*Archive:*Weather around the World 5

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02/07/2004

By Dan Corbett

An update on Mindulle and other world weather news.

Typhoon Mindulle is again in our weather headlines as it moves across Taiwan. The heat over parts of Europe will move east. In the US the weather will continue to settle down and become more summer-like as the Bermuda high builds in.

On Friday ex-Typhoon Mindulle was centred over the north-eastern part of Taiwan. The winds were gusting over 70 mph and waves heights were up 24 ft. The storm has lost some of its strength because it is interacting with the land. Typhoons ideally like plenty of open warm water to feed on and grow. However, the storm has still provided parts of Taiwan with buckets of rain, strong winds and flooding. In the next couple of days Mindulle should track north-eastwards into the East China Sea where it will gain a little strength before moving across the Korean Peninsula and islands of Japan.

In Europe it has been extremely warm across the Iberian Peninsula over the past few days. The temperatures from Madrid south to the coast have been near 40C. The average highs for this time of year are 27C to 33C. The heat has been due to a large ridge of high pressure to the south of the continent. Over the next couple of days this ridge of high pressure, that has helped pump up warmer air from the south, will get a bit of push to the east from an upper trough dropping in across the northwest parts of Europe. This may push the warm air into the central and eastern Mediterranean where record highs will be possible over the next few days.

In the U.S. the weather is starting to settle into a typical summertime pattern after some very wet weather over the south central U.S. The upper trough that helped bring the rain in the central U.S will shift further north allowing the Bermuda high to build in across the eastern states In turn the higher than normal temperatures will probably occur across the south-eastern states in the next few days.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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03/07/2004

By Matt Taylor

Wet Wet Wet!

Heavy rain and flooding have been very much the main weather headlines across the world this week.

First of all, here in the UK, we have seen a fair number of heavy and thundery showers pack in across the country in recent days. Yesterday, as I drove up the M1, I got caught in one of the heavier showers. The dry road surface all of a sudden took on the appearance of a lake, the visibility drastically dropped due the amount of spray being thrown up, and the windscreen wipers struggled to cope with the intensity of the rainfall. Conditions were certainly atrocious to be driving in at points, and it came as no surprise for me to learn that 42mm (1.7 inches) of rain fell on Friday at Boscombe Down (Wiltshire). This comes very close to their entire monthly rainfall for July of 57mm (2.3 inches).

The storms have been much more severe in parts of South America. A powerful storm has been battering the Patagonian regions of Argentina and Chile. The heavy rain has lead to sporadic flooding across the region, and also to a number of deaths. Some of those killed were in Bariloche, situated in the southern Argentinean province of Rio Negro, where 86mm (3.4 inches) of rain fell in 48 hours. This is more than half their expected monthly rainfall of 144mm (5.7 inches). Many have been evacuated from their homes, and mudslides have also been reported in the neighbouring province of Chubut.

The legacy of the ex-typhoon 'Mindulle' continues to be felt around the western Pacific. Over 30 people are now believed to have lost their lives in the Philippines due to 'Mindulle'. Most of these were on the northern island of Luzon, where almost 400,000 people have also been displaced. At it's height, winds peaked at around 112 mph in the extreme north of the Philippines, but while the winds eased as it head north towards Taiwan, the deluge of rain that fell from it continued. A staggering 526mm (21 inches) of rain fell in just 24 hours at Taizhong, triggering widespread flooding.

Rain can be seen in a positive light though. Take some southern states of North America for instance. The threat of drought that has hung over states such as Texas and Georgia has been all but washed away. Heavy rain throughout June has helped to relieve the stresses on the water supply, with some areas seeing more than 3 times their normal June rainfall. Friday was no exception with Tulsa, in Oklahoma, receiving 59mm (2.4 inches) in just 12 hours from some torrential thunderstorms. Their average for the whole of July is 78mm (3.1 inches).

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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04/07/2004

By Dan Corbett

Strong summer thunderstorms across the U.S. but chilly down under.

Strong thunderstorms have been erupting across parts of the United States with the summer heat. In the southern hemisphere temperatures are at the other end of the scale as record cold shivers many spots. Ex-typhoon Mindulle's winds may not be as strong but still plenty of rain with the tropical trouble maker in the East China Sea.

In the United States an intense weather system along with good build up of warm air has helped ignite severe thunderstorms across the Upper Midwest. Some of these storms produced wind gusts over 60 mph, baseball sized hail and even a few tornadoes. There were tornado touchdowns in western Nebraska, western Minnesota and central Illinois. This system will again bring the chance for severe storms today which might put a bit of a damper on some of those Independence Day barbeques.

