NASA International Space Apps Challenge London

The Met Office hosted the NASA led International Space Apps Challenge at the Google Campus in London on the weekend of the 20 – 21 April.

Chris Gerty, from the Open Innovation Programme at NASA was at the London event and thanked the Met Office for making the weekend such a success.

More than 85 people attended the event from across the UK and Europe, making 13 different teams working on challenges over the weekend. See all the pictures from the weekend on our Flickr account.

Two challenges from London will go forward for global judging and these were decided by a panel of three judges, Chris Gerty from NASA, Irini Papadimitriou, Digital Programmes Assistant Manager at the V&A and Phil Evans, Government Services Director at the Met Office.

The two winning challenges from London were People of the Soil and T-10.

People of the Soil developed a low cost digital soil testing kit, web and SMS protocols and a web application to collect and share soil data globally.

T-10 created an app that astronauts can use on the Space Station to alert them to suitable times to photograph specific parts of Earth.

These will now be judged against other winning challenges globally, with winners being announced by NASA in the coming weeks. Follow @spaceappslondon to find out which challenges win NASA’s global judging next month.

Met Office shortlisted in Appster awards

The Met Office iPhone and Android app have been shortlisted for the Best Consumer App in the Appster awards, to be presented on Oct 2^nd in London.

This continues a successful year for both the iPhone and Android apps having been shortlisted for 3 different awards. The apps have also been voted No 1 in The Independent’s 10 Best Weather apps (28th June 2012) and were also listed in The Guardian’s top 50 apps (Mar 2012).

Derrick Ryall, Head of Public Weather Service at the Met Office said: “We are delighted that our iPhone and Android apps have been shortlisted for Best Consumer Apps in the Appster awards. It is fantastic to know that users across the UK have found the Met Office App so useful, both for keeping up to date with the latest weather forecast and allowing them to make informed weather dependent decisions. “

Mubaloo provided the Met Office with the designs, build and tracking for both the Android and updated iPhone weather applications.

Sarah Weller, Marketing Manager at Mubaloo said: “We are absolutely thrilled that the Met Office’s iPhone and Android app has been shortlisted for another award. The Met Office’s decision to develop mobile apps was a very significant move and highlighted their determination to provide weather information to the public in the fastest and most convenient way possible. It is fantastic to see the Met Office’s app receive such a high level of recognition across the industry.”

The iPhone and Android app have been downloaded over 3 million times and are the 14^th most accessed app in the UK. Features of the app include 3 hourly forecasts out to 5 days ahead, UV forecast maps and information on the likelihood of rain. In addition to the apps, we also provide Smarter Weather for other smart phones and Mobile Weather, a graphics light version designed to be accessible on all web enabled mobile phones.

 

Olympic and Paralympic forecasts recognised as first class

As the London 2012 Paralympic Games draw to a close this weekend, Met Office forecasters will be returning home knowing that the forecasts provided were first class after garnering widespread praise from event organisers and competitors.

Rod Carr, London 2012 Field of Play Manager at Weymouth and Portland, said: “The Met Office team were first class – not only in the technical accuracy of the forecasts, but also the quality of the daily briefings and their ability to engage meaningfully with the Race Management Teams.”

The Met Office provided weather forecasts to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games organisers, for the competing athletes and their coaches and also for visitors and those responsible for the massive logistical exercise of transporting and ensuring the safety of huge numbers of visitors.

Rod Carr continued: “The International Sailing Federation and several National Team Leaders were also very complimentary about the forecast service, with several saying “it was the best met service they had ever experienced at a Games”.”

Highly trained and experienced Met Office forecasters with an understanding of the sports they were forecasting for worked alongside Olympic and Paralympic Games organisers not only at Weymouth and Portland, but also at Eton Dorney and London. Our forecasters provided round-the-clock support and advice on weather conditions throughout the Games.

Cora Zillich, Venue Media Manager at the Eton Dorney rowing venue, said: “Here at Eton Dorney we have worked very closely with colleagues at the Met Office to support the race scheduling. The advice we received was absolutely spot on.”

Find out more about how the Met Office has supported the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Related articles

• Weather forecasts for the Olympic Games (metofficenews.wordpress.com)
• Ground-breaking forecasting keeps Olympic rowing on course (metofficenews.wordpress.com)

Heavy rain in the west but very warm in the south east

The UK’s weather will see marked contrasts over the next few days – with heavy rain in the west today and very warm weather in the south east.

Forecasters at the Met Office have issued severe weather warnings for the rain across parts of western Britain today.

Rainfall amounts could reach 60 mm or more in parts of Wales and northern England, accompanied by strong winds. This could cause some disruption in places. The rain will ease during the early hours of Saturday morning.

Met Office radar image from 17 August 2012

In the South East of England, it will be much drier and will become oppressively hot as warm and humid air spreads up from continental Europe.

Temperatures are expected to rise into the high 20s Celsius today and over the weekend, and perhaps even the low 30s Celsius in parts of Kent and East Anglia on Sunday.

