*Archive:*Weather around the World 5

[highcliffe2]

Thank you i luv snow, your comments are appreciated, it's what makes this all worthwhile

25/07/2004

By Isobel Lang

What is a typical summer's day?

How would you describe a typical summer's day?

There isn't a standard definition - I've checked in the Meteorological glossary! And images of summer seem to vary greatly from one person to the next. Just this morning I had a chat with my colleagues on shift and here are some of their thoughts:

Rob McElwee "It has to be warm and fairly humid with a continental feel. The sort of weather where you can be sure to leave a book out overnight and it won't get wet"

Jo Farrow "A day where there are blue skies with patches of cumulus, not necessarily humid and sticky, but you just don't give your coat a second thought."

John Hammond - he had a problem with this question mainly because there are so many different ways to look at a day's weather. Are we talking about how we perceive a summer's day to look, or what we accept as decent summer weather, or what is a traditional summer's day? (He went on). Eventually he told me "A typical summer's day is a warm, fairly humid one with some sunshine and probably some medium and high cloud"

I agree with John but would add that you should also be able to wear summer clothes and not worry about taking an umbrella.

There's a more serious side to summer weather of course and we are seeing that across parts of North America and Europe at the moment. Southern California is facing another potentially disastrous forest fire season if the hot, dry weather continues. It is in the fifth year of a drought, and temperatures have consistently reached the high thirties Celsius. Recent hot weather has brought wildfires to Southern France this weekend and Portugal is experiencing a heatwave with highs approaching 45 Celsius on the Algarve (113 Fahrenheit).

Related Links: Sun index

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[WeatherGod]

Agadir Aflame |Issued on: Sun Jul 25th 2004

The temperature in Agadir, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, reached a sweltering 47.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday, more than 20 degrees above the average July high, 25 Celsius. Sunday was nearly as hot, the temperature up to 46.4 Celsius at 1500 GMT.

www.metoffice.com

Core :!: 20 degrees above average! Scorcher..

[highcliffe2]

26/07/2004

By Kirsty McCabe

I hear thunder...

Several days of heat ended with a bang in Rome yesterday. A band of heavy thunderstorms moved south over Italy bringing 53 mm (2.1 inches) of rain in 12 hours, with 44 mm (1.7 inches) of that falling in just six hours.

That is three times the average for the whole of July of just 17 mm (0.7 inches). As the storms passed, there was also a dramatic drop in temperature, from a sweltering 40 C (104 F) to a comparatively chilly 20 C (68 F).

The change in the weather took local residents by surprise, with a number of streets in the Italian capital flooded and dozens of trees knocked down by the strong winds. Police reported over 70 traffic accidents in the city.

Thunderstorm was also the word of the day in Senegal. In Matam, which is located on the border with neighbouring Mauritania, the average rainfall for the whole of July is 125 mm (4.9 inches). However, a continuous line of thunderstorms that moved west over Senegal yesterday dropped 121 mm (4.8 inches) of rain in just 24 hours.

All of which puts the patchy rain and drizzle currently affecting parts of the UK into perspective. It might not feel much like summer, but it could be worse. So if you've been complaining lately that it's just not warm enough, spare a thought for residents of Agadir, on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

On Saturday, the temperature in Agadir reached a sweltering 47.5 C (117.5 F) - more than 20 degrees above the average July high of 25 C (77 F). It was nearly as hot on Sunday with temperatures up to 46.4 C (115.5 F).

In the nearby Canary Islands it was also extremely hot. Lanzarote recorded 43 C (109 F) on Sunday, 16 degrees above the July average of 27 C (81 F). And in Portugal too the thermometers were sent soaring. Faro recorded 44 C (111 F) on Sunday, 16 degrees above the July average here of 28 C (82 F).

The heat wave in Portugal has resulted in the spread of forest fires, which have destroyed 27,000 hectares of woodlands and led to the evacuation of residents in some regions. The Portuguese national health department has warned that the scorching weather will continue for a few days.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[highcliffe2]

27/07/2004

By Kirsty McCabe

Europe heats up

The heatwave continues across much of Portugal and Spain with temperatures soaring above 40 C (104 F) for the third day in a row. In Faro, for example, it was 42 C (108 F) yesterday, some 13 degrees above average for July.