In the Southern Hemisphere in the middle of their winter it is certainly not outdoor weather it is more likely weather for a nice warm fire. In Dunedin, New Zealand the morning temperature dipped to -4.6C the average morning low here is 3.1C that might seem a bit chilly but that is sultry compared to a recent morning low at Amundsen Scott base at the South Pole. The temperature dropped to -72C and their average morning minimum at this time of the year is only -58C

Ex-typhoon Mindulle has continued to weaken as it approaches the Korean peninsula. It is only a tropical depression at present with wind gusts around 45mph but it still has plenty of rain to dump. In a six hour period Mokpo, South Korea received also 12cm. of rain. The average rainfall for an entire month is 19cm.

Related Links: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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05/07/2004

By Kirsty McCabe

The sky lights up for Independence Day and more on Mindulle

Nature provided its own fireworks for Independence Day yesterday. Thunderstorms continued to erupt across parts of the United States thanks to an intense weather system and the summer heat.

Severe storms brought heavy rain and hail to parts of Kansas and Missouri. In Wichita in Kansas, one storm brought 46 mm of rain in just 6 hours - nearly half the average monthly rainfall for July of 113 mm.

By midday, the storm system had weakened and moved into the lower Mississippi Valley, but it still produced plenty of lightning strikes. Further east, a line of showers and thunderstorms dampened July 4th barbecues in the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.

Meanwhile, Taiwan is struggling to recover from its worst floods in 25 years, which have killed at least 19 people and stranded 10,000 villagers in the mountains.

The disastrous floods and landslides were triggered by heavy rain dumped on Taiwan by tropical storm Mindulle, which was downgraded from a typhoon last Thursday. The rain has been so torrential that Taizhong in central Taiwan received 662 mm in just 60 hours - over four times the July area average rainfall of 155 mm.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau is warning that more floods and landslides are likely in central and southern Taiwan, as the downpours are expected to continue for another few days.

Not content with bringing chaos to the Philippines and Taiwan, Mindulle is currently heading up the Korea Strait. Although the tropical depression is decaying it's not going out quietly. In just 12 hours yesterday, 223 mm of rain fell in Sokcho, a town on the Sea of Japan coast of South Korea. That is just over the July area average rainfall of 213 mm.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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06/07/2004

By Kirsty McCabe

It never rains but it pours

After a brief pause the monsoon has got going again in India, which is good news for crops. But the flash floods triggered by the torrential rains are not good news for people.

Some 15,000 people were uprooted from their homes in India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh in yesterday's floods, and at least 20 quarry workers in the western Seppa district are feared drowned.

Since the monsoon season began in mid-June at least 55 people in northeast India, which borders China's Tibet region, have been killed.

Elsewhere in southeast Asia, ex-typhoon Mindulle refuses to go quietly. After wreaking havoc in the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea, the down but not yet out weather system has been dumping rain on North Korea and the far southeast of Russia, on the border of the Sea of Japan.

Senbong in the northeast of North Korea received 108 mm yesterday, nearly a month's worth of rain in a day.

Elsewhere in the world, rain continues to dominate the world's weather. Strong southerly winds and persistent rain brought a total of 46 mm of rain to Nuuk in the west of Greenland yesterday. It has also been colder than average here with temperatures of around 5 C, 6 degrees lower than normal for July.

Here in the UK we're also bracing ourselves for some unseasonable and potentially severe weather. A complex pressure system currently over France is heading our way. During Wednesday and Thursday, southern parts of England and Wales are set to experience heavy rain and gale-force winds in excess of 50 mph.

The rain is likely to disrupt evening rush hour traffic and with possible accumulations of 50 mm in places, there is a risk of local flooding. Combined with below-average temperatures it is going to feel rather more like November than July.

Don't forget to keep an eye on the website for the latest information on this.

Related Links: BBC UK Weather and Warnings

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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07/07/2004

By Kirsty McCabe

Snow in Peru and stormy in Europe

Here in the UK there is still no sign of summer proper. In fact, it's going to feel autumnal today and tomorrow across England and Wales. But spare a thought for six thousand families in southern Peru who have been affected by unusually heavy snowfalls and cold weather.

A vicious cold snap has forced thousands of families to flee their homes as strong winds damaged buildings. Despite the desperate efforts of farmers trying to save their livestock, hundreds of young sheep and llamas have perished, some buried under feet of snow.

Back to the unusual weather that is heading our way from the continent. Parts of northwest France have already seen a lot of rain. In just five hours today, Houat in Brittany received a whopping 70mm of rain, and nearby Lorient and Quimper received 56mm and 31mm respectively. To put that in perspective, a rainfall rate of more than 4mm of rain an hour is considered to be heavy.

It all looked very dramatic and colourful on the rainfall screens here in the BBC Weather Centre. We can certainly expect a lot of rain here over the next couple of days. In fact, many parts of England and Wales will see at least 50mm of rain (a couple of inches) along with gusts in excess of 50mph.

