Coastguard Station Closures

[Interitus]

I'm rather surprised to see no mention of this week's announced coastguard station closures, bearing in mind their significance also as meteorological stations.

Here in the northwest of England we are set to lose Crosby near Liverpool, pictured below with the meteorological instruments located behind the building top-centre.

Last December (2010) this site recorded one of the most remarkable sequence of low temperatures of any coastal station in England or the UK.

Date	Tmax	Tmin
18	-0.3	-12.4
19	-3.5	-16.4
20	-6.9	-16.5 
21	-0.8	-17.6
22	-3.8	-8.7
23	-1.8	-10
24	-2.8	-12.1
25	 2.6	-14.2
26	 0.3	-8.9

If the closure had taken place when the review was first proposed last year, then this data may not have been measured.

It would be a shame to lose these sites and I would be interested if anyone knows any more details.

[AderynCoch]

Yes, it would be a real shame to lose the weather station (it's bad enough that the coastguard is being scrapped). They should have kept the long-running site at Bidston Hill open too (it closed in 2002). Now it seems as though we're left with Liverpool Airport, which only ever seems to give data to the nearest whole number and sometimes stops reporting.

We need more official stations in the area to reflect the various microclimates, not less.

[Dorsetbred]

And do you really think we have a government that gives a toss about weather stats, I certainly don't, they ain't even phased about savin' lives, as per their closure process.

Tiz all about money and nothing else.

[AderynCoch]

But surely it doesn't cost that much to maintain a weather station. If the coastguard have to move out, I don't see why someone else can't take up the mantle.

[knocker]

But surely it doesn't cost that much to maintain a weather station. If the coastguard have to move out, I don't see why someone else can't take up the mantle.

At Falmouth it was the other way around. The weather station moved to the new coastguard station.

[milkmaid]

we heard yesterday ours is safe

there has been lots of work involved ,

[Coast]

You need to talk to GWW about any met data used/held by the Coastguard.

[johnholmes]

in a word=cost

weather models need only temperature, dewpoint and pressure, hence why so many auto basic stations

Sad but its a fact of life

Edited July 19, 2011 by johnholmes

[knocker]

You need to talk to GWW about any met data used/held by the Coastguard.

Could you elaborate on that a tad Coast. I'm not trying to be funny just don't understand why.

[johnholmes]

Could you elaborate on that a tad Coast. I'm not trying to be funny just don't understand why.

he is/was/in that job

[knocker]

he is/was/in that job

Right I'm with it now. I don't know whether all stations had the same practice but I did an inspection at the Falmouth coastguard station in the 90s and I think all their records went to the METO. Mind the enclosure had only been there a short time as up until the early 50s there was an official met observatory in Falmouth. After that they had a pretty grim patch at the end of the rugby pitch that was looked after with great care by one man for many years. I think he retired when it was moved to the new coastguard station.

[johnholmes]

Right I'm with it now. I don't know whether all stations had the same practice but I did an inspection at the Falmouth coastguard station in the 90s and I think all their records went to the METO. Mind the enclosure had only been there a short time as up until the early 50s there was an official met observatory in Falmouth. After that they had a pretty grim patch at the end of the rugby pitch that was looked after with great care by one man for many years. I think he retired when it was moved to the new coastguard station.

yes I remember the annual inspection visit to Bardsey lighthouse when S Met O at Valley-done courtesy of 22 Squadron.