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The weather forecast pictures don't match what's
going on outside my window.
Note the answer to Q1.2. Again, read the text which is updated at
0600, 1200 and 1800.
1.2
What is the weather like at .....?
Get the latest forecast or observations from the Met
Office. You can also get a detailed
weather forecast via your mobile phone, including rainfall,
for your location or postcode. The past
weather pages also give a brief overview of the climate of
various regions round the world.
However, if you want detailed climate values for a specific place
try World
Climate. You can enter a location when prompted and this then
provides long-term average values for daily maximum and overnight
minimum temperatures, also rainfall, on a monthly basis. Remember
that these are averages and that there can be significant variations
from these figures.
1.3
Is there a decode for the weather
symbols? You can see the decode by clicking on the 'Key'
link on the pages with the weather symbols.
Why do we use Celsius rather than
Fahrenheit?
The Celsius scale is the World Meteorological Organization standard
for temperature measurement and is used throughout the world by
the meteorological community for global exchange of information.
2.2
How do you convert Celsius to Fahrenheit?
From Celsius to Fahrenheit - F=9/5*C+32
From Fahrenheit to Celsius - C=5/9*(F-32)
where C is the value in Celsius and F is the value in Fahrenheit.
2.3
How do you convert from millibars
to inches?
Multiply the millibar value by 0.02953 to get the value in inches.
2.4
What are hectopascals?
The SI unit for pressure is a pascal. The worldwide meteorological
community uses the hectopascal, i.e. a hundred pascals, which is
the metric equivalent of a millibar. However, millibars (and inches)
are still used in some public forecasts in the UK and USA.
2.5
What is UTC? UTC stands for Universal Time Coordinated and it is equivalent
to GMT. The Royal
Observatory web site has more information on
the history of timekeeping. It also has a description of local
time.
What are hurricanes and how are they
named?
Many questions about hurricanes are answered on our Tropical
Cyclones page.
3.2
How do I get a setting for my barometer?
Atmospheric pressure varies over time and space and also varies
with height. Since the altitude of the barometer normally stays
constant (the station height) a correction is made to the reading
to make it equivalent to the mean sea-level reading. This is done
so that readings from different locations can be compared, with
differences due to height being removed. Aneroid barometers are
normally adjusted to mean sea-level values - read the barometer's
instructions to see how to adjust the instrument (normally by
a screw on the back). Mercury barometers cannot be adjusted (don't
tamper with them because a mercury spillage is a health hazard).
To get the value for your barometer, choose a high-pressure day,
pressure values are not changing very much - you can watch the
TV forecasts for such a day. Go to the Met
Office's observation page and choose the station nearest to
your location - on a quiet weather day the distance away from
you will not be significant. Adjust the barometer to the station's
pressure value. You can check your barometer on other days but
will have to compensate for fast-changing pressures or distance
if the pressure is low or changing fast. The observation includes
information about how the pressure is changing. There is a page
on the University
of Reading web site which gives more information about barometers.
3.3
How do you define a white Christmas?
See our white
Christmas page for a definition and details of previous white
Christmasses.
3.4
Are any of the weather folklores correct?
Some do reflect the weather conditions. You can find out the answers
to this and many more queries at our Media
centre.
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