The winds are already picking up. Across the tops of Dartmoor we've had gusts in excess of 50 mph, and trees have been blown over in Hampshire, Wiltshire, West Sussex, Surrey and Kent, causing problems on local roads. Power lines have already come down in Kent.

As the day progresses things are likely to get worse, especially during the evening rush hour on the major motorways of southern England when the rain will be at its heaviest. As always keep an eye on the website for the latest warnings and advice.

Related Links: BBC UK Weather and Warnings

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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08/07/2004

By Penny Tranter

It's more like November than July!

It's more like November than July! That was a comment made about the stormy weather experienced in southern Britain during Wednesday and Wednesday night.

Fallen trees brought down many power lines during the storm with power cuts to more than 100,000 homes with southeast England the worst affected. By Thursday morning, 15,000 homes were still cut off, mainly in southeast England, Hampshire and south Wales.

Two London events were also affected by the July storm. The Hampton Court Flower Show was closed during Wednesday afternoon and an English National Opera open-air performance due to take place in the evening in Trafalgar Square was cancelled. And one day after it was opened, the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park was flooded.

The torrential rain and unusually high winds and very strong gusts, up to 55mph in parts of south Wales, brought down many more trees than would have been blown down in winter, as they were in full leaf.

Numerous main and minor roads were also blocked during Wednesday, not only from fallen trees, but also from a blown over crane in the centre of Cardiff.

Train services across parts of southeast England were also disrupted as fallen trees on lines caused cancellations and delays.

At sea several ferry services were cancelled because of the high winds, mainly across the English Channel, and many yachts had to be rescued and brought back to shore by lifeboats.

During Thursday, the bad weather, not as wet or as windy as on Wednesday, was affecting northern parts of England and Wales.

Elsewhere in the world, the monsoon had a surge across parts of Bangladesh. Extremely wet weather in Chittagong, where 100mm fell in just 12 hours during Thursday morning, caused widespread flooding and travel disruption, with many parts of the city inaccessible by road for a time.

However parts of southeast Europe and the Middle East have been experiencing heat waves. Temperatures in Romania have been into the high 30's C and the hot spell is expected to continue for a while yet, and the scorching summer sun over Iraq is forecast to take temperatures to 50 C and possibly beyond in the next few days.

Related Links: BBC Weather Feature - Asian Monsoon - Impacts

BBC Weather Feature - Heat Effects

Met Office Feature - England and Wales precipitation

the met office

Met Office Feature - Thunderstorms

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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09/07/2004

By Elizabeth Saary

Weather news on Friday

We have been rather wrapped up in the UK weather over the past couple of days, so now is the time to have a look around the globe at what else is going on.

Whilst many parts of England and Wales have been deluged with unseasonably vast amounts of rainfall, over in India the rains appear to be easing somewhat. India, along with other parts of South Asia, relies on the monsoon to bring them much needed rainfall in the summer months. So far this year most places have seen some good rainfall but there are signs that the monsoon is entering a 'weak' phase which is likely to decrease the amounts of rain in some places for about a week. Hopefully this will not have too much effect on rainfall for the season overall.

At this time of year, southern China also receives huge amounts of rain. It is not unusual to hear of devastating floods in this densely populated part of the world. Recent downpours have swollen the rivers resulting in widespread flooding and mudslides - particularly in the southwestern Yunnan province. Here, 17 people have so far been confirmed dead and a further 34 reported missing. 4,000 people have been evacuated from their homes to escape rising water levels. In the past week at least 288 people have been killed and thousands of homes destroyed by flooding and landslides across central and southern China.

Whilst we have been shivering in unseasonably low temperatures here in the UK, other parts of the world have been sweltering in the heat. Temperatures in Amendola, Italy have been steadily climbing. The average July temperature here is already an impressive 33C, but on Wednesday, thermometers reached 40C and climbed even further on Thursday to peak at just over 41C (106F).

It has also been unusually warm over Scandinavia. Kirkenes is near the far northern tip of Norway, well within the Arctic Circle, and has an average July maximum temperature of 16C. On Thursday, this was topped by a good eight degrees as temperatures rose to over 24C.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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10/07/2004

By Dan Corbett

Heat across the world, and still stormy in parts of Europe.

Heat is in the headlines across many parts of the world. A nasty storm is still buffeting eastern Europe. The Asian monsoon is taking a breather while another gets going.

In the northern hemisphere it is summer and in many parts of the world it definitely feels like it. The afternoon highs in eastern Europe from Romania down to Turkey have been some 5 -10C above normal over the past few days.

Take for instance Bucharest, Romania the afternoon high on Friday was 38C (100F) and in Antalya, Turkey the high was 41C (106F) The very warm readings across eastern Europe were caused by a very warm flow of air ahead of a strong weather system moving into central and eastern Europe.

