weather help!!

[sam mayo]

was wondering if there is anywhere i can find out the weather for night observing thanks, sam,glos

[The Sailor]

This if my weather friend, it is 15 minutes behind real time but shows cloud cover of the country, you can tweak it to what you require for your area.

http://www.sat24.com...eu&lat=52&lon=2

Jim

[sam mayo]

great!! will give it a try thanks

dont suppose it cant get rid of the clouds if not will have to invest in some ep with cloud penetration abillitys

[MarkMayf]

Also, look for a mobile app called astro panel. Shows cloud cover, humidity, seeing, transparency etc.

[Hythlodaeus]

I've been using http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/?tab=fiveDay, found it quite good

[faulksy]

i use sat24 and 7 timer both good, not looking that good here though

[Carbon Brush]

Another one to throw in. The Met Office aviation site.

You need to register and log in - no money involved and no advertising. They just want to know who uses the facility.

They try to sell you an upgrade. you don't need it

There are a range of services from full UK to very local predictions.

The part I find it quite useful is the local TAF (terminal area forecast) for a nearby airfield. In plain English, this is what is expected in the area around the airfield for the next few hours. The forecast is in a letter/number code because it's generation dates from the days of telex and teletype maachines (ask your grandparents).

But when you learn to read the code, which isn't difficult, the information is really good. As the information is 'worst case' for aviators, it is relevant to astronomy.

For example, a forecast produced by East midlands Airport today....

EGNX 121058Z 1212/1312 10010KT 9999 FEW040 TEMPO 1212/1220 7000 SHRA BECMG 1213/1216 17005KT PROB30 TEMPO 1214/1218 4000 +SHRA TSRA PROB30 TEMPO 1303/1307 8000 -RA BECMG 1307/1310 BKN010 TEMPO 1309/1312 6000 RADZ BKN008

This translates...

EGNX = East Mid

121058Z = forecast issued 12th at 1058 local time.

1212/1312 = Valid noon 12th till noon 13th.

10010KT = wind 100deg 10knots.

9999 = Visibilty (horizontal) better than 10Km.

FEW040 = Few clouds at 4000ft.

TEMPO = 1212/1220 Temporarily between noon and 8pm.

7000 = Visibilty 7Km.

SHRA = Rain showers.

BECMG 1213/1216 = Becoming between 1pm and 4pm.

17005KT = Wind 170deg 5knots.

PROB30 = 30% probability.

TEMPO 1214/1218 = Temporarily 2pm to 6pm.

4000 = Visibilty 4Km.

+SHRA TSRA = Rain showers and thunderstorm.

Think you get the idea.

Once you get familair with the terms used, you get to read these very quickly. There is a decode page on the site to get you started.

The big plus (to me) is that the forecast is produced by someone using Met Office data, but adding in local knowledge.

A very useful feature in METARS (actual conditions now) is dewpoint, expressed as actual + saturation temperatures.

So if you are going out and the actual is 10C with dewpoint 9C, take your anti dew kit. And (if the wind is light) expect mist.

Bit of a handful when you start. But very good for the next few hours.

[notaclue]

Things like Raintoday to see which way the rain is going and if it is coming towards you.

Also try http://www.pjbartlett.co.uk/Satellite%20Images.htm as that has latest images of cloud cover from the satellites as they pass. Or you could build a receiver and download it straight form the satellite itself. http://www.emgo.cz/www_fa/meteosat_englisch.html

[Artdemole]

I am a member of netweather and the two weather forum..The TWO Weather Forum has just added a live rain forcast which is updated every 15 mins..

[crashtestdummy]

astro panel looks good,how reliable is it?