The aim of Coast Watchers is to collect your daily photos, tied with collected data for a weather update today. Or any particular day!
Together, the photos and data will give us a full picture of how the weather, wind and waves affects our coast.
We’ve gathered together these sources of information about the weather, wind, tides and more. At the moment it’s a list of weblinks – but have a look at what’s already out there –
This page is a work in progress – come back soon!
Explore the Data for a Weather Update Today…
SEA
Offshore Wave Buoys
Did you know there are wave buoys out in the Irish Sea? They’re recording… wave information! There’s one offshore from Cleveleys. It measures:
- wave height,
- direction
- and period (ie the time between waves).
- The buoy also collects the sea surface temperature.
The information it collects is used for the Shoreline Management Plan, coastal management and in particular for beach processes. It’s useful for studies of soft sea defences like sand dunes and saltmarsh.
Tide Gauges
These record any deviation between the actual tide height and the tide height that’s predicted.
The information is collected by the National Tidal and Sea Level Facility (NTSLF) based at the National Oceanography Centre at the University of Liverpool. It’s the UK centre of excellence for sea level monitoring, coastal flood forecasting and the analysis of sea level extremes. Also the focus for sea level research in the UK and its interpretation into advice for policy makers, planners and coastal engineers.
Met Office Wind and Wave Data
Is available for the whole of the country. If you click on the north west button (number 8) on the map, it zooms in.
The nearest weather stations to the Fylde Coast are at Crosby, Valley on the island of Anglesey, Ronaldsway on the Isle of Man and at St Bees Head.
Flood Warnings
Find out when and where flood warnings are in force. Advance warning of the potential for trouble gives you time to plan for bad weather.
You can also check your address to see if you can sign up for flood warnings.
BEACH
Radar
Remember a small blue cabin on the seafront car park opposite Jubilee Gardens at Cleveleys? It was there to test a new piece of radar equipment. With testing complete, radar is now located on lighting columns on the seafront. There’s one at the end of Chatsworth Road in Fleetwood and one at Cleveleys.
Information from the first 2.5 months of data collection shows some interesting results.
The beach is building up, as intended, along the rock revetment frontage of the new Rossall Sea Wall. A series of sandbars are forming that move towards the shore in a northerly direction. The radar will provide information about the volume of sediment and the speed with which it moves.
Radar takes continuous observations so it’s useful for looking at long term changes and also the effect of individual storms.
The next illustration shows the change in beach levels from Storm Diana in November 2018.
SANDS
SANDS is an Asset Management System. It’s used by engineers, researchers and scientists all over the world. SANDS enables information to be stored centrally so that it can be analysed and shared. This way trends can be seen over long periods of time, and the data used to its best value.
Lidar… to follow!
WEATHER
There are different weather monitoring stations all around the country. Many of them broadcast their information online. Here are some local ones:
This link is to a network of privately owned weather stations around Morecambe Bay and in the north west. Other data is also available.
Along with all your daily Coast Watchers photos use this data for a weather update today. Or any particular day!
WILDLIFE
Bio Surveys and Bird Surveys are regularly carried out too. Information to follow…
While you’re here…
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