Temperatures across Japan have also been warmer than normal. Friday's high in Tokyo, Japan was 35C (94F). This is 10C warmer than normal!

A strong weather system continues to leave its mark across Europe. The storm brought down trees and damaged more than 80 structures across Poland on Friday. In addition very heavy thunderstorms moved across central and eastern Europe. In Locarno, Switzerland 109mm fell in 12 hours. The average for the entire month is 175mm. This storm will continue to track east and could bring an end to the heat wave across eastern Europe by the middle early next week.

In Asia the monsoon is taking a bit of breather. The storms that bring most of the annual rainfall for much of the Indian sub-continent have not been as numerous recently.

At the same time half way around the world another monsoon is getting started. The monsoon across the western United States, as it is called locally, has just started to bring the risk for afternoon thunderstorms across parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado for the next few days. Much of the western United States receives a good chunk of their annual rainfall from the summer thunderstorm season.

Related Links: University of Illinois - Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Thanks for that, Highcliffe!!

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11/07/2004

By Kirsty McCabe

Asia gets a soaking

A rainstorm of unusual severity caused chaos in Beijing yesterday. Flights were cancelled and houses collapsed after 73mm (three inches) of rain fell in just a few hours late on Saturday.

Key parts of the Chinese capital experienced severe congestion as traffic ground to a halt, according to the Xinhua news agency. Despite the chaos, local meteorologists were positive about the heavy downpours, as the city had been experiencing below-average rainfall lately.

Beijing wasn't alone in getting a soaking. The city of Datong, 180 miles to the west of Beijing, received 41mm of rain in only six hours, a hefty contribution to its normal July rainfall of 101mm.

Elsewhere in Asia, monsoon rains were causing problems in parts of Bangladesh and India.

Most of Bangladesh sits astride the deltas of a series of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas, and about a third of the country floods every year during the monsoon. At the moment, nearly 20 of the 64 administrative districts of Bangladesh are flooded, disaster management officials said.

Incessant rain has swelled the flood waters, hampering efforts to rescue three million people marooned by the rising waters. More rain is forecast for the next few days, according to the local weather officials, and could flood areas around the capital, Dhaka.

In India, tens of thousands of people are fleeing their homes in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh states as floodwaters rise. The Brahmputra river was already flowing above danger levels due to the relentless rainfall, and the situation was worsened by a dam burst in Tsatitsu lake in neighbouring Bhutan.

Flood waters have inundated highways and railway tracks and washed away several bridges in western Assam, according to flood control officials. The rains will continue in northeast India for the next few days and the situation is expected to get worse.

At least 144 people have died in the monsoon flooding since June. Most of the victims in Bihar, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Tripura states were poor villagers living in weak mud houses with little access to emergency rescues or urgent medical care.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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12/07/2004

By Helen Young

From heatwaves to snow, all in July.

The Middle East is experiencing intense summer heat, as you would expect at this time of year. In Iraq as the intense summer heat bears down on them, Iraquis are coping by swimming in the Tigris and sleeping out on their roofs. Frequent power outages are testing their almost legendary endurance in the sweltering summer months.

Further east in Iran emergency services are on high alert after the country experienced heavy rain in the north and northwest over the weekend. This has caused local flooding and damage to property.

Farmlands in northeast China's Shandong Province were pounded by hailstones and heavy rain over the weekend as flooding continues to plague other regions of the nation.

The Indian southwest monsoon has revived after a lull of about a week. Heavy rains are now expected in southern states and parts of Central India over the next few days.As the monsoon shifts to the south there should be some welcome relief for the northeastern states that have been sufferring from flooding.

In Europe there's been both snow and heatwaves! Southeast Europe has been suffering from intense heat, Greece, Romania and Italy have all seen temperatures well above average. In Romania the heatwave temporarily gave way to hailstorms accompanied by gale force winds at the weekend. Four people were reportedly struck by lightning from these storms. The heat looks set to continue.

Meanwhile in northwest Europe it remains cool and wet. Storms that produced flooding in Britain and Germany last week continued to push into the German mountains where the rain became snow. Since the weekend 10cm of snow has fallen in the Bavarian mountains. Germany's highest mountain, Zugspitze, is now covered in 2 metres of snow, not bad for July! With temperatures dropping to -6 Celsius overnight the snow won't be disappearing quickly.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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13/07/2004

By Jo Farrow

Winter hits South America, but no Atlantic hurricanes yet

As we head towards the middle of July, there has not been an Atlantic hurricane yet this year. Elsewhere, Tropical Storm 'Blas' became the second named storm of the east Pacific season; this one is just off the west coast of Mexico.

