In Coventry we have had about -5 C minimum temperature, and say 2
degrees lower just outside the city. Watching all these weather
forecasts about the cold weather, I've noticed there seem to be a few
super-cold spots in areas near us (say 50 mile radius). One example is
Pershore to the south west (near the Malvern hills), where it was
according to the Met office station there, -14 C (this has been
exaggerated to -15 and then -16 on the new broadcasts !).

Another area was Benson in Oxforshire, quote:
"The temperature in Benson fell to as low as 14F (-18C). Nikki
Hamilton, a spokeswoman for RAF Benson, said: "It was absolutely
freezing and felt really, really cold. "
"Amanda Strickland-Taylor, a fellow Benson resident and classroom
assistant, said: "For some reason, we always seem to be the coldest
place. It's like we've got our own microclimate here.
You could feel the change in temperature last night though. We keep
horses nearby in Ewelme, and when we walked back at about 4pm you
could actually feel the temperature drop."

Anyone have an explanation for these localised cold spots ?

Cheers,
Simon.

sm_jamieson wrote:
In Coventry we have had about -5 C minimum temperature, and say 2
degrees lower just outside the city. Watching all these weather
forecasts about the cold weather, I've noticed there seem to be a few
super-cold spots in areas near us (say 50 mile radius). One example is
Pershore to the south west (near the Malvern hills), where it was
according to the Met office station there, -14 C (this has been
exaggerated to -15 and then -16 on the new broadcasts !).

Another area was Benson in Oxforshire, quote:
"The temperature in Benson fell to as low as 14F (-18C). Nikki
Hamilton, a spokeswoman for RAF Benson, said: "It was absolutely
freezing and felt really, really cold. "
"Amanda Strickland-Taylor, a fellow Benson resident and classroom
assistant, said: "For some reason, we always seem to be the coldest
place. It's like we've got our own microclimate here.
You could feel the change in temperature last night though. We keep
horses nearby in Ewelme, and when we walked back at about 4pm you
could actually feel the temperature drop."

Anyone have an explanation for these localised cold spots ?

Cheers,
Simon.
Google 'frost hollow'

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
sm_jamieson wrote:
In Coventry we have had about -5 C minimum temperature, and say 2
degrees lower just outside the city. Watching all these weather
forecasts about the cold weather, I've noticed there seem to be a few
super-cold spots in areas near us (say 50 mile radius). One example is
Pershore to the south west (near the Malvern hills), where it was
according to the Met office station there, -14 C (this has been
exaggerated to -15 and then -16 on the new broadcasts !).

Another area was Benson in Oxforshire, quote:
"The temperature in Benson fell to as low as 14F (-18C). Nikki
Hamilton, a spokeswoman for RAF Benson, said: "It was absolutely
freezing and felt really, really cold. "
"Amanda Strickland-Taylor, a fellow Benson resident and classroom
assistant, said: "For some reason, we always seem to be the coldest
place. It's like we've got our own microclimate here.
You could feel the change in temperature last night though. We keep
horses nearby in Ewelme, and when we walked back at about 4pm you
could actually feel the temperature drop."

Anyone have an explanation for these localised cold spots ?

Cheers,
Simon.
Google 'frost hollow'

Lockshield valve needs adjusting to balance the system

On 7 Jan, 23:14, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
sm_jamieson wrote:
In Coventry we have had about -5 C minimum temperature, and say 2
degrees lower just outside the city. Watching all these weather
forecasts about the cold weather, I've noticed there seem to be a few
super-cold spots in areas near us (say 50 mile radius). One example is
Pershore to the south west (near the Malvern hills), where it was
according to the Met office station there, -14 C (this has been
exaggerated to -15 and then -16 on the new broadcasts !).

Another area was Benson in Oxforshire, quote:
"The temperature in Benson fell to as low as 14F (-18C). Nikki
Hamilton, a spokeswoman for RAF Benson, said: "It was absolutely
freezing and felt really, really cold. "
"Amanda Strickland-Taylor, a fellow Benson resident and classroom
assistant, said: "For some reason, we always seem to be the coldest
place. It's like we've got our own microclimate here.
You could feel the change in temperature last night though. We keep
horses nearby in Ewelme, and when we walked back at about 4pm you
could actually feel the temperature drop."

