When a front passes.

We had a very windy day today, briefly peaking at over 100km/h, as a low pressure system drifted down from SE Iceland.

As a warm and then, not far behind, a cold front, passed to the north east, I transmitted on 144MHz, with the antenna pointing East, as is the normal position for me.  This normally produces spots all over the UK, even on a flat day.

Frontal enhancements are well-known on 2m, but it was interesting to see how limited to the frontal regions the FT8 spots were at the time depicted on the satellite map, when the cold front was passing:

FT8 spots, apparently limited in distribution by the fronts.  I would normally hit most of those stations in England on 2m, even on a flat day.

 

Cold front approaching.

Mammatus at the departing edge of the warm front.