The heat has led to the deaths of four people in southern Spain and the Canary Islands, taking the death toll this summer to 11. Exceptionally hot weather killed at least 141 people in Spain last year.

The hot and dry conditions have also allowed wildfires to spread. In Portugal, hundreds of firefighters were battling 60 wildfires fuelled by the searing temperatures and strong winds.

In neighbouring Spain, firefighters were trying to bring a dozen blazes under control yesterday in the southern province of Huelva. And the fire risk remains extremely high in already hard-hit southern France.

Although the heatwave has been causing problems, the high temperatures are not extreme for the time of year, said Spain's national meteorological institute. Things should turn cooler from Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Europe things have been hotter than normal. In Norway, temperatures at this time of year are usually around 16 C (61 F). However, the town of Alta was a veritable hot spot on Sunday with 25 C (77 F). It was even warmer on Monday, with thermometers just shy of 27 C (81 F).

Things are set to turn warmer across the UK over the next few days, but it won't be anywhere near as hot as southwest Europe. Come Thursday, temperatures could hit 28 C (82 F) in London and it will feel quite hot and sticky across southern parts of the UK.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[highcliffe2]

28/07/2004

By Dan Corbett

Hot and Hotter

There has been some stormy summertime weather across parts of the world recently. Heavy rain and tornadoes have moved across the eastern seaboard of the United States. It has turned much cooler across the Upper Plains too. In Europe, the heat continues across the southwest but started to move north.

The eastern United States had quite a strong cold front move through on Tuesday evening. The storm dumped as much a six inches of rain in several hours and produced a tornado in New Jersey. The F-1 (on the Fujita scale) tornado brought down power lines and caused widespread damage. Tornados are more common across the Midwest of the United States but can still occur if conditions are right in other parts. Cooler air will gradually move in behind this strong front across the eastern U.S.

In North Dakota, temperatures have been on a roller coaster ride this week. In Williston, the afternoon high on Monday was 38C. A cold front moved through yesterday and the temperature peaked somewhere closer to 15C. The average temperature at this time of year is around 29C. The heat may have left the Upper Plains but is still going strong across the southwest U.S., with highs of 40C!

The heat is still on across southwest Europe. Afternoon highs across parts of Spain and Portugal continue to be in excess of 39C. The heat has not helped those fighting forest fires in the region. The heat will continue here and has started to spread further north into north western areas of Europe. The high in London was 27C yesterday and by the weekend 30C could be reached in some southern parts of the British Isles.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[highcliffe2]

29/07/2004

By Helen Young

Serious flood conditions

Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, has made an appeal for international aid to help his flood stricken country. Over 300 people have died and thousands have been left destitute after rivers burst their banks during the monsoon.

The flooding began earlier this month and has already caused extensive damage to basic infrastructures in 35 districts of Bangladesh. Farm lands, thousands of miles of roads and bridges, and railway links have been affected. Even Bangladesh's third biggest airport in the city of Sylhet had to close temporarily.

Government officials have warned that waterbourne diseases are now prevalent, compounding the misery of half a million people displaced from their homes during the worst flooding since 1998.

Low lying Bangladesh is criss-crossed by a network of 230 rivers and suffers from annual flooding every summer from either the monsoon rains or from ice melting in the Himalayas.

This current flooding, at one point, submerged two-thirds of Bangladesh. Flood waters have started to recede in the north of the country but are not expected to recede in central areas for at least two or three weeks. This doesn't take into account further monsoon rain which local forecasters are expecting.

Meanwhile in Japan inhabitants are awaiting the arrival of Typhoon Namtheum. It is already causing havoc in Japan's outer lying islands and it is now making progress towards the mainland.

Whilst the storm is closing in on Tokyo it is expected to swerve and eventually make landfall on Saturday and Sunday on the south islands of Kyushu or Shikoku. Though a Category 1 typhoon, such as Namtheum, rarely cause much damage, parts of Japan may face mudslides triggered by torrential rain.