Anyone have an explanation for these localised cold spots ?

Cheers,
Simon.

Google 'frost hollow'

I will.
Another one is Manchester, -15C, liverpool -6C.
I wonder if that is the same.
Simon.

On 07/01/2010 23:08, sm_jamieson wrote:
In Coventry we have had about -5 C minimum temperature, and say 2
degrees lower just outside the city. Watching all these weather
forecasts about the cold weather, I've noticed there seem to be a few
super-cold spots in areas near us (say 50 mile radius). One example is
Pershore to the south west (near the Malvern hills), where it was
according to the Met office station there, -14 C (this has been
exaggerated to -15 and then -16 on the new broadcasts !).

Another area was Benson in Oxforshire, quote:
"The temperature in Benson fell to as low as 14F (-18C). Nikki
Hamilton, a spokeswoman for RAF Benson, said: "It was absolutely
freezing and felt really, really cold. "
"Amanda Strickland-Taylor, a fellow Benson resident and classroom
assistant, said: "For some reason, we always seem to be the coldest
place. It's like we've got our own microclimate here.
You could feel the change in temperature last night though. We keep
horses nearby in Ewelme, and when we walked back at about 4pm you
could actually feel the temperature drop."

Anyone have an explanation for these localised cold spots ?

Cheers,
Simon.

No. Except if you want bad weather micro-locations check out whether
there is or was an RAF aerodrome there. If so, it probably has some such
quirk like being the foggiest place in the county.

Seem to remember that Rickmansworth is another cold spot - but that
probably busts my RAF test.

But every time I hear or see Benson (and we don't live very far away
from that one), I hear "Benson Arizona" running through my head. Thank
you Dolittle. Might be a bit warmer there. :-)


A million suns shine down
But I see only one
When I think I'm over you
I find I've just begun
The years move faster than the days
There's no warmth in the light
How I miss those desert skies
Your cool touch in the night

CHORUS:
Benson, Arizona, blew warm wind through your hair
My body flies the galaxy, my heart longs to be there
Benson, Arizona, the same stars in the sky
But they seemed so much kinder when we watched them, you and I

Now the years pull us apart
I'm young and now you're old
But you're still in my heart
And the memory won't grow cold
I dream of times and spaces
I left far behind
Where we spent our last few days
Benson's on my mind

(CHORUS)

http://www.benzedrine.cx/darkstar.html

And that brings me to tonight's weather forecast whine. Here (High
Wycombe) the 24 hour forecast shows the coldest 3 hour period as -6. But
the 5 day forecast shows -9.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/4276

Never have understood why this sort of discrepancy occurs regularly.

--
Rod

On 7 Jan, 23:23, Rod wrote:
On 07/01/2010 23:08, sm_jamieson wrote:



In Coventry we have had about -5 C minimum temperature, and say 2
degrees lower just outside the city. Watching all these weather
forecasts about the cold weather, I've noticed there seem to be a few
super-cold spots in areas near us (say 50 mile radius). One example is
Pershore to the south west (near the Malvern hills), where it was
according to the Met office station there, -14 C (this has been
exaggerated to -15 and then -16 on the new broadcasts !).

Another area was Benson in Oxforshire, quote:
"The temperature in Benson fell to as low as 14F (-18C). Nikki
Hamilton, a spokeswoman for RAF Benson, said: "It was absolutely
freezing and felt really, really cold. "
"Amanda Strickland-Taylor, a fellow Benson resident and classroom
assistant, said: "For some reason, we always seem to be the coldest
place. It's like we've got our own microclimate here.
You could feel the change in temperature last night though. We keep
horses nearby in Ewelme, and when we walked back at about 4pm you
could actually feel the temperature drop."

Anyone have an explanation for these localised cold spots ?

Cheers,
Simon.

