Met Office Cloud/Weather Chart?

[Contacttower]

When I was in the UAS I remember us using a particular graphical weather forecast chart, I think it had time on the horizontal axis and altitude on the vertical. It showed cloud and weather. I remember it being stuck up on the projector at morning met brief. I can't find it anywhere though using my civil metoffice login and I was wondering if anyone could tell me which metoffice form it is and if its available to civilian operators?

[BEagle]

Those charts were either obtained directly from the Stn MetO if you were on a large station which had one - or were lovingly (?) drawn by the duty QFI using the local area met forecast and a quick check with the nearest weather-guesser.

The only generally available weather forecasting 'products' available for civilians are those from the Met Office at Met Office: Online services - customer login (http://secure.metoffice.com/aviation/index.jsp) . You will need to register in order to access their website, but most information is then freely available.

[kenparry]

It was called the cross-section, and as Beagle says was done locally. Often an outstanding work of fiction.

[Metman]

It still is called the cross section, and there are a few Met Office tools now that do it automatically rather than the old hand-drawn efforts of not-that-long-ago! What Met Office service do you have? I'll try to find out what services provide it from some of my old contacts if you want?

[BEagle]

...there are a few Met Office tools...

Bit harsh on your colleagues, Metman?

Have your beetles, fir cones and seaweed any idea when this wretched ice and snow will clear from the UK?

[Metman]

Starting from now Beagle I believe! Warmer weather already moving in from the SW, although it might take a few days to percolate up to the home counties. Not seeing it warming up for a while further north mind...

[Green Flash]

Contact

You can't access the x-sections via the commercial logins (I don't think that x-sections are done for civvy airfields nowadays? - unless they host a mil operator?) but for those of you with access to DII try MOMIDS 2G for your local x-sect. Or pop into the office and I'll get the kettle on!:ok:

[BEagle]

Not seeing it warming up for a while further north mind...

But surely everyone knows it's 'grim oop North'?

Hope you're right about the warmer airmass!!

[tmmorris]

You need a friendly contact at a local mil airfield. E.g. our local VGS gets theirs from the nearby RAF station and occasionally I manage to get a copy. Do you have a mil airfield nearby?

It requires time, skill and an actual real met man on the station in question, which civvy airfields mostly no longer have.

Tim

[Metman]

Apparently I might be talking out my ar$e... :} I'd swear I'd seen something that looked like a cross section (I've even got the image in my head), and had been automatically produced by one of the site specific forecasting systems, but my contact has assured me that no such thing is available, and only the defence sites do cross sections - and there aint many of them left!

Sorry!

[Metman]

tmmorris, I think you and I are in the "same business" and I seem to recall that we are entitled to ask for advice from our local Met Office (if you can find it!) - you might have to resort to your Regional Met Unit if your "local" base isn't open...

[vecvechookattack]

Meteorological Charts Analysis Forecast North Atlantic Europe (http://www.weathercharts.org/)