COMET, DELETED 15/3/12

Sungrazing Comet SWAN, which dove into the sun's atmosphere during the late hours of March 14th, apparently did not survive. In the following 10 hour movie, Comet SWAN enters the solar corona but does not exit again

Comet SWAN was a Kreutz sungrazer, a fragment of the same ancient comet that produced sungrazing Comet Lovejoy in Dec. 2011. Comet Lovejoy famously survived its brush with the sun and put on a flamboyant show after it emerged from the solar fire. While Comet SWAN was cut from the same cloth, it was a smaller fragment that has completely evaporated.

The CME emerging from the sun's northwestern limb near the end of the movie was not caused by this tiny comet's impact. It is just another eruption of active sunspot 1429.

http://www.spaceweather.com/images2012/15mar12/cometdeleted.gif

www.spaceweather.com

NORTHERN LIGHTS CME IMPACT 15/3/12

As expected, the flank of a CME hit Earth's magetic field today, March 15th, around 1300 UT. A high-latitude geomagnetic storm might be in the offing

SEA AREA FORECAST 15/3/12
_______________________________________
Sea Area Forecast until 1200 Friday 16 March 2012

Issued at 1200 Thursday 15 March 2012
_______________________________________

Gale warning: NIL

Small craft warning: NIL

Meteorological situation at 0900: A fresh south to southwest airflow covers Ireland. A cold front with small waves running along it. just to the northwest of Ireland will slowly traverse the country, clearing the southeast Friday evening. A slack but very unstable trough will follow for St. Patrick's Day.

Forecast for southwestern, western and northern coastal waters from Roches Point to Slyne Head to Malin Head
Wind: Southerly force 4 or 5. Gusting to force 6 this evening between Valentia and Slyne Head. Veering southwesterly tomorrow morning force 5 gusting to force 6.
Weather: Rain at times/patches of fog.
Visibility: Occasionally moderate or poor.

Forecast for northeastern, eastern and southeastern coastal waters from Malin Head to Wicklow Head to Roches Point and the Irish Sea.
Wind: Southerly force 4 or 5. Occasionally force 6 tomorrow in the North Irish Sea.
Weather: Patches of mist/drizzle/fog, Rain spreading from the west later.
Visibility: Locally moderate or poor.

Warning of heavy swell: Nil

Outlook for a further 24 hours until 1200 Saturday 17 March 2012: Fresh southwesterly winds, decreasing light and variable. Rain/drizzle/fog clearing eastwards to fair weather and scattered showers. Heavy, possibly thundery, showers on Saturday.

SATURDAY, ST. PATRICK'S DAY 17/3/12

Cold, but bright on St Patrick's Day with fairly widespread rain and hail showers , some heavy with a risk of thunder and some possibly wintry on higher ground. Maximum afternoon temperatures of 6 to 9 or possibly 10 degrees C. but winds will be fairly light. Cold on Saturday night, with frost and a risk of icy stretches.

FRIDAY 16/3/12

morning will start off wet across the province, but the rain will clear during the morning. The afternoon will be brighter and mainly dry but also fresher as the winds turn westerly. Highest temperatures will be around 7 or 8 degrees.

THURSDAY NIGHT 15/3/12

Cloudy this evening and tonight with outbreaks of rain becoming more persistent and heavy during the night. Lows of 7 or 8 degrees C.

KENNETH FROM THE DONEGAL WEATHER CHANNEL IS THE YOUNGEST WEATHER FORECASTER IN IRELAND AND THE UK AND POSSIBLY EUROPE AND ONE OF THE YOUNGEST IN THE WORLD 14/3/12

Kenneth Mc Donagh from the Donegal Weather Channel is the youngest weather forecaster in Ireland and the UK possibly Europe and the world.

The Donegal man is only nineteen years of age and runs his own highly operated weather page on Facebook and Twitter and working on a website that will be released in the next month or two which would be Donegal's first weather website.
Many of you folks reading this will probably have heard of the Donegal weather channel which has thousands of followers from every corner of world New Zealand, Australia, Europe and America.

The Donegal weather channel also covers the sky’s and anything that happens in them it’s also very popular for its coverage on the northern lights which it has help people and guided them to areas so they can see them for them self’s it seems that wherever there is a Donegal person no matter where in the world there is a hunger for weather from back home.

