Weather you can rely on

There are few, if any, subjects that prompt as much debate, concern, gloomy predictions or idle chit-chat among the British people as speculation over the weather.

The prospect of rain, snow or shine is a traditional topic of comment and conjecture, particularly in the face of coming events.

And who can forget TV weatherman Michael Fish's calamitous dismissal of reports of a hurricane the night before the nation was rocked by worst storms for decades in October, 1987?

However, anticipating approaching weather conditions may soon not be quite as uncertain as it at the moment following a decade-long project by scientists.

Experts from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), in Swindon, have developed a method of predicting the weather more accurately.

They have come up with a system that measures the individual layers of cloud which, they claim, will make answering all-important weather questions much easier in future.

Their cloud radar machine will also enable pilots to judge more accurately whether it is safe to take off and land in diverse conditions, offering a powerful safety capability for civil airports and military air bases.

STFC researchers and engineers collaborated with the Met Office to create the machine which can take a complete and accurate profile of cloud or fog up to five miles high.

Such precise information is seen as a major new tool in weather forecasting, a complex process that involves collecting and analysing data from a number of sources, including satellite pictures.

Operating at a frequency 50 times higher than most mobile phones, the cloud radar measures the cloud base height, thickness, density and internal structure.

It was built from the spare components of a radar altimeter designed to operate on a weather forecasting satellite.

STFC senior systems engineer, Brian Moyna, said: "In a nutshell, our cloud radar takes a slice of cloud and provides a complete and accurate vertical profile.

"Compared with conventional pulsed radar instruments, this radar is a low-power, high-sensitivity, portable instrument that uses all solid state components for lower cost and increased reliability."

The Met Office, home of the UK's weather forecasters, has just purchased a cloud radar which is now being trialled at sites around Britain.