Never mind the rain, what about all this wind?.

[celandine]

I hear on the news this morning that it's officially the wettest summer since Noah first started keeping records. No surprise there, but there was no mention of the wind. Surely it's also been the windiest since time began (force 9 forcast for Thames again today)
Anyone got any stats etc on this? It must surely get the record for most number of sailing plans/holidays cancelled in one season.

.

 

[alldownwind]

Inshore Waters f'cast says 9 for the Dover Strait, but only an 8 in Thames, you'll be OK!
Having just been sailing for 2 weeks in the Thames area, I must say that the forecasting was very inaccurate indeed, every day, and generally the actual weather was a lot better than predicted. On our last day, for instance, we motored in a flat calm and brilliant sunshine for 4 hours when they said it would be NE F5 with heavy showers. Neither materialised.

 

[Clarky]

I think it depends where you live ,in the Lakes where I live its been quite a good summer.
I sail and climb a lot up in the west of scotland where I am originally from and its been quite good up there for lenghty periods.
I do realise of course that down sowff is the centre of the universe !! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[FullCircle]

Point of Order Clarky.
We consider ourselves Down East rather than Darn Sarff.

 

[celandine]

We'd better get this right in case some one acts on it:-

Thames
Gale warning 0253 Thu 26 Jul
Southwesterly severe gale force 9 expected soon

.

 

[knewboater]

Cheer up, settled weather coming next week feel it in the bones.I`m not mad but any more rain and wind could change that.

 

[Guest]

If you want some one to tell you which day to sail then that is not the weather man that is your guardian.

The weather man gives you data on winds. Today you have 21 knot winds (the actual winds at present are 21 mph XCweather)

However they say gusts of 32 are expected. But since a huge rain storm is coming across the country and is currently over the seven catchment area I would agree with them. Recorded winds in that area are to 39mph.

As for wind this year there has been none really. Last year we had terrible gales. As for the wettest, it depends where you are, up here it has rained somewhat but the terrible rain on Sheffield did not make it to us and while the south was drowning last weekend we were going around in T-shirts.

If you look at the following you will see that the UK has a wonderful time in March April and the start of May.
160% of the normal sunshine.
Less than 20% of the April rainfall
3 degrees warmer than normal
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/2007/rainfall.html
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/2007/sunshine.html
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/2007/temperature.html

Where were you during this time? I was busy building stuff outside in the garden.

The south has just got more of what the north and Scotland normally sees. I posted somewhere else the list of wet years for Oxford and they happen about every 10 years. Except you have missed the last 3. This has been normal since 1800.

"Always look on the bright side of life...."

 

[Guest]

Mumbles head just reported up to 44 to 53mph and its coming your way!!!

 

[Clarky]

Thanks for the correction,the pronunciation correction was useful to /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[alldownwind]

[ QUOTE ]
We'd better get this right in case some one acts on it:-

Thames
Gale warning 0253 Thu 26 Jul
Southwesterly severe gale force 9 expected soon

.

[/ QUOTE ]
I was quoting the inshore waters f'cast, as I said.
The gale warning, interestingly, says 'soon' for the F9, and was issued at 0253, so they were saying that it should arrive by 1453. I live on the coast at the southern end of the sea area, just been down by the ocean with my grand-daughter, I would say it's F5, and that's at 1230. Down the road at Manston it's gusting 6 according to XCWeather.

 

[Evadne]

Well it's blowing a 7 gusting to 8 in the centre of the universe, according to Chimet, /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif and Theyr shows the centre of the strong winds sweeping up the channel, across Kent and into the North Sea this afternoon, increasing once it gets out into the sea again.

 

[alldownwind]

Yep, getting up 'ere in darkest Kent now. Probably reaching the stage where I'm glad I'm ashore!

 

[chris505]

The weather will change, we have just booked a sailing holl in Greece. Not looking at the weather reports any more.

 

[hollandd]

monsoon in poole right now !

 

[Evadne]

Horizontal monsoon here as well. Just had a look at the rainfall radar, though, it ought to have stopped by going-home time.

 

[jonjo]

[ QUOTE ]
I must say that the forecasting was very inaccurate indeed

[/ QUOTE ]
Absolutely, during a mid June week in the C.I. the forecast predicted an East to West veer in the wind daily which did not actually occur until the final day of the holiday.

The inaccuracy of current weather forecasting is almost as frustrating as the weather. I suppose the computer weather modeling routines lack sufficient similar prior data at this time of year because the weather is so abnormal.

 

[Malcb]

And Chimet is now is 8 gusting 9

 

[alldownwind]

Really howling down here in Kent now, but certainly during almost all of the 'soon' period of the F9 forecast this morning the weather was perfectly reasonable for sailing in 'Thames' from what I could see locally and from all the weather data reports.