Natural phenomenon you have witnessed?

[Acey]

I experienced a cloud inversion on the Epynt in mid Wales a few years ago. Unusually (I think) it lasted all day.

View attachment 202746View attachment 202747View attachment 202748

Excellent,had one of those "all dayers " while doing The Snowdon Horseshoe a few years back,great days walking

 

[Sun Chariot]

@Acey - stunning photos. When I climbed Snowdon, it was horizontal piercing rain and thick mist, up the Pig Trail and down (on foot) the railway line...

 

[Mr. SW]

A very low level inversion that I saw on my way home from work in the Boots estate in Nottingham some years ago and the planet Venus as viewed from my sofa a few weeks ago.

 

[Bald Rick]

I’ve had inversions on various Scottish & Alpine mountains, and also the top of the Shard which was quite something.

 

[Acey]

@Acey - stunning photos. When I climbed Snowdon, it was horizontal piercing rain and thick mist, up the Pig Trail and down (on foot) the railway line...

After 25 trips up Snowdon I think I've experienced everything Mother Nature can throw at me

 

[Harvester]

Did you notice the Pleiades ( M45 ) immediately below the moon, having actually been occulted an hour or so before sunset?

No it was not dark enough yesterday. However using binoculars, I have just picked out the cluster this evening directly above Venus.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

No it was not dark enough yesterday. However using binoculars, I have just picked out the cluster this evening directly above Venus.

On Friday, Venus will be less than 1° from Uranus, but you'll definitely need binoculars for that one.

Earlier this evening, I managed to spot Jupiter with the naked eye a few minutes before sunset.

 

[Trackman]

A very low level inversion that I saw on my way home from work in the Boots estate in Nottingham some years ago and the planet Venus as viewed from my sofa a few weeks ago.

I saw an inversion in the 1990s when staying at a relatives house.
It was very early morning and I looked out of the back window.
One of the weirdest things I've seen, it also looked liked it was giving off steam from the ground - which it wasn't.

 

[DelW]

Excellent,had one of those "all dayers " while doing The Snowdon Horseshoe a few years back,great days walking

Amusingly, on the day I took those photos, some friends had spent the day at lower level in the Irfon valley, and had been under the cloud blanket all day. They were quite miffed when I told them it had been beautiful sunshine all day just a few hundred feet higher.

 

[Ediswan]

Some of what are described here as inversions look more like radiation fog. A different mechanism with sometimes simillar results.

 

[Acey]

Amusingly, on the day I took those photos, some friends had spent the day at lower level in the Irfon valley, and had been under the cloud blanket all day. They were quite miffed when I told them it had been beautiful sunshine all day just a few hundred feet higher.

That's exactly what happened to us,up at 06.00 thick fog ,thought we were in for a no- view type of day,then at about 2000 feet, in the space of about 6 feet we broke out into into a sea of cloud ,from dull and damp to warm and sunny in an instant!amazing day ,even saw a couple of Valley Hawks ! please excuse the poor quality pic !

 

[DelW]

That's exactly what happened to us,up at 06.00 thick fog ,thought we were in for a no- view type of day,then at about 2000 feet, in the space of about 6 feet we broke out into into a sea of cloud ,from dull and damp to warm and sunny in an instant!amazing day ,even saw a couple of Valley Hawks ! please excuse the poor quality pic !

Wow, spectacular sky colours too!

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Might be worthwhile sitting outside for a while tonight or tomorrow night ...

Lyrid meteor shower 2026: Ideal conditions forecast for peak of display

The Lyrid meteor shower is the oldest recorded and Wednesday brings near perfect weather conditions to see them as they peak. Simon King explains.

www.bbc.co.uk

With lots of clear skies over the coming nights there is a good chance of seeing the Lyrid meteor shower.

While it has been ongoing since the 16 April, the peak is expected on Wednesday night.

Expect to see around 10 to 15 meteors an hour with surges of activity that could bring up to 100 an hour.