Many states in the US are battling with wildfires. Central parts of Alaska have seen problems recently, exacerbated by warm dry weather. After a wet spell, the humidity has dropped, temperatures have risen and the winds have picked up. Fire crews have made some headway in tackling the fires but still some homes are threatened. California, Colorado and Arizona have also been blighted by wildfires.

Winter has truly taken hold in South America. Tierra del Fuego sits at the far south of Argentina. The "land of fire" has been anything but, with temperatures of -11 Celsius resulting in several deaths.

For southern Peru, heavy snowfall and rain left tens of people homeless and many thousands of homes damaged. Also many livestock have died due to the bad weather including cows and llamas. Helicopters have been dropping food and clothing to isolated villages at high altitudes.

Two people died in Chile as stormy weather hit the south of the country on Monday 12th.

A week ago in southern Brazil, people were still enjoying being on the beach but this week has seen a stop to that, due to the cold. The lowest temperatures in a decade were recorded. Some spots had temperatures down to -7 Celsius as winter abruptly arrived

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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14/07/2004

By Jo Farrow

Is it the weather for Golf?

Thursday 15th July sees the 133rd British Open at Troon. So as golfing eyes are being cast up to the skies, there is considerable interest in the forecast for Ayrshire in southwest Scotland.

Royal Troon has seen lovely sunshine at times and also endured gale force winds blowing tonnes of sand over the course, threatening to choke the grass. Although the wind and the rain does add to the exciting uncertainty of the Championships.

It looks like it should be a cloudy and breezy first day, giving way to sunshine and showers through Friday and the weekend. So hopefully the showers will not be too heavy or thundery, as the threat of lightning is the one forecast item guaranteed to clear the golf course.

There has been real heat in western parts of North America especially for Oregon and British Columbia. The heat here is now subsiding but it looks like the southern Plains will be next with the very high temperatures.

Tornado season is well underway in the U.S. Reports from the Midwest on Tuesday 13th include central Illinois, where a factory and homes were destroyed in the afternoon. For Wisconsin, a tornado touched down just west of Manitowoc. About a dozen buildings were damaged and trees and power lines were downed.

Nebraska had storms during Monday night with trees down and power outages and for the midsouth, there are heat problems and storm concerns. A heat advisory is out for Arkansas and Tennessee with temperatures into the mid 30s Celsius, nearly 100 Fahrenheit. Here there is also the threat of severe thunderstorms, strong winds and large hail.

Related Links: BBC golf

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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15/07/2004

By Susan Powell

Swithin - Saint or Sinner?

The 15th of July is St Swithin's Day - a day on which people have traditionally watched the weather with a mind to determining the forecast for the next forty days.

The rhyme goes 'St Swithin's Day, if it does rain, full forty days, it will remain. St Swithin's Day, if it be fair, for forty days, t'will rain no more.'

This will hang like the voice of doom over some parts of the UK today if you believe in old wives tales - many central parts are set to see some rainfall.

Taking a scientific approach, the Met Office is giving little heed to this saying for such a soggy outlook. The tale has now been put to the test on 55 occasions in the UK, and even with a wet St Swithin's day forty wet days fortunately did not follow!

However - St Swithin may well have carried more clout if he were forecasting further afield - especially in parts of Asia at this time of year.

The Asian monsoon season in currently in full swing. Torrential downpours are common place, the knock on effects devastating and sadly for many, St Swithin or not, another forty days of wet weather is looking a very realistic prospect for some.

Currently northeastern India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China and Japan are all suffering the effects of intense relentless rainfall. At this time a total of well over eight million people across the continent have been forced to leave their homes to escape mudslides and overflowing rivers.

This week alone has seen the Indian state of Bihar experience some of the worst flooding on record. In northern Bangladesh 10,000 villagers have been washed from their homes as the Jamuna river burst its banks. The normally arid Chinese capital Beijing saw freak thunderstorms bring traffic to a halt and destroy homes. In northern Honshu, Japan, over 400mm (17 inches) of rain has fallen in under four days leaving the Niigata area awash with landslides and flooding.

Looking at the forecast across Asia, not for the next forty days, but for the next five, it would look at least as if St Swithin would certainly hold true. Sadly for all the areas currently worst affected by downpours there is yet more to come.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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16/07/2004

By Kirsty McCabe

What has happened to summer?

In case you hadn't noticed, the weather in the UK hasn't been very summery lately. Yet again many of us had a cloudy, grey and drizzly start to the day. But don't write the summer off just yet. As our very own Michael Fish explained to BBC News online, keep an eye on the polar jet stream.

This fast-moving ribbon of air is located high in the atmosphere, and is responsible for steering weather in our direction. When the jet stream lies to the north of the UK, we get the kind of summer we like. That's because warm and settled weather is allowed in from the mid-Atlantic.

