Rugby world cup 2011: No chance of a 'white out'

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:30:00 +0000

Distance travelled ~ 646'826'400 km

(Alex Deakin is a BBC weather forecaster and a keen sports fan. His previous post for 23 Degrees discussed the weather at the British Open. Here Alex explores how the weather will affect the start of the Rugby world cup in New Zealand, which kicked off earlier today)

Although it snowed heavily only last month in New Zealand further dumps of the white stuff are not expected as Spring kicks in for the start of the Rugby World Cup

Image courtesy of wikicommons

Being surrounded by water New Zealand, like the UK, has a mild climate for its latitude. The Islands have some of the best skiing in the southern hemisphere so they get some snow but that's thanks to the huge mountains. Snow at low levels is rare. When it snowed in August in Christchurch it was described as a once in 30 year event, so it's about as rare as a New Zealand rugby world cup win!

Another cold snap hit NZ at the start of Spring (Meteorologically speaking that's the start of September) when temperatures again dropped to freezing but now temperatures have climbed and this weekend looks fairly typical with some sunshine on Saturday and a more showery picture on Sunday. Temperatures look pretty average for the start of the tournament too, peaking in the mid to high teens.

As the tournament gets underway rain and wind will be the major weather players. Like the UK New Zealand regularly gets flown over by areas of low pressure or depressions in Spring and Autumn, these bring spells of rain and strong winds.

A strong wind will have an impact of the kicking game (penalties, conversions etc). The stadia play a big part here too with some designed to shelter the playing surface (some of the grounds being used have a roof) but other, older ones likely to create their own swirling winds and interesting micro-climates.

Rugby players are well known to be a tough bunch and a bit of rain won't hurt, however a wet pitch and a slippery ball will have an impact. A wet game is usually a low scoring game, and with so many of the group games expected to be rather one sided this could be a bit of a leveller. i.e. a shock result is more likely if its raining.

So the weather will have an impact on the rugby world cup, but if it's a typical Spring in New Zealand we shouldn't expect any snow. For updates on the weather for the games try metservice, here you can catch my old colleague Dan Corbett (yes that's where he's gone) giving video forecasts.

Different types of Sandwich - The weather is key at this week's Open

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Distance travelled ~ 503'036'000 km: day 196 in Earth's orbit

Mid July, the Open Championship; if we had steady, predictable summers it would be sunny skies and light winds every year, like it seems to be at Augusta, but this is the UK and it is never that simple.

Keep updated with the Weather at this week's British Open championship

This year we will be fortunate, although the players may see it differently, to see different weather conditions on each of the 4 days at Royal St Georges. The 2011 champion will be the player who is best at manipulating the ball through a very active lower atmosphere.

I am a fair weather golfer and detest playing in the rain but for the pro's who regularly have to play soggy rounds the rain is a mere distraction, it is the wind that is the most crucial of the elements, simply because it is so fickle.

A strong wind can easily make 3 clubs difference, hit a 4 iron into a green one day, or even one hour, and the next you may only need a 7 iron, if the wind is now behind you.

But of course changing the club not only changes the length of shot but also the trajectory and the higher a ball goes the stronger the winds are likely to be. The variation of wind with height, or wind sheer, is caused by the friction of the land.

Gauging the wind as a golfer is an art and why the winner is more likely to be an older, wiser more experienced player and one that has knowledge of playing links golf.

We've all seen players throw a few blades of grass in the air on the tee, but the wind on that tee (possibly sheltered by a sand dune) can be very different both in strength and direction than the wind 200 yards down the fairway and 100 yards up in the atmosphere.

The 'stability' of the lower atmosphere is another variable, when the pressure is low (as it will be this week at Sandwich) the air is said to be unstable. This allows quick movement of air vertically, creating up and downdraughts, which when they hit the ground produce unpredictable sideways gusts.

Even if the weather is relatively calm, because the Open is always on a links course (one by the sea) the winds will always be switching around and provide the biggest problem for the golfers.

Sea breezes develop during the day in the summer months as the land warms up. This means in the cool morning the winds can be light for the early starters. Yet for the later tee off times the sea breeze can scupper their hopes of lifting The Claret Jug.

Sea breezes won't be a factor this year but is a good reason why the Open is always held by the sea, so when we do get a fine mid July the golfers never get it easy at the oldest major of them all.

Watch the BBC's Live coverage of the Open championship

BBC | 23 Degrees

Rugby world cup 2011: No chance of a 'white out'

Different types of Sandwich - The weather is key at this week's Open