The Weather 'In Salford'

I've just added a little 'gismo' to the bottom of this Blogpage.

It's the current weather situation here In Salford.

Please scroll down to it, watch it's online updating, and let me know what you think of it.

It may seem trivial, which indeed it is. However having spent well over my spare time the last two days trying to update the calibration of my two weather indicating devices, and searching the internet for real-time information as close to where I live as possible, I stumbled upon this site. You can select your area from drop-down lists, and hopefully will be able to select an area as close to you as I was able.

e.g, For Central England you may start from this URL:
http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/03534.html

Note that this information is not from the Met Office, it is in fact from a large group of semi-professional people who monitor the weather as a serious hobby, and release that information gathered straight onto the Internet. But the probability is that you'll find a site a lot closer to you than the more usually used BBC Weather centres.

Oh, the two weather indicating devices I have here are at the two extremes. I can't remember the last time I checked either of them in terms of their calibration?!!

The one unit (in the lounge) was purchased from a 'Pound' shop in probably circa mid 1990's, it consisting of a digital clock, a thermometer, and a hygrometer. The clock in it hasn't been used for several years, so was ignored. However I did find that the thermometer was still within 2 deg C, (which was probably the best you could read off the scale anyway), but the hygrometer was very sadly out by approx -15 to -20. (Dangerous this - humidity levels above 80% in a home in Winter will cause mould formations, at the very least that black stuff around window frames. Like I had last winter on the bottom of the glass in my balcony doors, and also white specks on the wood below. I now know that 75% humidity or below within the vicinity of those doors would have prevented this, but what can you do when the outside humidity was beyond 90% throughout the Autumn and well into the Winter!).

Anyway!,

My other weather indicating unit is a proper maritime device featuring a thermometer, a barometer, and a hygrometer. I purchased this unit (for the then expensive approx £30!) somewhere around 1981 from a boat-yard whilst on holiday in, I think, Weymouth. It's travelled the length and breadth of England with me on my travels since then, and the only thing I've ever done is correct the barometer occasionally to reflect height above sea level. The thermometer on it still appears to be as close to 'spot on' as you could ideally expect. The hygrometer - which has never been adjusted and was actually reading approx -5 out, which I probably would never have noticed anyway as it's located in the hallway and influenced by the kitchen/bathroom. However, after slight adjustment, and with the unit spending the last 24hrs outdoors, it can still follow very closely the humidity figures from the above web site! Not bad for a device intended for day-tripper yachts around the bay, and it being over twenty five years old anyway!