But when the jet stream passes straight over the top of the UK it steers low pressure systems our way, hence the damp and windy weather we've had recently. So when will summer return? You'll have to wait and see.

Not everywhere in Europe is missing out on summer. Across much of the Mediterranean it has been glorious recently with temperatures in the mid 30s (in the 90s if you're talking Fahrenheit). Don't be too jealous though, as it hasn't all been plain sailing.

Sicily, for example, is usually very dry during July. But on Wednesday a small area of thundery showers brought 8 mm of rain in just 12 hours to Catania on the eastern coast. That is exactly twice the amount of rainfall expected here during the whole month.

Further south on the island, Cozzo Spadaro recorded 11 mm of rain in the same time. That must have come as rather a shock to the locals, as the average July rainfall here is only 0.3 mm.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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17/07/2004

By Victoria Graham

In search of Summer

Some newspapers today are reporting that people in Britain are booking more holidays abroad this year compared to last, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why I suppose. This time last summer many of us were basking in a heat-wave, but with a lack of heat and sun many are booking holidays in Europe, but is it any better over there one has to ask...?

Many meteorologists have documented that it is unrealistic to compare this year's summer to last as the soaring heat over many parts in 2003 was unusual. Easy to say, but inevitably we are going to compare it as we look out of our windows at turbulent skies and pull on jumpers in the below average temperatures.

If it makes you feel any better, the weather on the continent has also been less than impressive with temperatures well below average from Scandinavia to parts of the Balkans. On Thursday the temperature dipped to 8C (46F) in Stockholm, the average minimum for July being 14C. Geneva recorded a low of 10C when it should average at 15C, Budapest shivered at 11C and Warsaw 12C (53F).

Just to think that last year public swimming pools were crowded and ice-cream sales were up, this year Swedish ice-cream producer Ingemar Folkeson said he was considering laying off some of his workers because of a drop in demand. The wet and cold have plagued many areas leading to miserable conditions, good news for some though, especially German umbrella maker Carola Vertein who commented "We can hardly keep up with all the work!" given all the rain. There have also been reports of snowball fights in Vienna and snow falling in Germany's Bavarian Alps as low as 6,500 feet.

According to folklore if it rains on St Swithin's Day it will then rain for another 40 consecutive days. I hope this is not the case, but looking at today's weather here in the UK with reports of thundery downpours and large hailstones, I for one am not making any promises.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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18/07/2004

By Sarah Wilmshurst

Floods and snow

We may be worried about our current 'lack' of summer, but spare a thought for those around the world whose summer weather means floods and destruction.

China has been hit by days of heavy rain recently. 430mm (17 inches) of rain fell in places and flooding has become a major concern. Henan, Shandong and Hubei provinces have been particularly badly affected. Nearly 8,000 residents in Henan Province have been relocated after flooding on two tributaries of the Huaihe River. This is one of the seven major rivers on China, and last year it experienced its most severe flooding since 1954.

South Korea has also suffered from days of torrential rain. On Sunday it finally dried up, but at least 9 people have already lost their lives. Between 240 and 450mm (9.5 to 18 inches) of rain has fallen in central areas recently, causing flooding of farm land.

Floods are also threatening wide tracts of the Tibetan Plateau - the Roof of the World. More than 31,000 people in Tibet have been affected by flooding after their rainy season arrived early. The rainfall in May and June was twice the amount they would normally expect to receive.

On Friday a tropical storm hit Hong Kong, injuring two people and shutting down one of Asia's top financial centres.

Japan has had more than its share of heavy rain recently, too. More than 30,000 households in Fukui prefecture were advised to go to higher ground after being hit by heavy thunderstorms which brought 284mm (11 inches) of rain. More heavy rain is expected, with increasing fears about floods and landslides.

Meanwhile, it is winter of course in the Southern Hemisphere, so you may not be surprised that I am going to tell you about some snow! The residents of Sydney have been fairly surprised, though, to hear of snow in the Blue Mountains just to their West, because it does not happen very often. On average they expect just five days of snow per year here. It has also snowed in the southern Highlands to the south of Sydney, whilst high winds and waves battered Sydney's coastal suburbs.

Although snow is the story in Australia, rain is definitely the problem in parts of New Zealand. The Eastern coast of the North Island has been hit by several days of torrential rain. Rivers burst their banks around the Bay of Plenty and the rugby in Wellington between the Wallabies and the All Blacks was a wet affair to say the very least.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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19/07/2004

By Victoria Graham

What on earth is happening to the weather...?

This last Saturday I wrote about how unseasonable the weather had been recently across parts of Europe - snowball fights in Austria, snow in the Bavarian Alps, and all this during what is supposed to be summer. Today however tops all weather stories...monster raindrops in Brazil.

