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Post by jonjel on Dec 3, 2010 13:23:39 GMT 1
For some years I have owned a simple little weather station which gives inside and outside temperature and a vague indication of the weather. A gadget, but quite an interesting one.
I recently bought a more elaborate affair which shows humidity as well as barometric pressure, max min over the last 24 hours and a few other functions.
And amazingly the weather forecast also shows snow.
I can understand that with a combination of some factors the thing will predict it is likely to rain, but how does it know that within a few hours it will be sunny, overcast or indeed snow?
And the damned thing is right more often than it is wrong!
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Post by principled on Dec 3, 2010 16:40:19 GMT 1
Jonjel, I haven't got a definitive answer, but in central Canada, where my daughter now lives, they talk about it being "too cold to snow". Now this may be an old wives' tale, but could it be to do with the fact that very cold air cannot hold enough moisture to produce snowflakes? Hence, is snow produced at a certain combination of humidity and temperature, which could then "preprogrammed" into the weather unit?
Just a thought. P
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Post by jonjel on Dec 3, 2010 16:48:42 GMT 1
That might well be the case P, and it might be clever enough to suss that out. It is quite fascinating to see the humidity outside drop like a stone as the temperature dips below zero.
However I think I have heard that 'too cold to snow' is a bit of a myth.
Snot of the Antarctic was snowed in was he not?
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