No. Except if you want bad weather micro-locations check out whether
there is or was an RAF aerodrome there. If so, it probably has some such
quirk like being the foggiest place in the county.

Seem to remember that Rickmansworth is another cold spot - but that
probably busts my RAF test.

But every time I hear or see Benson (and we don't live very far away
from that one), I hear "Benson Arizona" running through my head. Thank
you Dolittle. Might be a bit warmer there. :-)

A million suns shine down
But I see only one
When I think I'm over you
I find I've just begun
The years move faster than the days
There's no warmth in the light
How I miss those desert skies
Your cool touch in the night

CHORUS:
Benson, Arizona, blew warm wind through your hair
My body flies the galaxy, my heart longs to be there
Benson, Arizona, the same stars in the sky
But they seemed so much kinder when we watched them, you and I

Now the years pull us apart
I'm young and now you're old
But you're still in my heart
And the memory won't grow cold
I dream of times and spaces
I left far behind
Where we spent our last few days
Benson's on my mind

(CHORUS)

http://www.benzedrine.cx/darkstar.html

And that brings me to tonight's weather forecast whine. Here (High
Wycombe) the 24 hour forecast shows the coldest 3 hour period as -6. But
the 5 day forecast shows -9.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/4276

Never have understood why this sort of discrepancy occurs regularly.

--
Rod

Deffo the frost hollow thing on these cold nights.
On one of the weather forums someone described temp dropping by 7
degrees going down into a valley.
On the forum they were also complaining about dodgy readings with poor
equipment being jump on by the Media.
By the way, Manchester -15C was at the airport.

Found this about Benson:

The cold did not come as a surprise to John Smith, 79, who has lived
in the village for 50 years. "We've been through it before," he said,
as he emerged from the post office on to the icy high street.
"We've got the Cotswolds over there to the west and the Chilterns over
there to the east and we are in the Thames valley, so the cold slides
off the hills down to us," he said, pointing. "We're used to it, but
it is cold."
Overnight on Wednesday Benson was only two degrees warmer than the
South Pole, where temperatures at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole
Station in Antarctica were recorded at -20C. The winter of 1981-2 saw
temperatures in the Chilterns, near Benson, below that.

With all this its a bit underwhelming in Coventry !

Simon.

On Jan 7, 11:17*pm, sm_jamieson wrote:
Another one is Manchester, -15C, liverpool -6C.
I wonder if that is the same.

Yes - cold air sinks.

Being at the bottom of a hill can be enough to get some really
stunning frost effects.

For the best frost effects, driving past a power station's cooling
towers on Monday (-6oC frost) was just another planet. Every
individual leaf on trees & hedgerows had a huge razor of jagged dense
white frost, an intense crisp contrast. The frost had been amplified
by a continual stream of moisture to create an almost frightening and
brutal scene more like the extreme north of sweden after prolonged
supercold temperatures (despite it having occurred overnight). What it
must be like tonight I have no idea after the snowfall, temperatures &
continued cooling tower outfall (probably thick dense fog).

Where I am (further south in Cheshire) today near the bottom of a hill
it has been -4oC (11am), -7oC (5pm), -9.5oC (11pm) measured on a
window-cill. Drive up the hill and temperatures are noticeably warmer
& snow does not crunch, drop to the bottom of the hill & snow crunches
hard.

South facing still shows a noticeable benefit - solar gain this
morning created 18.4oC in a south facing bedroom vs 14.2oC in one rear
facing with 1/3rd the glazing area, insulation, blinds & thermal
curtains and heated room beneath.

Frost hollows are the cause for the extreme temperatures in the UK.
That said, -7oC at 5pm & -9.5oC now is surprising - frost heave in
clay has lifted 3x2 paving all around jamming everything from gates to
garages; gaps that were nearly an inch are closed tight with hinges
lifted above their washers. Last time I recall frost heave that severe
was early 1980s.

