Oxenhope 17-05-2009

Fog Stratus forming after sunrise (c) 2009


Fog stratus on the way out.... looking NW (c) 2009


The front edge of the front!.... looking NW (c) 2009


The front edge of the front... looking NE (c) 2009

0700 - 1045hr D Barker/H Creber
SE F5 increasing SE F6, 6degC, 20km haze, 1/8 increasing 8/8, QNH 1007 rising then falling quickly.

A bitter cold morning for the time of year with, after sunrise, driving fog stratus coming down over the hills! This soon cleared but nothing moving during the first part of the morning except for large numbers of Lesser black backed Gulls as usual all coming in and leaving NW. At 0845hr the first sign of the approaching front from the south with initially high cirrus and then frontal cloud soon overdrawing completely. As if by magic this was accompanied by a continuing wave of Swifts all powering north like rockets and all unusually with the tail wind behind! By 0945 it was starting to rain, light and unobtrusive at first and then the heavens opened.... down to the car to shelter for a while and then back up to the watchpoint but whilst the Swifts and LBBGs were still coming it was impossible to count them owing to rain on the optics so I called it a draw!.... yet another dowsing. Later in the morning Howard called to say the flypast of the Douglas Dakota today and yesterday the Lancaster had both been cancelled owing to the weather.

Moving Birds:
LBB Gull 350 > N and NW
Herring Gull 1 > NW
Swallow 4 > N
Swift 89 > N

Dave