North Sea Misty Low Cloud

[I remember Atlantic 252]

getting ready for the dreaded stuff from the weekend, Stafford is very prone to it, its the worst April-May type stuff, can virtually guarantee an easterly in April or May,

it ruins a proper Spring day here, can take all day to burn off, frustrating as always Wales and NW England are having days of unbroken Spring sun

[Rollo]

We are just as badly off here in Newcastle-dull cold with drizzle would describe next week if 00z is to be believed. Never mind summer will soon be here.

[Guest]

getting ready for the dreaded stuff from the weekend, Stafford is very prone to it, its the worst April-May type stuff, can virtually guarantee an easterly in April or May,

it ruins a proper Spring day here, can take all day to burn off, frustrating as always Wales and NW England are having days of unbroken Spring sun

It's like living in the west of Scotland most of the year then? :unsure: I'm not quite sure what the gripe is with low cloud from the North Sea since the east coast of the UK gets far more sunshine than the north and the west of the UK. It can't happen very often

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/7100_1km/Sunshine_Average_1971-2000_17.gif

[johnholmes]

not very often!

I would disagree with that but our memories do play tricks with us. IF GFS verifies I'll chat to you in two weeks when I perhaps see something yellow in the sky and actually feel some warmth!

My weather diary, not every spring or summer, but with some regularity is peppered with remarks like, cloudy all day again, winds off the N Sea.

[Guest North Sea Snow Convection]

My own views are well known but a (harmless) north sea breeze is a godsend compared to dreadful south westerlies and rain and wind from the atlantic. The second half of November was appalling last year (just as a recent for instance) with floods, storm damage How many other even much more destructive south westerly spells have there been through the years? Oct 87, Jan 90, Jan 93, Oct 00 plus the summer floods of 2007 as a different kind of example. And so many more besides.

Dry cloudy weather might not be exciting to watch from a weather point of view but would people prefer the above day after day? One day is bad enough.

A case of being careful what we grumble about I think!

*Waits for the bullets to come!*

[Nick F]

I think I'd rather have SW'erlies, at least the weather is more changeable and interesting for the weather enthusiast, they tend only to bring destructive winds and floods in the winter and autumn months (as well as mild drizzly, grey stuff if the airmass is Tm). Most of the time they are more benign in spring and summer and bring spells of rain or showers, though sometimes thunderstorms, but also sunny spells and warmth (though depending on the airmass) - preferable to depressing, dull, cold and grey easterlies that are probable next week for some. Easterlies only tend to be good if they are deeply cold and convective or are dry and sunny in summer.

[Thundery wintry showers]

My stance on easterlies is similar: I welcome them if the upper air is cold enough to support sunshine and wintry showers, or if they're light and I'm away from the east coast, but otherwise I dislike the weather pattern more than any other. In Cleadon especially, long runs of cold overcast days with no sun at all are most often associated with the easterly type.

As for Atlantic weather, I'm no fan of tropical maritime airmasses- unless cloud cover breaks up they come in at second least favourite (and these were also responsible for the destructive rainfall over W & NW areas in November 2009). But if we're talking Atlantic-driven spells characterised by vigorous cold fronts and frequent polar maritime airmasses, I actually find those quite enjoyable.

Some of it can also depend on one's own location. While I was in Lancaster I considered tropical maritime the no.1 enemy and the easterly type some way behind, because the Pennines do a good job of breaking up that low cloud.

[Guest North Sea Snow Convection]

Easterlies only tend to be good if they are deeply cold and convective or are dry and sunny in summer.

I do agree that ideally of course those type are certainly the best.

Summer south westerlies are the 'best' , for want of a better word, of a bad bunch imo.

[phil nw.]

My own views are well known but a (harmless) north sea breeze is a godsend compared to dreadful south westerlies and rain and wind from the atlantic. The second half of November was appalling last year (just as a recent for instance) with floods, storm damage How many other even much more destructive south westerly spells have there been through the years? Oct 87, Jan 90, Jan 93, Oct 00 plus the summer floods of 2007 as a different kind of example. And so many more besides.

Dry cloudy weather might not be exciting to watch from a weather point of view but would people prefer the above day after day? One day is bad enough.

A case of being careful what we grumble about I think!