The water droplets sized at a massive 1cm were observed by atmospheric experts over Brazil and the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean and are thought to be the largest ever recorded on earth. Although the droplets were observed from the air, some of them are believed to have reached the ground making them quite unusual given that the average raindrop is typically between 1 and 2mm in diameter. One of the explanations for the mammoth raindrops is that they rapidly grew in size by colliding with each other in confined areas of cloud and this was mixed with an unusually high content of liquid water.

Unusually high levels of water have also been the case in New Zealand. Around the Bay of Plenty on the east coast of the North Island, civil defence authorities have declared a state of emergency and evacuated 1,500 people after 250mm (9inches) of rain fell in just 48 hours. As a benchmark the average rainfall in Auckland is 145 mm (5.7inches) for the whole month of July which gives us a fair idea of just how wet it has been. The result of the winter weather has been mudslides, swollen rivers, power outages, and exacerbating the situation there have been a series of earthquakes measuring up to 5.4 on the Richter scale.

Germany and the Netherlands have also been on the receiving end of stormy weather, and here it's supposed to be summer. With an average July temperature of 24C (75F) and up to 8 hours of sunshine a day it was quite a shock to be in the midst of heavy rainstorms and high winds this weekend. The result of this unusual but not unheard of weather was the uprooting of trees, the cutting of power lines, and tornadoes which hurled cars through streets and ripped tiles off house roofs. The storms which began late Saturday halted rail services between the cities of Dortmund and Essen and caused widespread damage as far as the border of the Netherlands.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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20/07/2004

By Michael Fish

Floods around the world

When you are onto a good story then what is the point of trying something new and indeed, unfortunately, flooding is still occurring around the World with new areas joining in day by day.

By far and away the worst affected area remains Bangladesh . With much of the country low lying then this is a problem that occurs year after year with at least 20% of the area suffering annual flooding on average. The situation recently has become far more serious as relief flights from Sylet's Osmani International Airport have had to be suspended indefinitely, due to the fact that the airport itself is under water. It will not be helped by the fact that heavy monsoon rains have started to fall again to add to the melt water still flowing in vast quantities from the Himalayas and into Bangladesh's 230 rivers.

India remains in the headlines. North-eastern Assam and neighbouring Bihar remain the worst affected and so far the floods have caused at least 214 deaths. Another 7 million people have been affected by fresh floods in the last couple of days.

Flooding also worsens in China, especially in Hunan Province where 2.7 million people are badly affected. Many places in the area recorded over 100mm of rain whilst Huaihua reported a vast 368mm over the weekend, causing numerous landslides, as well as floods up to 5 meters deep in the city.

Japan has not been left out as in the northern states of Niigata and Fukui 360 houses were destroyed by 49 cms of rain (a fifth of the annual average!)

Western Georgia, not wishing to be left out, has also joined in with floods in its Mestia Region destroying the temporary roads and bridges erected after the previous floods a few days ago.

Finally one area must be desperate for rain and that is the southwest of the USA as here they are suffering from the annual spate of wildfires. Worst affected is California, from eastern San Diego County to Yosemite National Park. Alaska is having one of its worst wildfire seasons in years.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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21/07/2004

By Rob McElwee

Bad summer, Bad winter

You may think we’re having a bad summer but it’s just an inconvenience. When did we last have a bad winter?

Since early June, (coincidentally when we lost our summer), a wave of cold has smothered much of Peru. It’s a country mostly in the Andes and many people live above 4000 metres, (13,000feet). It’s usually cold in winter but this time minus 25C has been no stranger. As if this is not enough, drought has already weakened the country’s agriculture. As a result of these two things, 300,000 hectares of crops are now lost; 105,000 farm animals have died; and there is a known toll of 46 children.

This is clearly serious and UN aid has been promised to ease some of the pain.

Peru is not alone in suffering a severe winter: Southern Chile, though now quieter, has had weeks of heavy snow in the Andes, heavy rain in the foothills and violent winds. Some of the rain fell in the lee of the mountains, on the Argentine Pampas. Here at least it should have done some good.

Summer heat is being endured in Japan at the moment. On Tuesday Tokyo recorded 39.5 Celsius, 103 Fahrenheit, the highest recorded since 1923 when the record began. And that wasn’t the hottest place yesterday: Ushiku, northeast of Tokyo got up to 40.2C, 104F, short of the known Japanese record by only 0.6C.

Thankfully, as the school holidays have just started in Japan, it will cool down. A drop of 10 degrees is likely in the next 3 days as a cold fronts passes through.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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22/07/2004

By Rob McElwee

La plume de ma tante?

You may well have heard of the Spanish Plume. It's supposed to be the close of "three days of sunshine and a thunderstorm" which is said to characterise an English summer. Torrential flood events and spectacular lightning displays show a true thundery Spanish plume.

