*Archive:*Weather around the World 5

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24/04/2004

By Nina Ridge

Spring storm in the US and heavy rains for Indonesia

A spring storm in the United States dumped more than 30cm of wet, heavy snow on the Colorado Rockies on Friday. The storm brought heavy rain to the eastern part of the state and heavy snow across Colorado's Front Range and mountains. The highest snowfall, reported at midday on Friday, was 40cm near Nathrop, west of Colorado Springs. However, few were complaining about the storm as it has brought much needed moisture. The storm is though to have put a small dent in the yearlong drought however more rain is still needed.

Many schools were closed, power was knocked out and dozens of accidents were reported because of the severe weather. The main road near the town of Golden was as closed for about an hour whilst a rockslide was cleared.

It was not just in Colorado where the weather was making driving hazardous on Friday in the USA. There was also a massive pileup on a New Mexico motorway caused by a billowing dust storm. It swept across an area just west of Albuquerque and in order to control the storm authorities had to send in several water trucks to control the dust.

Meanwhile in Asia heavy rain on Indonesia's Sumatra Island triggered a landslide on Friday which smashed into a bus killing at least 38 passengers. The bus was travelling from Medan, the Capital of North Sumatra province during a heavy rain storm.

Rampant deforestation and a lengthy rainy season cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia. Last month, a landslide in South Sulawesi killed

30 people and 200 people died in November when a flash flood hit the Bukit Lawang resort in North Sumatra.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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25/04/2004

By Jay Wynne

Blowing hot and cold

Many parts of the UK are enjoying a spell of fine, warm and sunny weather. Yesterday we saw temperatures way above average over large areas, the highest recorded temperature was in central London where the mercury rose to 23C (73F), that's about 10C above the seasonal average. It was the warmest day of the year so far and most seaside resorts and other open spaces were very busy indeed. The trend over the next few days is for things to cool off with temperatures much nearer the norm by mid-week.

It's not just the UK that's been very warm, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada has also seen some high temperatures recently. Warm southerly winds and some sunshine resulted in 25C (77F) being recorded on Friday, that's more than 11C above what you would expect. The winds swung around to a northerly on Saturday and consequently temperatures didn't break through the 15C mark.

There's also been some very cold spring weather in the Northern hemisphere. In northern Russia, around the Barents Sea, you would expect day time temperatures to be in the single figures in Celsius - and they have been. It's the nights that have been extremely cold. The people of Lovozero woke up to a very icy morning on Saturday with thermometers no more inspiring than -16.5C, nearly 7 degrees below the norm. Further east in Vortuka it was a bone chilling -26C, the average here is more like -15C.

Continuing on the cold theme we move to Antartica where winter is approaching and as a result the sun only shines for an increasingly short time each day. You would of course expect it to be very cold - Vostok (home of the lowest ever recorded temperature (-89.2C)) has an average MAXIMUM temperature of -59.4C ......... by those standards it was relatively warm on Saturday when we saw thermometers reading -50.3C.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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26/04/2004

By Tori Good

Lots of rain is good for your...

For many parts of the UK, it really has been a glorious weekend. Barbeques, drinks in the garden, and soaking up the sunshine. And it looks as though we weren't the only ones to enjoy some warm, spring weather.

It was a very warm Sunday in southern Canada too. Saskatoon, in the Provence of Seskatchewan, had a maximum temperature of 22 Celsius, 11 degrees higher than the April average of 10.6 Celsius.

Also, the South Pole has seen higher temperatures than average. Vostok, in Antartica, has the dubious privilege of being the coldest inhabited place in the world. And, with temperatures peaking at -50.3 Celsius yesterday, it certainly seems worthy of that label! However, this was, in fact, 9 degrees higher than the norm for this time of year. Not exactly tropical, but then weather is always relative…

Moving into the Russian Federation, Tomsk (the city which lent its name to the sportiest of the Wombles) has been on the receiving end of heavy snow storms and temperatures persistently near or below freezing. A further 15cm of snow fell in 12 hours yesterday. Brrr!

Staying with storms, but of a rather more wet nature, Sicily has had rather a deluge. A cluster of thunderstorms have marched their way across the usually arid regions in the southeast of the island. 55mm of rain was recorded in total, in just 18 hours. Usually, the average for the whole of the month is a comparatively dry 24mm.

Whilst we're on the subject of rain, it does, apparently, require an awful lot of the stuff to yield a good crop of nuts. Apparently. Which takes me to the Seychelles, home of the world's largest specimen, the Coco de Mer, which can weigh in at up to 20kg. Phew. And it seems the rainfall is bringing them all on rather well at the moment. The average for April is a sizeable 183mm, and 95mm has just rained on the islands in the last 24 hours. So there may well be a few large ones this year.

But, back here in the UK, all good things must come to an end. After this weekend's beautiful weather, it's going to turn cooler, windier and even wetter again in the coming few days. Still, I'm sure it won't last long!

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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27/04/2004

By Tori Good

Hot - or Not

Monday was another balmy day in the southeast of England. Temperatures once again soared well above average in London, with a top temperature of 22 Celsius. The average for this time of year is 15 degrees.

But this is nothing compared to the spring heat wave currently blazing its way through California. And that could be literally the case soon, as the intense heat is already causing concerns for possible wildfires. An area of high pressure has established itself over the Rockies, resulting in a dry, very warm, easterly wind (known as the Santa Ana in southern California, and the Diablo in the Bay area).

In downtown LA, the temperature reached a sweltering 37 Celsius on Sunday - think back to that Sunday last summer here in the UK - and 31 Celsius in San Francisco. Overnight, in San Francisco, the temperatures slipped back to a mere 16 Celsius - but that is, in fact, the usual daytime high at this time of year. The night time temperatures are usually a rather more trivial 8 degrees.

