South East & East Anglia Regional Weather Discussion 08/12/13

[john pike]

http://www.meteociel.fr/cartes_obs/gens_display.php?x=322&y=149&run=18&runpara=0&col=1&type=1&ext=1

 

for now ignore the strength of the last gfs run

 

see how these ensembles are really struggling here

 

but still needs a watchful eye from a distance

[john pike]

going to go to bed now

 

goodnight all

 

same again tomorrow

[Snowangel-MK]

Anyone else worried about the Christmas period?

 

Only in as much as I haven't written a single card yet or wrapped up any gifts 

 

oh and i hate wind too

 

I gave Tom something to help with that earlier..

 

 

 

....if you ask him nicely he might share some with you  

 

 

Slight frost on the car windows but no fog here tonight....chilly 3 deg c and deffo time for bed ... night night 

[Iceni]

Christmas from HELL?

 

That settles it. I'm going to ring up my new boyfriend, Colin Firth and we'll spend Christmas in a log cabin in Lapland watching the northern lights… his wife won't like the cold as she's Italian so will probably stay at home or she can keep my husband company… he quite likes pasta.

[NO LONGER POSTING]

I'm sorry model nerds etc but this week has easily been the coldest week so far this winter.. Who ever is banging on about mild blah blah no..

This morning.. I have woken up to freezing fog!!! When was this forecast?!? Everything is a beautiful white

Stay safe this morning drivers, I think it might be a bit icy.

[Captain Shortwave]

Clear skies here this morning with a full blown air frost. Another morning of scraping the ice off the car.

Hardly mild isn't it

[80sWeather]

Last night's beautiful white frost has gone.

Just 1C now, clear and damp.

[Floatylight]

What a lovely morning so white and crisp!

havnt seen frosts for years as its been so dry all the time.

[NorthNorfolkWeather]

morning all, looks cold out there (in Walton on Thames).

 

Looks horrible over the next week, but FI seems to be 72 hours so lots can change

[Steve C]

Morning all.

 

I got up very early, looked outside and inwardly cursed, as I could see the stars... I then headed down to the Creek, as it probably has the least light pollution within a mile or so from my house, to see Comet Lovejoy, which I promised I would do, if conditions were right, yesterday evening.

 

Interestingly the temperature was well above zero; my car indicated 4C and had no frost warning, but there were thick patches of hoar frost on the roads in places.

 

I managed to spot Lovejoy again. It was quite a lot easier than yesterday, as it was higher above the horizon and the Plough was almost overhead and it's a useful guide. The Plough is currently low in the northwest in the evening and not so good as a guide.

 

To re-iterate what I said yesterday, it is no naked eye object at the moment and you need binoculars and dark skies to see it.

 

Here is a link to spot it. http://earthsky.org/space/how-to-see-comet-lovejoy-c2013-r1-charts-photos

 

In my 10X50 binoculars, it was in the same field of view as the star Zeta Hercules (above it) in the link above. Once I realised where to look, I could quickly find it again.

 

 

To roughly go to the right area, if you find the Plough and use the stars I've indicated here in yellow and look at the part of the sky three times the distance between the two stars away (and a very few degrees left of the line) you should see it in proper viewing conditions.

 

As an aside, I saw two shooting stars in 5 minutes, almost overhead. As they came from the same part of the sky and moved in the same direction, I guess there must be a shower at the moment.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Steve C

[Steve C]

I've just seen that Coast has posted exactly the same info., as I have above, on the Comet Ison thread a few days ago!

[Coast]

Morning all.

 

Morning Steve, Morning all.

 

A nice white frost on pavements and side roads first thing with temps hovering around zero or above. No real fog in the South of the county, but as I passed Lewes going North it was more pronounced with some areas quite thick with it.

 

A lovely sunrise starting now with low lying mist/fog swirling over the fields and hedgerows - but I forgot to put the compact camera in the car, so you'll just have to imagine it.

 

No time to stop and stare at the sky this morning, seems the engineering/manufacturing World has gone mad in the run-up to Christmas and everyone wants it now!!!!!

I've just seen that Coast has posted exactly the same info., as I have above, on the Comet Ison thread a few days ago!

 

You've got to get up earlier than that Steve!!!

Edited December 12, 2013 by Coast

[Heisenberg]

Mornin all,

 

Another foggy start but nowhere near as bad as yest. Nice frost this morning with Ice on the car again....

 

Have a good un

[Keraunic]

Mornin each. Lovely crisp, frosty morning in Ippy.

Thanks for that info, Steve. I wondered where the Plough was. I dont think I'll be able to see Lovejoy then as I broke my (ancient) binoculars a while ago. Ah well....glad someone's seen him.