*Waits for the bullets to come!*

HI Tamara,

In fairness the "bad" SWesterlies to which you refer are to be expected in the Winter half of the Year.

The Easterlies which a number of us are dreading are ,if you like, the more out of season ones,ie Spring into early Summer when the N.Sea grey cloud keeps the daytime cold and dull for the time of year.

Winter Easterlies,yes lovely for cold lovers but not the ones on the menu going forward,GFS,that is.

By the way nowt wrong with a gentle SWesterly around an Azores High in Spring/Summer imo.

The real Heat, which i think you don`t like,is from the Spanish Plume type setup(Southerlies)giving high humidity and sleepless nights.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Regarding summer south-westerlies, if we're assuming a tropical maritime type, the weather can vary quite markedly depending on how close to the nearest high pressure you are. Close to the high it will usually be sunny and warm in late spring/summer because the sun will tend to burn off any cloud, but a fair distance away, western areas will often be shrouded in low cloud, and fronts moving around the periphery of the high can send low cloud and drizzle across to eastern parts also.

The "returning polar maritime" type is of course a completely different beast, associated with heavy showers & thunderstorms.

In general tropical maritime air is more humid than tropical continental air, although there are no hard and fast rules regarding southerlies- those of June and July 2006 were associated with mostly low humidity but those of late July 2008 were pretty humid.

[Derp Patrol]

Easterlies are my least favourite as well. In winter I do not mind them as they are the best chance for snow here, but not for long periods of time as the biting winds do start to get annoying. At any other time of the year except when we get 'warm' easterlies in summer, they are horrible. South westerlies on the other hand are not too bad, as they bring milder weather for a start. With south westerlies, we also sometimes escape from the rain and cloud down here, so it can be quite pleasant.

My favourite set up is definately a good old Spanish plume at any time of the year, but especially in summer for the warm days and nights. The next best has to be anticyclonic weather, especially in summer, bringing warm to hot days with warm nights, but not as warm as with a southerly.

[Thundery wintry showers]

In addition to my earlier post, for the sake of balance, I should mention that the "anticyclonic south-westerly" type, associated with a cell of high pressure to the SE, can bring low humidity and clear skies as long as the track over the Atlantic is relatively short- often the airmass source can be from southern Britain or France on those occasions. The same can't be said of the "anticyclonic easterly" type which promotes a long track over the relatively cold North Sea.

[Eugene]

lol anybody find it funny that people claiming to be weather enthusiasts actually don't mind the prevailing UK pattern for the UK ie mild cloudy southwesterlies you would thing the true enthusiast would want something rarer, anyway this thread is redundant now as it doesnt look like an easterly giving widespread overcast conditions to the midlands anymore.

[Bottesford]

I'm with most of you, easterlies are generally not welcomed by me - at any time of year. Yes I like the excitement of cold/snow in winter but so often they are dull & raw. The exception was the first week of Jan where it was sparkling sunshine and very very low temperatures. Easterlies like that in winter I'll take!

In spring/early summer they sometimes do provide clear, blue skies with a breeze (a breeze that varies from pleasantly cooling through to annoying chilly depending on temperature and time of day) but so so so soooo often they are cloud laden and frequently ruin otherwise stunning weather.

Often this is how it goes... you'll get a good 5 day forecast from the Beeb - five suns in a row with light winds. Day 1 - stunning day with lovely sunshine and feeling gorgeous out. OK lets plan something outdoors for this week...

Day 2 - low cloud has invaded by morning but burnt off by lunchtime - supressed maxes but still - phew!

Day 3 - low cloud again but surely it'll burn off... watches satellite pics... noon: it's burnt off in Birmingham it can't be long... 3pm: nope that's it for today. 7pm: oh look its cleared at last, in time for sunset and now too damn chilly to go out!

Day 4 - low cloud again and no sign of burning off as breeze too strong.

Day 5 - ahh at last, a southerly element to the wind direction and it all clears away from the south east.

Now wasn't it a shame those two cloudy days were the weekend!!

[Guest North Sea Snow Convection]

HI Tamara,

In fairness the "bad" SWesterlies to which you refer are to be expected in the Winter half of the Year.

The Easterlies which a number of us are dreading are ,if you like, the more out of season ones,ie Spring into early Summer when the N.Sea grey cloud keeps the daytime cold and dull for the time of year.

