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BY PAUL SIMONS WHAT will the weather be like in the summer of 2012 for the London Olympics? The Games are going to be held at the height of summer, from July 27 to August 12, but there is no guarantee of fine weather — far from it. This is one of the wettest periods of the year in the capital, averaging 58mm (2.3in) rainfall in July or August, and there is a chance of rain on six days over the Games. In fact, only November is a wetter month. However, July has been becoming steadily drier over England and Wales over the past 200 years. In the 1990s rainfall in July was 40 per cent less than in the early 1800s, and the rain these days also tends to come in heavier downpours, often from thunderstorms. But the Olympics will be held at the hottest time of the year when temperatures peak at about 34C (93F). The warmth in the capital is boosted by the “heat island effect” of London’s urban landscape that raises temperatures in calm conditions by around 7C compared with the surrounding countryside. Winds at the height of summer tend to be gentle, at 15kmh (9mph). By 2012, however, climate change could mean that our summers will be even hotter — and the Olympic athletes may have to endure a heatwave of 30C (86F) or even higher. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS PRESIDENT HU of China is one of the leaders at the G8 summit in Scotland who does not need reminding of the problems caused by global warming and greenhouse gas pollution. For the past 50 years choking sandstorms have enveloped Beijing each spring. The sand blows in from Mongolia’s expanding deserts, and the nearest sand dune is now less than 100 miles from Beijing. About 10,400sq km (4,000sq miles) of land turns to sand each year, and nearly a fifth of mainland China is now desert. Man-made factors, such as overgrazing by animals, are involved, but northern China’s climate is also growing drier and warmer. As it warms, the glaciers in the mountains of western China are melting. Almost all are expected to disappear by the end of the century, leaving rivers dry for much of the year and millions of people without a water supply. While the north and west are turning more arid, China has had record floods in the south and east, and in the southeast rapid urbanisation in the past 25 years has added to rising temperatures. At the same time, China’s contribution to global warming is increasing as its oil consumption booms and it pushes ahead with a huge programme of new coal-fired power stations — which are one of the worst sources of carbon dioxide. Link to Weather Eye source

Generally cold and damp here today, a maximum of just 15ºc in July is quite something After a grey day, it looks as though blue sky is moving in from the south and west.

BY PAUL SIMONS AFRICA may be about to enjoy a deluge of investment but that will not break the long drought that has afflicted much of the continent this year Millions are at risk from famine in the countries bordering the Sahara such as Mali, Mauritania and Chad, where drought has come on the heels of the plague of locusts last year. The rainy season stopped early in Niger, devastating crops and leading to the biggest shortfall in grain the country has faced for more than 20 years. At least three million people expected to suffer severe hunger over the next few months. Drought is affecting areas of Ethiopia; parts of Kenya are struggling with a five-year drought that threatens to wipe out the grazing lands for most of the nation’s livestock. Crop failure from drought extends across swaths of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique, leaving more than eight million people hungry. Vast areas of Africa are now experiencing changing patterns of rainfall as the weather over the past 25 years has become more unpredictable and more extreme. Rainy seasons are coming at the wrong times, with insufficient rains or in such punishing downpours that they set off floods. Climate change could be to blame for these extremes, and the future is expected to get only worse. In a continent where most farming relies on rainwater, the effects of global warming are disastrous. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS THE Loch Ness Discovery Centre, which opened in Edinburgh in April, helps to explain sightings of the world’s most famous monster, and among the various theories of floating logs and prehistoric animals, there are also some interesting weather possibilities. The waters of the loch are so deep that they settle out into a warm layer near the surface and a colder layer deep below. Winds blowing over the loch can churn up the warmer layer so vigorously that they set off huge underwater waves up to about 40m (130ft) tall in the cold layer. These waves, in turn, can set off strange movements across the loch’s surface that might be mistaken for a large creature moving around, and perhaps even give misleading sonar readings in the waters below. Another intriguing possibility is a type of whirlwind known as a water devil, a small column of air that whirls off warm waters on a hot day. From a distance a water devil can look uncannily like a monster’s neck and head poking up from the water and can buzz around topsy-turvy, darting in one direction then pausing before whizzing off in another. For added monster appeal, it can create a great commotion of water spray and even monster-like roaring or gurgling noises. Of course, none of these theories rules out there being a real Loch Ness monster. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS SOUTHEAST England was dry every month from November to early September, rivers ran almost dry and the summer turned extremely hot. That may sound like a long-range forecast for this year, but it was a description of the weather leading up to the Great Fire of London in 1666 — a reminder that droughts and heatwaves in Britain are nothing new. Samuel Pepys noted a drought as early as March 18, 1666: “So walked to Westminster, very fine fair dry weather, but all cry out for lack of rain.” The summer grew increasingly hot and even several thunderstorms seemed to have little effect on cooling temperatures. “It proved the hottest night that ever I was in in my life, and thundered and lightened all night long and rained hard,” wrote Pepys on July 7. Even Scotland was baked dry that summer, while in Oxford the rivers ran almost dry, “to the great impoverishment of boatmen”. John Evelyn recorded in his diary how the drought helped to lead to the final calamity: “This season, after so long and extraordinarie a drowth in August and September, as if preparatory for the dreadfull fire.” The drought left London’s timber buildings tinder dry, and when fire broke out in Pudding Lane on September 2, it was whipped up on hot, dry easterly winds, eventually burning down about 13,200 houses; about four fifths of the city. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS IF YOU suffer from astraphobia, fear of lightning, then the Hebrides are probably the best place to be in Britain in the summer — you stand a greater chance of winning the lottery than being hit by lightning there. The islands average only about 0.001 lightning strikes per square kilometre, the lowest summer lightning activity in Britain. This is because the islands rarely get warm enough to kick off cumulonimbus clouds, and they are usually too remote to import thunderstorms from the mainland. The worst region for lightning in the summer is East Anglia, where the hot ground stokes up thunderstorms or imports them from Europe over the Channel. The lightning capital of Britain is just outside Thetford, Norfolk, scoring an impressive 1,903 strikes on average each summer. In winter the pattern of thunderstorms is almost a mirror image of the summer, although less frequent. The greatest activity is in western Scotland and northwest Ireland, where warm, unstable air sweeping off the Atlantic can be lifted up over the ground and trigger thunderstorms. The warm sea of the Channel also sets off storms along the South Coast. Across the whole year, thunderstorm numbers are greatest in the East and South East and least in the North and North West. Thunder occurs in London and Birmingham about 15 days a year, whereas Glasgow averages about 8 days. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS GHOSTLY silver-blue clouds have been appearing in the twilight sky over many parts of Britain this past fortnight or so. These are noctilucent, or night-shining clouds, and are the highest clouds in the sky, lying about 80km (50 miles) high in the cold, dry air of the mesosphere where temperatures can plunge to –130C (-200F). The clouds were reported first in 1885, two years after the eruption of Krakatoa, when dust from the volcano set off sensational sunsets around the world. Since then sightings have increased, especially since the 1960s. And whereas they used to be seen largely over the poles, now increasing numbers are being sighted further away, over the UK and beyond, and have brightened considerably over the past 20 years. This sharply increased activity has led to nagging suspicions that climate change is to blame. As the atmosphere near the Earth’s surface has grown warmer, the mesosphere has turned colder, and intensely cold temperatures are needed to form noctilucent clouds. Also, methane may help to form these clouds, and levels of methane pollution have been rising from farming, rubbish tips, vehicles and much else. Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas, so it is helping to raise world temperatures. In fact, the exquisite sight of noctilucent clouds over the night skies of Britain may be giving us a very visible warning sign of global warming in action. