The Temperature Rises Before Snow Arrives
The temperature often rises just before it snows, but why? When it is very cold in winter, we instinctively feel that snow is likely. It…
Tag: weather clues
What do Scientists Read on Holiday?
Dear Mr. Gooley,I have stumbled upon your book on the secret world of weather in a small bookstore in Flagstaff, Arizona on a road trip.…
Dew Maps the Cold Pockets
Dew shows us the places that remain cold even after the rest of the landscape has warmed up. On sunny days in autumn it is…
Frost in Coleridge’s Cottage
It was great to visit Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s cottage in Nether Stowey, Somerset. He wrote the poem ‘Frost at Midnight’ in this room. The first 3…
What are Lens Clouds? (Altocumulus lenticularis)
Lens clouds are saucer, lens or lentil-shaped clouds that form when wind blows moist air over mountains. Their formal name is Altocumulus lenticularis (lenticula means…
EasyJet Calms Orographic Storms
My thanks to all the team at the Mosto Festival in Italy for organising such a fun event based around the theme of water. I…
Wind Against Tide – A Sign of Choppy Water
The yacht is on a ‘swing mooring’ and will swing with the tide. This shows us that the water is flowing from right to left.…
Why is visibility so good in the mountains?
Many visitors to cold mountains are struck by the amazing visibility. The visibility is so good that it can trick the brain into thinking things…
Three Generations of Nature Readers
My thanks to Kareem Dieng and his family for reading my books. That’s Kareem with The Secret World of Weather, ‘Pops’ reading Lost Art of…
The Secret World of Weather – Paperback Out!
The paperback of The Secret World of Weather is out today – in the UK! I am very excited by that and this morning’s weather…
Saharan Dust Moon Halo
There was a 22 Degree halo around the moon a couple of nights ago. This is a sign of cirrostratus, a high veil of icy…
What is a Wind Shadow?
A wind shadow is a place where the wind doesn’t reach. There is a calm, sheltered zone on the downwind side of all obstacles, a…
A Plein-Air Artists’ Manual
One of the great joys of natural navigation is that it intrigues such a wide variety of people, something it shares with food. We can’t…
How to Beat the Wind
I’ve been faced with an interesting weather challenge recently. I needed to take a sail off my boat for maintenance. This is something I can…
Which Way Are We Looking? Basketball Edition
I walked out this morning into a white and frosty world to discover lots of interesting patterns in the land. Two questions: What direction are…
Snow that Survives
There is plenty of snow on this tree stump, but very little nearby, why? The stump means that the tree that was once there has…
What is a Frost Hollow?
A frost hollow is a local low point in a landscape where cold dense air collects overnight. It is also known as a ‘frost pocket’.…
What is the Planetary Boundary Layer?
From The Secret World of Weather: The lowest part of the atmosphere is the only area strongly influenced by the sun’s radiative heating of the…
The Meaning of Cloud Streets
On a flight back from Spain to the UK, we were treated to a great display of “cloud streets” over France. They form parallel to…
When clouds appear like rocks and towers…
… the Earth’s refreshed by frequent showers. It is so rewarding when weather lore helps us remember a clue. It is doubly satisfying when this…
What is a Gap Wind?
Whenever a wind is forced through a narrow gap it accelerates. This is true of all fluids, gas and liquid, it is the reason we…