Back home the weather is far calmer, for the time being.................. but during the evening intense thundery downpours could affect Northern England and localised flooding is expected. By tomorrow this will be a thing of the past as fine weather sets in for the weekend.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[highcliffe2]

30/07/2004

By Kirsty McCabe

National heatwave plan is launched...

Britain's weather gets such bad press that you may find it hard to believe the government has published emergency plans on how to deal with heatwaves.

You may be even more surprised to hear that the plans coincide nicely with some hot weather that will affect parts of the UK for the next few days.

The Department of Health, along with the Met Office, will today launch a Heat-Health Watch project, which will run annually from 1 June to 15 September. The aim is to give advance notice of hot weather to the public and health and social care professionals.

England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, has set out four levels of heatwave alert. The alerts are triggered by a heat-monitoring system based on temperatures recorded by the Met Office, which defines heatwave temperatures differently in each region, ranging from 32 C (90 F) in London to 28 C (82 F) in the north east.

Under level one, people would be issued with advice on how to keep cool. Level four, the highest, would be used in an emergency where the severity or duration of the heatwave poses serious dangers to health.

Health experts say it takes just two consecutive days of heatwave temperatures to have a significant effect on health. In fact, spells of hot weather are often deadlier than cold snaps, with statistics showing that abnormally high summer temperatures are followed by a rise in deaths within one to two days.

Britain's summers have grown decidedly hotter in recent years, especially in the south of the country. Last summer, temperatures in southern England climbed above the 100-degree Fahrenheit mark (37.8 C) for the first time in recorded history with Brogdale in Kent reaching 38.5 C (101.3 F) on 10 August.

On Thursday, temperatures in London reached 30.1 C (86 F), over 7 degrees warmer than normal for the time of year. It won't be quite as warm over the next few days, although temperatures are likely to stay in the high 20s. So it looks like officials won't be road testing their new service this weekend.

Related Links: BBC News - Heatwave survival advice launched

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[highcliffe2]

31/07/2004

By Matt Taylor

Storms head for Japan and Hawaii.

I had the slightly unenviable task the other day of putting a dampener on a friend's excitement. It was one of those moments you get quite a lot as a weather forecaster. You are asked if the weather will behave itself for a wedding, a barbeque, or in this case a holiday. Sometimes, especially with weddings, it's tempting to tell the person what they want to hear to stop them unduly worrying. However, this time it was a case of forewarned is forearmed.

Their destination this weekend was to be Japan! As fantastic a destination as it is, my heart sunk when they told me. If you've been following our Weather News articles this week you'll know why. Over the past week we have been watching a particularly vicious storm brewing in the northwest Pacific. On the 26th July, this became Typhoon 'Namtheun'. With winds reaching speeds of around 160 mph, it whipped up waves of over 6.5 metres (22ft) in height.

Today, it finally reached southern Japan. As it touched land on the island of Shikoku, it had thankfully lost a good deal of the energy it originally possessed. Despite being downgraded to a tropical storm during Friday, some of the wind speeds recorded were still around 90 mph in places today. The storm is set to ease further as it pushes across southern Honshu, but the next concern will be the amount of rain that falls from it.

Another storm that is currently on the wane is Tropical Storm 'Darby'. It began life as a depression off the coast of Mexico, but as it moved westwards into the Pacific it increased in size and strength. On the 28th July, it gained the classification of Hurricane Darby, which has been a rare event so far this year. The winds peaked at an estimated 150 mph, and the waves were whipped up to around 5 metres (17ft) in height.

Like 'Namtheun' it has now started to lose its severity and has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm. This is good news for the residents of Hawaii, with the storm set pass to the north of the island during next week. The seas will probably still be very rough though, but then again, this may be good news for the surfers of the island who like a challenge!

As for my friend in Japan...I await a report.