It remains to be seen whether the temperature will rise above the hottest seen so far this year, with 30.7 °C at St James’s Park in London on 25 July.

Temperatures on 17 August 2012

While it will be mainly dry in the South East, there will be some cloud around and any sunshine will be quite hazy with fog lingering along some coasts. There may even be a few thundery showers later on Sunday.

Met Office Chief Forecaster Martin Young said: “While it will be hot in the South East, we’re not expecting wall-to-wall sunshine and it will feel quite humid and oppressive over the weekend. As we head into next week, south westerly winds will push that humid air away to bring fresher conditions, and showers to north west Britain.”

For the latest information, keep up to date with our online online forecasts and warnings.

Weather at the 1948 London Olympic Games

2012 is the third time that the capital of the UK is hosting the Olympic Games.  In this short feature Dan Suri, Deputy Chief Forecaster at the Met Office reflects on the weather in 1948 and the similarities with 2012.

The London 2012 Olympic Games might not be the first London Olympics characterised by hot weather in the run-up to the start and then to be followed by rather changeable conditions through much of the Games themselves.

Just as we saw this year, July 1948 was characterised by generally very cool and dull conditions until shortly after mid-month when high pressure built across the UK to bring hot and sunny conditions in the run up to the start of the Olympic Games.

During this warm spell in 1948 Milford, near Guildford saw temperatures reach 35 °C on the 28^th, and  Greenwich, for example, saw 32.8 deg C on three successive days up to the end of the month. This year, also saw a warm fine weather in the run up to the Games with a temperature of 30.7 °C recorded at St. James Park on the 25^th July.

The warm conditions of late July 1948 persisted into early August, with the 1^st being the hottest day of the month, with 28.3 °C being recorded at Greenwich. However, conditions started to turn more unsettled, where thunderstorms on the 2^nd led to scattered falls of more than 50 mm of rain in areas extending from South Wales to East Anglia, with Silsoe, near Bedford recording 100 mm. 

Cooler, cloudier weather then quickly settled in over the UK, with maximum temperatures falling by 8 to 10 °C in the London area in the first few days of August before conditions turned much more unsettled as a succession of low pressure systems crossed the UK. These depressions brought spells of wet and at times windy weather to much of the country.

Across London, although most of first half of August 1948 was rather unsettled, there were still some fine days as well.  However, the period between the 6th and 8th was particularly unsettled; 30-60mm rain was recorded quite widely across the London.

Maximum temperatures then remained typically in the high teens or low 20s Celsius for the rest of the first half of August.

Conditions then started to become a little less changeable mid-month, just in time for the closing ceremony. The rest of August then remained on the unsettled side, though over southern UK not to anywhere near the same extent as during the first half of the month.

Weather certainly affected outdoor sporting events through 1948. Photos show the main running track often taking on a wet appearance with puddles forming in places, whilst contemporary reports talk of rainy conditions during major events. However what is clear is that the sport still went on and the Games will be remembered for setting the standard for the Olympic Games in the post-war era.

Related articles

• London Olympics 1948 Photos (vintag.es)
• Journalist who covered 1948 London Olympics is reporting on this one too (guardian.co.uk)
• London Olympics opening ceremony to escape the rain, say forecasters (guardian.co.uk)
• LIFE at the 1948 London Olympics (life.time.com)
• The last time London hosted the Olympics: the 1948 Olympic Games (weheartvintage.co)

What does the weather have in store for ‘Super Saturday’?

With 25 gold medals up for grabs this Saturday we look back at the weather on this day over the last 30 years.

Get the forecast for every Olympic event this Saturday on our Olympic weather pages.

Ground-breaking forecasting keeps Olympic rowing on course

Ground-breaking high resolution weather forecasting lies at the heart of the Met Office’s services to the Olympic Games, providing the best advice available to both the organisers and competitors at venues in London and across the UK.

The London 2012 Olympic Games got underway in spectacular style on Friday night. As forecast, the Olympic Park saw a brief shower in the run up to the opening ceremony but the main event stayed dry.

The Met Office has been working with LOCOG, providing both longer term planning information and up to the minute details on the likely weather conditions as the focus now moves to the sporting events.

With the rowing events set to get underway on Saturday, accurate forecasts of wind conditions will be crucial to success. Predicting the subtle shifts in wind direction and speed over a small area like the Eton Dorney rowing lake is becoming possible thanks to the introduction of some new advances.

The Met Office weather forecasting model typically forecasts the weather using grid boxes of 4 x 4 km. But the new UKV model uses a much finer scale at 1.5 x 1.5 km over the whole of the country.

Just as increasing the number of pixels on a digital camera improves the picture, reducing the size of these grid boxes can add much more detail and clarity to the forecast.

For the Olympics, the Met Office is set to take high-resolution forecasting a step further by running multiple forecasts at the same time, a technique called ensemble forecasting.

