Weather Forecasting

[valleyman]

Just checked my Metcheck weather forecast for tonight.

Forecast is 8% Cloud.

Look out of window. ......................100% Cloud

Why bother with web forecasting.....................good old seaweed method the best.

[Celeste]

Same here last night, I checked Metcheck...7% cloud...reality....100% cloud gutted

[brianb]

Just checked my Metcheck weather forecast for tonight.

Forecast is 8% Cloud.

Look out of window. ......................100% Cloud

Par for the course. Surface / low cloud is very hard indeed to forecast, local geography can make a huge difference over distances of a mile or so & the models used by the forecasters have a resolution of tens of miles (at best).

Your experience coupled with the weather pattern from the synoptic chart should enable you to "beat the professionals" 9 times out of 10.

[pete_l]

Why bother with web forecasting.....................good old seaweed method the best.

Sounds like you need one of these

[Carbon Brush]

Actually there is something better than Metcheck, and better than the pilot's forecasting stone.

Go to the the Met office web site and follow the links to aviation. You need to sort out logging in. But it is easy enough and free.

The services of interest are METARS & TAFS. Meteorological actual observations and terminal area forecasts.

The TAFs are valid for 9 hours upwards in the immediate vicinty of the issuing airfield. METARS are recent observations.

The data is in the form of abbreviations. But the decode information is there. Cloud cover (oktas) and height are given. Along with wind strength & direction. Probability of precipitation, dewpoint, etc. Go and read it for yourself.

I regular use these services + synoptic charts in preference to the usual met office 'sunny spells and scattered showers' pages. I have found them much better for determining local conditions. The airfield TAF is determined by meteoroligists with local knowledge.

See what you think.

[Psychobilly]

If you do sign up you might find this decoder handy...

Weather & Aviation Page - METAR decoder

Just copy the text from the Met Office Sigth and Paste it in to have it "decoded"

This takes me back to the days I used to Stay up till all hours with the HF set connected to the PC to Grab Fax Charts from Buenos Aries, GOES S atellite images, and RTTY Weather reports from Weather stations around the world... Alll before the internet made getting the same info a breeze...

Just gave the FT980 thats under the table a kick for old times sake... although the Vertical and N-S and E-W longwires have long since been taken down...

Billy...