Portugal has also had a rather warm time of late. Breezes from the centre of the Iberian plateau raised the temperatures in Lisbon to 29 Celsius, a significant jump from the usual April high of 18 degrees.

It hasn't been all sunshine and cocktails though. A small, if rather intense, depression formed across the southeast of the USA, and resulted in some rather heavy and persistent rain being dumped in New Orleans. The Gulf city had 142mm of rain in 12 hours, over a month's worth, given that the average is 124mm.

Torrential rain has also been affecting the Far East due to a large depression sitting over South Korea. Rain has been lashing down on the Japanese island of Tsushima, which lies between Korea and Kyushu. So far, 128mm has been recorded in 12 hours in the town of Izuhara, well over half the average of 213mm seen in April.

Snow storms have turned Newfoundland increasingly white over the weekend. 38cm of the white stuff fell at Gander in 24 hours. Which is certainly more than enough to have a thoroughly enjoyable snowball fight, I should think. Failing that, it should keep you busy enough shovelling that lot away from your front door.

Even in the UK, we had some rather extreme weather. Not snow, but thunderstorms, which lead to flash flooding. Notably, in Sheffield, 33mm of rain fell in just one hour, and in Worcestershire, 43mm fell in two hours. It was in the latter that the flash floods made the headlines, with the water run off accumulating significantly on the roads. Thunderstorms will be prevalent for the southern counties of the UK in particular for another day or two yet. You may want to invest in some sandbags, if the events of yesterday are anything to go by…

Related Links:

Record August Temperatures

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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28/04/2004

By Tori Good

California dreaming, anyone?

I could quite fancy the idea of a heat wave at the moment. Last weekend's glorious weather already feels like a thousand years ago, and the coming weekend isn't showing many signs of shaping up promisingly - at the moment.

However, the shining sun has been extremely apparent in California once again. The spring heat wave continues here, and temperatures just keep on climbing higher and higher. On Monday, the day's maximum in San Francisco was 32 Celsius, and Santa Maria had a high of 38 Celsius (which is even higher than our record-breaking temperature from last summer). The average temperatures for the end of April are 17 and 19 Celsius respectively.

Soaring temperatures into the 40s Celsius set off a fair few thunderstorms in northwest Thailand. Mae Sot had 37mm or rain falling in 12 hours. Central Mexico too has seen a similar weather situation with 40mm of rain being dumped in the city of Monterrey in just 6 hours.

Kangnung, in South Korea, usually gets around 75mm in April. A slow moving depression has so far dropped a massive 151mm of rain here in the last 36 hours, which is over twice the monthly average.

But heavy rain has been rather useful for some. Cooktown is situated on the Queensland coast of Australia. The eastern half of the continent is still recovering from severe droughts from last year, so the 37mm which fell in 6 hours here has been welcome. Add this to the previous day's downpours, and a total of 123mm has been totted up in 36 hours. This has alone managed to give over half the monthly rainfall of 220mm.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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29/04/2004

By Matt Taylor

Storms rumble around the world.

As another bank holiday approaches in the UK, I suppose it can be only expected that the weather would take a turn for the worse. Many of us will be longing for the weather of last weekend, where the mercury hit 23 Celsius (74 F) in central London.

However, the warm and sunny weather broke down in spectacular fashion as the week progressed. We saw torrential thunderstorms develop in parts of England. On Monday, it was Yorkshire and Worcestershire that bore the brunt of the storms. 33 mm (1.3 inches) fell in just one hour near Sheffield around the middle of the day. Later the same day, around 50 mm (2 inches) of rain was reported near Worcester, with flash flooding resulting.

It was a similar story for many during the following couple of days. On Tuesday, it was London’s turn. 22mm (0.9 inches) was recorded in central London, and at one point the rain was reported to be falling at a rate of 120mm per hour. Many roads and homes were swamped by flood water, Clapham Common tube station was closed, and cross-London Thameslink services were cancelled due to floods in the tunnel at Kings Cross.

By Wednesday, it was to be areas close to the south-east coast of England that would see the thunderstorms. In a space of four hours, 32 mm (1.3 inches) of rain fell in parts of West Sussex.

The stormy conditions were largely due to the fact that many parts had been enjoying some unseasonable warmth, and it’s not just ourselves where daytime heat lead to severe thunderstorms.

In Thailand, hot and humid conditions resulted in the day going out with a bang for much of the country. As the temperature soared to 38 Celsius (100 F) in the city of Khon Kaen, in eastern Thailand, the storm clouds gathered, and the heavens opened. In just six hours, the city was deluged by 129 mm (around 5 inches) of rain. This is well in excess of the 84 mm (3.4 inches) the city would normally expect through the whole of April.

Storms have also been gathering on the North Island of New Zealand. Heavy, and thundery showers have been pummelling the area for the past few days. In the city of Tauranga, a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty province, 163 mm (6.5 inches) of rain drenched the residents in the 36 hours to 1200 GMT on Wednesday. This already exceeds the average for the whole of April of 127 mm (5 inches), and there is more to come. Further thundery rain is forecast today, with another 50-60 mm (over 2 inches) expected in places.

Closer to home, thunderstorms have also been rumbling around parts of Turkey. 39 mm (1.5 inches) of rain was dumped on Mugla, in the southwest, in 12 hours on Tuesday. While this is not of the scale we saw in New Zealand and Thailand, it still came close to the average for the whole month of 50 mm (2 inches).

