eclipse of 1996 was clouded out across most parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

So for some parts of the UK, had to wait 15 years from May 1984 to August 1999, to see a solar eclipse.

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Posted
  • Location: Shrewsbury
  • Location: Shrewsbury
There was a gap of 10 years between the solar eclipses of May 1984 and May 1994, which is unusual. Conditions during the 1994 eclipse were very poor, and the partial eclipse of 1996 was clouded out across most parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

So for some parts of the UK, had to wait 15 years from May 1984 to August 1999, to see a solar eclipse.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The 1994 eclipse was the first one I remember, as you say the conditions then were awful (Did anywhere in mainland Uk see it?). Total cloud cover, and rather cool for the time of year. 1996 wasn't much better, just a few breaks in the cloud (I was stuck indoors so couldn't try for a view anyway- it was a Saturday IIRC).

1999 in S Devon was very disappointing, day started fine at 8am but clouded over totally by 10, despite being right by the sea.

May 2003 here in Shropshire though was a cracker. Worth waiting 23 1/2 years for. I stayed up all night and drove up Lyth Hill just S of Shrewsbury to see it. About 10 mins after sunrise it emerged through the horizon murk,the red morning sun with a huge bite taken out of it, with the refraction effect it looked bigger and being so low could be looked at momentarily without eclipse glasses. Not a cloud in the sky that day- how different from 1994 and 1999.

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam
The 1994 eclipse was the first one I remember, as you say the conditions then were awful (Did anywhere in mainland Uk see it?). Total cloud cover, and rather cool for the time of year. .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was a gut wrencher. The Monday and Wednesday had reasonable conditions and the eclipse would have seen been by many more people than it was on the Tuesday. Hardly anyone saw it and it was the cloud cover, I think it was generally a very thick altostratus that was frustrating. :(

Edited by Mr_Data
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Posted
  • Location: Shrewsbury
  • Location: Shrewsbury

Just checked Wetterzentrale and it shows a low filling in the near Atlantic, with a high to the east and general SSE'lies. Must have been the leading edge of a slow moving warm front or something then? I was surprised to find the chart looking like that, I remember it as being a featureless grey cover (stratiform sounds right then) and not very warm for May.

Do you know what caused the thick grey cloud over most of Devon/Cornwall on 11/8/99? that as I recall was more Cu/Sc type, and it didn't produce any rain as I recall. That was so frustrating as the rest of the UK was largely fine.

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam
.

Do you know what caused the thick grey cloud over most of Devon/Cornwall on 11/8/99? that as I recall was more Cu/Sc type, and it didn't produce any rain as I recall. That was so frustrating as the rest of the UK was largely fine.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It was caused by this low marked R for "Rotter" :(

http://www.wetterzentraleforum.de/archive/...cka19990811.gif

My Uncle and Aunt saw the total eclipse from Newquay. It had rained during the partial stages of the eclipse but there was a break in the cloud about 10 minutes before totality and they saw totality through a reasonable break in the cloud.

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Posted
  • Location: Shrewsbury
  • Location: Shrewsbury

Thanks, is that a 00Z chart or from the time of the eclipse? (I know it's on there, but it's illegible) If the latter, the front seems too far away to start affecting the SW and strangely I don't recall any rain from it (in contrast to a couple of days earlier when it hammered down as I was driving there).

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam
Thanks, is that a 00Z chart or from the time of the eclipse? (I know it's on there, but it's illegible) If the latter, the front seems too far away to start affecting the SW and strangely I don't recall any rain from it (in contrast to a couple of days earlier when it hammered down as I was driving there).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep that's the 00z chart. Some people did see totality in 1999 as some did during the 1927 total eclipse but it was 1715 we last had really good conditions for a British total eclipse.

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Posted
  • Location: Shrewsbury
  • Location: Shrewsbury
Yep that's the 00z chart. Some people did see totality in 1999 as some did during the 1927 total eclipse but it was 1715 we last had really good conditions for a British total eclipse.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just checked the chart for 1927- what a horrid set-up for late June! Deep low in the North Sea NE of Scotland, feeding strong cyclonic N/Nw-lies across the country-seems like anyone who saw that was very lucky indeed.

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Posted
  • Location: Swansea (West)
  • Weather Preferences: Snow, Thunderstorms, Hot Summer days
  • Location: Swansea (West)

I also remember the 10th May 1994 eclipse, as while on a school trip on a boat in Swansea Marina, one of the teachers told us how to safely watch it that evening, if it brightened up, which it did not.

The 1999 eclipse was 97% here, and I can remember the ball of the sun under the clouds, just after maximum it brightened up.

The Lunar eclipse on Nov 8/9 2003 was mainly cloudy, but I did see the moon as I walked home from my birthday party.

Edited by button04
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Posted
  • Location: Basingstoke
  • Location: Basingstoke

I have a very vivid memory of being in school I must have been somewhere around 6 or 7 years of age. We all went into the playground to see an eclipse, it obviously wasn't a total eclipse, it might have been a partial. It was probably around 1970/71 but I don't see anything noted above.

Any clues?

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Posted
  • Location: Irlam
  • Location: Irlam
I have a very vivid memory of being in school I must have been somewhere around 6 or 7 years of age.  We all went into the playground to see an eclipse, it obviously wasn't a total eclipse, it might have been a partial.  It was probably around 1970/71 but I don't see anything noted above.

Any clues?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There was a partial eclipse during Feb 1971, quite a deep one as well.

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