Memories of the Bureau of Meteorology
Preface
Memories of the Bureau of Meteorology 1929–1946 by Allan Cornish
History of Major Meteorological Installation in Australia from 1945 to 1981 by Reg Stout
Four Years in the RAAF Meteorological Service by Keith Swan
The Bureau of Meteorology in Papua New Guinea in the 1950s by Col Glendinning
Foreword
Introduction
Brief History and Geography
Station Operations
Air Transport
The Port Moresby Office
Housing for Bureau Staff, Port Moresby
Staff Members and Their Families
Local Transport
Education
Entertaining, Sport and Lifestyle
Shopping Facilities
Malaria
Native Servants
Communication with Native Servants
Meteorology
Forecasting Problems in Port Moresby
Other Comments
Index
Search
Help
Contact us
Forecasting Problems in Port Moresby
Fog formed over the swamps in the valley north-west of Jackson's strip, and was advected over the airport. This occurrence was more frequent in the wet season, but fog did impinge on the airport during the dry season if the south-easter did not persist overnight. On these occasions, the fog was advected over the airport by a katabatic wind. Fortunately, the fog usually dissipated by 0730 hours, and on less frequent occasions by 0800 hours. The aircraft from the south was due at Jackson's strip at 0700 hours, and on most occasions, a short holding was sufficient until the fog cleared.A Qantas Constellation, flown by Captain Morris, was delayed overnight on one occasion, and the following morning the aircraft was enveloped in fog at the north-west end of the strip. The propellers of the stationary aircraft, turning over for several minutes, dissipated the fog patch that enveloped the aircraft. For this achievement, Captain Morris was given the name of Fido Morris; Fido being the fog dispersal operation that was used in the United Kingdom during World War 2.
The convergence line that lingered off the coast of Papua during the wet season sometimes moved onto the coast; the movement of this line and its intensity were difficult to predict. Disruption of the diurnal barometric tendency was an indication of the movement and activity of this convergence line, but this method of prediction did not give sufficient warning for the inclusion of detail in relevant forecasts. Reasons advanced at the time for the existence of this line of weather were:
- a lee side effect; and
- a convergence line between the north-westers and the westerlies of Indian Ocean origin.
People in Bright Sparcs - Glendinning, Colin (Col)
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© Online Edition Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre and Bureau of Meteorology 2001
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