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nick-silkstone.bsky.social
I spend as much time as possible outdoors, running, SUPing, cycling, walking and gardening. Occasional bit of photography. Operational Meteorologist at the Met Office (UK). All opinions my own.
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It looks like I saw the optical phenomenon of light pillars at 20:00 UTC 29 Jan 2025 in Devon, UK this evening. Vertical pillars of white light that really stood out in the sky for brightness and dead straightness of the lines.

submitted 24 days ago • 1 comment

#Meteorology makes such a difference to where aeroplanes fly. ✈️ Here a strong W'ly jet stream across the mid-Atlantic (linked to #StormEowyn) causes all the traffic from Europe going to North America to head well to the north. Whereas the traffic the other way enjoys a jet assisted ride back! 💨

submitted 30 days ago • 1 comment

A jet-stream fired up by the current North American coldwave will lead to a phenomenon known as a "Cyclone Family" in the North Atlantic. Multiple deep low pressure areas develop and take a similar track late January (close to the British Isles) More info: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

submitted 33 days ago • 5 comments

A #coldwave is forecast for the central US from the weekend into the middle of next week. Extending all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and northeastern Mexico. ECMWF forecasts suggest maximum temperatures for Austin, Texas, may be more than 20 C (36 F) below normal early next week.

submitted 39 days ago • 1 comment

Snow didn't settle in Exeter this week, so I popped up to #Dartmoor to get me #snow fix before it all melted. I drove to South Zeal, about 25 mins from Exeter, and walked up Cosdon Beacon (550 m) with Ollie 🐾 About 10-15cm, deep drifts, and rime on vegetation above 450m. A top afternoon out!

submitted 44 days ago • 3 comments

Loving geography so much, I came across these gift cards in Totnes a few years back using playing cards from the 1920s Jacques card game "The Countries of England" collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O26764/... I've framed up two from the area I grew up. A lovely vintage piece of art. 😄

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

With programmes on #BBC #Radio4 celebrating the centenary of the #ShippingForecast today. I thought I'd reshare the shipping forecast themed map I produced from the #30DayMapChallenge back in November.

submitted 52 days ago • 2 comments

#Snowdays? My family thinks snowfall that would cause few issues in the 1970s, cause carnage today. Why? My theory: Schools, H&S of the school site, & safety of pupil/staff travel. Many teachers commute greater distances now than in 1970, rendering safe travel more challenging. Data, thoughts?

submitted 54 days ago • 5 comments

Confidence is now high for cold weather across parts of Western / Northwestern Europe in early January 2025. Here is a look at the forecast broad regime through the start of the period, and meteogram for London showing the forecast max / min. Compared to recent weeks, it will be notably #cold!

submitted 56 days ago • 1 comment

Across a few days dog walks on my regular routes I've surveyed the damage in my local area from #StormDarragh Mainly tree damage with a few large trees toppled, and plenty of branches / limbs brought down (>3 m in length my criteria for inclusion). A nice reference to future strong wind events.

submitted 72 days ago • 1 comment

Sting Jet in #StormDarragh? #Technical 1/ Sting jets are most commonly found in Shapiro-Keyser cyclones These cyclones tend to be marked by a frontal fracture, meaning the cold front is very weak. UKV fields (dewpoint digits) on Friday evening analysed cold front is indeed very weak / fractured.

submitted 79 days ago • 1 comment

Across #SouthernAfrica, following the historic #drought of 2023/2024 (linked to El Nino), the start of the 2024 / 2025 wet season is much delayed. Much of the maize (the staple crop) is mostly planted in November, but the area currently remains arid and baked by heat, planting will be delayed.

submitted 81 days ago • 1 comment

D28: Blue Planet Quick and simple today. The Canals of England. #30DayMapChallenge

submitted 86 days ago • 3 comments