We are truly a global community at the moment, watching COVID-19 numbers rise and fall, whilst largely confined to our own localities - but what is the weather like elsewhere?
There is a big area of high pressure dominating the weather across Europe at the moment, so things from the UK across into Italy and Croatia are looking fine and settled with plenty of sunshine.
A potentially damaging depression is approaching the west coast of the USA today, and forecasters have suggested that it might have a sting jet associated with it. Severe Weather Europe have put together a report on the depression, including many charts and figures.
In our last weather review we mentioned that June had been quite cool and wet. We posed the question whether June 2019 would beat the record for wettest June for the UK. Looking back and checking the statistics from the Met Office we can say the answer is a resounding “No.” The wettest June record for the UK is still held by 2012. The Met Office statistics show that the total precipitation for June 2012 was 149.0 mm, almost exactly double the average amount for the years 1981-2010 (71.1 mm).
If you were hoping the UK’s weather in June would to be similar to last summer, you will be quite disappointed so far. With the exception of the first few days of June, the month has been cool and very wet, causing flooding and disruption in some parts.
Overall, spring was slightly warmer, sunnier and wetter than average for the UK.
The Met Office has announced its analysis of UK weather observations for the winter, and its been a record breaker. Meteorological winter runs from 1 December to the end of February, and this one featured a daily maximum temperature of 20 °C for the first time since records began, in 1910. The warmest day was recorded in Kew Gardens in London on 26 February with a temperature of 21.2 °C.
In a press statement, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 have been the four warmest years since the modern temperature record began in 1850.
2018 is set to be the second sunniest year on record in the UK. A recent report by the Met Office, has recorded 1575 hours of sunshine in 2018 on the 27th of December. Although unlikely to beat 2003’s record of 1587 hours, this will be another notable outcome of an already record-breaking year.
With August and September being the peak months for Tropical Cyclones in the North Atlantic (Hurricanes), eastern North Pacific (hurricanes) and western North Pacific (typhoons), there have been a number of storms recently. Of these, Florence, a Category 4 Hurricane, and Mangkhut , a Category 5-equivalent Super Typhoon, have been the most powerful.
May was warmer than average for most places of the UK. At the beginning of the month an unsettled westerly regime brought rain south-eastwards. Thereafter, temperatures and sunshine increased. The early-May Bank Holiday was the warmest since its introduction in 1978. Despite cooler temperatures, the second week remained dry and sunny for many parts. The second half of the month was dominated by high pressure and easterly winds bringing warm air and sunshine. However, it stayed cooler and cloudier along the east coast.