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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30/04/2004

By Sarah Wilmhurst

Mediterranean misery

With the bank holiday weekend coming up, many of us start to think about heading to the sun. The Mediterranean maybe? Probably not the best place to go for the sunshine just at the moment, as there has been some very wet weather recently. Northeast Spain and southern France have born the brunt of this in the last day or so, with nearly a months worth of rain falling in cities like Gerona and Perpignan in just 18 hours (35 and 30mm respectively)

Maybe a better place to head would be central Europe. Here it is hot at the moment, with temperatures in Bosnia's city of Banja Luka reaching 25 Celsius (77 Fahrenheit) on Thursday, and a high of 24 Celsius in Salzburg, Austria. Both these temperatures are several degrees higher than the usual for this time of year.

This rain across the Mediterranean has been affecting the Italian Open Golf in Milan, too. Heavy overnight rain left parts of the Castello di Tolcinasco course under water on Thursday morning, disrupting the tournaments second round

Rain has also affected the golf in New Orleans, with a three and a half hour delay on Thursday.

Meanwhile three major roads in southeast New Mexico were closed on Thursday due to dust storms. These were also blamed for a spate of road accidents in the area.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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01/05/2004

By Sarah Wilmhurst

More rain delays for the Golf

Some of us are soaking under thunderstorms and heavy rain today here in the UK, but we are not alone! It has been pouring down with rain in New Orleans too, causing the Jazz Fest to be cancelled on Friday evening. Streets and homes have been flooded and the Golf was washed out again on Friday as several inches of rain fell.

After the delays on Thursday the first round of the PGA Tours's HP Classic in New Orleans has not even been completed. It looks as though there will be a weather window this morning so hopefully they will be able to play for a while, but severe storms are possible in the afternoon.

The Italian Open Golf has also been seriously interupted by heavy rain, with a whole day's play washed out in Milan on Friday. Further showers are expected today, although they are hoping to get out and play a little bit before the showers get going.

The Kentucky Derby takes place today in Louisville USA. Heavy showers are expected which could make it difficult to pick a winner as the ground softens.

The Caribbean has caught some heavy showers recently. Piarco airport which serves Trinidad and Tobago had 36mm of rain in just six hours early on Friday morning, which is pretty much what we'd expect to fall in the whole month. May is starting on a wet note here, too, so it may not be the best place to head for the sun just now.

Meanwhile, there has been more heavy rain Down Under in New Zealand, and also in southeast Australia. Half the April average rainfall (30mm) came down in just six hours on Friday morning at St Helens on the east coast of Tasmania.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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02/05/2004

By Sarah Wilmhurst

Flooding in Texas and Kenya

Heavy rain is falling across the eastern side of North America at the moment. The rain and thunderstorms are moving east and leaving destruction in their wake.

Texas has been particularly badly affected. In Waco, 74mm of rain fell in twelve hours late on Friday and into Saturday, with 69mm (over two and a half inches) of this falling in just six hours . It wasn't just the rain that caused problems. Winds were reported to have gusted to 60mph, knocking down trees and power lines, and hail as big as golf balls pounded some areas. A tornado was also reported to have caused minor damage in a suburb of Houston.

This torrential rain caused flash flooding in North and Central Texas, with at least six people drowning as a result.

This band of rain, which stretches up to the Northeast of North America, has been keeping temperatures low. In Milwaukee on Saturday temperatures climbed no higher than 8 Celsius, when you would expect 18 Celsius at this time of the year.

Western Kenya has also been suffering from flooding after heavy rain pounded the area for two days. More than 2000 people have been left homeless after the flooding and five children died in a mudslide caused by the torrential rain.

Just to update you on the situation for our two rain plagued golf tournaments. The HP Classic in New Orleans is still suffering from the inclement weather. On Saturday they managed to get some play in, but there were interruptions throughout the afternoon as lightning threatened to strike. The multiple weather delays over the first three days have forced tournament officials to declare a Monday finish for the second week. Hopefully they will be able to get some play in today!

Meanwhile in Milan, rain is also continuing to affect the Italian Open, with another three and a half hour delay on Saturday morning. The weather delays here have forced course officials to reduce the tournement to 54 holes. Showers could cause interruptions again today.

Related Links: BBC Weather - North America rainfall

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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03/05/2004

By Peter Gibbs

Polar freeze goes deeper

It may be a cool and showery Bank Holiday in the UK, but spare a thought for the scientists at the American South Pole research station where temperatures fell to an impressively frigid minus 71.2C. Sunday's temperature was within a degree of the all-time low for May, records at the Pole going back to 1957.

Not that day and night have much meaning at the South Pole. Sunset in mid-March marked the start of the long south polar night and it'll be mid-September before the sun creeps back above above the horizon. Then of course there's the bonus of 24-hour daylight during the 'summer' months, which pushes the average temperature up to the dizzy heights of minus 30C!

To put these temperatures into context, the average home freezer runs at around minus 20C, and the record low for the UK is minus 27C.

Mind you, even the South Pole figure is relatively balmy compared to the all-time record low of minus 89.2C which was measured by hardy observers at Russia's Vostok station, sited at the Antarctic Pole of Inaccesibility. This is the point furthest from the relatively warming influence of the oceans that surround the Antarctic.

A trip outside becomes a major undertaking in these sort of temperatures. Boiling water explodes into ice crystals when thrown into the air, engine parts become brittle and exposed flesh will freeze in seconds. Workers keep watch for the tell-tale white spots appearing on their colleagues' faces, the first sign of frostbite. Left unattended, the flesh will be permanently damaged. Recommended treatment is vigorous rubbing of the affected area!

Related Links : Antarctic climate information

South Pole Observatory

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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04/05/2004

By Matt Taylor

Stormy Europe and scorching States.

Those of you who enjoyed an extended break from work over the Bank Holiday weekend, probably found it a little hard to rise from your bed this morning. Not only was there the prospect of the return to work to contend with, but as you drew the curtains, many of you will have been greeted by sullen skies and continuous rain.

