Category Archives: Measurements and instrumentation

The value of future observations

By Alison Fowler The atmosphere and oceans are being routinely observed by a myriad of instruments. These instruments are positioned on board orbiting satellites, aircraft and ships, surface weather stations, and even balloons.  The information collected by these instruments can … Continue reading

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How can a hurricane near the USA affect the weather in Europe?

By John Methven It may seem bizarre that processes occurring within clouds near the USA, involving tiny ice crystals and water droplets, can have an influence on high-impact weather events thousands of kilometres away in Europe, and our ability to predict them … Continue reading

Posted in Environmental physics, Measurements and instrumentation, Numerical modelling, University of Reading, Weather forecasting | Leave a comment

A month’s worth of rain …

By Ben Harvey Phrases like a month’s worth of rain fell in just one day are often seen in media reports of extreme precipitation. But what does this statistic actually mean? How rare is it to see a month’s worth … Continue reading

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Why does it always rain on me?

By Helen Dacre Last Monday morning I got so wet on my cycle to work that I had to spend 10 minutes under the hand dryer in the toilets to stop myself looking like a drowned rat. Being the keen … Continue reading

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Polar Prediction School

By Jonny Day During the last 2 weeks Dr Jonny Day spent two weeks lecturing and coordinating a Polar Prediction School for graduate students and early career researchers. The school is a joint initiative from the World Weather Research Programme … Continue reading

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Wrap up well for St Valentine’s Day – a good chance of snow!

By Roger Brugge The days are getting longer, the nights are getting shorter, but the temperature keeps falling – and so does the snow. At least in the climatological statistics they do! Looking at the date of occurrence of the … Continue reading

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Carbon exchanges in cities and woodlands of southern England

By Sue Grimmond Cities are major contributors to recent carbon dioxide (CO2) rises in the atmosphere.  Emissions come from multiple sources, including vehicles, domestic heating/cooling, industrial activities and directly from people. While a large number of studies have focused on … Continue reading

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Forecasting eclipse weather

By Peter Clark                                    Department of Meteorology homepage Our weather is driven by energy radiating from the sun. The annual cycle of the earth’s … Continue reading

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Sampling the skies with unmanned aircraft

By Keri Nicoll Unmanned aircraft have been flown for leisure by model aircraft enthusiasts for many decades, but a recent surge in the development of unmanned aircraft technology means that a whole new suite of applications for this technology is … Continue reading

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Measuring global snow mass – the MicroSnow workshop

By Mel Sandells One of the limitations for measurement of global snow mass is that the satellite observations at microwave frequencies are affected not only by how much snow is on the ground, but also the size of the snow … Continue reading

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