Met office website - pathetic!

[sheeprug]

One would have thought that with this current bad weather the Met office would be really on the ball and supplying us with loads of useful data, such as pressure maps, cloud cover and precipitation predictions, recent observations etc., but currently if you go on their website   (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/) and click on the link for a  detailed map you get the following message:

"Maps outage"

"Due to unprecedented levels of demand on our website we have temporarily replaced some of the less visited pages and unfortunately are currently unable to provide our usual weather and observation maps......."

Which is, frankly, pathetic in this day and age.   What they're saying is at a time when a large number of people might be interested in seeing whats going on, they don't have the capacity to handle the load. 

Grrrrrr.   SR.

 

[Macavity]

I sometimes wonder if Mystic Meg might be a better predictor of weather. lol
But (for whatever reason!) my Android APP "Weather Forecast" still works? 
And THAT claims to use "Met Office Data". It can be surprisingly accurate! 

Not sure if it's even supported now, but it's what I use:  www.onjara.com  

[SteveA]

I dare say they need to beef up their infrastructure a bit. Mind you having lost the BBC contract maybe the Met Office is strapped for cash these days?

Steve

[SilverAstro]

30 minutes ago, sheeprug said:

Which is, frankly, pathetic in this day and age.

Quite so, exactly my thoughts when I found it !

Super-computers pah ! pull the other one it plays "John Peel"

[Redscouse]

Since getting my scope at Christmas I've spent a fair bit of time on weather sites. I'm not convinced any are that good to be honest. Most of the time I read what it says on the web page, look up from my laptop and glance out the window and what I see doesn't really match with what I'm reading. When I want a evening/night out with the scope I just tend to spend five minutes outside studying the sky and then make a decision. I've been wrong twice since Christmas which is not a bad guestimate success rate for a newbie!

If anyone can point me to a more reliable site I'd be very happy as I would love to plan a week away somewhere and obviously I'd be a tad foolish to guess the weather before booking time off work!  

[Tim]

I'm just amazed at the number of people who are seemingly surprised at a spell of cold weather....in winter.

Maybe there is nothing else newsworthy but the way the media are hyping this cold snap up you would think we are on the brink of the "day after tomorrow."

[SteveA]

4 minutes ago, Tim said:

I'm just amazed at the number of people who are seemingly surprised at a spell of cold weather....in winter.

Maybe there is nothing else newsworthy but the way the media are hyping this cold snap up you would think we are on the brink of the "day after tomorrow."

It takes their minds off the really important stuff like Brexit etc.

 

[Gina]

We don't get snow and blizzards very often.

[Redscouse]

5 minutes ago, Tim said:

I'm just amazed at the number of people who are seemingly surprised at a spell of cold weather....in winter.

I'm fine with the cold. (being a Northerner, I'm kind of used to it ) I am only interested in when it's clear and dry and as yet I'm still to find a reliable weather site.  

[Redscouse]

2 minutes ago, Gina said:

We don't get snow and blizzards very often.

I went to work in Exeter this morning, not a snowflake in sight. Have been getting texts all day from the wife worried I wouldn't be able to get back into Torquay because of the snow. Needless to say, when I arrived back in Torquay I did have a little laugh to myself as the snow on the ground, well, it was a light dusting! Nothing spectacular like I'd been hearing all day. 

Plymouth/Ivybridge; Different story down that way. I believe they've had it bad today! 

[SteveA]

8 minutes ago, Gina said:

We don't get snow and blizzards very often.

That is true and with the conditions in Scotland forecast to be so dangerous, I guess it is pretty important stuff really.....point taken

[Tim]

1 minute ago, Redscouse said:

I'm fine with the cold. (being a Northerner, I'm kind of used to it ) I am only interested in when it's clear and dry and as yet I'm still to find a reliable weather site.  

Here's what I do:

Look outside and see if it is clear or clear-ish. Check the metoffice app. If that shows promise, check clearoutside.com or via the app. If they both show promise, I get sat24.com up and look at the infrared pictures, watching for any clouds, where they are, how fast they are moving, and from which direction. If any chance of rain is given, I check myradar, an app with constantly updated radar and wind info.

If it all looks ok, and the visibility/transparency is reasonable, and the seeing is fair, and there isn't a bright moon, and the wind isn't howling in a direction that will fill my obsy with crud off the trees, and if there isn't too much smoke from my neighbours log burner or the neighbourhood farmer, then I seriously consider setting up......

 

 

But I rarely miss a clear night

[Gina]

Yes, bad according to the local news   I think we may get it over in the east tomorrow afternoon onwards.

[Macavity]

I must admit I have tried to avoid ALL of the MEDIA this morning.
The Daily Mail ('nuff said) the Guardian... It's always all MY fault? 

