There are lots of sources of information for weather terms online - we've selected a few that we think may be of interest. 

Cloud Base

The cloud base is often calculated by measuring the Temperature and Humidity. This way is hugely simplified compared to how professional meteorologists would do it, however the basic principle is the same.

A professional meteorologist would use a chart called a Tephigram which will give them the various temperature and humidity readings at various altitude. The altitude is measured as a pressure rather than a height: as height varies according to the environmental temperature.

If you imagine a ball of air in front of you, under normal circumstances it will exhibit the same properties as the air around it in terms of temperature and humidity. This is what is being read by your weather station. If you were to lift this ball of air to say a different altitude, the ball will now expand due to the lower

Firstly, to cover off measuring the actual depth of snow. By far the simplest method is to use a ruler! Remember that its just an indication of how much snow is on the ground, not how much snow has actually fallen, much may have melted or sublimated (evaporated, which can occur in very dry, sunny or windy conditions). Find a flat area (such as your lawn) away from drifts or any obstacle likely to have caused an obstruction to falling snow; even trees and bushes 2-3 metres away can create areas of uneven depth, especially when it has been windy. We measure to the nearest cm and report the snow depth at least once a day, at 09Z, if possible.

The amount of snow can also be measured by what is known as its 'water equivalent'. The problem is that unless you've got a heated rain gauge (and the UK Met Office does use these), any snow will not drip through into the tipping bucket mechanism either at all or at the time corresponding to that in which in fell in, unless it is very wet. If too

We may find a number of elements causing problems outside in the garden during the winter months. These include frost, and penetrating cold, high winds, heavy snow and heavy rain causing waterlogged ground.

Usually dry winters present the least problem, not least because even a dry winter sees far less water loss through evaporation and transporation than even a mid autumn month. However, with dry winters can come chill northerly or easterly winds of course. Whilst very cold weather is often blamed for plant loss, in fact it's usually the combination of the wind with very cold temperatures. Such early cold in November and early December is particularly problematic, as deciduous plants are very  vulnerable then- because they are not yet fully dormant. Longer periods of severe weather (of more than a week) will also likely be damaging later in the winter. It is possible to minimise the damage likely by both wind and penetrating cold, though.

Strong

Last month we talked about some of the ways to get forecast weather information of specific use to the marine community. As I mentioned then though, if you know your met well enough then you'll be able to supplement the forecast with information on the hoof, interpreting changes to the weather as you go along.

What then are some of the signs that can warn you in advance of the imminent development of stormy weather, that for smaller craft and crew can cause the most problems?

Generally, sea and swell will take their time to rise and you can usually be aware of these changes enough in advance to head for port. However the most rapid changes usually occur when atmospheric conditions cause sudden squalls and thunderstorms. These are often linked to frontal passages and again, a quick check on the forecast weather chart will usually show if you are likely to encounter them on your journey. A cold front in particular will often give squalls and heavy

The so called 'Christmas Blizzard' of 1927 was one of the worst blizzards of the 20th century to hit the southern UK.On Christmas Eve, there was a cold ENE'ly flow across the UK bringing with it snow showers to the east coast and night frosts.

By Christmas Day, a low pressure had moved into the English Channel of around 987mb and this then engaged the colder air to the north and east. Initially, the precipitation that fell was rain but as the low pulled down even colder air from above, the rain turned readily to snow and by midnight, many southern and southeastern counties had a snow cover. Conditions the next day were very bad with heavy snowfalls and a gale force northeasterly wind bringing blizzard conditions and severe drifting. Villages were cut off by drifts up to 6-7 metres (20 feet) and food supplies had to be air-dropped. Transport was virtually paralysed with train services seriously delayed or cancelled. Even in central London, depths of snow

Although we see a lot of sunshine in April, it's in May that the strength of the sun really becomes apparent if you stay out in it for any length of time.

The sun is at its strongest at the time of the summer solstice, around June 21st but by early May it is as strong as in mid August and quite capable of causing sunburn, if you don't take the right precautions.

The average sunshine amount during May across England and Wales is about 200 hours, equating to around 7 hours per day but the sunniest Mays' can see more like nine or ten hours on average each day. As the far north sees increasingly long days, in the right conditions parts of Scotland can see a lot of warm sunshine; for example in May 1975 there were 329 hours recorded on the island of Tiree in the Outer Hebrides, Scotlands sunniest month ever.

Whilst we record the total hours of sunshine it is the strength of the sun that actually causes most problems, combined with how long you