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Many
of you will have noticed that some resevoirs are looking quite empty,
which is hardly surprising since we have just enjoyed one of the
driest years of all time.
It
is to Yorkshire water's credit that our resevoirs are at this point
much higher than in 1995, bearing in mind 1995 and 2003 have been
fairly similar from a rainfall point of view.
However,
we are at a stage where we need above average rainfall for the rest
of the winter to fill the resevoirs in time for next year.
History
tells us that dry, anticyclonic weather patterns can persist for
up to 18 months, such as in 1975 and 1976. And the long range forecast
is indeed hinting that this winter cold be drier and colder than
normal.
We
were treated to one of the most magnificent natural displays known
to man in late October - the Aurora, or northern lights.
Fairly
common at higher latitudes, eagle eyed sky gazers must have been
in awe on the night of the 30th October, when the night sky erupted
into waving curtains of green, red and white light.
Intense
clouds of charged particles emitted during solar storm on the sun
hurtled towards earth, initially directed to the earths magnetic
poles - but such was their intensity, that some were funnelled further
south.
This
caused a process called ionisation within the upper atmosphere -
effectively, the collision of the charged particles with gaseous
atoms aloft (mainly Oxygen and Nitrogen) which causes a release
of energy which we see as a colour - depending on the wavelength
of the light produced and by how much it is scattered.
It
is not difficult to imagine how such rare outbreaks of colours in
our night sky hundred of years ago sent locals scurrying thinking
that it was some ominous message - I wonder what Old Mother Shipton
would have thought!
Paul
Hudson
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