h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Key West, Florida, USA 30 April 2012, 18:00 EDT

We're holding at 71/21 today as a result of a low pressure cell that formed on Friday in the Bahamas, and has gifted us with nearly two inches of rain in the past forty-eight hours. The intensity of the squalls was pretty amazing this afternoon, and of course I got caught in the strongest of all while biking home.

We rarely get any rain between January and June, so this is a nice change. It's been pretty rainy all of April, and everything looks green and happy.

East Sussex coast 23:20

Been dry but breezy all day here. Huge dark clouds earlier but they didn't amount to anything

As we enter May the stratosphere continues to warm up, those living south of Sheffield be warned as May looks as if it’s going to be a month of very wet weather.
The low that will establish will drive up air from Africa across Europe and as it rotates south again it will deposit rain over southern parts of the UK. Have your mops buckets and wellies at the ready

Coachella Valley, CA, USA

M 30 Apr 2012, 7:40pm PDT

Temperature: 89F/32C

Air calm, sky strongly hazy, slightly overcast.

Its starting to get hot.

ITIWBS, We could do with some of your Southern Californian weather over here, as its presently cold, getting colder and we in good old Blighty might be back to minus figures by the weekend

Winternights, I must admit I feel just the same, could use more cool weather and moisture here.

With record low snow packs on the San Bernardino and Santa Rosa mountains, I've a ghastly feeling the summer time maximum is going to be in the 130+F/54.5+C range, unless there is a (very) extended summer doldrums* period.

Autumn is usually stormy, with temperature fluctuations as extreme as 120F/49.5C high to below freezing in a single 24 hour period in the realm of the possible. I've seen it.

Winter and spring are usually idyllic and many local residents, called 'snow birds', are here only for the cool seasons.

A summer with daily temperature fluctuations from 119F/49C high at 4:00pm to 90F/32C low at 4:00am is typical. About like standing in front of an open oven, only all around and all the time.

Other local weather anomalies include, usually, several electrophorus (dust) storms per year**, and an occasional hurricane*** coming straight up the channel of the Gulf of California. (Due south.)

Part of my spring cleaning ritual is taking the air conditioner apart, cleaning it, lubing it and putting it back together.





*Monsoonal flow coming off the Gulf of California.

**Dust mask, a paper painter's mask for example, strongly recommended if blow sands come up.

***The Palm Tree Storm Guage:

1. Fronds distributed evenly all around the tree and not stirring, calm.

2. Fronds stirring but still more or less equally distributed around the trunk, breeze.

3. More fronds on one side of the tree than the other, windy.

4. All the fronds on the same side of the tree, gale.

5. Fronds being stripped from the trees, tropical storm.

6. Trunks of Palm trees visibly bowed owed over, hurricane.

Overcast, dull, coolish, a bit depressing...

Peckam, London. 11am BST

Hi ITIWBS
It’s always interesting to read about the weather elsewhere and the impact it has on those living there, the temperatures that you mentioned would bring old Blighty to a stand still and most probably fill our hospital A&E departments with folk suffering from heat exhaustion.
When you live in a temporary climate like we do, which is normally influence by North Atlantic weather systems; there is few lasting extremes weather wise.
We are still being fed with North Easterlies which is pinning our seasonal temperature down by at least 10c and to say were in May we will expect a high of 5 to 7c during the day and 0c by night currently.
This is not typical weather, as it can be seen globally that there are extremes happening elsewhere due to the jetstreams disturbance.
The only good thing that comes out of this is that certain leisure goods are not selling as a consequence of the poor weather so there are good bargains to be had.
So on reading about your Southern Californian weather you may keep it as it would certainty frazzle up all my plants, this cold weather would suit them better

California's last 3rd stage smog alert, spring of 1985 did, as a matter of fact result in a considerable number of deaths, which woke up the legislators, with the consequence of tougher air quality laws being enacted.

Nowadays, vehicles have to be tested to assure their smog emissions are low enough to meet the official standard every other year.

I was out on the margin of the greater Los Angeles megapolitan complex at the time, weather there dominated by a stable inversion layer which traps hot air (and emissions due to combustion) near the ground.

The sky turned lime green, like the color of the cut face of a lime on account of the elevated CO2 count.

Water spouts were reported off Long Beach and graves exposed by an on-shore tornado that ripped through a Forest Lawn cemetery.

I found myself gasping for breath and having to stop to rest at every patch of shade I came to over a course where I usually ran or pedaled a bicycle all out.

The next thing I did was to get out of town.

I spent the remainder of spring and the summer in a remote wilderness area where I was completely surrounded by vegetation.




On the plus side, this pocket, just north of the Gulf of California, surrounded on the other three sides by mountains, is the richest and most productive agricultural land in the USA and the lands on the Mexican side of the border in the same pocket are comparable.

Largely clear skies with a nice Perigeeout there tonight, is but to see, possible Eta Aquarids to see low in the east before dawn if I’m up for that long.
Hasn’t dipped below freezing yet, we might just escape a frost; Sunday is to start sunny with cloud developing later, a high of 7c, pressure 1015.
Sun rise 05.19 and setting at 20.48

Manama, Bahrain.
Current Conditions (as of 10:00) Clear37°C Feels like: 37°C Barometer 1010 mb Dewpoint 14°C Humidity 25% Visibility Unlimited Rainfall in Last hr Not Available Rainfall in Last 24 Hrs Not Available Wind 3 mph ESE Sunrise 04:53 Sunset 18:14 UV Index 9 Very High Observed at Bahrain International Airport

Summer's here!

Cambridge, UK, still raning, somewhat warmer...

Overcast, dull, also slightly warmer, thus a bit less depressing than before

Peckam, London. five to six pm BST, May 10

Cambridge, UK, evening some time... winds got up a bit... still quite warm in here, but probably cooler out now, with the wind...

Vaguely gusty and soul soothing

Peckham, shortly after 11 pm BST

Coachella Valley, CA, USA

4:37pm PDT, 10 May 2012

Temperature, 36C/98F

Wind, none.

Nothing but high temperatures to look forward to until autumn, barring high winds and summer doldrum storms.

What a difference a day makesour weather courtesy of the jet stream has changed. As the jet stream has meandered over the North Atlantic Ocean for quite some time now, it has regained its strength and purpose.
As it now crosses the North Atlantic Ocean , it deviates South down to the equator and level with the Canary Islands / Morocco heads North East cutting the UK in half .
Its influence has brought warmer moist air up from the south and on it meeting the colder air mass has set of some very wet weather indeed. As usual the southern half of the UK is getting the brunt of it, but here in Leeds the temperature change was quite noticeable within hours which led to our very intense showers we have just had. The weather is set to be changeable, sunny intervals with showers. Friday expect highs of 8c; pressure currently 1009, rising to 1031.
Sun rise 05.10, sunset 20.57

The onset of summer here in Manama, Bahrain means upper 30s low 40s C maximums and clear/hazy skies. A/C keeps us comfy indoors though.

Well, where all getting giddy over here, its going to be sunny tomorrowwith a high of 11c, that almost enough for us to get the BBQ,sout and crack open a few’s.
We will all have to get up early to as to make the most of it.
Sundays set to be just as warm but cloudier and Monday it’s going to be sunny again.
Doesn’t take a lot to keep us happy in good old Blighty

It is sunny indeed

East Sussex 12:04, currently warm with a pleasant breeze. This morning when I got up it was all shimmery and shiny - the sun and leaves on the trees