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BY PAUL SIMONS TURN off the heating and shake out your summer clothes — this week’s glorious spell of warm weather looks likely to hold for the weekend over most of Britain. With temperatures reaching 20C (68F), more typical of late June than mid-March, it is no exaggeration to call this a heatwave. But just how long it will last is difficult to say — March is a transitional month for weather, as winter cold and spring warmth fight it out, the one often ousting the other at bewildering speed. Chill winds can sweep down from snowfields in Russia and Scandinavia; the seas around Britain are still cold and the sunlight relatively weak despite longer daylight hours. On the other hand, warm air can be imported on winds from the Bahamas or the Sahara. One of the most dramatic swings in weather happened in March 1965, which began with a big freeze and ended in a sensational heatwave. On March 3, temperatures sank to -21C (-6F) as blizzards raged over England and drifts 60cm (2ft) deep blocked the centre of Birmingham. But on March 27 the skies cleared and temperatures soared, hitting 25C (77F) at Wakefield, Yorkshire, on the 29th, a record high for March in the UK and only equalled in 1968, in Norfolk. However, a March heatwave is no guarantee of hot weather later in the year — 1965 had a truly abysmal summer. Link to the Weather Eye source

It was a lovely end to the afternoon but soon after it turned very foggyand was unable to see around 50m down the road. It has turned a little less dense since then Just goes to show how exciting and unexpected our weather can be

Lovely blue skies outside I'm so glad the cloud has stayed away, but it doesn't look far away when looking at some of the satellites Looking at the temperatures, it's cooler than most other places with a top temperature of 15ºc

BY PAUL SIMONS A BIZARRE sight recently appeared off the south-east coast of China during cold weather. Mountains appeared over the open sea, with a castle seeming to nestle on the mountain peaks — but there are no mountains or castles in the area, and the sight vanished after three hours. This was a mirage called a Fata Morgana, named after Morgan le Fay, the legendary half-sister of King Arthur who could fly and change shape. The mirage is created by layers of cold and warm air sandwiched together, and which bend light from images in the far distance, making them appear in the sky. Because the light bends through several layers of air, the images can become distorted into what looks like mountains and castles. The Arctic is especially famous for Fata Morganas. In 1818 the British explorer John Ross was searching the north coast of Canada for the elusive Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific, and for which Parliament offered a £20,000 reward, a huge sum in those days. But Ross found his way blocked by peaks looming ahead; he named them the Croker Mountains and returned home discouraged, reporting that no Northwest Passage existed. But a year later his second-in-command, William Parry, retraced the voyage and found no Croker Mountains — he sailed through the Northwest Passage and collected the reward. The mountains were a Fata Morgana. Link to Weather Eye source

It was a fine and warm morning with hazy blue skies However, as we headed on into the afternoon the skies became more overcast, and the rain started at around 2:45pm. It still feels mild though, but there is increasing mist.

BY PAUL SIMONS THIS week the Sun appears over the horizon at the North Pole for the first time after six months’ darkness, and it will remain light for the next six months. But the early Arctic sunshine also helps to launch an attack on ozone in the atmosphere. The ozone lies in a layer of the stratosphere about 9-19 miles (15-30km) high and shields the Earth’s surface from much of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. This radiation can cause skin cancer and eye cataracts, and without the ozone layer most life on Earth would perish. The ozone is attacked by man-made pollution — a key offender is chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in fridges. The ozone-depleting chemical reaction needs intense cold and sunlight — conditions which come together after the long, cold Arctic winter — and destroys so much ozone that it creates an “ozone hole”. This winter temperatures in the Arctic stratosphere hit their lowest levels since records began 50 years ago, probably thanks to global warming. As the surface of the Arctic warms up at a phenomenal rate, the stratosphere is growing colder. The ozone is now thinnest over Greenland and Iceland, where levels are as much as 40 per cent below normal. Over Britain ozone levels are as much as 20 per cent below their seasonal average — not dangerous to public health but a warning of possible ozone depletion in years to come. Link to Weather Eye source

A very pleasant day with some sunshine especially towards the end of it B) A top temperature of 11ºc as shown on weatheronline.co.uk B) Felt a bit more like Spring. Temperature: 7ºc Feels like: 5ºc Humidity: 81% Dew Point: 4ºc Wind: 7 mph SSW UV Index: 0 Low Visibility: 6.2 mi Pressure: 29.94 in and steady Sunrise: 6:23am Sunset: 6:10 PM As reported at Bournemouth, United Kingdom last updated 3/14/05 6:20 PM Local Time Hopefully there will be some brightness tomorrow