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
sm_jamieson wrote:
In Coventry we have had about -5 C minimum temperature, and say 2
degrees lower just outside the city. Watching all these weather
forecasts about the cold weather, I've noticed there seem to be a few
super-cold spots in areas near us (say 50 mile radius). One example is
Pershore to the south west (near the Malvern hills), where it was
according to the Met office station there, -14 C (this has been
exaggerated to -15 and then -16 on the new broadcasts !).

Another area was Benson in Oxforshire, quote:
"The temperature in Benson fell to as low as 14F (-18C). Nikki
Hamilton, a spokeswoman for RAF Benson, said: "It was absolutely
freezing and felt really, really cold. "
"Amanda Strickland-Taylor, a fellow Benson resident and classroom
assistant, said: "For some reason, we always seem to be the coldest
place. It's like we've got our own microclimate here.
You could feel the change in temperature last night though. We keep
horses nearby in Ewelme, and when we walked back at about 4pm you
could actually feel the temperature drop."

Anyone have an explanation for these localised cold spots ?

Cheers,
Simon.
Google 'frost hollow'

And going the other way temperature drops as you get higher too - google
"Saturated Adiabatic Lapse Rate" - it's in the region of 1.8C per 1000
feet depending on factors such as humidity..

Gordon

On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 15:17:18 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson
wrote:

Another one is Manchester, -15C, liverpool -6C.
I wonder if that is the same.


Liverpool is much warmer than Manchester in the winter because
Liverpool benefits from its proximity to the relatively warm sea. The
Irish Sea temperature is around + 7.0 - 8.0 C so that will have a
considerable effect on the coastal climate, which is very mild.

Manchester, 30+ miles inland, does not benefit from this.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember sm_jamieson
saying something like:

Overnight on Wednesday Benson was only two degrees warmer than the
South Pole, where temperatures at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole
Station in Antarctica were recorded at -20C.

Sky News kept banging on about that, this morning. Absurd.

On 8 Jan, 19:14, Bruce wrote:
On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 15:17:18 -0800 (PST), sm_jamieson

wrote:
Another one is Manchester, -15C, liverpool -6C.
I wonder if that is the same.

Liverpool is much warmer than Manchester in the winter because
Liverpool benefits from its proximity to the relatively warm sea. *The
Irish Sea temperature is around + 7.0 - 8.0 C so that will have a
considerable effect on the coastal climate, which is very mild.

Manchester, 30+ miles inland, does not benefit from this.

The reported low for Manchester was -15, liverpool -6.
Manchester does seem unusually low, but the weather station is at the
airport which is
perhaps in a front hollow or something.
I do not think the reported temperatures are what most people living
in Manchester
would experience.
Simon.

sm_jamieson wrote:

Found this about Benson:

The cold did not come as a surprise to John Smith, 79, who has lived
in the village for 50 years. "We've been through it before," he said,
as he emerged from the post office on to the icy high street.
"We've got the Cotswolds over there to the west and the Chilterns over
there to the east and we are in the Thames valley, so the cold slides
off the hills down to us," he said, pointing. "We're used to it, but
it is cold."
Overnight on Wednesday Benson was only two degrees warmer than the
South Pole, where temperatures at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole
Station in Antarctica were recorded at -20C. The winter of 1981-2 saw
temperatures in the Chilterns, near Benson, below that.

snip

People keep going on about this Antarctica thing - and never mention
that it's the middle of summer there...

Still at least we're warmer than Commander Powell.

Andy

On 08/01/2010 22:58, Andy Champ wrote:

People keep going on about this Antarctica thing - and never mention
that it's the middle of summer there...

Still at least we're warmer than Commander Powell.

Andy

Said that to partner earlier. Pillocks aren't they.

Maybe someone needs to start teaching phenomenology? Seems a good way of
releasing lots of energy.

--
Rod

On Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:23:59 +0000, Rod wrote:

And that brings me to tonight's weather forecast whine. Here (High
Wycombe) the 24 hour forecast shows the coldest 3 hour period as -6. But
the 5 day forecast shows -9.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/forecast/4276

Never have understood why this sort of discrepancy occurs regularly.

Computer generated projections with no sanity checking.

--
Cheers
Dave.