A novel presentation of 177 UK meterorological sites
This is a large work where I am dismayed at having a choice forced by inaction of others between junking the work or showing known defective data which precludes much in the way of worthwhile further analysis.
Here is a 180 page document containing frequency plots for all 177 Met Office Datapoint site’s hourly data since July 2014. In addition geographic linkage is provided by location maps for each site and live links to public aerial images where known.
Document link, PDF 11.3MB
Data problem
Waiting more than 3 months without even getting a confirm or deny on whether the published data is accurate when an organisation claims to be world leading, highly competent, is not acceptable.
I could spell out the situation in detail. If it is my error then why no claim their data is correct? Why too have I seen no warnings to other users of the same data of a possible problem? Where else is this data used?
A number of interesting observations have arisen from seeing the site data with location.
Temperature data shows marked variation into classes,
Exposed coastal vs. inland, even a short distance.
The bimodal nature of Atlantic weather. I seem to recall back in the 1980s finding a degree of this in the Manley data, surprising given the vague nature of the data.
The much wider temperature range of well exposed inland sites.
The truncated cold of poorly exposed inland sites.
Wind is telling too.
Note the variation in the slope, exposure matters.
Humidity data is in a mess but there seem to be some characteristic patterns.
If I have made mistakes or can add exact location data please tell me.
I can probably provide data if you say what you need, there is a lot of it.
Lets hope the request for correct data does eventually get somewhere positive.
Deadal Earth 
I guess the next thing to do is to repeat the exercise for every year, to detect trends.
Yes it would be fascinating if extensive data was available, it would change over time. Hourly data (or better) is rare and recent, only arrived with automation. I was doing embedded very early, before any of the weather stations. I think it slide in from circa 1990 but even today the Met Office are automating sites. Elsewhere in the world probably the majority of stations are still manual and from that not a lot can be gleaned.
Thinking for all of 10 seconds, a 3D surface plot would show weather change vs. time. My interest from that point of view is about episodic weather, it goes through phases of one thing or another… just weather 😉
Downside is I would have to do it… generating that document took at two hours computer time, starts with XML format data and vector descriptions.
A Hovmoller plot might be another way, easier to do.
Humans are good at spotting patterns… and spotting patterns which are nonsense. For me anyway observing is a way of gaining insight, clues on what is going on.
Something else has occurred to me. There is a large set of hourly data from the north western United States, the results of an experimental area instrumentation. I’ve written a little on this in the past. (somewhere) In theory most of the code used here could be reused.
Thinking, got it,
http://search.usa.gov/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&sc=0&query=Reynolds+creek&m=&affiliate=agriculturalresearchservicears&commit=Search
Maybe.
For me, at least, the trends would be fascinating.
Note: Station 3351/Rostherne No 2, England, Lat: 53.3598 Long: -2.38053 Alt: 35.0m
The linked images show no site. It is there, the images are too old. Google Earth proper, select 2013 images, not very good but there it is.
A few new sites are only known from planning permission documentation. (not necessarily the set of sites in this work, the Met Office have many more)
Another oddity, Station 3803/Scilly St Marys, England, Lat: 49.913 Long: -6.301 Alt: 31.0m
The Bing view needs switching mode from bird’s eye to aerial. Suppose to be done by the provider but err… “features” exist with Bing and Google.
And
Station 3911/Lough Fea Samos, Northern Ireland, Lat: 54.721 Long: -6.814 Alt: 225.0m
This one reminds me that Google StreetView can be very useful but has no history facility. In this is one where a close look can be taken.
And
Station 3915/Portglenone Samos, Northern Ireland, Lat: 54.865 Long: -6.457 Alt: 64.0m
Station 3923/Glenanne, Northern Ireland, Lat: 54.237 Long: -6.502 Alt: 161.0m
Glenanne originally drove me nuts trying to find it, images were dreadful, at night etc., border region so a lot of images were blocked, some still are. Nice to see a new image confirming it exists.
Looks like quite a few in remote areas.
I’m not set up to do this station by station, would be yet another hand compilation of data.
Station 3839/Exeter Airport, England, Lat: 50.737 Long: -3.405 Alt: 27.0m
This is a fairly new station, doesn’t appear on Bing, does on Google… unless it has been moved recently.
Why is Jersey Airport in the PDF and not Guernsey Airport ? Are there any other weather stations that are not in the PDF ?