http://www.rmets.org/index.php The Royal Meteorological Society webmaster en http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=440 Cyclone Nargis, a Category 4 tropical storm struck Burma on May 3, killing more than 22,000 people, leaving at least 41,000 missing. A US diplomat said he thought that the death toll could reach 100,000. On Saturday the ten-hour storm made landfall on the coast with wind speeds of up to 132mph. On Sunday May 4 a state of emergency was declared across 5 regions. Image courtesy of ESA Video about Cyclones            Below is a NASA image of Burma before and after the cyclone, showing the extent of flooding. http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=441 Every year on 23 March, the World Meteorological Organization, its 188 Members and the international meteorological community celebrate World Meteorological Day, commemorating the entry-into-force on that day in 1950 of the WMO Convention creating the Organization. In 1951, WMO was designated a specialized agency of the United Nations system. In 2006 the WMO Executive Council decided that the theme for World Meteorological Day 2008 would be “Observing our planet for a better future” Download the Full Brochure for World Meteorological Day http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=439 The Air Force Office of Scientific Research is funding scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who are studying ways to detect and predict air turbulence by means of detecting a complicated pattern which underlies it. Dr. George Haller, professor of mechanical engineering, and MIT graduate student Manikandan Mathur, lead a team researching the impact of turbulence on engines, airframes, and air travelers themselves. They call their discovery the "Lagrangian skeleton" of turbulence because their particle-based approach is inspired by the work of Joseph Louis Lagrange, a 19th Century mathematician. The air pattern structure underlying turbulence is an ever-changing configuration that pulls along any nearby particles (pollutants and ice crystals in the stratosphere). These motions are detectable by monitoring the backscattering of on-board, or possibly space-based, lasers. The scientists use non-linear, dynamical systems theory to translate the recorded data to uncover these effects. Researchers say they believe that these structures will make it possible to forecast clear-air turbulence for manned or unmanned military aircraft. The work is also important for the safety of high-altitude Air Force operations and for the stable pointing of on-board laser weapons. The team is currently reducing the time it takes to produce detailed pictures of the structures. "Another challenge is in the area of wind speed near airports so we are developing laser-based scanning techniques that yield more complete wind information," Dr. Haller said. "We also see a great potential for the Lagrangian skeleton approach in homeland security, where locating the source of a dispersed chemical or radioactive pollution is of high importance," Dr. Haller continued. "Locating the Lagrangian skeleton of air turbulence will enable us to trace the source of contamination." By funding research programs like the one mentioned here, led by Dr. Haller and his team at MIT, AFOSR continues to expand the horizon of scientific knowledge through its leadership and management of the Air Force's basic research program.by Maria CallierUS Air Force Office of Scientific Research Public Affairs http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=438 Please use the link below http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=437 The Council of the Society approved changes to the Bylaws at its meeting on 29 April 2008.  There now follows a consultation period where members are invited to comment on the new Bylaws.  The document is available for download - Society Bylaws DocumentThe Bylaws will be formally agreed at the Society AGM on 18 June 2008.  The deadline for comments is 17:00 on 13 June 2008.The Full Programme for the meeting on 18 June is below:2.00pm:  K2 and the Antarctic - getting cold feet, Richard Markham, ExplorerFollowed by the Presidential Address by Professor Geraint Vaughan, University of Manchester4.00pm: The Annual General Meeting4.45pm: Presentation of the Society's Awards and Buffet Reception http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=436 School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Division of Environmental Health & Risk Management, University of Birmingham, UKApplications are invited for the post of Research Fellow to work as an NCAS staff scientist on issues of urban atmospheric composition funded by NCAS Composition Directorate.  The work will involve application of aerosol mass spectrometry in field studies, as well as deployment of other techniques.  Much of the work will be collaborative with other institutions and may take place overseas. The successful candidate will have postgraduate experience in a relevant subject area; a PhD in environmental science, physical or analytical chemistry is highly desirable, along with a specialised research interest in atmospheric chemistry, air pollution and/or environmental chemistry analysis.Closing Date 9 May 2008 http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=435 Edward Lorenz, mathematician and meteorologist, passed away on 16th April 2008 at the age of 90.  He was widely known for his groundbreaking work Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow, which crafted a framework for explaining why weather patterns behave in ways that cannot be described by classical dynamics and cannot be predicted more than a few days in advance.  He developed the idea of the Lorenz Attractor, a functional explanation for the potentially profound effect of small initial actions.  This became famously referred to as The Butterfly Effect. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=434 Current La Niña causes extreme weather conditions around the world Much is known about the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) which is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific But what is known about La Niña and its current impact on global weather conditions? The name La Niña originates from Spanish, meaning "the little girl” and is often known as “a cold event”. The term La Niña refers to the cold phase of the Southern Oscillation, during which the cold pool in the eastern Pacific Ocean intensifies. The lower than normal temperatures across the central and eastern Pacific and relatively higher sea temperatures on the western side of the Pacific have a significant impact of the weather and in particular on rainfall. Changes to the atmosphere and ocean circulation during La Niña events include: Cooler than normal ocean temperatures across the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Increased convection or cloudiness over tropical Australia, Papua New-Guinea, and Indonesia. Stronger than normal (easterly) trade winds across the Pacific Ocean (but not necessarily in the Australian region). High (positive) values of the Southern Oscillation Index. The current La Niña event, which started in third quarter of 2007, is a “climate anomaly” is predicted to bring a slight cooling in global temperatures against the long-term trend for global warming. Between December 2007 and February 2008, La Niña conditions had become slightly stronger, with sea surface temperatures about 1.5 to 2°Celsius colder than average over large parts of the central and eastern Equatorial Pacific. Dr Adam Scaife from the Met Office Hadley Centre reported that this La Niña event is “one of the strongest we’ve had for about 20 years” with the event “expected to continue through into summer”. Cooling anomalies have been reported in the Middle East, Turkey and Central Asia with China experiencing one of the coldest winters on record.  Also, largely in connection with La Niña, significant parts of the central and eastern Pacific, including the domain off shore of the entire Northern American West Coast, have been dominated by sea-surface temperature cooling. The La Niña has also had an impact of amounts of precipitation with severe flooding in areas of Australia that have recently been stricken by drought. The image above shows the temperature anomaly for the top millimeter of the Pacific Ocean’s surface -the skin temperature -on January 14, 2008, based on data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer flying on NASA’s Aqua satellite. In this image, January 14, 2008, temperatures are compared to the long-term average measured by a series of sensors that flew on NOAA Pathfinder satellites from 1985 to 1997. A strong band of blue (cool) water appears along the Equator, fanning out near North and South America. Patches of orange to red (warm) conditions appear north and south of this strong blue band. See link for BBC News report. http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7320000/newsid_7329700/7329747.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1 Image courtesy of NASA . http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=432 The Cloud Book by Richard Hamblyn is an authoritative guide to the world of cloud spotting and is published in association with the Met Office. Illustrated with stunning photographs, this guide enables cloud-spotters everywhere to clearly identify each cloud type, as well as to understand the atmospheric processes that created them, and the implications they have for future weather patterns. Richard Hamblyn is fascinated by cloud behaviour, life cycles and transformations. Detailed information about each cloud species and variety cover the principal clouds and there is information on the 200-year history of cloud classification. http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=433 John Clayton, a member of the Society and one of the main contributors toMetLink, has been interviewed by BBC Birmingham about his weather photography and interests.Read the full article by using the link below. http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=430 The March issue of Weather Front is now available http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=431 MeteoGroup UK has been awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification, a global rating of quality developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation.  This strict measure of quality recognises the company’s fulfillment of customer quality requirements, as well as any regulatory obligations of the industry. The stringent certification process investigates all aspects of the business to ensure that internal systems can deliver continually improving products and services.  Andy Giles, MeteoGroup UK Managing Director said: “We are delighted that the quality of the services we provide to customers and of our internal business practices have been recognised by independent audit as fulfilling the rigorous demands of ISO 9001:2000 certification. It demonstrates that the exceptional quality of our weather forecasting services is fully supported by our high level of client services, and the underlying quality practices of the company. We look forward to the opportunity to strive for the continued enhancement of our performance in all these areas’. http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=426 Due to popular demand we will be making some of the presentations from our National Meetings available for download.  If a speaker has agreed that we can publish the presentation, it will be downloadable from the abstracts page of the meeting. Presentations will be uploaded in the weeks following a meeting.Past meeting details are available here   http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=425 Our apologies http://www.rmets.org/news/detail.php?ID=381 Buy Online Watching the weather is a perennial British pastime and observing and recording weather in a daily log has been done by sea captains and others for hundreds of years.This attractive book is the perfect gift for anyone with a passing interest in the weather and how it is changing from year to year. "The Weather Watcher's 3-Year Log Book" offers the opportunity to record your own daily observations - in as much or as little detail as you wish. You can calculate weekly and monthly averages and then compare changing weather patterns over the three-year period. Is spring really coming earlier each year? Is this year really hotter than last? What was the coldest day in your year? It provides information on how to create easy and simple weather measuring apparatus. Learn how to identify different cloud types and what weather they portend. It is packed with fascinating facts and figures.It gives explanation of weather forecasts and how to understand them. Extreme weather records are included. It features stunning images of the weather in all its power and glory. It can also be used to record dates of anniversaries, birthdays and other events.