Rodney Blackall wrote in message ...


However a storm with large hail can produce odd effects that may or may
not be corrected by Gandalf.


.... Who is this wizard? Seriously, it's GANDOLF, an acronym
(Generating Advanced Nowcasts for deployment in operational land-based
flood forecasts), which dates from about 8 or 9 years ago ... long
before the current hype surrounding the Lord of the Rings ;-)

.... The article outlining the system as at 1996 can still be found at
the Met Office External web site ( http://www.metoffice.com ), and
navigating via:
Research/NWP Gazette/A selection of articles from earler editions ...
etc.

Look for the issue dated: 4th Quarter, 1996.

There is also a brief overview at:

http://www.metoffice.com/water/gandolf.html


The copy for March 2002 would also be pertinent to this thread.

If you type in " GANDOLF " or " NIMROD " into the search box on the
site, you will come up with other useful information.

HTH

Martin.