Website News

Last Updated on 16th January 2019

Data Entry Issues

The release of the new site in September 2018 was successful, after the a few bugs were identified and fixed!

However, a number of members have reported problems with direct data entry into drop-down lists. If you type a number into a date list, e.g. '22', it your browser may well convert this into '20' as it looks for the first instance of the first character entered. So, you need to check your dates very carefully. To avoid the issue select the date from the drop down using the mouse or a finger tap if you are using a mobile device.

We did explore alternative solutions but each came with its own set of problems, so the committee decided that we should stick with the current system.

Ongoing Work

Current Work is focusing on completing the Gallery and standardising code efficiency across the site.

We have longer term plans to include:

  • A learning section - providing an basic introduction to meteorology and climatology
  • An implementation of Met Office Data Point, allowing us to display data from the Met Office

Both of these are major projects in themselves and are unlikely to be released live on the site until some point later in 2019.

Updates

In August 2018 this site was thoroughly upgraded to support and automatically configure for mobile devices and tablets. Amongst other improvements, members are now able to access past data in tabular form and on maps.

If you have any problems with the display or functioning of the site, please contact the Webmaster, but first, try clearing your browser cache, which may have old pages and files stored on your device. If you are using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) as part of a security system, then you may need to turn off the browser, then restart it to clear any remote cache. If the problem persists, please switch off your VPN while using this site.

Changes to the internal working of the website were made between September and December 2015 and our web hosting company rectified an issue with our server configuration at 21:00 on March 1st 2016. Data upload problems should now be a thing of the past, especially if your browser accepts cookies from the site, but if you experience any problems, please email the Webmaster itemising and describing them.

When members submit monthly data to the site, a copy of the data submitted should now appear on screen after the submit button has been pressed. If this does not happen, please contact the webmaster.

Do remember, that you can always update your monthly record after it has been submitted. To do this return to the members menu page, then select the monthly record page, followed by the appropriate year and month. Then from the 'Select Action' drop down list, select 'Update existing record'.

Cookies

The site uses cookies and session keys. They hold your login details and station details if you have one. When you leave the site, most of these cookies should be destroyed. Some cookies, however, will be retained for 24 hours, to allow you to return to partly completed forms without having to enter everything all over again.

You need cookies enabled if you want to submit records online reliably. To be sure of this, go to the Privacy settings in the Internet Options of your browser and enter this site as one from which you are prepared to accept cookies. Alternatively set your privacy setting to low.

With cookies disabled data submission will still work but you may be timed out if you take more than 20 minutes.

New Items

If you are a member you can now:

  • Read and post (if you are a member) messages on the new forum
  • View selected bulletin data online
  • View bulletin data displayed on maps
  • Pay Subscriptions online
  • Contribute to our Facebook page

If you are not a member you can now:

  • Join COL online

Browser Compatibility

This site has been written using HTML 5 and CSS3. It should display well in all current editions of the main browsers:

  • Microsoft Edge
  • Internet Explorer 9 onwards
  • Firefox 8.0.1 onwards
  • Safari 5.1.2
  • Chrome 16.0.912.63 onwards
  • Opera 11.60 onwards
  • Apple and Android Smartphone browsers
  • Browser shipped with iPad and Android tablets

With smaller tablets the site's menu will display more effectively if the device is rotated into landscape view.

It should also display in most older browsers, but there is a limit!

If you are having problems please download the latest edition of one of the main browsers and open the site again. If you are using a version of Internet Explorer earlier than 8, and your machine or operating system cannot take a later version, please consider downloading and using one of the other browsers.