Camborne and the 564 thickness

[xmetman]

A while ago I wrote an application to collect upper air reports from Camborne just to monitor various parameters and indices. As usual the app is only partly finished but I can monitor various partial thicknesses. I've never seen an application dedicated to the climate of the upper air so this might be a first.

The one thing about radiosonde observations these days is that they are very reliable - twice a day - never miss. There may well be an automated launcher at Camborne, it's afew years since I went there. 

The interesting thing about this year is that despite several warm spells it's only in recent days that the 1000-500 hPa thickness has exceeded 564 dam. On the 17th at 2300 UTC it measured 567.6 dam and the freezing level was 16,129 feet.

[xmetman]

I did wonder about the pollution from plastic and batteries. I suppose the case could be made out of thick cardboard.  

[xmetman]

I notice from the Met Office that Camborne is still a manned station and don't use an auto launcher. 

I've seen a video of the auto launcher in action at Watnall but can't find it at the moment.

It's a shame they can't reinstate one at Stornoway although I suppose it wouldn't give any one a job other than the guy who fills up the shed with helium, balloons and RS-41's.

[Brian Wakem]

Presumably they don't all land in the sea, they could end up smashing a greenhouse or falling on someone's head.

[xmetman]

The old ones, which were much larger did include a parachute and a reward for returning them. 

I notice from Twitter, that people are canablising used ones to make mobile AWS out of because they include a GPS!

[Metman2012]

Ahh, I remember my very first posting in the Met Office - Crawley Radio Sonde (was really just outside Pease Pottage). Cossor Radar, GL3 in the grounds as a backup (Gun Laying radar). One person to take the readings of height and azimuth and plot the winds. 3? people to man the Cintel? to plot temp etc.

The picture of the sonde above shows what looks like a parachute. All previous marks had one but only the Mark 2 gave a reward for returning (don't know about the mark 1).

And as for greenhouses - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7841724/Met-Office-apologises-after-weather-balloon-crashes-into-conservatory.html

[xmetman]

With regard to crashing through conservatory roofs...

One thing I want to add to the application is was the downwind position of any sonde ascent.

I always reckoned in a westerly jet at Kinloss the Stornoway ascent must be overhead Kinloss when it got to 100 hPa.

The maths should be simple enough to do.

I bet the Met Office have some kind of program to do that for verifying insurance claims, if not I could always sell them mine!

[Len W]

I run a U3A Weather group.

One of my members last year found this RS41 washed up on a south Devon beach.

Note the radiosonde has parachute attached.

Len