Met office forecasts........

[adamsp123]

has anyone mentioned how useless they are. The forecast for our area during the day/evening was for complete cloud cover all night maybe some rain, but I noticed at about 3-4 pm a hole in the clouds developing over the Irish sea heading my way.

I estimated I would have clear skies about midnight well they arrived earlier and I have had one of the clearest, best seeing conditions, nights since that really cold snap.

I really think the Met office need invest in a new piece of seaweed and fix their broken weather clock, the type where little figures pop out depending on the conditions.

Pete

[Psychobilly]

Pete...

You did the right thing and checked the satellite images for yourself... and as a result got an opportunity that you would of otherwise missed...

Peter...

[Capricorn]

Depends on what is meant by your area?

I live in Herts, I get the Anglia TV which covers Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambs, Herts, N'hants, Beds, part of Bucks and some of Essex.

In general we are refered to as the South East, this means London, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Berks and Hamps also, add in the rest of Buck.

BT say I am South Midlands, so Leics, Lincs as well.

The forecast is general not specific and not for what is overhead at your address. 80% of your area may well have had cloud. Did you go for a drive and check if they were correct 40 or 50 miles away?

It does amaze me that people say the forecast was for cloud so I didn't do anything then it was clear after all. Open a door or window and look outside. That is the local weather. Try not switiching on the PC.

Metcheck as an example will state 70% cloud cover. What does that mean?

Cloud cover for 70% of the 3 hour block,

70% will have cloud cover and 30% will not, or

70% of the sky will be cloud and 30% patches of clear.

All are 70% cloud cover and all are different.

[Psychobilly]

"Traditionally" cloud cover (previously measuered in oktas) was the measure of the cloud cover in a given area at a moment of time...

Mk1 eyeball , and the Satellite images -- look at the animated loops and then try and get an idea of whats going to happen over the next few hours...and when you can get someone "upflow" to have a look as well..

Billy...

[adamsp123]

I was looking at the detailed local (Wales) reports on and off all day - always cloudy even when the hole in the air was appearing on their own sat pics.

[brianb]

And "cloudy"/"sunny" means different things to different people - no astronomers probably won't even notice a thin layer of milky high cloud, there will still be shadows (day) or stars (night) even if it's thick enough to put the kybosh on us poor observers.

The Metcheck astro specific cloud cover forecast would be really useful, if accurate. Unfortunately it's at least as bad as the Met Office's.

And don't chuck that bit of seaweed out - it's a precision instrument!