Well it doesn't often happen quite like that but we do frequently get Spanish Plumes and we're due for another one this evening.

They should often truly be called Saharan Plumes because that is where the air usually starts. You have probably at some time in your life found red dust on the car after one of these plume thunderstorms; that is Saharan sand, carried in the air for 2500 kilometres before coming out in the rain.

The process is this…

" Sun beats down on the Saharan sand - surface temperature over 40C

" Hot air rises - a long way

" Gets caught in the general circulation and heads north, over Spain - it'll take about three days to reach us

" Sun beats down on Spanish plateau and France

" This air rises too and is trapped beneath the Saharan air

" The whole hot mass of air continues north

" To replace what's gone up, more air is drawn in from the Bay of Biscay

" Now you've got humid, hot air

" The sun still beats down and afternoon thunderstorms are set off in France

" An Atlantic cold front sweeps in across the UK - all is lifted ahead of it

" In the evening the French thunderstorms have drifted towards La Manche (then 12 miles out and they're in the English Channel)

" The cold front gives them an effective boot up the backside and they shoot up to become giant thunderstorms

You can get the heat and humidity without much thunder - just omit the cold front.

I mention all this because it's quite likely to happen tonight in southeast England. I've had a look at the air temperature and humidity at different heights. The Saharan layer, now at 18000ft over Biscay started at about 44C. The Spanish slice started at about 36C and has merged with any French evidence.

We should hit 27C on the humid surface before an evening display of pyrotechnics and high street waterways.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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23/07/2004

By Victoria Graham

Keeping your cool

Heat is something that we have not been exactly enjoying, or indeed complaining about in Britain just recently. Last year at about this time, many of us were baking in high temperatures and basking in the sunshine - no great hopes for the foreseeable...

Madrid however has been a very different story. The Spanish capital smouldered on Thursday in temperatures over 40C (104F), not unheard of in July but fairly unusual as their average maximum is 31C (87F).

I am not sure if I could stand the weather being quite that hot, and I certainly wouldn't relish the idea of being in the middle of a bustling city in temperatures that high. However, this has been the case in Tokyo recently, which is in the middle of a heat-wave.

This last week temperatures in Tokyo soared to 39.5C (103F), a sticky experience considering that their daytime maximum for July is usually around 28C (83F). The trouble was the temperature never really dipped at all at night. At 11pm on various evenings temperatures of 34C were recorded, the minimum night-time temperature fell finally at 4:30am to 30C. It is thought that this is the highest night-time temperature ever recorded, in fact according to meteorological statistics the capital (in recorded history), has never been hotter.

The people of Japan have a way of keeping the city cool in times of desperate need - street sloshing. The community-minded residents pour into the streets with any water they can lay their hands on; dishwater, bathwater, and throw it down the alleys. The theory is that all the water evaporates and the city 'chills', however, considering the fact that 350,000 people performed the ritual last year and the city still stayed hot, the science behind it has yet to be proved.

Tokyo's highest temperature was recorded right in the centre of the main business district, providing yet more fuel to the people who believe that the air-conditioning being pumped out the tower blocks is forcing the heat on the streets up. The skyscrapers are also being blamed for preventing the supply of sea breezes flowing freely through the city. Tokyo is now commonly known to its inhabitants as the 'urban heat island', a city possibly with its own microclimate...

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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24/07/2004

By Elizabeth Saary

Contrasting weather across South Asia

It is a sad fact that many parts of the world are ravaged by natural disasters at various times. The weather and climate often plays a large part.

At this time of year, flooding becomes a major problem for much of South Asia. It is a part of the world whose economy depends upon the annual deluge from the monsoon rains, but it is a fine balance. Too much rain and vast tracts of land can be washed away, destroying crops and houses - too little and nothing will grow.

In India, devastating floods have swept across northeastern states and into Nepal, whereas further south, in the peninsula, there are many places that have only received half the average rainfall so far for the season.

Bangladesh is the most frequently flooded country in the world and this year has been no exception. Of course, it is not just floodwater and mudslides that cause the problems - the after effects can be more devastating as water-borne disease spreads and millions of people are left without clean water and sanitation.

China also receives huge amounts of rain at this time of year and the flood waters here this year have so far killed around 400 people and destroyed 200,000 homes. Further heavy rain is expected during the coming week.

Another part of the world which sees a stark contrast in its weather patterns from place to place is the USA. This is hardly surprising given its size and position. In the northeast, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have been experiencing severe flooding with reports of around two inches of rain (50mm) in just a few hours. In the west, some rain would be very welcome as the hot and dry conditions are aiding the wildfires currently burning in California.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[i luv snow]

thank you once again for your effort in bring ing this addition to the forum to us (if that makes sense :roll: )