Queen's University Belfast researchers helping weather predictions go hi-tech

SOME independent weather forecasters who depend on observations of wildlife, nature and even the moon — including New Zealander Ken Ring — have again come to prominence and been credited with predicting the recent fine spell.

But weather forecasting of the type we see on our TV screens nightly is really a hi-tech affair that is advancing all the time, especially with the increasing sophistication of satellites that are regularly orbiting the Earth, 500 miles above our heads and circling the poles every 102 minutes.

Over the millennia, man has observed nature to help him forecast the weather. Some animals have an instinct which tells them to prepare for what’s coming, like swallows flying low to scoop up insects when rain is on the way, for example. We’ve had the phenomenon of elephants moving to higher ground ahead of a tsunami, well before humans suspected anything was amiss.

Ken Ring, by the way, has a lot of fans in Ireland, all of whom are hoping that he’s correct in his forecasts for further good weather in August.

Queen’s University Belfast, which has previously been involved in ground-breaking research in scientific fields, has become part of a UK group that will build a key instrument in new European weather satellites. Research at Queen’s has led to major advances in the design and manufacture of the next generation of satellites.

ECIT makes key enabling technology for Europe's next generation weather satellite instruments http://t.co/yhp8zRVghU

— Momentum One Zero (@QUBMomentum10) July 24, 2013

The new instrument, to be known as the MicroWave Sounder (MWS), is expected to significantly improve forecasts.

The result of a decade of work, it will measure temperature and water content at different altitudes, which will then enable weather to be accurately predicted several days ahead.

It’s all about feeding quality information into computer models to see what the elements have in store. The next generation of weather satellites, due to come into operation in 2015, is expected to be able to give 20 times more data — a long way from the days when every parish had at least one person reputed to be a reliable weather man.