Brian Golding, Deputy Director of Weather Science at the Met Office, explained: “By running multiple forecasts with slightly different starting conditions we can get a handle on how likely a forecast is. This means we can assess the chances of weather impacts in a certain area at a certain time, so we can give much more useful guidance.”

Using this system, detailed probability forecasts of head, tail and crosswinds will be used by the rowing teams at Eton Dorney as they look for that decisive edge that may bring that prized Olympic medal.

The high-resolution ensembles will be used throughout the Olympics. They will then be subject to further research, with a view that the facility could be introduced operationally in the future. This will potentially leave a legacy that will benefit the UK well after the Olympic and Paralympic Games are over.

You can keep up to date with our weather forecasts on our website or with our specific London 2012 Olympic Games forecasts.

Weather forecasts for the Olympic Games

The Met Office is providing weather forecasts for all Olympic venues during the Games and beyond. As part of the services provided for London 2012, we have installed additional weather observation equipment and developed enhanced forecasting capability to support our staff.

During the Olympic and Paralympic games the Met Office will also be showcasing some cutting-edge weather techniques and technology in its forecasting, as well as providing additional services for the public. To add specialist knowledge and expertise, the Met Office will have 12 forecasters on site across the Olympic venues throughout the games.

For easy access to the latest forecast for each sport and Olympic venue, all the links you need are below.

Sports
Archery	Cycling – Mountain bike	Marathon swimming
Athletics	Cycling – Road	Rowing
Beach Volleyball	Equestrian	Sailing
Canoe Slalom	Football	Shooting
Canoe Sprint	Hockey	Tennis
Cycling – BMX	Modern Pentathlon	Triathlon

Locations
Olympic Park	North Greenwich Arena	Horse Guards Parade
Lords Cricket Ground	ExCel centre	Lee Valley White Water Centre
Wembley Arena	Eton Dorney	Hadleigh Farm, Essex
The Mall	Box Hill	Hampton Court Palace
City of Coventry Stadium	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Millennium Stadium
Old Trafford	St James’ Park, Newcastle	Hyde Park
Weymouth & Portland	Royal Artillery Barracks	Wimbledon

If you’re lucky enough to be attending an Olympic or Paralympic event, you can keep up to date with the local forecast while you’re there on our mobile applications for iPhone and Android, or on our mobile website.

Wimbledon weather 2012

The Wimbledon Championship gets underway next week, and all eyes will be turning to the sky above SW19 as Wimbledon weather watching take hold. The current outlook suggests that after the wet weather over the weekend it will turn a little drier at least for the start of the Championships with a mixture of broken cloud, bright or sunny spells and only a small risk of showers disrupting play. Like this week in the London area, temperatures will also be in the low 20′s  Celsius as well.

The latest forecast from the Met Office is that it will be feeling warmer on Monday with some spells of sunshine and only light winds. It should remain dry throughout, with only a very  small chance of a light afternoon shower disrupting play. Maximum Temperature 22 °C.

To keep up with the latest weather at the championships, visit our dedicated Wimbledon page.

Forecasting at Wimbledon

Like last year, Met Office forecasters will be stationed on site for the duration of the tournament. Our forecasters will combine the latest scientific knowledge and technology from the Met Office’s headquarters in Exeter with on the ground weather reading and assessment. This means that if it’s drizzling on the ground, the on site forecaster can then access information from the Met Office’s arsenal of radars, forecasts and mapping systems to find out which direction it’s moving in the wider area and know whether it will affect play, and for how long.

Even though the new retractable roof means that play on centre court can continue when it’s raining, the weather will still impact on play on the other courts and Met Office forecasts are still used to determine when to close the roof and, perhaps even more importantly, when it is safe to open it again.

Tim Hewson, one of the on-site Met Office forecasters for last year’s tournament, said: “We can’t stop the rain from falling, but we can help the referee organise the tournament around the weather, so that spectators get to watch as much tennis as possible, and so that players don’t risk injury by playing on slippery courts.”

In the video below, Chris Tubbs, who will be on site forecasting this year, talks through the process of forecasting the weather for the championships.

Wimbledon weather facts

• The warmest Wimbledon Championship on record was 1976, where temperatures averaged at 25.4 C.
• In 1997, 118.3 mm of rain fell during the championships, making it the wettest Wimbledon on record.
• Perhaps rather unfairly, Wimbledon has always been associated with bad weather and particularly with rain. But actually play has only been totally rained off 32 times in 125 years.
• Most years, some rain does fall during the championships, however there have been seven years where rain did not interrupt play at all – 1931, 1976, 1977, 1993 and 1995, 2009 and 2010.

In this video, Johnny Perkins, from the All England Club, explains how the weather affects their planning for the championships and the ideal weather they hope for.

Infographic: London Marathon weather

The full weather forecast for this Sunday’s London Marathon is  available on Wednesday, in the meantime we look back at the weather on previous marathon days.

 

View more weather forecasts for events on our website.