Check out the Donegal weather channel on Facebook and on twitter at the Donegal weather page it also has a new emailing system which send you a email on anything happing above in the sky’s and aurora alerts on the northern lights.

email Donegalweatherchannel@ymail.com or Donegalweatherchannelauroraalert@ymail.com

LISTEN IN TO OCEAN FM ON SATURDAY MORNING ST PATRICKS DAY FOR THE LIVE INTERVIEW WITH DANIAL WERE HE WILL BE SPEAKING TO THE FACE BEHIND THE DONEGAL WEATHER CHANNEL AND WHAT'S TO COME SHOW STARTS AT 9AM

DRIVERS TONIGHT URGE TO SLOW DOWN WITH POSSIBLE ICY PATCH'S ON ROADS AS TEMPERATURES DROP BELOW FREEZING 4/3/12 -- 7:44PM

I warn drivers tonight to slow down with temperature dropping below freezing with frost in parts tonight temperatures of class 4 to 1 degrees C.

There also will be a risk of wintry showers of hail sleet and hill snow but noting to harmful.

ice may also start to form by morning leading to slippery conditions on some roads and untreated roads.

SO FOLKS SLOW DOWN AND TAKE CARE

DONEGAL WEATHER CHANNEL

WHAT WAS IT IN THE SKY LAST NIGHT FIREBALL METEOR, UFO OR WAS IT SUPERMAN 4/3/12

Police forces and astronomy websites have been inundated with sightings after a suspected meteor shot across darkened British skies.

Reports of a "bright light" and an "orange glow" were received by police across Scotland and the north of England at around 9.40pm on Saturday.
The Met Office tweeted: "Hi All, for anyone seeing something in the night sky, we believe it was a meteorite."
A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said the force had been "inundated" with calls about a bright object in the sky across the west of Scotland.
Minutes later, Durham Police received calls from concerned members of public who had seen a "bright light or a fire in the sky" and believed it may have been an incident involving an aircraft.
The American Meteor Society website was inundated with dozens of Britons logging sightings.
Michelle Thornton, from Birmingham, stated it was "the most amazing thing I have seen in the night sky in ages - outstanding :)"

The Perseid meteor shower is another popular sighting for stargazers

Meanwhile, website user Brandi, from Stirling, at first thought it was a firework and wondered if it was a missile after it "changed direction".
"We wondered if it was a missile. The tail was longer than any astral body I have ever seen and the colour between the head and tail was very distinct.
"The head was bright - warm colours - and the tail was much longer. We thought it was a firework because it stuttered out and seemed to fade, but we did not hear the bang.
"It then reappeared as it continued across the sky, seemingly changing directions slightly - as if around a 15 degree corner.
"It then also seemed to go lower down in the sky and then passed out of our vision after another 10 seconds or so.
"It still looked orangey-red in the distance as it left our vision, but we could not see the tail from that angle."
The Royal Observatory at Greenwich said it was probably part of a meteor shower that happens at this time every year.
The Kielder Observatory reported the sighting as a "huge fireball" travelling from north to south over Northumberland at 9.41pm, and rated it at magnitude -9.
A brightness of magnitude -6 is required to be seen in daylight and according to the International Meteor Organisation only one in 12,000 reaches magnitude -8.
The observatory tweeted: "Of 30 years observing the sky #fireball best thing I have ever seen period."http://www.youtube.com/user/yoghed45

 MOON THIS EVENING 4/3/12.

FINAL SCORE

FINAL SCORE

TUESDAY 6/3/12

South or southwest winds will strengthen everywhere during Tuesday and rain will spread to all parts of the country.
Top temperatures will be around 9 or 10 degrees. It will stay windy and mostly wet on Tuesday night, and temperatures will stay well above freezing.

MONDAY 5/3/12

Monday will be a dry, sunny day with just a few passing coastal showers. Highest temperatures of 7 or 8 degrees in a light to moderate breeze.

SUNDAY NIGHT 4/3/12

Tonight will be cold with a widespread frost as temperatures fall to between 0 and +4 degrees. Dry apart from some light coastal showers. Light to moderate breezes.

BIG NORTHERN LIGHTS ALERT FOLKS EMERGING SUNSPOT, STRONG FLARE 3/3/12

A big new sunspot is emerging over the sun's northeastern limb. It announced itself on March 2nd at 1746 UT with an M3-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash.

Although the blast site was partially eclipsed by the solar limb, the flare nevertheless created waves of ionization in Earth's upper atmosphere. Dave Gradwell of Birr Ireland detected the effect of these waves on the propagation of low-frequency radio signals across Europe. The explosion also hurled a faint CME over the northeastern limb: SOHO movie. The expanding cloud is not Earth-directed.