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS WHAT would June be like without a mudbath at the Glastonbury Festival and a washout at Wimbledon? Friday’s downpours were nothing new. Ever since Marc Bolan arrived in a velvet-covered Mini at the first Glastonbury shindig in 1970, rain has been a frequent visitor there, with spectacular downpours in 1982, 1985, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2003. However, Southwest England averages 12 wet days in June, so the chances of escaping with a dry run are pretty slim. The same is true of Wimbledon, although Southeast England averages just 11 days of rain in June. A whole day’s play has been washed out 30 times since Wimbledon moved to its present site in 1922. Or, put more bleakly, a completely dry championship happens only about once every twenty years. We can expect more violent downpours as our climate grows warmer, but then heavy summer rains are not a new phenomenon. As the medieval historian Matthew of Paris wrote in 1248 of medieval fairs: “For owing to the changeable gusts of wind assailing them, as is usual at that time of the year, they were cold and wet, and also suffered from hunger and thirst; their feet were soiled by the mud, and their goods rotted by the showers of rain.” Link to Weather Eye source

Temperature: 19ºc Feels like: 19ºc Humidity: 94% Dew Point: 18ºc Wind: 6 mph N UV Index: 1 Low Visibility: 3.1 miles Pressure: 30.03 in and steady Sunrise: 4:55 AM Sunset: 9:25 PM As reported at Bournemouth, United Kingdom last updated 6/25/05 8:20 AM Local Time One of the warmest places in the country at the moment, but it does feel a lot fresher than previous days which is definitely a relief to me :blink: It's damp and dreary, with the odd spot of 2 of rain. Earlier on though, the sun came out and punched a few holes in the cloud, but they seem to be covered once again, and the sun has disappeared too :lol:

BY PAUL SIMONS WITH so much mayhem from yesterday’s weather it might be hard to imagine any good things to say about lightning and thunderstorms. But, surprisingly, they are crucial for the wellbeing of the planet. The Earth is like a battery with two terminals — its surface and the ionosphere about 80km (50 miles) up, with a voltage of around 300,000 volts between them. Thunderstorms drive electrical current upwards and charge the lower reaches of the ionosphere. That charge then spreads around the globe in the ionosphere and eventually leaks back to the Earth’s surface where the weather is fair, helping to maintain the global electric circuit. Lightning helps to fertilise soil. The air we breathe is mostly nitrogen gas, which plants cannot use. But the tremendous heat of lightning — it can reach 30,000C (54,000F), five times hotter than the surface of the Sun — breaks down the air and makes nitrogen oxides. This natural fertiliser washes down with rain into the ground, and lightning is estimated to produce up to 15 million tonnes of the nitrogen fertiliser worldwide each year. Lightning also sets fire to enormous swaths of forests and grassland each year, and even although this appears to be disastrous, the fires turn vegetation into mineral-rich ash which also fertilises the soil. In dense forests the fires also open up the ground for new vegetation to sprout up and regenerate the woodland. Link to Weather Eye source

Well I've got quite a lot to talk about so bear with me Last night we had some flashes of lightning for the cell that moved east along the south coast to affect the Bournemouth area and the IOW. After 10pm, I looked to the southwest over the sea and there were a number of fork lightning flashes, and it was certainly very spectacular. There was also some big spots of rain Went to school this morning, thinking there would be an outside chance of some thunderstorms for my area. Around 10:40am, there was around 5 minutes of rain, but hardly noticeable. The main action started at around 12:30pm Me and my friends became aware of some extremely dark cloud enroaching from the west. It soon became clear that this would smother us soon and produce some thunder and lightning. The dark cloud continued to move in, so by 1pm we had seen our first flash of lightning, and the thunder rumbles were getting louder. The teachers were worried about the impending storm, so the bell signalling the end of lunch came a few minutes early. We got into our next lesson, and within 15-20 minutes it was soon as dark as night outside. I was getting excited, but worried at this point because anything could have happened. Through the few windows we had, there were lightning flashes, some far away and some very close. The very close ones brought extremely loud rumbles of thunder, and it was becoming hard to concentrate on work. After the main part of lightning and thunder came the rain. It started off moderately, but it was soon coming down torrentially, make a loud noise on the roof of our portable hut. One of the older teachers came in drenched, saying to our teacher that if the storm was to continue until the beginning time of next lesson, we were to stay in the same room. Some of us thought by then that we would be in the room for a few hours. Thankfully, the rain did stop, and the rumbling thunder died away. The skies brightened a little, and we were able to leave for the next lesson on time Quite a storm if you were here to see it, but obviously it's difficult telling people what the storm was like There's also a band of thundery rain moving in from the Channel, so hopefully it will clip our area Overall though, an extremely exciting 24 hours of weather