Related Links: 2004 Hurricane Forecast

BBC Weather Feature - Hurricane Names

BBC Weather Feature - Hurricane Season

Hurricanes, Typhoons & Tropical Cyclones Worldwide

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[Adi F]

I hope you dont mind me adding these images to your reports Highcliffe

[highcliffe2]

Don't mind at all Adi, those images are spectacular to say the least! :shock: :lol:

Imagine the hype in the UK if we had a warmer (probably much warmer) climate and that beast came along! :shock:

[Adi F]

Yeah I know what you mean mate, these images were taken a few days ago now I believe that the storm has passed Japan now

[highcliffe2]

01/08/2004

By Matt Taylor

Is there a storm brewing?

We're now two months into the Atlantic hurricane season, and so far it has been very quiet. However, could that be all about to change?

Admittedly, we're not expecting a hurricane in the near future, but we're now seeing the formation of the first tropical depression of the season. It's currently centred around 100 miles southeast of the South Carolina coast. Winds at the moment are only averaging around 30 mph, which is short of gale strength and is of little concern to most people. An increase in these winds to 39 mph or above would see the system upgraded to tropical storm status. Although no significant change in strength is predicted in the near future, a 'Tropical Storm Watch' has been issued for coastal areas of North Carolina. Winds will still be fairly gusty here, but perhaps the biggest hazard here will be the 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) of rain forecast to fall during Sunday.

Even this amount of rain will pale into insignificance when compared with the sheer volume of rain that has been falling in parts of southern Japan. As we reported yesterday, Tropical Storm (ex-Typhoon) 'Namtheun' reached land during Saturday. The storm made landfall on the island Shikoku, bringing with it strong winds and a good deal of rain.

In the city of Owase, on the main island of Honshu, a staggering 331 mm (13.2 inches) of rain fell during a 54 hour period to 1200 GMT on Saturday 30th July. This is well above their average for the whole month of 280 mm (11.2 inches). There were also some unofficial reports of rainfall amounts close to 900 mm (36 inches) in places.

As you would probably expect, this sort of stormy weather brought with it massive disruption. Transport services, especially air travel, around southern Japan were severely hit. Some families were also forced to leave their homes due to flooding. Thankfully though, the storms have been nowhere as severe as those that flooded 36,000 homes in northern Japan early last month.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[highcliffe2]

02/08/2004

By Isobel Lang

Alex the troublemaker

One of the best parts of my job is keeping track of the weather in other parts of the world.

Having tuned in to Victoria Good's radio broadcast on my journey to work I learned of a recently formed tropical storm - the first of the U.S Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical storm 'Alex' looks set brush the Carolina coast during the next 24 hours. Warnings are now in force giving the risk of heavy rain and flooding, although hopefully conditions shouldn't be that bad and 'Alex' should move out into open waters again during Tuesday.

NASA delayed the launch of the Messenger spacecraft from Cape Canaveral early this morning because of the bad weather from 'Alex'. However, if the storm moves out of the way as forecast then the launch may go ahead soon.

Further along the coast in Northeast Philadelphia, heat and humidity ahead of our tropical storm brought torrential rain and flash flooding during Sunday. There were airport delays, apartment evacuations, and stranded vehicles.

In Asia, China has experienced some atrocious weather in recent weeks bringing severe flooding. Satellite pictures in the South China Sea are now looking rather more stormy again and there could be as many as three tropical storms developing here. These may threaten China this week bringing a further risk of flooding. Torrential rain has also affected North Korea, flooding 250,000 acres of fields and homes. The harvest is expected to fall by 30 percent. Northwest India is set to see an increase in rainfall in the next 2 to 3 days as the annual monsoon picks up. Clouds are now gathering in the Bay of Bengal and should spread northwest.

Related Links: asia pacific satellite

Hurricanes, Typhoons & Tropical Cyclones Worldwide

Joint Typhoon Warning Centre

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[Adi F]

Alex

[highcliffe2]

03/08/2004

By Isobel Lang

Storms arrive on cue.

'Two or three fine days then a thunderstorm.' That is what Michael Fish calls the British summer.