It wasn't the best weather to motivate, after what was a fairly pleasant weekend for many. On both Saturday and Sunday, the temperature reached the high 60's Fahrenheit, even low 70's, in a number of places. Just about everyone saw one, if not two, days of pleasantly warm sunshine.

The weather did go a bit awry for Bank Holiday Monday itself, especially in the south-east, but on the whole we didn't do too badly. We faired even better when compared to other parts of Europe.

Low pressure remained very dominant throughout the weekend across a good bulk of Europe. Thunderstorms rumbled around quite widely, and with them came some torrential downpours. France, Italy and Spain were particularly badly hit.

Perhaps the most significant rainfall was at Perpignan, in the south of France. The city was deluged with 72 mm (2.8 inches) of rain in only 24 hours. This already exceeds their usual rainfall figure for the whole of May, which averages at 51 mm (2 inches).

In Italy, we saw thunderstorms cause extensive delays to the Open Golf tournament throughout the weekend. At Piacenza, in the north of the country, 50 mm (2 inches) fell in only 12 hours - only an inch short of their May monthly average of 77 mm.

Things were no better on the Mediterranean islands. Ibiza received 26 mm (1 inch) of rain in 12 hours, against a monthly average of 34 mm (1.34 inches), while at Solenzara, on Corsica, 44 mm (1.7 inches) fell during the same period. This is only a few drops short of their May average of 50mm (2 inches).

With the thunderstorms and rain, also came some disappointing temperatures. On Majorca, the maximum on Monday was only 16 Celsius (61 F), well below the 23 Celsius (73 F) they would normally expect at this time of the year.

If it was heat you were after, you needed to be on the west coast of the United States. The temperatures have been soaring across much of California recently. On Monday, the mercury peaked at 40 Celsius (104 F) at Long Beach, and 34 Celsius (93 F) in Los Angeles. This is well above their seasonal averages of 22 Celsius (71 F) and 20 Celsius (68 F) respectively. There has been a consequence to this though. Reports are now coming from the state of numerous forest fires resulting from tinder dry conditions.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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05/05/2004

By Jay Wynne

Californian wildfires

Wildfires broke out in California on Sunday and have lasted into the early part of this week, prompting fire officials to announce an early start to the wildfire season. The declaration was made three weeks earlier than last year because of a combination of factors.

There has been a heat wave for quite some time now across most of southern California with temperatures as much as twenty degrees Celsius above the average. In addition there has been very little rainfall in recent weeks, humidity has been low and the winds have been quite strong. There is also plenty of fuel literally lying around as an infestation of bark beetles has killed thousands of trees. These factors have all come together and now six major fires are burning on the mountain ranges between Santa Barbara and San Diego.

Wildfires are a natural part of some ecosystems but drought conditions create extra stress which means that an ordinary wildfire can turn into a disaster, threatening lives and property.

Much of the western half of the USA has seen below average rainfall recently and in some places this has been on going for years. Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas have been in the grip of a drought since the mid 1990s. Colorado is in its sixth year of drought, homeowners in the Denver area have had something of a hosepipe ban imposed - watering the lawn is restricted to just two days a week. Even further north it's been very dry; Washington State has just had its driest April in fifty years.

Thousands of Californians have already been evacuated and there are reports of a few homes and other buildings being destroyed as about 16,000 acres of mostly mountain scrub have been burned. The destruction is thankfully nowhere near as severe as it was last October when thousands of homes were lost to the flames.

The weather doesn't look like it will be bringing any significant rain in the next few days but we may well see temperatures dropping off just a little as humidity rises.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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06/05/2004

By Jay Wynne

A tale of two tropical storms

The North Indian Ocean Cyclone season of 2004 has begun with the formation of the appropriately named cyclone

1A. No matter how powerful it becomes it will never have a 'proper' name as the North Indian Ocean is the only part of the world where tropical storms aren't named.

1A developed over the last few days, just off the southwest coast of India and has brought some heavy rain ahead of the main wet season. The town of Thiruvananthapuram (also known as Trivandrum) has seen 209 mm of rain so far this month with about a quarter of that falling just yesterday. The monthly average here is 200mm so it really has been very wet indeed. First thing this morning the seas were very turbulent with waves as high as 14 feet and the winds around the storm were blowing at 40 mph with gusts up to 52 mph. On the Beaufort scale that's a steady force 8 with force 9 gusts.

The storm is expected to track its way northwards and gather strength as it does so. In about three days time the centre of the storm is expected to be out in the Arabian Sea, a couple of hundred miles to the southwest of heavily populated Mumbai (formerly Bombay).

Nevertheless, the influence of the storm will probably be felt here in the form of some heavy rain with quite a breeze. The strongest winds will remain offshore and by this time we'll see immense waves and sustained winds of 75 mph with gusts of 90 mph or more. Winds of this strength are the equivalent of a category 1 Hurricane in the Atlantic.

Obviously, this situation needs careful monitoring as the subtleties that steer such storms are subject to minor changes which have a direct influence on their development and track.

Further south from here but still in the Indian Ocean there's another tropical storm (23S). At the moment 23S is of a similar strength to 1A and its forecast track takes it to the south of the tiny island of Diego Garcia. Again the influence of the storm will be felt here as it passes within about 100 miles. Blustery winds, thunderstorms and high seas are forecast for the next few days.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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07/05/2004

By Matt Taylor

Three seasons in one week!

It's probably not escaped your attention, but it has been a rather unsettled start to May. We've not been alone though. Other parts of western Europe have been there with us every inch of the way. Many have suffered from far stormier weather than we've seen here in the UK this week.

