Extratropical Storm Ophelia - Technical Analysis Only - MOD NOTE post #1

Does anyone know if wind return periods are available online, would like to get some context in Ophelia's wind reports? I can see that rainfall returns are publically available on http://www.met.ie/climate/products03.asp but no mention of wind returns.

Gaoth Laidir wrote: »

I think the anemometer is at about 100 metres as this is where helicopters land but they do have wave sensors too.

From Kinsale-energy.ie...

Doesn't that suggest that its significantly less than 100m? The base is on the sea bed surely with the blue shading indicating water level?

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Doesn't that suggest that its significantly less than 100m? The base is on the sea bed surely with the blue shading indicating water level?

The top of that mast is 158 m, so I reckon the helipad is at least 100 metres.

The Nutty M wrote: »

What you are looking at in that picture of 158metres height is the height of both the jacket and topside. It sits in 100 metres of water. That's a small platform by comparison to modern platforms.
For reference, the main components of the WMS on Clair Ridge (West of Shetland) sits on the cellar deck at 43metres ASL There are anemometers on each of the 3 cranes up to 79metres but these are not fed into the WMS.

Ah, I see it now. That light blue surface is the water surface. So the anemometer is probably 30 metres above the surface.

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Doesn't that suggest that its significantly less than 100m? The base is on the sea bed surely with the blue shading indicating water level?

Sorry, you're right.

TomOnBoard wrote: »

Met Eireann Wind Map for today seems to be showing lower wind speeds than they were showing yesterday, when there were two arrows in the South and South West showing 100.

Am I wrong to think that things will be a bit easier (albeit dangerous) than thought yesterday?

I would say that map is deeply imprecise - when is “today”? Are they displaying a daily average, or peak winds?

MJohnston wrote: »

M3 latest hourly observations down to 976.4mb (from 980), wind speed largely the same at 40G53 (up from 39G49), significant wave heights up quite a bit to 5.47m (from 4.06m)

Centre would appear to have passed M3 now, it’s reporting 992.2mb, 41G56kts, 6.7m wave heights.

MJohnston wrote: »

I would say that map is deeply imprecise - when is “today”? Are they displaying a daily average, or peak winds?

I've never understood how those maps work, same with the summary ones at the end of the forecast on RTE, they never seem to match up with anything



Not sure if it was posted earlier but there's a live stream from Cork here, doesn't seem very stable and its got some awful music going on but should give a good idea of what its like down there! Just looks like a stiff breeze there so far..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UuI1b4h3ds

Live map of conditions on Kinsale Platform.

https://www.fugroweather.com/WeatherMonitor.Net/Displays/KinsaleEnergy/C20236/WIND_TS.aspx

So the station pressure (QFE) is currently 987.9 hPa and the surface pressure (QNH) is 992.2. Given a conversion of around 8 metres per hPa that gives a station height of about 34 metres.

MJohnston wrote: »

I would say that map is deeply imprecise - when is “today”? Are they displaying a daily average, or peak winds?

The point is that the same map in respect of Monday 16th October that was published yesterday, showed much higher values on the wind arrows. I assume that its level of precision hasn't changed. Some of us do rely on ME products to help us organise our outdoor activities, and a chart that showed 100 yesterday in Cork and shows 70 today surely tells us that a lessening of wind strength is now forecast compared to yesterday.

Kinsale platform live data