Weather winter 2010/2011

[mark smyth]

The snow was late arriving but it's now coming down thick!

[Martinr]

This should maybe be a puzzle. I've once experienced sunrise two times in the same day and I was not in a intercontinental jet and not in a high building taking the lift down. I was in the same position. Anyone know how and where I might be?

How about North of the Arctic circle looking North with a mountain in the way so that the sun rises, disappears behind the peak and re-emerges on the other side?

[Stephenb]

Nice try - you're in the right area but there's a normal time gap between the sun rising...

[Graham Catlow]

I think this is quite amazing. It looks like something from a fairy tale or something you might find on an iced cake.

It's been lighting the way for ships on Lake Erie for decades. But now, one lighthouse has become a tourist attraction of its own thanks to Mother Nature. Breathtaking views over the mouth of the Cuyahoga River show amazing pictures of the "Cleveland harbor west" lighthouse encased in ice.
The lighthouse has been a beacon for ships entering the Cuyahoga River since 1911.
In 1965 the light became automated and for the first time no longer required a lighthouse keeper.
Today in a very twenty-first century fashion -- a solar powered light sits in its place.
The historic original can still be found on display at the great lakes science center.

And I was thinking we had had it bad!!!

[mark smyth]

now that is bad.

[cohan]

I think this is quite amazing. It looks like something from a fairy tale or something you might find on an iced cake.

It's been lighting the way for ships on Lake Erie for decades. But now, one lighthouse has become a tourist attraction of its own thanks to Mother Nature. Breathtaking views over the mouth of the Cuyahoga River show amazing pictures of the "Cleveland harbor west" lighthouse encased in ice.
The lighthouse has been a beacon for ships entering the Cuyahoga River since 1911.
In 1965 the light became automated and for the first time no longer required a lighthouse keeper.
Today in a very twenty-first century fashion -- a solar powered light sits in its place.
The historic original can still be found on display at the great lakes science center.

And I was thinking we had had it bad!!!

saw this on the news last night, quite amazing!

[cohan]

Length of the day 3 h 39 m, at least we don´t have polar night.

wow! always surprises me how far north some of you folks are, since we are generally colder with no ocean to keep us  warm i forget that there are sizable populations living up there!
our days is still a whopping 7 hours 43 minutes!

[Casalima]

That website is fascinating! Not much variation where I live - we go from a minimum of 9h 09m length of day to a maximum of 15h 11m.

[Hoy]

Stephen, I'll write in Norwegian in case others want to guess: Hva med en linje i Stillehavet som heter datolinjen - der kan du se soloppgang to ganger ved å krysse linjen!

Here the day was 6 hours 7 minutes today - and 15 cm snow! But that's nothing compared to the Lake Erie lighthouse!

[mark smyth]

Good one Hoy!

[Martinr]

Stephen, I'll write in Norwegian in case others want to guess: Hva med en linje i Stillehavet som heter datolinjen - der kan du se soloppgang to ganger ved å krysse linjen!

Here the day was 6 hours 7 minutes today - and 15 cm snow! But that's nothing compared to the Lake Erie lighthouse!

Ah yes, but he stayed in the same place, your cunning suggestion would mean he had to move. It would also have to be on Arctic sea ice as there are very few bits of solid ground on the IDL

[Stephenb]

Martin: I'm impressed by your Internet lingusitic skills!

Hoy: Totally and utterly wrong part of the planet - on second thoughts, it might actually be possible on the dateline, but the answer is IDL-independent. But, I congratulate you on a nice bit of "lateral" thinking...

The mention of the IDL reminds me of a story. In the 90s, I was sent from Trondheim to Fiji to work, actually usually at this time of year (yes, it was difficult). I visited one of the islands, Kadavu, through which the IDL passed at some stage in the past (there was a big sign up announcing that we were passing the IDL). The story goes that an enterprising Indian shopkeeper avoided Sunday closing by building his shop across the date line and having two doors one on each side of the line....

[Martinr]

I am well known for my dislike of Christmas so some years ago I hatched a plan. Go on holiday to NZ (and take in a wedding) and fly out of London westbound on Christmas Eve, cross the IDL and go straight from the 24th to the 26th...bingo! No Christmas

Sadly the practicalities of arriving in Auckland at 5am on boxing day to be greeted by a city entirely on holiday dissuaded me, so instead we flew on Christmas day. Mind you the M1 to London was nice and quiet at 8am on Christmas Day

[Diane Clement]

This should maybe be a puzzle. I've once experienced sunrise two times in the same day and I was not in a intercontinental jet and not in a high building taking the lift down. I was in the same position. Anyone know how and where I might be?

My husband is intrigued by this sort of puzzle and has come up with this suggestion.
Sometime where the day length is less than an hour - so summertime in the Arctic circle, and at a place where the local time is maybe almost an hour different from suntime so "sun midnight" comes at 1am.  I wonder if East Spitzbergen might be possible?

[Stephenb]

Congratulations, Diane's husband!!!  I think you are close enough! Didn't think anyone would get this...

To explain: I actually experienced this in Tromsø. On one day each year, depending on whether the local sun midnight is before or after midnight, the sun can rise (or set) at say 00:01 hrs  and then later the same day rises (or sets) again at say 23:59 hrs (as the day length is changing rapidly); i.e., on the same day. Couldn't find anything on the net about this...