Originally Posted by
gzornenplatz
Norvenich was the most frequently used crash diversion from Wildenrath. Irrespective of Wildenrath weather, Norvenich, just down the road, was always BLU, that is, unless you actually got diverted there. Then the weather state deteriorated in inverse proportion to your distance out and, by the time you arrived it was unavailable due to fog. Well, they did get paid for being a diversion.
I spent 3 good years as a senior forecaster with overall responsibilty for monitoring Colours all over NW Europe and UK. I have to say that I failed to notice the Norvenich phenomenon. Perhaps not on my watch.
It did exist in the Middle and Near East though ........... the observers were known to "forecast" 24 hours worth of hourly obs, and give them to the telegraphist with instructions to release one per hour. Every now and then the obs were sent as a slack handful as the telegraphist followed the observer down the road to the mosque.