BY PAUL SIMONS AS THE world grows warmer, a debate is raging about whether malaria will invade new regions, and even reach Britain. The fear is that the malaria parasite and its mosquito carriers will thrive as temperatures rise. But, as we know from history, malaria can thrive even at low temperatures. In the 1300s England was plunged into a cold, wet period; Chaucer described in The Nun’s Priest’s Tale the “sudden humours hot” and “fever’s pain” of the “ague". The disease was also featured in many of Shakespeare’s plays, such as The Tempest and King John, written in the late 1500s and early 1600s, when the climate was turning so cold that the period later became known as the Little Ice Age. The malaria of those days was certainly virulent. Oliver Cromwell, who died in 1658, was one of its most famous victims, and the death rate in marsh communities at that time is comparable to that in areas of sub-Saharan Africa today. It was only in the 1950s that the disease was completely eradicated in England, but that was thanks to drainage and public health measures, and nothing to do with the climate. So, even if temperatures in the UK continue to rise at their current, alarming rate, the chances of malaria re-establishing itself here are slight, so long as public health, hygiene and vigilance are maintained. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS IT MAY feel like winter, but this is supposed to be spring in the weather calendar. In fact, the first 10 days of March were the coldest in Britain for eighteen years — for the past four weeks, a block of high pressure has been anchored in the Atlantic around the West of Ireland, helping to drag down cold northerly winds. After a slight respite last week, colder weather is returning this weekend with biting winds streaming down from the Arctic and the possibility of blizzards over the Scottish Highlands. But a big change is expected next week — the high pressure disappears and will be replaced by depressions streaming in from the Atlantic. These low-pressure systems will sweep in relatively much warmer air, at least in southern regions of the UK. But the the depressions are loaded with rain, and there is a chance that their weather fronts could become jammed and produce some huge downpours, with the threat of local flooding over northern parts. “March, many weathers,” goes the old saying, and this month’s weather has lived up to the capricious reputation of a month which is capable of some shocking bursts of cold weather. In marked contrast, this winter — the three months from December to February — was milder and drier than average for the UK. The overall temperature was around 1.5C (2.4F) above normal, and those glorious conditions brought out early flowers and wildlife. Link to Weather Eye source

Weather: Cloudy Temperature: 8ºc Feels like: 4ºc Humidity: 76% Dew Point: 4ºc Wind: 17 mph WNW UV Index: 0 Low Visibility: 6.2 miles Pressure: 30.09 in and falling Sunrise: 6:30 AM Sunset: 6:05 PM As reported at Bournemouth, United Kingdom last updated 3/11/05 8:50 AM Local Time A mild start to the day but weatheronline shows that Bournemouth got down to 1ºc last night which is a surprise. The wind is more noticeable than recent days too.

BY PAUL SIMONS LAST Thursday Steve Fossett wrote himself into aviation history by making the first non-stop solo flight around the globe without refuelling. The venture depended on riding the jet stream, the fast river of wind a few miles high which blows eastwards around the globe and which gave Fossett's flight a crucial 100mph boost. The first flights that rode the jet stream were made 60 years ago, by the Japanese in the Second World War. Although the jet stream was almost unknown to the Allies, the Japanese realised that high-altitude winds circled the globe and used them to launch huge balloons loaded with incendiary bombs. These so-called “Fugo” balloons floated across the Pacific and were designed to crash after flying approximately 6,200 miles, detonating their explosives in the western forests of America and setting off huge fires which would cause panic and tie up military resources. Of 9,000 Fugos launched in the winter of 1944-45, about 1,000 landed between Alaska and Texas, but the forests were too wet to set ablaze and little damage was done. However, the US military authorities feared that the balloons might deliver a chemical or biological attack. Special squads were set up to clear away any evidence of the Fugos and keep eyewitnesses quiet to prevent panic and news filtering back to Japan. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS UNUSUAL weather struck southern Algeria on Monday. The town of Djanet, deep in the Sahara, was soaked by 16mm (0.6in) of rain — that may sound fairly trifling but it is almost three quarters of their annual rainfall. Djanet is near Tassili n’Ajjer, a vast plateau famous for its prehistoric rock paintings. These pictures, some 6,000 years old, show ancient people and such animals as elephants, giraffes and hippos in an era when the Sahara was green and wellwatered, rather like the Serengeti in Tanzania today. The Sahara had turned green thanks to a slow wobble in the Earth’s rotation around its axis, rather like the way a spinning top wobbles as it spins. Around 8,000 years ago, this made the North African summers hotter and the monsoons stronger, pulling moist air from the Atlantic deep into the Sahara. But 3,000 years later those monsoons weakened and the region dried out, leaving the prehistoric tribes marooned in a vast desert until eventually they vanished. Today the region looks like a barren Martian landscape of deep chasms and dramatic cliffs. But this week’s downpour may be a sign of another change in climate — global warming, caused by the greenhouse effect, may pull the African monsoon further north, and once again the Sahara could turn green. Link to Weather Eye source