The Lyrid meteor shower is an annual event as a result of the Earth passing through dust left behind Comet Thatcher.

Reading that last paragraph quickly at first I thought it said "... dust left behind by Carol Thatcher"

 

[D1511]

Might be worthwhile sitting outside for a while tonight or tomorrow night ...

Lyrid meteor shower 2026: Ideal conditions forecast for peak of display

The Lyrid meteor shower is the oldest recorded and Wednesday brings near perfect weather conditions to see them as they peak. Simon King explains.

www.bbc.co.uk

Reading that last paragraph quickly at first I thought it said "... dust left behind by Carol Thatcher"

Perfect conditions here in Edinburgh tonight, so I'll be popping out for a look later

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Apr 2026 ==

Having seen similar on a walk in the Brecon Beacons a few years ago, I looked this up. It's apparently called a "glory". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glory_(optical_phenomenon)
I'll attach one of my pictures shortly

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Apr 2026 ==

Here we go, a glory in the cloud somewhere off Fan Brycheiniog in January 2024.
View attachment 202677
How come the cloud is below me, I hear you ask? Well, that gives an opportunity to show another picture from a short while later. Possibly the most fascinating weather I've been out in:

The 'glory' is the circular rainbow, but when your magnified shadow is projected onto a cloud like that, it's known as a Brocken spectre. As the cloud has to be below you, it's generally an experience enjoyed by hillwalkers and pilots mostly!
The name comes from a peak in the Harz mountains.

 

[MoominAndChips]

I've seen a full circle rainbow before, in fact when I worked at an airfield I'd go looking for them on bright showery days. They're quite distinct from glories, they're a true rainbow that just has enough water below you to complete the circle:



(full image URL: https://multitools.newscdn.com.au/multitools/slider/content/1699395123830/Rainbow_OcbfhtGnA3.jpg)

 

[Western Sunset]

I remember the eclipse in 1999, as that was the day we moved house and the removal men stopped to watch it.

 

[Harvester]

Jupiter and Venus looked noticeably closer this evening compared to a week ago as they move towards a conjunction on 9th June, with the former sinking towards superior conjunction, and the latter pulling out towards greatest elongation.

 

[Trackman]

I remember the eclipse in 1999, as that was the day we moved house and the removal men stopped to watch it.

I saw that, it was cloudy though.

There's a good partial eclipse coming up in August this year, I think 92% to 96% depending on where you are.

 

[Magdalia]

Jupiter and Venus looked noticeably closer this evening compared to a week ago as they move towards a conjunction on 9th June, with the former sinking towards superior conjunction, and the latter pulling out towards greatest elongation.

A good view this evening. Still a big gap to close in two weeks.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

A good view this evening. Still a big gap to close in two weeks.

The closest point will be at 12.00 on 9th June; they will be just 1.6° apart ( three moon diameters ) but if it's cloudy they will be almost as close on the 8th and 10th, obviously. As an added bonus, Mercury should be visible to the lower right of them, although not close to them.

 

[Magdalia]

The closest point will be at 12.00 on 9th June; they will be just 1.6° apart ( three moon diameters ) but if it's cloudy they will be almost as close on the 8th and 10th, obviously. As an added bonus, Mercury should be visible to the lower right of them, although not close to them.

Thanks. I like to see conjunctions such as this on a few consecutive nights to see how quickly Venus moves past Jupiter.

 

[Howardh]

Folks in the south east and midlands have experienced record May temps today, way over 30c around Kew Gardens. The coast has been a lot fresher eg. Brighton currently 22c and the sea temperature 14.6 as read from https://seatemperature.info/united-kingdom-water-temperature.html

 

[AM9]

Folks in the south east and midlands have experienced record May temps today, way over 30c around Kew Gardens. The coast has been a lot fresher eg. Brighton currently 22c and the sea temperature 14.6 as read from https://seatemperature.info/united-kingdom-water-temperature.html

I was irritated by the stupidity (or short sighted-selfishness) of the BBC News interviewee on Southsea front this evening. When asked to comment his reply was:
"I just love it, - bring it on, more - more; if this is what global warming means, don't want the other stuff but lovely temperatures like this is good".