The reason for these turbulent conditions, have been down to a huge area of low pressure. It arrived during the night on Monday, and has remained centred around the UK and southern North Sea ever since. At one point, the system recorded the lowest air pressure centre in the whole of the northern hemisphere - an unusual feat for early May.

Within it has been wrapped a lot of moisture, and as air generally rises within the low pressure system, this has promoted the growth of some rather large rain clouds.

France and Germany have appeared to have come off the worst through the week. Biarritz, in south-west France has seen 65 mm (2.6 inches) of rain fall in the 60 hours to 0600 GMT on the 7th May. This has come very close to their usual May average rainfall of 89 mm (3.5 inches).

The figures have been far more impressive though in southern Germany. In just 24 hours, the town of Roth, south of Nürnberg, was deluged by a phenomenal 121 mm (4.8 inches) of rain. This is almost two and a half times the rainfall amount they would get in the whole of May.

The story has been similar again in parts of Italy. At Latronico, in the south of the country, the totals may not have been as high as in France and Germany, but it has been unusually wet none-the-less. In the 24 hours to 0600 GMT on Friday, 47 mm (1.9 inches) of rain was recorded. This is close to double their May average.

With the winds circulating anti-clockwise round the area of low pressure, there has also been a knock on effect to the temperatures.

A light north-westerly flow across Spain on Thursday night resulted in an overnight frost at Valladolid, in central Spain. The mercury here plummeted to -0.5 Celsius (31 F), well below their usual minimum of 7.8 Celsius (46 F).

There has been a positive spin to the low pressure though. In parts of Scandinavia, Thursday was a very mild night. At Turku, in Finland, and Gothenburg, in Sweden, the temperature never dropped lower than 17.7 Celsius (64 F) and 15.2 Celsius (59 F) respectively. This is well above the 3.3 Celsius (38 F), and 6.7 Celsius (44 F) they would normally expect at this time of year.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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08/05/2004

By Susan Powell

Taking the weather to extremes...

Severe weather has been the order of the day for some recently...

In Australia, Friday night saw the south coast of New South Wales lashed by violent thunderstorms. Many people became trapped by flash flooding, ice and hail. More than forty people became trapped in a local shop in Blackbutt (South of Wollongong) and had to be rescued by fire crews after part of the store's roof caved in. Five or six cars were towed away after torrential rain left more than a metre of water on some roads. Fire fighters were also brought in to clear ice and hail that was around 30mm deep from another road. Further stormy weather is possible here in the next few days but hopefully nothing this dramatic!

In the USA, the week also came to stormy end for the residents of Detroit. Lightning flashed across the morning skies as thunderstorms came marching in pounding the area with heavy rain and marble-sized hail. The force of the falling hailstones was such that several cars were damaged by the impact. The storm cetainly made for some terrifying travelling conditions and the situation was worsened further as intense downpours also led to localised flooding. Residents here are not out of the woods yet - unsettled conditions are likely throughout the weekend.

India has seen its own lashing of storms in the last 24 hours too. As the first cyclone of this season, '01A', continues to whirl around in the Arabian Sea the effects have been felt by many - near and far. Kerala and Lakshadweep have both been drenched with rain in the last couple of days as they sit directly on the periphery of the system.

Mumbai, well away from the cyclone, has also however been hit by its far flung effects. The storm is feeding a lot of heat and moisture into this area on southeasterly winds. The result has been unusually high temperatures, cloudy skies and evening thunderstorms. This pattern is likely to continue for the next few days. However, the rain from the system is likely to clear land as the cyclone steers further out into the Arabian Sea, but it may effect southern Pakistan later in the week.

Brazil has also taken a battering recently. A tropical storm rolled in from the South Atlantic to southern Sao Paulo on Thursday night. Coastal areas were worst affected by the strong winds and heavy rain, but fortunately damage was limited. This area has been no stranger to dramatic weather this year - the first ever Atlantic hurricane hit here in late March.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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09/05/2004

By Susan Powell

Extreme weather - The sequal

More dramatic weather events from around the globe...

In China a rare tornado carved a swathe of destruction through Guangdong province around noon (local time) on Saturday. Worst hit was Qishi township where 52 people were injured and over 450 left homeless. The strength of the winds were such that they even managed to lift a car and carry it 50 metres before landing in a rice field!

The early hours of Saturday saw Hong Kong pounded by torrential thunderstorms - forcing many schools and businesses to close. In some spots around 170mm (about 7 inches) of rain was reported less than 48 hours. Fortunately no serious damage or injury has been reported here.

For Pakistan duststorms were the order of the day. The city of Multan was lashed on Saturday with winds carrying dust and sand in at around 40 miles per hour (65km/h). Further such storms are expected here during the next couple of days, and more generally across Sindh province, as the winds remain brisk in association with the effects of cyclone '01A' in the Arabian Sea.

'01A' has already caused considerable disruption across southern India as it's thrown in masses of heavy thundery showers across Kerala and Lakshadweep. Campaigning for local elections in Kerala has had to be all but suspended in the last couple of days. Looking at some of the local rainfall totals it's not surprizing! Calicut, for example, was bucketed with 221mm in two days (that's over the average for the entire of May).

'01A' hasn't just been responsible for heavy rain though - it has also been dragging plenty of hot air up ahead of it into northwestern India and Pakistan. Temperatures have been in the mid-forties for many here in recent days - figures only typically seen at the height of the pre-monsoon heat. Fortunately the heat should begin to ease here in the next couple of days - but only as a result of the storm feeding in cloud and heavy rain.

'01A' is currently forecast to move northwesterly across the Arabian Sea, its core tracking towards southeastern Sindh (Pakistan) during the next 24 hours. Winds speeds around the storm are likely to reach 50-60mph for a time and there is certainly plenty more rainfall to come!

