Weather, Tides, and Winds

Our favourite weather forecast
http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/03876.html
Besides a quick forecast for five days, it also has more detailed stuff.

Worthing Weather website
http://www.worthing-weather.com/
The 'Live Display' page is the one you want. But there is a wealth of other good stuff

Webcam of Goring Beach
http://www.seaspritesports.com/weatherframe.htm
Best for surfers, but the pages for Gallery, Beach Guide, Charts and Forecasts, and Weather Cam are good.

Rustington Buoy
http://www.channelcoast.org/data_management/wave_charts/?table=envdata_Rustington
Gives sea temperature and wave height.

BBC 5-Day forecast
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?id=1225&links;
A good clear five-day forecast. And there is a 3 day forecast feed which you can put on your homepage for an instant weather fix.

DofE Flood website
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/flood/
Enter your postcode to see if you are at risk.

Tides at Worthing 6 days free forecast
http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/EasyTide/EasyTide/index.aspx
Watch for the Summer Time adjustment.

We had 2033 hours of sunshine in 2007

Note: none of these are recommended. They all seem to get their information from the same satellite and none of them ever look out of the window! And they never say whether or not it will rain in Goring.

Click here for a list of World Weather Resources

Summary: Swimming is best at Goring two hours before high tide, and two hours after. Spring tides are high when over 6.5m above tide datum, which height occurs about six times a year, and are a problem when combined with a south-west wind and low barometric pressure..

Tides are caused mainly by the gravitational pull of the Moon on the waters of the ocean. Most places in the world have two high tides and two low tides each day and depend on the position of the moon. The time taken for the Moon to reappear in the sky in the same place is called a "Lunar Day" which is 24 hours, 50 mins 28 secs. The high tide is therefore about an hour later each day, the actual difference at Goring ranging from as low as 28 minutes to 79 minutes. The lunar month is 27.3 days.

Because the world is spinning, the seas on one side of the earth are pulled towards the moon, and there is also a compensating high tide at the other side of the earth because the gravitational pull of the moon is weaker than average on the opposite side ( being a bit further away ).

The Sun also plays an active role although it has less than half (46%) of the influence of the Moon because it is so much further away. Every other week just after the New Moon and Full Moon, the Sun and Moon are lined up and their combined gravitational pull creates higher and lower (spring) tides. In the middle of the intervening days they are at 90 degrees to each other and the Sun cancels out half of the Moon's gravitational effect, causing a neap tide. The spring and neap tides occur 48-60 hours after the phases of the moon.

Also, at these times the Sun will make the tides somewhat earlier or later than average.

The height of the tide on the tide tables is measured against the Chart Datum which is the level of the lowest astrological tide (LAT), and are measured in metres.

Of course there are other local factors involved which have an influence on exact tide times and these should be born in mind. Examples which would affect a temporary increase in sea level and also change the times of high and low tides are -

• Strong on / off shore winds causing 'tidal surge'
• Atmospheric pressure - one inch (250mm) fall in barometric pressure equals one foot rise in sea level. (29.5ins / 1000mm is the datum)
• Changing volume of river flows, in our case the river Rife from Durrngton, across the Goring Gap, and down through Ferring.

The highest tide in the UK (and the second highest in the world) is in the Severn estuary at 47 ft (16m), and when helped by a South West wind causes the famous Severn Bore which surfers love to ride. Southampton has two high tides, one directly from the Atlantic and the second a little later from the water coming back in round the Isle of Wight

 
Why is the sea salt?

The sea is salt and has always been so. There are 25 grams of salt per 1000 grams of sea water. The dead sea, 1300 feet below sea level has 270 grams per thousand and it is not possible for swimmers to sink. If you wanted to put 54 kg of salt into a bath of water you would be able to float nicely. A completely saturated solution would be 327 grams.

 
How far is the horizon

Standing at the waters edge an average height adult can see the horizon 3 miles away. Standing on top of the sea wall the horizon is 6 miles away. The marker off Ferring for the Littlehampton three-mile treated water outfall is about 3 miles from Goring. There is a well known oasis effect on hot days, where light is bent over the horizon because of temperature differences and you can see things at a distance as if they were very tall.

 
What is a Barometer

An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure. The mercurial barometer consists of a mercury-filled glass tube that is sealed at one end and inverted in a cup of mercury.

Pressure on the surface of the mercury in the cup supports the mercury in the tube, which varies in height depending on variations in atmospheric pressure. At 32°F (0°C), standard sea-level pressure (1 standard atmosphere) is 14.7 lb/in.2 (1,030 g/cm2), which is equivalent to a column of mercury 29.92 in. (76 cm) in height. Inches of mercury is a valid measure. 29.92 in. is 1013 millibars in SI measures, a millibar is 100 Newtons per square metre; don't worry about it!

The aneroid barometer contains a sealed, partially evacuated metallic box. As the air pressure on it varies, one of its surfaces expands or contracts; this motion is transmitted by a train of levers to a pointer, which shows the pressure on a graduated scale.

Rules for Weather Forecasts
It should be understood that the barometer does not indicate present weather conditions; (perhaps you should look out of the window!); but forecasts probable conditions 12 to 24 hours later.
1. At an air pressure of 1020 millibars (30") or higher, you can expect calm dry weather. The higher the pressure, the more settled the weather. In summer, we have fair weather, in winter it is clear and cold, but with the possiblity of fog.
2. When the pressure is between 1005 and 1020 millibars, (29.7" and 30") the weather is changeable; short bright spells and showers.
3. When the pressure is below 1000 millibars (29.5") the sky is mostly cloudy with a tendancy towards rain. If the pressure falls considerably, you can expect storms and strong winds.
4. A slow, constant increase in air pressure indicates a settled peiod of dry, sunny weather, whereas a steady decrease indicates persistent bad weather.
5. A rapid increase in pressure indicate a short period of good weather, and a fast decrease indicates storms and strong winds. In summer a rapid increase can mean the approach of a thunderstorm.

 
Humidity and Wind Chill

You feel comfortable at room temperatures between 64 and 72F (18-22C) and when the humidity is between 45 and 70%.
Whereas the relative humidity outdoors changes frequently during the day, the humidity indoors remains almost constant, changing only with the seasons. In summer we have 50-70% relative humity, but in winter only 25-40% because in winter there is greater difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures.
Wind Chill governs the rate at which body perspiration evaporates and therefor the perceived temperature. It is calculated on the speed of the air and humidity. The calculation formula is quite complex. This is mainly a problem in extreme temperatures outdoors. Inside with air conditioning systems, a small amount of air movement is desirable.

There is a wind-chill calculator at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml#calculator

1 Knot = 2025 yards, 1.85 km, 1.15 miles