NOAA forecasters estimate a 55% chance of additional M-class flares and a 5% chance of an X-flare during the next 24 hours. Solar activity is picking up

http://spaceweather.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Donegal-Weather-Channel/161588103950947

SAD DAY FOR THE USA 90 TORNADOES KILL DOZENS IN THE USA (WORLD WEATHER NEWS)

The fatalities occurred as powerful storms stretched from the US Gulf Coast to the northern Great Lakes, leaving buildings flattened and at least one small town wrecked.

It is thought up to 90 tornadoes struck across seven states of the country, putting up to 10 million people at risk from twisters.

Widespread damage was reported across Indiana and Clark County Sheriff's Department Major Chuck Adams said the town of Marysville was "completely gone".

"The reports on the telephone were that Marysville is gone. I can't confirm any damage right there yet. We're just trying to concentrate on the more populated areas and we've been inundated with calls," he said.

Dozens of houses were also damaged in Alabama and Tennessee, two days after storms killed 13 people in the Midwest region and the South.

Thousands of schoolchildren in several states were sent home as a precaution and several Kentucky universities were closed.

Emergency management officials said 40 homes had been destroyed and 100 others seriously damaged by tornadoes powering through two northern Alabama counties.
The states of Illinois and Missouri were also hit after swarms of twisters touched down.

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency said dozens of homes and businesses suffered damage in the southern state.

At least 20 homes were also badly damaged in the Chattanooga area of Tennessee after strong winds and hail lashed the region.
In the Tennessee town of Cleveland, Blaine Lawson and his wife Billie were watching the weather when the power went out and winds ripped the roof off their home.
"It just hit all at once," 76-year-old Blaine said.
"Didn't have no warning really. The roof, insulation and everything started coming down on us. It just happened so fast that I didn't know what to do. I was going to head to the closet but there was just no way. It just got us."

The mayor of Huntsville said students had taken shelter in hallways as severe weather hit in the morning. Several houses were levelled and five people were taken to hospital.

The extent of their injuries is not yet known and emergency crews are still surveying the damage.

A maximum security prison about 10 miles from Huntsville was also damaged by an apparent tornado but none of its 2,100 inmates escaped.

The roof was damaged on two large prison dormitories holding around 250 men and part of the perimeter fence was knocked down.

Authorities were confident that storms in Limestone and Madison were tornadoes but it will be up to the National Weather Service to confirm the twisters.

For residents and emergency services across Alabama, tornado precautions and clean-up operations are a familiar routine. Some 250 people were killed in twisters last April.

Fierce storms leave 27 dead in US

www.bbc.co.uk

A series of powerful storms and tornadoes have killed at least 27 people in the US states of Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, officials say.

SEA AREA FORECAST 3/3/12
________________________________________
Sea Area Forecast until 1200 Sunday 04 March 2012

Issued at 1200 Saturday 03 March 2012
________________________________________

Gale warning: In operation

Small craft warning: In operation

Meteorological situation at 1200: A fresh to strong and gusty west to southwest airflow covers Ireland. The flow will slacken overnight, as pressure rises from the southwest.

Forecast for Irish coastal waters from Fair Head to Howth Head to Carnsore Point and for the Irish Sea -
Wind: South to southwest, veering southwest to west this afternoon, force 6 or 7 and gusty; decreasing force 4 or 5 this evening, veering northwesterly overnight and possibly decreasing force 3 or 4 for a time.

Forecast for Irish coastal waters from Carnsore Point to Roches Point to Mizen Head -
Wind: Westerly, force 6 or 7 and gusty, decreasing southwesterly or variable, force 3 or 4 later today and early tonight, veering northwesterly overnight and increasing force 4 or 5

Forecast for Irish coastal waters from Mizen Head to Erris Head to Fair Head -
Wind: Southeasterly at first in the northeast, force 6 or 7 and gusty. Otherwise westerly, force 5 to 7, occasionally gale force 8 this afternoon from Erris Head to Fair Head, decreasing force 4 to 6 tonight.

Weather for all sea areas : Occasional showers, some of hail and sleet, with a risk of thunderstorms.

Visibility for all sea areas : Moderate to poor in showers. Otherwise good. Warning of heavy swell for a time today on southern western and northwestern coasts.

Outlook for a further 24 hours until 1200 Monday 05 March 2012: Moderate to fresh, locally strong, west to northwest winds, decreasing light to moderate; scattered wintry showers, with a risk of thunder, but becoming mainly fair.

MONDAY 5/3/12

Monday will be a dry day with a good deal of sunshine; winds will remain light, and temperatures will return to near normal for early March. However, a slight frost will develop again on 

Monday night : before increasing cloud and southwesterly winds bring a rise in temperatures later.