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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10/05/2004

By Elizabeth Saary

Blowing hot and cold in Scandinavia

Warm southerly winds were bathing many parts of Scandinavia last week, and temperatures responded accordingly. On Saturday, they were again near record levels. Pori in Finland reported a high of 27C which is very high compared to their average maximum temperature of just 13C.

The capital cities of Norway and Sweden were also both very warm over the weekend. The average mid-May temperature is just 14C in both Oslo and Stockholm, but on Sunday, they reached 24C and 25C respectively.

The change has already begun to arrive though. Kirkenes in the far north of Norway is well inside the Arctic circle and therefore used to some rather extreme weather conditions. On Saturday, the temperature at midday was a well-above-average 20C, but at the same time on Sunday it had dropped to under 2C which is below the average!

The colder air is gradually moving southwards across Scandinavia and is bringing plenty of snow showers.

This is in sharp contrast to the weather across central Egypt and northern Sudan, where it has just been getting hotter. In these desert regions, the average temperatures are between 35 and 40C. However, at Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan, the thermometer reached 46C on Sunday, and at Wahar al Kharijah in Egypt it was a sweltering 49C or 120F!

Climbers heading for the summit of Everest will no doubt have been prepared for some adverse weather, but in recent days, it has been so bad that they have been forced to descend to base camps and seek shelter. Hurricane strength winds have been reported over the mountain, damaging tents and blowing away vital supplies and equipment. Although May is a very popular month for climbers, having traditionally quieter weather, it does not look as though conditions will be much more favourable for the rest of this week.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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11/05/2004

By Elizabeth Saary

Today's weather news from around the world

On Monday, I wrote about the high temperatures in Scandinavia and northeast Africa. Today I can report that there are also some other places around the world that have been recording unusual temperatures.

First though, an update on the previous stories. The heat in Egypt is still a problem. Yesterday, the top temperature in Luxor was 49C. This is a good nine degrees above the May average.

In Scandinavia, things are continuing to cool off from the north, but southernmost parts still had above average temperatures yesterday. For example, temperatures in southern Norway reached up to 23C compared to an average of around 12C. The warmth had spread into Denmark as well, with Copenhagen recording temperatures over 7 degrees above the average for the time of year.

Elsewhere in Europe things were not quite so pleasant. Much of Spain was experiencing temperatures well below the seasonal average. For instance, Valladolid only reached 10C and their average temperature in May is around 19C. Similarly, Bilbao only reached 13C compared to an average of 20C.

No doubt the extensive cloud and rain across Spain helped keep the temperature down. Murcia recorded 20mm, or nearly an inch of rain. This is a fair proportion of the rain they would normally receive during the whole month - the May average here is 31mm.

Now to Canada, where some Spring warmth has been the order of the day. It is usual to see some rather marked temperature fluctuations across the country, so it may not be long before things turn cool again. Toronto recorded a high on Monday of 28C. The average here is about 19C .

In other news from around the world, Kenya's seasonal rains continue to cause havoc. A number of people have now been killed as a result of floods and landslides, and many thousands have been affected in some way.

In the Midwest of the USA, many thunderstorms and tornadoes have been reported and there have even been some sightings of hail the size of baseballs. Back in the UK, although we have been seeing a few thunderstorms in the last few days, at least we don't normally get anything on quite that scale!

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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13/05/2004

By Sarah Wilmshurst

More rain for some, but more is needed in Taiwan

Yet more rain has fallen in the western Mediterranean in the last few days - hopefully it will dry out before the main holiday season starts! In Mahon, Menorca, 29mm of thundery rain fell in just 18 hours when we would only expect that much in the whole of May. The Balearics should become much drier in the next few days, but Spain and Portugal stay pretty showery.

It is also wet in some central and eastern parts of the USA. A cluster of thunderstorms hit Arkansas, Louisiana and western Mississippi on Wednesday with so much rain falling that some roads were flooded. Baton Rouge and Alexandria in Louisiana both had more than three inches of rain (over 75mm). There was also some torrential rain in Texas with 75mm of rain falling in just six hours in Port Arthur.

Meanwhile, severe weather including hail and tornadoes hit Wichita, Kansas on Wednesday evening with golf ball sized hail reported.

Southern Taiwan could really do with some of that rain. There has been so little wet weather that there are near record low water levels in major reservoirs and there are worries that the water may only last for another six weeks if there is no rain. Agricultural areas rely on water from the reservoirs for irrigation, but some land may have to be left fallow if sufficient rain does not soon fall.

Northern areas of Taiwan are not doing so badly. On Wednesday there were afternoon thunderstorms which brought welcome rain to a thirsty ground. A cold front is expected to move through Taiwan in the next couple of days which should bring a bit of welcome rain.

Related Links: BBC Weather - North America rainfall

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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14/05/2004

By Matt Taylor

A storm is brewing!

During the months of May and June, the Indian Ocean usually sees its peak season for tropical storm development. The most recent storm has been Tropical Cyclone Juba. Wind speeds peaked at around 90 mph during the week, but now, as the storm continues to track south, the system itself is weakening.

In the western Pacific, May and June is generally a lull period for any storm development. With this in mind, it is perhaps surprising to see quite a nasty storm, 'Nida' developing to the east of the Philippines. At the moment, wind speeds are only reaching around the 70 mph mark so the system is only classified as a 'storm'. However, the system is expected to rapidly deepen into a tropical cyclone over the next few days, and track north-westwards. It is currently forecast to hit land, on the east coast of the island of Luzon, during the early hours of the 17th May. By this point, the wind may be gusting as high as 130 mph. With the destruction these sorts of speeds can cause, this is definitely a storm we'll be keeping a close eye on.