Have a good day, folks.

[swash]

Best morning of the winter so far in Bexley, very white and festive looking first thing.

 

I like it

[snow raven]

Best morning of the winter so far in Bexley, very white and festive looking first thing.

 

I like it

 

Exactly my thoughts this morning too in Bexleyheath.  The frost was so heavy, it could have almost passed for a light covering of snow!  (even if it does mean our lovely council didn't send the gritting lorries round last night  )

 

Also not as foggy - more misty than fog this morning.

 

Have a lovely day everyone

[Steve C]

Here are a couple of photos from yesterday's sunset and today's sunrise. Nothing spectacular here, but quite pleasant. There are also a couple of stupid ones, the first when I must have taken a photo by mistake, when moving the camera and the second when I snapped a sheep, that I came across on a public footpath. I had the camera settings completely wrong, as I'd left them set up for a previous photo. The sheep looks somewhat spectral as a consequence.

 

 

 

[Coast]

Here are a couple of photos from yesterday's sunset and today's sunrise. Nothing spectacular here, but quite pleasant. 

 

We are getting a few decent starts and finishes to the days recently, even if they aren't set against a white foreground!

[Steve C]

We are getting a few decent starts and finishes to the days recently, even if they aren't set against a white foreground!

Yes, I agree. I'm wondering about tomorrow morning too, before the front comes in. Could be like Ison; spectacular or a bust. I'm leaning towards the Ison outcome, in my thoughts, but will be ready, whatever.

[Heisenberg]

I had the camera settings completely wrong, as I'd left them set up for a previous photo.

 The one of the boats looks like an oil painting.

 

Ive just bought a Fuji SL300, my first bridge (only had point n shoot) so im still getting used to shutter speeds, ISO settings and F numbers.....quite complicated really....

[chilly milly]

Morning all!  No frost here this morning, but there is a little fog.  Temp currently 5.1c.

 

Have a good day all!

[Steve C]

The one of the boats looks like an oil painting. Ive just bought a Fuji SL300, my first bridge (only had point n shoot) so im still getting used to shutter speeds, ISO settings and F numbers.....quite complicated really....

ISO setting is very straightforward. The lower the number, the better the image quality, but you need to expose for longer. Therefore in low light situations, where you can't hold the camera steady, or you've a moving subject, a low ISO number may be entirely inappropriate.

[Bluebreezer54]

Morning folks. Well its dull, damp, dark and dreary here today. I see frost was quite widespread across the region but suprisingly, despite the temperature falling as low as -3.3c here at 6am, there was not even a hint of frost or ice when I got up at 7am. Every surface was damp from the mist  and the temp was still below zero.

 

More photo's of London in the fog yesterday, some of which confirm my thoughts that the fog was moving around in what at times were quite shallow patches. 

 

http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2013/12/11/23-dazzling-photos-of-the-fog-enveloping-london/

 

Have a good day.

 

 

Edit: I really like that ghost boats photo as it happens Steve, very atmospheric

Edited December 12, 2013 by Bluebreezer54

[Reefseeker]

A beautiful start to the day with thick frost and still quite a lot of fog, starting out at 0 degrees at 8am.

 

It's my son's 14th today, so he got me up at 6.30 to open his presents. The nice thing with his version of aspergers syndrome is he remains younger than his years, which brings its substantial challenges, but he wants to retain the magic also and we are more than happy to give it. Another nice aspect is that my son has high levels of empathy - despite what popular characterisations of the syndrome might say - so he didn't want to open the presents in front of his friend this evening, as his friend's mother doesn't celebrate birthdays or Christmas, so he thought it would be mean, bless.

 

Anyway, returning to weather, the drive through Kingston and along the Thames was stunning, with fog, and white, white riverbanks, trees and so on; I pointed out to the birthday-boy, who is as snow-loving as me, if not more, that in the absence of snow, this is the best possible birthday weather he could have - in fact you could believe a light covering of snow had fallen it was so lovely.

 

As BB has said, around the M3 entry area and onto Heathrow, it all just got wetter and warmer, althought the fog still persists here across campus.

 

Have a good day everyone.

Edited December 12, 2013 by Reefseeker

[JennyJane1]

Still seeing references to that January may be widespread severe cold, amazing how relatively mild it is at the moment and how this can suddenly change.Day 13 of being bedbound, I can only be thankful that I stocked up on household goods, soups, etc just beforehand.Southernman could go and get more, but he is worried about leaving me for any length of time.Not too chilly in here so I guess it is fairly mild outside as well.