I think there was a *genuine* concern about the "Polar Vortex"?! 
But maybe that got "overtaken by events"... AKA "mouse clicks" <G>

[Redscouse]

52 minutes ago, Tim said:

sat24.com

Nice! A picture paints a thousand words, so they say. Someone pointed me to a map with isobars etc. and to be honest, I couldn't really understand all the symbols. (and in their wisdom, whomever built the site/legend forgot to make the icons bigger so we can actually see what they are, so that is pretty useless!) 

This one you posted above, well, even a dummy like me can understand that picture! 
Thanks for the link. 

[L8-Nite]

https://earth.nullschool.net/

Click on  " EARTH= " for menu.

Move cursor to desired location, zoom in, and click on for local info.

[Debo]

Windy.com :- https://www.windy.com  is good, you can even check wave heights 

 

[Redscouse]

27 minutes ago, L8-Nite said:

https://earth.nullschool.net/

Click on  " EARTH= " for menu.

Move cursor to desired location, zoom in, and click on for local info.

 

24 minutes ago, Debo said:

Windy.com :- https://www.windy.com  is good, you can even check wave heights 

 

Nice! Thanks to you both for the links.  

I do a bit of Fatyakking in the summer so they'll both come in handy for the waves! 
FYI: Fatyak = Similar to Kayak only they're sit on, not in.

[sheeprug]

3 hours ago, Redscouse said:

Since getting my scope at Christmas I've spent a fair bit of time on weather sites. I'm not convinced any are that good to be honest. Most of the time I read what it says on the web page, look up from my laptop and glance out the window and what I see doesn't really match with what I'm reading. When I want a evening/night out with the scope I just tend to spend five minutes outside studying the sky and then make a decision. I've been wrong twice since Christmas which is not a bad guestimate success rate for a newbie!

If anyone can point me to a more reliable site I'd be very happy as I would love to plan a week away somewhere and obviously I'd be a tad foolish to guess the weather before booking time off work!  

Actually I've usually found the rain and cloud cover predictions from the MET to be pretty good over a 48 hour period, which is why I'm annoyed it's not available.  A up to week ahead they're not too bad, but beyond that -  well they're up against the limitations of the available data quality and weather models which are characterized by chaotic behavior anyway.   Buy yes - it's time to check the other options.    

SR.

[L8-Nite]

3 hours ago, Redscouse said:

.................FYI: Fatyak = Similar to Kayak only they're sit on, not in.

 

Back in the 1980s I had a " Scuba Scout " brand dive kayak. They were known as wet kayak's and were great for spear fishing along the coast. A line was attached to the paddle so it wouldn't drift away when you dropped of the side to fish. The kayak had a hatch both front and back of the seat. The front held gear and had a built in saddle to hold a tank, and the rear had a chest for the fish, or what ever you found on your dive.  I sure miss the good old days.

[Redscouse]

Sounds great Mike, good times eh!

I have a single seater at the moment although last summer after a few years of trying, I actually got the wife to go out in it. She was a little hesitant at first however after ten minutes I couldn't get her off it! Going to get a 2 seater this summer so we can both go out and enjoy the coastline together. (although she is insisting on a single for herself!) No holding her back now she's been out on mine.  

[SteveNickolls]

On 2/28/2018 at 15:59, Tim said:

Look outside and see if it is clear or clear-ish. Check the metoffice app. If that shows promise, check clearoutside.com or via the app. If they both show promise, I get sat24.com up and look at the infrared pictures, watching for any clouds, where they are, how fast they are moving, and from which direction. If any chance of rain is given, I check myradar, an app with constantly updated radar and wind info.

If it all looks ok, and the visibility/transparency is reasonable, and the seeing is fair, and there isn't a bright moon, and the wind isn't howling in a direction that will fill my obsy with crud off the trees, and if there isn't too much smoke from my neighbours log burner or the neighbourhood farmer, then I seriously consider setting up......

I'd be in a dilemma what to do on that one good night of the year :-)

Cheers and clear skies (hopefully soon),
Steve

[Tim]

4 hours ago, SteveNickolls said:

I'd be in a dilemma what to do on that one good night of the year :-)

 

You say that, but I reckon you can genuinely count the number of really decent, moonless nights we get in the UK, especially those of us in urban and suburban areas that rely on great transparency, on the fingers of one hand.

I am always keen to make the most of any clear spells, as often times I have some equipment on review for Sky at Night magazine, and need to thoroughly test it to death. If I haven't got anything to review, then the clear nights are even more valuable, as they are "my" time, and generally I spend them experimenting with things that interest me, like taking really long exposures through specific filters on various objects, just to see what is there. 

But yep, the really clear, really steady, really dark, really transparent skies that would transform our hobby are very few in number, per annum. Good job we can make do!