Stormy weather has been a regular feature in parts of the Americas this week. Areas of North America have been particularly badly hit by vicious thunderstorms and even tornados. The reason for this has been the huge temperature contrast across the country. The cold air from the north came into contact with warm and moist air drawn up from the Gulf of Mexico. This resulted in the explosive development that aided the growth of massive storm clouds, and subsequently the tornados. The most recent storms have battered the Houston and San Antonio areas of Texas.

Much of Central America hasn't escaped the unsettled weather either. Rather than the storms being set off by huge temperature contrasts, here it has all been due to a rather large area of low pressure.

At the start of the week, much of Costa Rica was left to mop up some particularly nasty storms. Around 2000 people were forced out of their homes in the north of the country as swollen rivers burst their banks.

Then it was the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico that was to bear the brunt of the thunderstorms. Between 8 and 25 cms (3-10 inches) of rainfall was reported across the island between Tuesday and Thursday. Such a deluge not only took a life, but the flash flooding that resulted left many homeless.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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15/05/2004

By Matt Taylor

The ups and downs of May.

As the temperatures rise across much of the UK this weekend, many people's thoughts will be turning to the idea of a long and hot summer once more. Sales of barbeques, garden furniture, and sun cream will be soaring in the nation's shops, and the winter woollies will be safety stored away at the back of the wardrobe.

As we now head into the second half of May, the transition from Spring into Summer begins in earnest for many in the northern hemisphere. The days become longer, the temperatures rise, and in temperate climates such as our own, the natural world springs into full life.

A word of warning though - the transition can be a fraught one with huge fluctuations in the weather. Good examples of this are the recent conditions in parts of Canada. With low pressure to the west of the Great Lakes, and high pressure to the east, we have seen two greatly contrasting air masses across a good chunk of the country.

To the west, Winnipeg in central Canada, has been under the influence of cold air from the north. The temperature here on Friday only struggled to a paltry 5.4 Celsius (42 F). This is almost 13 degrees lower than their average May maximum temperature of 18.3 Celsius (65 F).

By complete contrast, thanks to warm air being drawn up all the way from the Gulf of Mexico, the residents of the state of Quebec, in the east, had to put up with stifling heat. In the capital, Ottawa, the temperature rocketed to 30.7 Celsius (87 F), well above their average of 18.9 Celsius (66 F).

Back in the UK, the month of May has never been a straight forward one to predict. With the annual Ten Tors Challenge taking place in the south-west of England this weekend, we do not have to cast our minds far back to remember when many of those taking part in the event suffered from hypothermia due to the cold.

In fact, we only have to look back as far back as 1996, when we experienced the coldest May for 73 years (May 1923 being the coldest of the twentieth century). In 1966, there were occasional frosts to contend with towards the very end of the month. A year later, it was to be the wettest May of the twentieth century. Not only that, it was also to be one of the most thundery. At West Raysham, in Norfolk, there were no fewer than 16 days of thunder in the month.

On the opposite side of the coin, May 1990 was a very dry month for some. In north west London there was barely 1mm of rain during the whole month, and on the 29th May 1944, the temperature soared to the dizzy heights of 32.8 Celsius (91 F) in parts of south east England.

What a fickle month it can be!

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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16/05/2004

By Matt Taylor

The heat is on!

With gloriously sunny weather across much of the UK this weekend, we've seen the temperatures rise quite nicely. Yesterday, the temperature at Aboyne, in Aberdeenshire, peaked at 23 Celsius (73 F). To many of us Brits such a temperature is not only very pleasant, but within our bounds of comfort. How many of us would cope in the heat that we are seeing in other parts of the world remains to be seen.

In eastern parts of North America and Canada, there has been a continuing flow of warm air, up from the south. New York and Boston both saw a temperature of 31.7 Celsius (89 F) on Saturday, well above their respective averages of 22 and 19 Celsius (72 and 66 F).

Areas of Quebec, have also been particularly hot for the time of year. On Saturday, the heat transferred a little further east towards the coast and the Bay of St Lawrence. At the coastal town of Gaspe, the mercury rocketed to 29.8 Celsius (86 F) at the start of the weekend. This must have been extremely uncomfortable for the local population when you consider that the daytime maximum at this time of the year is usually only around 12 Celsius (54 F).

While many people would agree on what conditions they consider as being hot, heat is actually a relative variable to both humans and animals. This is due to the varying climates in which we live. For instance, a unusually hot day for someone from Alaska, would probably feel rather chilly to a resident of North Africa.

Unusually hot conditions put our bodies under increased stress, but it's not just the temperature that we have to consider when discussing heat. The humidity, or moisture content, of the air also has a huge impact. The higher the moisture content of the air, the warmer the weather feels.

To try and estimate how much stress the body is put under in hot conditions we can refer to a heat stress index. From this we would be able to see that a temperature of 32 Celsius (90 F) and a relative humidity of 80% would have an apparent temperature closer to 46 Celsius (115 F). Should the relative humidity rise to 90 %, it would then feel more like 52 Celsius (125 F). This would put a person in imminent danger of heat exhaustion or even heat stroke given any prolonged exposure or physical activity.

Due to our climate here in the UK, unless there is a significantly hot spell of weather, heat stress is not a subject we generally need to cover in our public service forecasting. However, it is regularly used by the army, for example, to decide whether it is safe for personnel to undertake demanding exercises in full combat clothing.

Heat stress forecasting is more common in places where there can be extremes in conditions, such as in the United States, but even then it has to be used with caution - 35 Celsius (95 F) will have a bigger impact on someone from Maine, in the north east, compared to someone living in Texas.