Weather: Cloudy Temperature: 8ºc Feels like: 7ºc Humidity: 53% Dew Point: -1ºc Wind: 6 mph N UV Index: 0 Low Visibility: 6.2 miles Pressure: 30.50 in and steady Sunrise: 6:34 AM Sunset: 6:02 PM As reported at Bournemouth, United Kingdom last updated 3/9/05 4:50 PM Local Time Another dull and cloudy day, I did some blue sky around midday but little of note. The plus side was that if felt quite mild for the first time for ages

BY PAUL SIMONS GREENLAND has been basking in remarkable warmth for the past fortnight thanks to mild southerly winds: on Saturday, Kangerlussuaq on the east coast recorded 7C (45F) — the seasonal norm is around -22C (-8F). It is reminiscent of medieval times, when Greenland may have been even warmer than today. In 982, Viking pioneers landed on the southwest coast and found grass pastures where they could graze cows, sheep and goats. More settlers followed and colonies spread out along the west and east coasts — by the 12th century up to 5,000 Norse had established farms, churches and even a monastery. But it was a precarious existence. The climate barely supported the pastures, and when temperatures fell around 1250 the farming collapsed, sea ice spread and the colonies grew isolated from Europe. When conditions improved enough for European ships to return during the 1500s, they reported no living sign of the Norse, only the deserted ruins of their settlements, which can still be seen today. The Greenalnd Norse helped to bring about their own downfall. They failed to adapt to the worsening climate, staying tied to their farms instead of surviving on fishing and hunting as the native Inuit did. Perhaps there are lessons to be learnt with today’s changing climate, as resources become stretched to the limit and people fail to adapt. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS THE BIG freeze gripping much of Europe has created some dreadful conditions over the past fortnight, although skiers are enjoying huge snowfalls. On Thursday the Netherlands had its coldest March night on record, plunging to -20C (-5F) in places. The country also recorded its heaviest snowfalls for more than 20 years, and iceskaters took to frozen canals. The region of Switzerland bordering France lived up to its nickname, “Swiss Siberia”, with temperatures falling to -34C (-29F) last Tuesday, close to the record for the area. Even southern Europe has felt the icy winds: Madrid recorded its heaviest snowfall in 15 years, and Rome has had its coldest March for 18 years. The freeze can be blamed partly on the jet stream, a fast ribbon of wind a few miles miles high where cold polar air battles against warm sub-tropical air. The jet stream has swung south over North Africa, allowing cold Arctic air to flood Europe. If you are looking for an escape from the cold, then Greenland might be appealing. Parts of the country have been enjoying a remarkable heatwave for the past fortnight, with temperatures soaring to 12C (54F), around 30C above normal, thanks to a massive high-pressure system in the mid-Atlantic feeding subtropical air northwards. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS THE bitter cold this month has brought a crop of problems because of the snow and ice, and could create a new danger for the unsuspecting. Temperatures are fluctuating so wildly that thick snow lying on roofs can repeatedly freeze and thaw, turning meltwater into huge icicles hanging off gutters and ledges. If these break off they can plunge like spears on to unsuspecting people below and cause severe injuries. This is a particularly serious problem in Russia and North America, where spring thaws regularly lead to dozens of people being injured or even killed by giant icicles, up to several metres long, falling from high buildings. The problem is so bad that in places, such as Chicago, streets have been closed off while icicles are smashed off tall buildings. This winter signs have been placed on pavements warning of the danger from overhead. Britain is not immune to the threat of icicles. In the big freeze of February 1991, a woman in Dartford, Kent, received severe head injuries from a falling icicle. And an even worse fate befell the unfortunate son of the parish clerk of Bampton, Devon, in 1776. He was killed by an icicle that detached itself from the local church tower and crashed down on him, a tragedy marked by a strange memorial in the church: “Bless my eyes Here he lies In a sad pickle Kill’d by an icicle.” Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS THOSE who were surprised by the huge snowfalls in Kent and Sussex so late in the winter have short memories. Only last year we had snowstorms in March. The month began bitterly cold before snow and sleet hit southeast England, East Anglia and the Midlands on March 9. The snow returned on March 11 and 12, blanketing large swaths of Wales and England, and cold weather struck again in late March. But the month ended warm, so we may at least hope that that pattern repeats itself this year. In fact, many of us escaped much worse weather as the forecasts in the past few weeks proved to be wrong. The heavy snow forecast for London on Wednesday did not materialise, and last Thursday’s warnings of snow over much of Britain proved correct only in Northern England. Predicting snow is a nightmare for forecasters because a difference of just a degree or two in air temperature can make the difference between rain and snow. So, some places could get snow while others only a few miles away get rain — or rain falling in the afternoon can turn to snow in the evening as temperatures drop. Perhaps the problem is summed up by Banquo’s plea to Macbeth: “If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then to me.” Link to Weather Eye source

