Friday evening

Very wild day here in the islands. Sun has just set, but the wind is as strong as it has been all day. Barometer is taking a nosedive, now down to 979 mbar, which is quite low. The low pressure system responsible is just scooting up the Atlantic to the west of here. Have been predicting this for several days, and in a way it's rewarding to see your forecast come true. With thanks to the Met Office for the weathermaps, from which I glean my info.

Went out for a walk during a clearance between 8.15 and 8.30. Waves came crashing into the seawall by the Coastguard Station, the blocky building that I use as a reference point in many of my weather pics. The plume of spray of one wave came right over me, so everything now tasts of salt. It is also a high tide, with the predicted level of 4.8 metres / 16 feet, which is fairly high. It's the springtide again.



Which leads me on to a reminder for an astronomical event which takes place tomorrow night after sunset. The further south you are, the lower the moon will be in the sky. You'll see the moon in the west, a narrow sickle. To one side, you'll see a very bright star - which is actually the planet Venus. If the weather allows, you can also see a vague blue-ish reflection on the dark side of the moon - which is light, reflected off Earth.

Tags: stornoway, gale, moon, venus, high, tide