Related Links: BBC Weather Feature - Heat Effects

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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17/05/2004

By Matt Taylor

Stormy Philippines.

Despite some thicker cloud in northern and western areas of the UK, it was a glorious weekend for much of the country. Even in the cloudier parts, the weather was largely fine dry and settled. However, in parts of Asia and the western Pacific the weather has been anything but settled.

Much of the action has been focused around the South China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean. During the latter stages of last week we saw a deep depression to the east of the Philippines deepen rapidly. During Friday, the storm was upgraded to typhoon status, and given the name 'Nida'.

At this point it was feared that the storm would hit the coast of the northern Island of Luzon during the early hours of this morning. During the weekend, however, it made it's way northwards with the worst of the storm remaining off-shore, but at the same time strengthening to 'Super Typhoon' status. Wind speeds towards the centre of the storm have been estimated at an incredible 160 mph, with gusts even higher. The centre of Nida has continued to remain just off-shore, but the residents of eastern parts of the Philippines have not been left unscathed.

It certainly isn't a time to be out at sea with such wind speeds, and high waves across a huge area. Over 5000 people have been left stranded so far, due to cancelled ferry crossings and flooding.

The flooding has been the result of some exceptional amounts of rainfall. In Catarman and Virac, for instance, we saw 232mm (9.1 inches) and 224 mm (8.8 inches) of rain respectively fall in just 24 hours. This is well above their respective average rainfall totals of 176mm (6.9 inches) and 170mm (6.7 inches) for the whole month of May.

Areas such as Polilo Island, and the provinces of Camarines, Sorsogon, and Catanduanes still had the highest public storm warning in force at the start of Monday. Other areas may join them before Nida clears to the north on Wednesday.

However, even then parts of the Philippines will not be totally out of the woods. There is another storm system, '05W', this time developing in the Sea of China. While it is no where near as large as Nida, the storm is currently tracking east towards the western Philippines. With it set to reach the islands towards the coming weekend, it could well be one to watch.

Related Links: Hurricanes, Typhoons & Tropical Cyclones Worldwide

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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18/05/2004

By Michael Fish

It's that hayfever time again

Being a 'grumpy old man' this is the time of year I hate the most. Give me a nice blizzard with temperatures below freezing, not this horrible hot stuff. The reason? I suffer from hayfever! Still at least my doctor tells me that it is a symptom of adolescence!!

Pollen and spores from many types of plant can trigger the allergic reactions of hayfever. The typical symptoms are frequent sneezing, runny nose and eyes, itchy eyes and mouth, and perhaps headache, earache and blocked nose. People tend to think that hayfever only occurs in the peak summer months but for some sufferers hayfever starts as early as January and lasts through to the autumn.

Contrary to popular belief the peak time of the day is not the afternoon. Pollen levels are highest between about 7 am and 10 am and again in the evening and sometimes even as late as midnight in big cities. They are lowest mid to late afternoon. Levels are also highest in warm, dry and breezy weather and naturally lowest on chilly wet days. Also on a dewy morning there is a delay in the time of release. Naturallr rain will wash pollen out of the air and stops plants releasing pollen. However the pollen builds up in the plants if it is not released, and as soon as the sun comes out more pollen than normal will be released.

In the last few years the weather in the United Kingdom has been much warmer than the long term average so the flowering times for many plants have altered. Here are some examples:-

March

Alder, Popular, Elm and Yew

April

Birch, Plane, Ash, and Willow

May

Oak, Horse Chestnut, Oil-seed rape and Hornbeam

June

Grass, Plantain, Pine and Lime

July

Grass, Nettle, Sweet Chestnut, Dock

August

Mugwort, Flat Hen and Fungal Spores

What can you do to reduce your exposure?

Keep windows and doors closed

Avoid grass!

Keep house dust free

Change clothes and wash your hair frequently

Cover bed

Dry clothes indoors

Wear wrap-around sunglasses

Keep away from pets

Stay in air-conditioned areas as much as possible

And if all else fails suffer in silence, as I do, or perhaps better still visit your GP!!!

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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19/05/2004

By Rob McElwee

Why is the sun index "high"?

We're all aware that you can burn in the sun and that burning is ultimately bad for you: At best you have a leathery old age and at worst the risk of skin cancer is increased. We're also all aware of suntan lotions and sunhats. There are entire sun-suits for babies. So why is the weatherman reiterating that the sun index is high?

The chances are that you first became aware of sunburn when you were a child - children burn easily. Since then you've adjusted almost unconsciously to not staying out too long or wearing some form of screening. But I bet you, like me still get burnt shoulders or arms. And I would bet that sunbathing is still part of the point of a "holiday in the sun" where getting burnt on the first day still happens.

There are many factors influencing how easily someone burns but two are dominant: Strength of sun and type of skin.

At the risk of teaching grandmothers to suck eggs......

Our skin colour and resistance to sun burn is determined by the amount of malatonin we possess. The more there is the better resistance to sun damage. The damage that matters is from the ultraviolet (UV) content of sunshine. Skin darkens in the sun because our body is flooding skin cells with melatonin in a defence against damage. Suntan lotions contain a UV defence and clothes have an obvious effect. So we can defend ourselves if we so wish.

Back to the high index. The sun clearly gets stronger as we approach summer - it's the natural cycle. But there are reasons why the sun can be weaker or even stronger than usual. Clouds obviously reduce the effect of the sun but what strengthens it?

A weak ozone layer.

The ozone layer is our best natural UV regulator. It too has natural cycles. At the moment it's going through a weak phase - and our sunshine is strong - as strong as you'd expect in the south of France.

So the reason that the weatherman is saying the sun index is high, is that for the last few days the May sun has been stronger than we would normally expect.

Related Links: Melatonin

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website