It's been a thoroughly hot and humid day here, it's very uncomfortable having to work at school in the heat :o It has definitely clouded over here now, but the heat and humidity is still sustained. I'm really looking forward to the thunderstorms now, I've getting a bit fed-up with the mid 20s every day for the past week

BY PAUL SIMONS “A GREAT and terrible flood of water came with such vehemence that it drove to the ground eight houses”. This description of flash flooding in Helmsley, Yorkshire, came not from last Sunday’s disaster, but a similar incident there on October 20, 1754. That flood demolished several houses and bridges, washed away cattle and killed 13 people. “James Holdforth, he and his whole family drowned, except his wife, who being sick in her bed, was carried down the stream half a mile, and at last washed off into a field, where she was found the next morning very little hurt,” ran another account of the event. The Yorkshire hills have a long history of flash floods. On July 23, 1777, a thunderstorm at Holmfirth, near Huddersfield, sent raging waters down through the town, sweeping away bridges, mills and houses, and killing several people. Holmfirth was hit again on February 5, 1852, when, after a fortnight of heavy rain, the banks of a dam broke and water surged down, killing 81 people. Some people have blamed the recent Helmsley floods on climate change, but these parts were disaster-struck long before global warming became an issue. The high ground of Yorkshire encourages thunderstorms by giving an added lift to humid air, often leading to big rainfalls that drain into steep river valleys, turning rivers into dangerous torrents. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS THE transfer of Royal Ascot to York has highlighted a striking North-South divide in Britain’s weather. While the South faces a drought this summer, the North has been soaked for many months. And June is following a similar pattern: Northeast England has had more than its average rainfall, while the South East continues to be drier than normal. For race officials at York this is a nerve-racking time. Unlike the well-drained gravels at Ascot, the course at York sits on muddy silt and can change rapidly into a sticky mess if there is heavy rain. On the other hand, if the track turns too brown it may need to be watered — possibly compounding the effect of any downpour afterwards. The first omens were not good, as a depression north of Scotland dragged rains across Yorkshire. After a brief respite, another depression is sweeping in today, this time from the south west. It promises to drench the whole country and the rain may arrive at York in time for the races. But despite the risks of rain, when the sunshine does break through, the temperature at York will rise sharply. The racecourse lies in the Vale of York, which is particularly warm in the summer, and by the end of the week it should feel decidedly hot. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS TODAY is the start of the Royal Ascot meeting, to be held in York this year, and traditionally a day of warm weather and big hats. But 50 years ago the first day of Ascot, on July 14, 1955, was devastated by the weather. For days beforehand the South East had sweltered in a heatwave, and several big thunderstorms broke out. The first day at Ascot was stiflingly hot and muggy before the sky turned menacing with ink-black clouds. Suddenly, the heavens opened and torrential rain sent the crowds running for cover. As the rain crashed down, a bolt of lightning shot over the grandstand and struck a metal fence close to a crowd packed inside a tea tent. The Times reported that people were knocked over and some were even lifted off their feet by the lightning strike. Afterwards, the scene looked like a battlefield, with people unconscious on the ground and others wandering around dazed. “It was like being stabbed,” one man said; another felt a shock tear through his arm as he was thrown down. Dozens of casualties were taken to the local hospital, which was rapidly overwhelmed. Two people died and forty-four suffered burns and shock. That same day, seven people were killed by lightning across England — it was one of the highest numbers of thunderstorm casualties recorded on a single day in the UK. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS A REMARKABLE eyewitness account of a whirlwind was posted on the website www.ukweatherworld.co.uk on Thursday. “Quite suddenly the wind picked up . . . then a quite deafening roar/deep whistle was apparent,” wrote the respondent from the Brecon area in Wales. “The vortex stretched up about 30m (100ft) towards blue sky, and lifted up masses of dirt.” This type of whirlwind is called, fittingly, a dust devil. Although they are common in hot deserts, dust devils can be seen also in Britain on a hot summer’s day. They are created by warm air rising from a hot ground — unlike tornados, which come down from clouds. As the warm air rushes upwards, it corkscrews into a vortex and, as this tightens, the whirling air spins faster, rather like the way ice-skaters pull their arms in next to their bodies to spin faster. A dust devil can reach wind speeds of 90mph — comparable to a fair-sized tornado — charging along the ground haphazardly, sucking up loose objects and sometimes causing considerable damage. At Royal Ascot three years ago, a dust devil tore through the racecourse, throwing a gazebo, chairs, picnics and ladies’ hats some 100ft high into the air as people ran for cover. In 1999 a dust devil smashed through an antiques fair in Sussex. No one was injured, but many of the antiques were damaged. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS SKIERS might be interested in a trip to the Alps this weekend after some unusual recent snowfalls. Nearly 40cm (16in) fell over parts of the Austrian and German Alps last week, leaving motorists stranded on blocked roads before snowploughs could reach them. A fresh snowfall on Germany’s high point, Zugspitze, raised the snow pack to 310cm (122in); some high-altitude ski resorts, especially on glaciers, are open and enjoying the snowfalls. The cold winds that brought snow to the mountains were felt also in the lowlands, with temperatures in Vienna plummeting to a chilly 7C (44F). In fact, the cold blast sent shivers across much of Eastern Europe. In Croatia, a few inches of snow fell on the southern mountain of Biokovo, where temperatures fell to -3C (27F), and fresh snow blanketed the mountains of southern Serbia. Even Italy caught the rough weather. Heavy rain and strong winds flooded some of Rome’s streets, uprooting trees and forcing several roads to be closed. This wintry outbreak was linked to our fine weather last week. A stubborn block of high pressure bathed the UK in glorious sunshine, but a few miles high in the sky, the jet stream wind was forced around the anti-cyclone like a river flowing around a boulder. After passing the UK, it plunged south over the eastern Mediterranean, opening the way for bitterly cold air to flood down from the north. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS SOMETHING quite dramatic happened over Britain this week. The sea-level pressure rose to 1039mb on Wednesday, a very high reading, although not the highest — the UK record for June is 1043mb, in 1959. The high reading came from a strong anticyclone over Britain, which gave glorious sunshine in clear blue skies. However, high pressure is causing nervousness in southern England. After the exceptionally dry winter and spring, reservoirs in this region are uncomfortably low, and groundwater levels in some areas are at their lowest June level since 1976. The problem now is that any rains will not soak deep enough into the ground to fill the aquifers. Heavy summer rains tend to wash straight off the ground, with the danger of flashfloods, such as the Boscastle disaster last August. Another concern is that a dry ground helps to heat the air above and encourage heatwaves. The record temperatures of August 2003 came from hot air drifting over from Europe and being re-heated on the very dry ground on this side of the Channel. With France, Spain and Portugal now growing hot and very dry, a long spell of anticyclones this summer could set off another heatwave. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS GARDENERS had a rude shock on Monday night when frosts appeared in many places across the UK. A northerly air flow, light winds and clear skies produced a chilly night and the frost: Benson, near Oxford, recorded -0.3C (31.5F), its coldest June temperature since 1962. However, this was far from being the UK’s coldest temperature in June. On June 9, 1955, a record low of -5.6C (21.9F) was logged at Dalwhinnie, Scottish Highlands, in what was a thoroughly chilly, cloudy month. The record low June temperature was equalled twice more, on June 1 and 3, 1962, at Santon Downham, Norfolk. That first week of June had some very sharp frosts in many places, but the weather perked up and a week later a small heatwave was under way. It is easy to forget that June often springs some surprisingly cool spells. Only four years ago, in 2001, June began on a frosty note: Redhill Airfield recorded -1.8C on the 9th, and snow fell on the mountains of Scotland as Arctic air swept south. Places such as Benson, Santon Downham and Redhill Airfield are particularly prone to frost because they lie in sheltered ground where pools of cold air collect on calm, clear nights. These are known as frost hollows, and can be so cold that they can set back the plant-growing season by many weeks. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS THERE has been a big change in the weather. After several weeks of unsettled, often wet and windy, conditions, a block of high pressure has anchored itself directly over the UK and brought tranquillity, at least for the next few days. In fact, the anticyclone this week is remarkably regular. Around June 5 each year, high pressure often arrives in the UK, but quite why this weather pattern is so regular is difficult to say. Perhaps it is connected in some way to the Indian monsoon, an exquisitely timed event that usually arrives at the southern tip of southern India this week. However, there is a tinge of disappointment with the arrival of the anticyclone. You might imagine that high pressure in June would bring glorious sunshine and warm weather. But this particular anticyclone has trapped a sizeable amount of moisture and produced a thick blanket of dreary low-level cloud. As the airflow in an anticyclone is fairly stagnant, we can expect the cloud to hang around for some time. However, as the weather system shifts position, sunshine will break through, especially in the south of the country, and temperatures will rise. There is a danger, though, that if the anticyclone shifts too far towards Ireland it will allow a northerly air flow to be dragged down the east side of the UK, bringing cooler temperatures. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS A WEIRD event happened during a village cricket match at Davington near Faversham, Kent, on May 22. It was a warm, sunny afternoon — indeed, Gravesend nearby recorded 18C (64F), the highest UK temperature of the day. But at about 6.30pm, the players were astonished when a huge piece of ice suddenly fell from the sky on to the pitch. The Davington cricket club member and groundsman Graham Owen said that the ice exploded on the ground. “There was an enormous ‘whoosh’, like a slushy snowball had exploded, and then slush just spread across the ground about 10ft square,” he said. “We looked around in amazement but couldn’t see any aircraft or anything else it could have come from.” No one was hurt by the impact, although it missed the umpire by only about 10ft, and the shattered remains of the ice quickly melted away. The falling object was no hailstone because it was far too large and there were no thunderclouds in the sky. It could have been explained by a leaking pipe or a build-up of ice on an aircraft, had any been seen at the time. Several similar strange incidents of falling ice plagued Italy and Spain a few years ago, when balls of ice weighing up to 750g (1lb 10oz) fell out of the sky. Analysis of these missiles ruled out aircraft, hailstones or even comets, and their origin still remains a mystery. Link to Weather Eye source

Yes Steve it is very interesting, it's good that the Times have an article like this which is interesting to read

BY PAUL SIMONS CONDITIONS for the Epsom Derby today promise to be mild and fine, but the race has had some extraordinary weather over its long history. The race was run in a snowstorm in 1839 and flurries of sleet and snow returned in 1867. Charles Dickens was a frequent visitor to the race, and in 1863 described torrential rain turning Epsom into a sea of mud. But Derby Day in 1911 was truly terrifying. The day had been very hot and muggy before a ferocious thunderstorm broke out in the late afternoon as racegoers were leaving the course. Cascades of rain and hail crashed down as the sky erupted with a barrage of lightning and ear-splitting thunder. One of the racecourse marquees was hit by lightning, felling eight people inside; outside, a group of twelve trying to shelter by a wall were thrown to the ground and two killed when they were struck by another bolt of lightning. In one bizarre incident, a ball of fire was seen inside a horse-drawn carriage just before the passengers were hurled out, leaving one person dead. Thunderstorms raged all across London and the suburbs for much of the evening, causing landslides on railways and flooding streets; 15 people were killed and dozens injured, many of them sheltering under trees. It was one of the worst thunderstorms known in London and the Home Counties. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS JUNE has got off to a rather soggy start for much of the country, which may be no bad thing, as the old folklore saying goes: “June damp and warm/ Does the farmer no harm”. The outlook is for more wet weather, at least in the next week or so, which will be welcome for both farmers and gardeners in southern Britain. May was yet another relatively dry month in southern England, where many areas have had a run of seven months of below-average rainfall. However, the threat of drought eased slightly for much of East Anglia after a full month’s rains, while flooding posed more of a threat in northwest England and most of Scotland, where May, like the rest of spring, were thoroughly wet. Most long-range forecasts for the next few weeks predict a further divide in rainfall across the country — the North West takes the brunt of showers while the South has more sporadic outbursts of wet weather. The good news is that it should be relatively warm, with temperatures slightly above average and a hint of heatwaves towards the end of June and early July, with the South East basking in the highest temperatures. One clear picture emerging is that the Mediterranean is growing much warmer than normal, pointing to another very hot summer there. Link to Weather Eye source