Winter Easterlies,yes lovely for cold lovers but not the ones on the menu going forward,GFS,that is.

By the way nowt wrong with a gentle SWesterly around an Azores High in Spring/Summer imo.

The real Heat, which i think you don`t like,is from the Spanish Plume type setup(Southerlies)giving high humidity and sleepless nights.

Hello Phil

I like it to be warm in summer, but pleasantly warm rather than sustained searing heat - hence the summer easterly is perfect in that respect.

A few days of balmy south easterly winds is nice though too with the odd thundery shower as well. The problem is that too often they lead to south westerlies afterwards

This part of the country in general is good for me because quite often the continental influence is greatest in this corner and easterlies tend to be sunny and in winter, surprisingly enough they are good for some of the coldest weather with good snowfall (I am talking strictly about easterly winds here). Look at the temps from some of the biggest easterlies and that is evident for the SE corner - being nearest to the continent.

There are many more advantages from the North Sea than the Channel or worst of all the atlantic which brings all the dirge from the west and south west.

South westerlies?

[Milhouse]

South westerlies?

They gave my location a warm and relatively dry summer last year compared to the rest of the country so from an IMBY point of view i love them.

[❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️]

I hope people get some good pics of this!

[shuggee]

Oh no. The dreaded haar season will be upon us soon. Sunny and 23ºC at Edinburgh airport, 11ºC and fog with drizzle in town.

[Thundery wintry showers]

My most frustrating experiences with the weather have involved the following ingredients:

Synoptic setup: Slack area of low pressure on top of the UK.

UK as a whole: Sunshine and showers, with many places seeing thunderstorms, except for North Sea coasts of E Scotland & NE England, where sea breezes keep the showers away and bring low cloud in off the North Sea suppressing temperatures by several degrees.

Result: being informed of how "lucky" I am to escape with a dry day on the Tyneside coast and suffer no worse than thick stratus and a cold wind off the North Sea.

However 15th June 2009 provided some amusement, because it was a classic example of the above except that I was in Exeter on that occasion, where I had sun, showers, hail and thunder.

[Guest]

not very often!

I would disagree with that but our memories do play tricks with us. IF GFS verifies I'll chat to you in two weeks when I perhaps see something yellow in the sky and actually feel some warmth!

My weather diary, not every spring or summer, but with some regularity is peppered with remarks like, cloudy all day again, winds off the N Sea.

Sorry John, I meant not very often in comparison to cloud off the Atlantic in the north and west of the UK which the Met-O sunshine charts show up quite strongly. I suppose since I'm not an eastie that I don't know what I'm talking about anyway

[Guest North Sea Snow Convection]

They gave my location a warm and relatively dry summer last year compared to the rest of the country so from an IMBY point of view i love them.

Thats fine Each to their own I say.

Its only weather afterall!

[Eugene]

So whose looking forward to the hottest weather of the year this weekend?

[johnholmes]

possibly here on Saturday but from Sunday onwards it looks downhill for this area-its 16.8C as a max today, beating the 16.7C on 25 March by 0.1C, and that was the highest since October 2009.

[AderynCoch]

Being a west-coaster shadowed by the Pennines, easterlies are usually on the sunny side here (the main exception I can think of is early January 2009, which was persistently dull). Winter easterlies can be frustrating in that the lion's share of the snow tends to stick to the eastern side of the country.

Southwesterles are yucky all-year round but definitely worst in winter. I absolutely ABHOR days in the middle of winter when it's above 10C during the day and above 5C at night, with lots of drizzle and next to no sunshine. I feel psychologically exhausted when such conditions persist (January 2007 & 2008 - eugh!) and am forever grateful that this winter completely shut the door on such miserable synoptics.

Summer southwesterlies are at least better than summer northerlies/northwesterlies (*shudder*), but that's all I can say in their favour really. At least in the South East you're more likely than here to escape their influence (August 2009 being a classic example).

[PersianPaladin]

There are actually quite a variety of synoptic and also meso-scale conditions which influence the nature of haar coming in off the east coast (in terms of cloud height, type, etc).

Also it can sometimes be rather refreshing if you're about 10 miles inland and you see the unique strato-cumulus formations moving in from the coast towards evening heralding a light but cool breeze greatly lowering the temperature.