Item 1. Apologies

Apologies were received from Stephen Burt & Dave Bullock. Item 2. Agreement of agenda The agenda was agreed. Item 3. Minutes of last meeting The minutes of the committee meeting & AGM held on 12 th September 2014 were agreed as being correct. Item 4. Items arising Actions from the previous committee meeting were considered and the following matters were discussed: Rain gauge raffle – At the 2013 RMetS Amateur Meteorologist Symposium, MD organised a SIG stand where he raffled an EML rain gauge, signed-up 29 new members & raised £145. MD was thanked for his hard work. New committee member – MD has contacted, but not yet had a reply from, Mark Wilkinson (James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen) to invite him to join the SIG committee. The SIG has offered to pay travel expenses for Mark for one trip/year to attend a SI

Weather stations for Venus

Abstract Ian Strangeways looks at the difficulty of operating meteorological instruments on Venus due to its harsh environment, and suggests some possible solutions</jats:p

Weather stations for Mars

Abstract Ian Strangeways looks at what we know about the weather on Mars – and how we might find out more</jats:p

Instruments for Mountainous Areas

Because of the difficulty of data collection, little is known about the climate and hydrology of high mountain basins. Following the development of an automatic weather station (AWS) in the 1960s for use in upland Britain, the Institute of Hydrology is now engaged in developing an AWS for operation in more mountainous areas. To this end, and using the summit of Cairn Gorm in Scotland as a proving-ground, investigations are being carried out into methods of preventing ice accretion, new ways of deploying temperature sensors, alternative ways of exposing radiation sensors consistent with the deicing techniques, the sensing of wind by static sensors, the choice of the most appropriate method of sensing humidity, and the measurement of rain and snowmelt. This paper describes these new techniques.</jats:p

Precipitation

Precipitation plays a significant role in the climate system, and this book, originally published in 2006, was the first to provide a comprehensive examination of the processes involved in the generation of clouds, rain, snow and hail; how precipitation is measured; how its distribution has changed over time; and how we still need to make improvements to the way precipitation is measured. It traces our attempts to understand what clouds are, from ancient Greeks to the present day. It also discusses developments in the measurement of precipitation, from rain gauges to satellite techniques, and how these measurements have enabled researchers to estimate global trends, totals, variability and extremes of precipitation. This will be a valuable and fascinating reference for academic researchers in the fields of environmental science and climatology. It will also be of great interest to professionals in water resource and flood management.</jats:p