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BY PAUL SIMONS WEATHER forecasters owe much to an experiment 70 years ago which helped to save Britain in the Second World War. The story began with meteorology in the First World War, when aircraft were often destroyed by thunderstorms. The Scottish physicist Robert Watson-Watt devised a warning system by tracking the interference that thunderstorms cause to radio signals. After the war, Watson-Watt continued using radio beams to follow thunderstorms but he also picked up radio waves reflected off aircraft far away. He realised that his device, later called radar (radio detection and ranging), could give warning of enemy aircraft. On February 26, 1935, he gave a secret demonstration for the Air Ministry, using the BBC radio transmitter at Daventry to locate a bomber flying miles away. Radar was rushed into development, and by 1939 aircraft could be detected 100 miles away. Watson-Watt also invented the air defence network which fed radar data to a control centre to direct fighter aircraft. But for that early-warning system the Battle of Britain in 1940 would have been lost. But wartime radar also picked up reflections from rain, and eventually it was developed for weather forecasters. Today the UK is covered by a radar network for tracking and measuring rainfall, a vital tool in forecasting rain floods. Link to Weather Eye source

A dusting of snow on the pavements and on the minor roads this morning, very nice to see, the first decent settling of snow this cold spell :o With temperatures dropping to -4ºc earlier on in the night, it's not hard to see why the snow did settle Slippery underfoot as well. It was however odd to see a snow covering on the pavements with barely any on the grass.

BY PAUL SIMONS HOW LARGE can snowflakes grow? At midday on January 7, 1887, Mr E. J. Lowe in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, could scarcely believe his eyes when he looked up and saw giant snowflakes measuring some 9cm (3.5in) across fluttering down like pieces of paper. He got a grip on himself, fetched a cold saucer and managed to collect ten flakes, weighing them in at a total of 1.4g (0.05oz). But the world record for the greatest snowflakes belongs to Fort Keogh, Montana. On January 28, 1887, a thick snowshower fell with snowflakes described as “larger than milk pans” — they measured a mindboggling 38cm (15in) across and almost 20cm (8in) thick, according to a report in Monthly Weather Review that year. A postman witnessed these monster flakes over several square miles but there is no record of how he felt when hit by them. Snowflakes are created from lots of tiny ice crystals stuck together, and giant snowflakes are probably aggregations of flakes frozen together. Incidentally, large snowflakes make ideal material for snowmen — as long as the temperature is right. When the air is just about freezing, the snowflakes stick together more easily, and squashing them together turns them into a firm ball of snow. But at colder temperatures the snow is more fluffy and is terrible for making snowmen. Link to Weather Eye source

BY PAUL SIMONS A READER has written to ask about a strange incident that he remembers occurring in London on an afternoon in the Fifties: “Without a total eclipse, the house went as dark as night,” he said. The phenomenon may have happened on January 16, 1955. It was a bitterly cold day and snow was falling thickly, when suddenly at about 1pm darkness struck and day seemed to turn into night. The daylight may have disappeared because of coal-smoke pollution that had been caught up in a cold front. Smoky air from London was swept up, in cold air, to the Chilterns, where it became trapped beneath a lid of warmer air. But when the wind switched round, the polluted air blew back into the city and created a layer of smog so thick it blotted out daylight. The South Coast was plunged into darkness later that afternoon. Something similar happened in London on October 24, 1933, when a peasouper smog was trapped under a layer of warm air. London has descended into dark gloom in summer, such as on May 27, 1904, when gas lights and candles were needed even at midday. But coal smoke is not always to blame for sudden bouts of darkness. On May 19, 1780, the sky from New Jersey to Maine grew dark at about noon, caused by soot blown over from huge forest fires far away in western territories. Link to Weather Eye source

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Well I'm surprised that some people aren't putting emoticons on the end of their posts in this threads, it's snow I just saw a few flakes falling

Please post in the other current conditions thread for today