Most of us have enjoyed some hot summer weather recently with temperatures peaking at 29 Celsius, 84 Fahrenheit, in London on Saturday and Monday , and 30 Celsius in Saunton Sands in Devon on Sunday. Tuesday has seen the thunderstorms arrive on cue. Conditions were particularly poor in the West Midlands and the West Country bringing travel disruption. For a more detailed look at the UK weather you can click on our Review of the day.

A large area of low pressure across Eastern Europe has also brought some heavy rain and thunderstorms. Central and western Ukraine saw the worst weather with torrential downpours flooding thousands of homes. The storms destroyed 16 bridges and 15 kilometres of roads. Heavy rain over the last week has also led to flooding in Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

Heavy monsoon rains have engulfed two-thirds of Bangladesh since early June. 40 percent of the capital Dhaka is flooded and this is the worst flooding since 1998. We will continue to follow the progress of the monsoon and the link to the Indian Meteorological Department at the bottom of this article can give you the details.

Across the other side of the world in the U.S, 'Alex' has been upgraded to hurricane status with winds up to 80mph. Warnings were issued, with the worry that if 'Alex' tracks a little to the west then the centre of the hurricane could cross the Carolina coastline. Heavy rain and flooding is expected. After this close encounter, 'Alex' is set to track northeast into the Atlantic.

Related Links: BBC feature - Review of the day

India Met Dept

Hurricanes, Typhoons & Tropical Cyclones Worldwide

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[Adi F]

the latest images from Alex

[WeatherGod]

Quite a beast brewing, there!

[highcliffe2]

04/08/2004

By Carol Kirkwood

Wet weather around the world

Wet weather around the world is once again making the news.

Torrential rain accompanied by thunderstorms brought chaos to many parts of England yesterday. High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire had a staggering 42mm of rain in just one hour. Many roads were closed in London due to flash floods, with traffic literally at a standstill. Hailstorms brought havoc to homes and businesses in Hammersmith, west London, with reports of massive hailstones cracking windows. Here at the BBC we were not immune to the ravages of the weather, with some of our television studios being flooded. Today, again, we have seen thunderstorms moving across northern England and Scotland, but we are expecting some hefty thunderstorms to develop through the afternoon – especially across southeast England.

Further afield, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Hurricane Alex, has now moved away from the US coast and into the Atlantic. Alex, with maximum winds of 100mph (160km/h) pounded parts of the Outer Banks, an island chain off North Carolina that is a popular tourist spot. Hundreds of homes were flooded and the power was cut to thousands of people in its wake. Currently another storm looks like it is brewing up in the Atlantic, progressing towards the Caribbean. Something we will be keeping a close eye on.

Freak weather conditions since June have led to widespread flooding in much of east and south Asia, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Among the countries worst hit are Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, Korea, Nepal, the Philippines and Vietnam. The intensification of the Bai-u front (which brings seasonal heavy rain to southern Japan and parts of China) in June and July, the Indian monsoon as well as tropical cyclones in the southwest Pacific, were the cause of the heavy rain and floods. Further heavy rain is forecast through August.

A spokesman for the WMO said that each of these weather conditions is abnormal, but the combination of monsoonal rain, the intensity of the Bai-u front and tropical cyclones has resulted in disasters.

In India, around 700,000 houses have been damaged and 33 million people affected. In eastern and central Nepal, the elements have caused considerable damage and left many homeless.

China too has been pounded by torrential rain which, unusually, have hit big cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

Sources at the WMO say that in some places, rainfall is 20 to 50 percent above normal.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[Adi F]

Another Alex Image

[Thunder]

[highcliffe2]

05/08/2004

By Helen Young

Stormy weather

The wet monsoon continues to make the headlines in Asia despite flood waters beginning to recede across Bangladesh and India. Latest estimates suggest that 33 million people have been affected by the flooding, the worst since 1998.

Over 1600 people have died in India, Bangladesh and Nepal since July 10th. The pounding rains have devastated crops, triggered landslides and left tens of millions homeless across South Asia.

The aftermath of this flooding is continuing to cause untold misery. The Bangladeshi government have said that the floods have now caused over 6 billion dollars worth of damage to infrastructure and property and nearly 31,000 miles of roads have been damaged or washed away. The UN believe that it will take at least a year for Bangladesh to recover.