 

[Harvester]

As an added bonus, Mercury should be visible to the lower right of them, although not close to them.

Mercury reaches greatest elongation on 15th June, so by then will have risen closer to the sinking Jupiter, before dropping back towards inferior conjunction.

 

[Magdalia]

Rain!

 

[Statto]

https://news.sky.com/story/sighting-of-northern-lights-possible-across-the-uk-tonight-these-are-the-best-places-to-see-them-13550874

People across the UK could be in with a chance of seeing the Northern Lights today and tomorrow following solar activity yesterday.

A fast, Earth-directed coronal mass ejection - a burst of solar plasma and magnetic fields - was launched from the sun early yesterday, Sky News weather presenter Joanna Robinson explained.



It is expected to reach Earth today, with aurora sightings possible in the north of the UK tonight, although this could be obscured by cloud.

There's a slight chance of sightings across central England and Wales, too, where clearer skies are expected.

The Northern Lights may also be seen on Friday night, although more cloud and rain moving in from the southwest may limit any opportunity to see the aurora tomorrow.


The Met Office believes that various ejections from multiple solar flares may combine, before giving Earth a "glancing blow" on Friday.

Here's a good site

earth :: a global map of wind, weather, and ocean conditions

See current wind, weather, ocean, and pollution conditions, as forecast by supercomputers, on an interactive animated map. Updated every three hours.

earth.nullschool.net

 

[davews]

There seems to be confusion of which night they are referring to. I think they were suggesting it would be last night just gone - but the CME arrived late and only passed at just after 6 o'clock this morning in broad daylight, and the aurora circle shows no sign yet of reacting. Whether there is sufficient left for an aurora tonight we don't know but with cloudy skies don't get excited.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

There seems to be confusion of which night they are referring to. I think they were suggesting it would be last night just gone - but the CME arrived late and only passed at just after 6 o'clock this morning in broad daylight, and the aurora circle shows no sign yet of reacting. Whether there is sufficient left for an aurora tonight we don't know but with cloudy skies don't get excited.

That's an American website; it'll be geared up to USA hours.

This one, which is Belgian owned, may be more useful as the visuals are immediately obvious:

SpaceWeatherLive.com | Real-time data and plots auroral activity

Real-Time solar activity and auroral activity data website

www.spaceweatherlive.com

 

[davews]

So far this one looks to be a damp squib with very little auroral activity. I use Solar Ham - https://www.solarham.com/ mainly for amateur radio propagation forecasts.

Geomagnetic activity remains at quiet levels as an expected incoming CME is running late. The latest ACE EPAM data at 03:00 UTC (June 5) however is showing a sharp particle increase. This may be a sign that an interplanetary shockwave is approaching. I will continue to monitor the solar wind data and post any updates whenever necessary.
CME Detected: An incoming CME was detected at 04:31 UTC (June 5) by the ACE spacecraft and swept past Earth at 05:11 UTC. Initially the solar wind speed increased from 400 km/s to around 500-550 km/s with the Bz/IMF component pointing north. It is still early in the passage phase and fluctuations will be likely in the hours ahead. A geomagnetic storm watch remains in effect.

SUMMARY: Geomagnetic Sudden Impulse
Observed: 2026 Jun 05 0511 UTC
Deviation: 70 nT
Station: MEA

 

[Harvester]

After a spell of cloudy evenings, I have noticed that Jupiter is now below Venus. Unable to pick out Mercury however, which is below them in the evening twilight.

 

[Magdalia]

After a spell of cloudy evenings, I have noticed that Jupiter is now below Venus. Unable to pick out Mercury however, which is below them in the evening twilight.

Here in the Fens we had an excellent view of Venus and Jupiter in conjunction at about 2230 yesterday. Jupiter was still slightly to the left of Venus, and the gap was about 4 moon widths.