SUNDAY 4/3/12

A cold day with bright or sunny spells and top temperatures of just 5-7 degrees C. Some isolated sleet showers in the morning and a few rain showers in the afternoon, mainly in the west and north. Winds will be moderate north-westerly

SATURDAY 3/3/12

Cold with bright or sunny spells and showers. The showers will be heavy, with hail and a risk of isolated thunder. Top temperatures of 8-9 degrees C. Westerly winds will be fresh to strong and gusty in showers.

SATURDAY NIGHT 3/3/12

Cold tonight with good clear spells and frost forming. Minimum temperatures of minus 3 to 2 degrees C, with a risk of icy stretches. A few isolated showers, mainly in the west and north. The showers will be wintry, with sleet and some snow showers on high ground.

DONEGAL'S NORTHERN LIGHTS

IRELAND

                                                22/1/12 AMAZING PHOTO BY Patryk Sadowski 
                                                                   location Greencastle Donegal

22/1/12 PHOTO BY Adam porter

location Malin head Donegal

                                                         January 2012 PHOTO BY GREG 
                                                          Location Inishowen Donegal

                                                       December 2011 PHOTO BY Adam porter

                                                              Location Malin head Donegal

                                                   BY MARK NOLAN Inishowen Photography
                                                    This was taken from Ballyliffin at 8pm

                                                                 16 February 2012

GALE WARNING 2/3/12 -- 9:00PM

Southwest winds will reach gale force on Friday night and on Saturday morning on coasts from Carnsore Pt to Roche's Pt to Valentia. 

West to northwest winds will reach gale force on Saturday forenoon on coasts from Bloody Foreland to Malin Head to Fair Head

The end of a day on Donegal Bay 2/3/12

Photo by the Donegal waterbus


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Donegal-Weather-Channel/161588103950947

 TONIGHTS MOON 2/3/12 PICTURE BY THE DONEGAL WEATHER CHANNEL.

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A BLUE FLASH ABOVE A SUNSET WHAT A SITE 2/3/12 

We've all heard of the green flash, the fleeting emerald light that sometimes appears just above the setting sun. Once thought to be a fable, the green flash was popularized by Jules Verne in his 1882 novel "Le Rayon Vert" (The Green Ray). Now it is generally known to be real.

But what of the even rarer blue flash? Turns out, that's real too. Peter Rosén photographed one from Stockholm

"I was shooting the sunset when, suddenly, just as the sun was about to disappear behind the treetops, there was a mighty blue flash," says Rosén.

Blues flashes are formed in the same way as green flashes: a mirage magnifies tiny differences in the atmospheric refraction of red, green and blue light. Blue flashes are generally harder to see than green flashes, because blue flashes blend into the surrounding blue sky. When the air is exceptionally clear, however, the blue flash emerges.

Verne described the green flash as something "which no artist could ever obtain on his palette, a green of which neither the varied tints of vegetation nor the shades of the most limpid sea could ever produce the like! If there is a green in Paradise, it cannot be but of this shade, which most surely is the true green of Hope."

NORTHERN LIGHTS UPDATE FIRST AURORAS OF MARCH 2/3/12

A magnetic disturbance rippled around the Arctic Circle during the waning hours of March 1st, sparking bright auroras just as night fell over northern Europe. "The show was stunning and amazing," says Thomas Albin, who took this picture from Esrange, Sweden

"There were three different colors visible and the dynamics of the lights were incredible!" he says.

A medium-speed solar wind stream is buffeting Earth's magnetic field. By itself, this was not enough to explain what happened. The extra ingrediant was the IMF: the interplanetary magnetic field near Earth tilted south, opening a crack in our planet's magnetosphere. Solar wind poured in and fueled the display.

NOAA forecasters estimate a 15% to 25% chance of polar geomagnetic storms during the next 24 hours. High-latitude and mid latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras.

SUNDAY 4/3/12

Sunday will be dry. A few showers will affect Connacht, Leinster and Ulster through the day. It will be a bright sunny day, but fairly cold with highest temperatures of 6 or 7 degrees, although the wind will be light. There will be a widespread severe frost on Sunday night.

SATURDAY 3/3/12

Saturday, will see frequent showers during the morning - becoming more scattered during the afternoon with good bright spells developing. Strong and gusty winds will gradually ease through the day. Cold as temperatures range 5 to 7 degrees.

FRIDAY NIGHT 2/3/12

Dry at first tonight but a band of rain will sweep through the region in the latter part of the night with showers following. Becoming windy with strong to gale force gusts. Lows of 5 to 7 degrees.