In India recent floods are receding too although heavy rain is forecast for western parts over the next few days. At one point the west had been facing drought.

Meanwhile the atlantic hurricane season is getting off to a slow start. The hurricane season normally starts in June and only two years have recorded a hurricane forming later than 31st July, so it is an exceptional year. However it's worth mentioning that this has no bearing on the overall hurricane activity and things could pick up before October.

So far this year we've only seen one storm, Hurricane Alex this week. It affected the outer lying islands offshore from North Carolina mid week and it is now back in the mid atlantic heading our way.

There is a weaker storm, a tropical depression moving through the Carribean. Heavry rain and strong winds affected Barbados and St Lucia on Tuesday night and meteorologists are predicting this storm will bring heavy rains to Haiti and the Dominican Republic over the next few days.

The remnents of Alex are expected to be felt across the west of the UK on Sunday. Bearing in mind it was a tropical storm it means it will bring hot winds and further high humidity. So there's no let up in the humid weather across the UK this weekend.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[highcliffe2]

06/08/2004

By Everton Fox

Typically Tropical Weather

There has been a distinctly tropical feel to the weather here in the United Kingdom over the past few days. Not only has it been hot with torrential downpours, but yesterday saw the kind of hailstorm across Berkshire that would have been rather more typical in the tropics. Golf ball sized hailstones were recorded in Bracknell.

We are certainly not alone in having such lively weather. Violent storms have also affected other parts of Europe. San Sebastian in Spain had 63mm of rain in 24 hours compared with an average monthly rainfall of 42mm. Similar values were measured in France with the city of Orleans, to the southwest of Paris, getting a particular lashing of heavy rain. Here 63mm of rain was measured in 18 hours, 30mm of it falling in just 6 hours.

Torrential downpours have continued to affect Italy and the Balkans too. Turin in northern Italy had 41mm of rain in 24 hours which is around two thirds of the monthly average of 60mm

The wet weather has however been accompanied by some very hot, if not sultry conditions. Even by night, high temperatures have made their presence felt. Ostende in Belgium had a minimum temperature on Thursday morning of 20.5 Celsius which is some 7 degrees above average.

Further north parts of Scandinavia are experiencing a heatwave, Turku in Finland being one of the most noteworthy places. On Thursday the temperature rose to 28.4 Celsius in the heat of the day. The August average is nearer 19 degrees.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

[kold weather]

looks like we are going to get a taste of that!!! :shock:

[Casper]

:shock: What part of the glob is that on?

[highcliffe2]

07/08/2004

By Kirsty McCabe

Ex-hurricane Alex heads to the UK

Brace yourself for another summer storm this weekend as the remnants of ex-hurricane Alex head towards the UK.

The storm conditions are not good news for four Britons trying to set a new Atlantic world rowing record. The crew of the Pink Lady have been at sea for 38 days now, having rowed over 1680 miles from St John's in Newfoundland.

They have less than 420 miles left to reach the "Lizard meridian" - a line that stretches from Lizard Point in Cornwall to the Ushant lighthouse in Cape Finisterre in Brittany. They must do so by 23 August in order to break the world record for the fastest North Atlantic row from Canada.

The four-man crew has already encountered adverse weather conditions, from rough seas that set off their emergency beacon, to four times as many icebergs as usual off the Canadian coastline. They even got a battering from a freak 45 ft (14 m) wave.

But this weekend's storms could be the fiercest that the Pink Lady has seen. If the boat ends up near the deep low pressure system set to form, it will be lashed by gale-force winds and torrential downpours. The crew may well have to ride out the storm from their cabins for two days.

Not everyone is dismayed by the imminent storm. Surfers across southwest England are eagerly anticipating - if the number of exclamation marks on one surfing website is anything to go by - what may well be the best summer surf for many a year.

The swell was already good on Saturday for the Boardmasters at Fistral Beach in Newquay. Sadly the festival doesn't last until Monday, when the surf "is looking HUGE and an all-time classic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website