Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b89429c566825f6ab32bcafbada449c9.jpg

I've had it with "Clear Outside"


shropshire lad

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, shropshire lad said:

Says total cloud cover 100% ... just been outside and it's dead clear.

.

cloud.jpg.7cfb9c9dd98a4054edb89ba3af655f35.jpg

 

Same has happened to me on sooo many occasions. it is 2021 and we have sent spaceships into deep space outside of our own solar system and landed space probes in style on other planets by predicting where the planet will be at a certain time and sending said probes in that direction with 100% success yet we are still unable to know what the weather will be doing in 1 hrs time lol

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, AndyWeller said:

Same has happened to me on sooo many occasions. it is 2021 and we have sent spaceships into deep space outside of our own solar system and landed space probes in style on other planets by predicting where the planet will be at a certain time and sending said probes in that direction with 100% success yet we are still unable to know what the weather will be doing in 1 hrs time lol

 

Rocket science is simple compared to weather forecasting. 

The atmosphere can be in a chaotic state and water is not that far from its triple point.

images.jpeg.jpg.7f217fd17a0fd8045e8664e91346c768.jpg

Add a small land mass close to on ocean and it a recipe for... ...well you know.

Regards Andrew 

PS gives us something to talk about. 😊

Edited by andrew s
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find the BBC news forecast  (on the website) with the latest stab at the overnight situation is not too bad.   You get a feel for general pattern and it tends to be the timing that is out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather

Add to this the localised met office forecast.

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/forecast/gcwghuyms#?date=2021-11-07          ( oh it's clear tonight up't North    😀   )

but I have found that this might be computed on regional grid square system  ( maybe 40Km or so ?? ), because if you are sat on a weather boundary line  then you can quite easily be totally out with your own forecast, but somebody just to the East is lovin' it !!   This one swings both ways to be fair.  Here in Harrogate we are in the shadow of the Pennines and find that we have surprisingly unexpected clear periods when rain and cloud is predicted for Lancs and the hills.

The final one I find very useful is this,

https://www.netweather.tv/live-weather/radar

It actually shows you where the rain is  (  within 10mins ).   A scope under cloud is one thing, but all that gear under a rogue shower is another thing entirely !!

 

Sean.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damn it you're right 😡

Based in Staffs and sure enough, I can see stars. 'Good To Stargaze' says conditions will be good between 10 & 11 🤔

I tend now to wait until the BBC, CO and GTS all reasonably agree with each other.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CO wide of the mark for Shropshire tonight. Got a couple of hours in already under iffy conditions but looking at SAT 24 conditions could improve for an hour or two at least. The clear spell has caught me on the hop, I didn’t charge the dome battery as I wasn’t expecting any imaging time for about a week and I don’t think it will have enough power to close the shutter at the end of the session if I leave it unattended.

Lesson learnt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I largely use Sat24 these days, it gives the best way to my mind of judging cloud movement and whether there are likely to be clear skies or not. Anything else I see as fairly hit or miss to be honest.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't trust Clear outside anymore either. There have been several instances where i have been outside, imaging, with no clouds anywhere in sight. I mean 0% clouds, perfect conditions. Clear outside says "90% low cloud" and red conditions for that time + or - several hours. Unbelievable that the app can be wrong on current conditions, never mind forecasts.

To be fair low cloud seems to be impossible to forecast or even give accurate current estimates, as i see the same effect from the Finnish meteorological institutes "cloud radar" application. Its often hard to tell whether its 0% clear or 100% clear based on that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, I now spend a lot of time viewing my newly installed All Sky Camera. Sometimes the cloud seems to form away from the horizon, getting thicker as it moves overhead! 
I presume this is a line of sight effect of the wide angle lens, or it could just be my cloud paranoia.

On Saturday night, I used the camera to dodge the clouds, imaging during the anticipated breaks in the cloud cover. Over 4 hrs I got about 30 mins of subs, none of this would be possible without a permanent set up. Anybody else daft enough to do this?

Edited by tomato
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hopefully this won't attract the wrath of all you Isles dwellers, but in my deep inland, continental Europe, Clear Outside has been nothing short of a soothsayer. In the past 12 months, it's missed the mark exactly twice.

Evidence from experience isn't much evidence at all, so I'm not suggesting it's magically perfect in its predictions, just putting forward my overwhelmingly positive experience with the service.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, tomato said:

getting thicker as it moves overhead! 
I presume this is a line of sight effect of the wide angle lens, or it could just be my cloud paranoia.

 Anybody else daft enough to do this?

Nope, not para, the weather in blighty comes (usually) from the atlantic, but that doesnt always mean that the clouds are coming from there ! The conditions do come in thus, but the critical dew/cloud forming bit can rapidly evolve over one's head :(

Yes! but these days not with the'big' gear (wrong side of 3score years and neveryoumind !!) so I have a little Heritage150 for rapid visual deploy, and opportunistic grab imaging is limited to lens on camera and tripod for the grab-and-go outside the front door.

My big prob in grabbing clear spells is - in my youth I would periodically look outside, but getting outa da chair is ummmm problematic , 
so I really must get round to researching an outdoor camera, doesnt have to be an allsky job , anybitofskycam would do me for alerts,  like a patch to the s&sw mid elevation.

Once upon a time I could guess the intervals between low pressure areas and grab some hours of clear rain-washed sky in between.
but these days the cloud-free intervals (if any) between incoming atlantic lows are vanishingly small.

I blame GretaTh :(

 

 

Edited by Malpi12
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, andrew s said:

Rocket science is simple compared to weather forecasting. 

 

"For a complex subject, consider neurology, or catalysts, but don't mention ballistics"

Robert Heinlein, from "Orphans of the sky".

He could have mentioned weather forecasting for that matter! 

Edited by Felias
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.