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BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
UK weather: Are we getting another heatwave or has Storm Floris ended summer early?
After multiple heatwaves early on this summer, many areas of the UK have seen cooler and wetter conditions Floris then made it feel like autumn had arrived early as it swept the country on those on their summer break should not give up hope yet of drier and warmer conditions this are showing the potential for bursts of warmth through the rest of August, especially in the south and east of England. Why has it turned wetter and windier? During the first half of summer the jet stream, a ribbon of fast flowing air in the higher atmosphere where planes fly, was mainly to the north of the UK. It allowed long-lasting areas of high pressure to sit over the UK keeping rain clouds away and helping heat to build. This though lead to drought conditions developing, hosepipe bans being introduced, and wildfires to breaking separate heatwaves developed in the space of a month. Since then, then jet stream has sat closer to the UK. It has allowed low pressure systems to graze the country, bringing breezier conditions, bands of rain to northern and western areas, and showers elsewhere.A particularly strong jet stream through the weekend then developed and steered Storm Floris across the northern half of the UK on Monday, bring unseasonably strong winds to many 82mph wind gust at Wick equalled Scotland's August wind record. Travel disruption was widespread and thousands were without power. A cooler breeze in its wake has continued to make it feel more like autumn than summer. Could an ex-tropical storm trigger the return of summer? The Atlantic storm season has been relatively quiet so far, however the presence of Tropical Storm Dexter, currently in the west Atlantic north of Bermuda, could help spark a change in weather patterns Dexter will not affect us directly, as it moves eastwards across the Atlantic and decays over the next few days it is likely to help build a ridge of high pressure over the UK during the will help to gradually draw up warmer air through the weekend, especially across southern and eastern areas. Temperatures could climb into the high 20s Celsius in some areas. Parts of north-western UK may remain cooler with the chance of rain for a time. A hot end to August? The exact track of Dexter will determine how long this next batch of warmth lasts and how close to heatwave thresholds some areas will it does look like it will trigger a shift in weather patterns that sees high pressure sit closer to the UK at times through the rest of the will mean that all areas of the UK should have drier conditions compared with the past few weeks, although occasional showers can still be expected, especially in more northern and western models are also hinting at further bursts of heat too. With temperatures on the near continent into the mid-30s at times, we may tap into that with some southern areas possibly hitting or exceeding 30 Celsius, but it is too early to pinpoint which days will be warmer than average temperatures across the UK for August are expected to be above-normal, in line with a warming climate as well as the overriding forecast weather monthly outlook is regularly updated to help with planning over the coming weeks.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Australia is hit by its biggest snowfall for decades with wild weather bringing 20 inches of snow in some areas
Several areas in Australia were blanketed with its thickest layer of snow in decades as wild weather swept through the country over the weekend. Around 20 inches of snow had been forecast to fall on Saturday in some towns, with more than 10cm of rain expected in others the New South Wales State Emergency Service said. Thousands of homes are expected to remain without power for another 24 hours, while mobile phone outages have been widely reported across the area. Images emerging from New South Wales across the weekend showed buildings and streets covered in deep snow, with vehicles struggling to push through the sludge which had piled up on the roads. Cars, rooftops and highstreets were left completely white and authorities said a number of towns in eastern Australia were left flooded and without power due to the extreme weather - which has not been seen since the mid 1980s. The emergency service said it had responded to over 1,455 incidents and more than 200 vehicles had been stranded by snow, adding that storms had damaged buildings and it had issued several major flood warnings. Parts of the state's New England North West region received their deepest snow in 20 years, state broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp reported. Police in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, said a car had become stuck in floodwater on Saturday evening and a female passenger, 27, was swept away. She was rescued without injuries, police later said on Monday, adding that the search for other possible victims was underway. In another incident, State Emergency Service (SES) crews saved a 40-year-old man in the Hunter Valley who was stuck in a tree due to flood water. The man was swept out of the tree but rescuers followed him into the water and managed to pull him to shore and he was taken to hospital. Meanwhile, snow also settled in areas of the neighbouring state of Queensland for the first time in ten years, Miriam Bradbury, a meteorologist at Australia's weather bureau, said. Ian Robinson, superintendent of the SES, said that some areas had been 'absolutely smashed' by wind and rain, as per the ABC. 'A number of roofs are off in that area as well,' Robinson added. 'It's so risky, unless you've actually got snow chains, even a dusting of snow can hide the ice underneath. Before you know it, you're sliding and you're not in control of your vehicle.' The rain had started to ease on Sunday, but parts of New England in New South Wales were urged to evacuate before 4pm, ahead of major flooding that was expected on Monday. The flooding is expected to occur in low-lying parts of Gunnedah, New England, as well as Raymond Terrace in the Hunter Region, the New South Wales State Emergency Service said. The SES also warned the Wee Waa and Narrabri areas that further river rises were possible over the coming days as flood waters moved downstream. The New South Wales SES said it had positioned assets into Narrabri in preparation. SES assistant commissioner, Nicole Hogan warned black ice was a significant risk and was causing dangerous road conditions throughout the northern tablelands. 'We have road crash crews prepositioned and ready to respond to any rescues, but we ask the community to please avoid unnecessary travel,' she said. 'If you do need to be on the roads in areas with snow, drive with caution, always use your brakes gently and drive slowly.' Damaging wind gusts exceeding 90km/h and large and powerful surf are also forecast. Bradbury said climate change has made Australia's weather more volatile in recent years, but that this sort of event had only occurred several times in history. 'What makes this event unusual is how much snow we had but also how widespread, covering quite a large part of the northern tablelands,' she said. Although the harsh weather brought with it chaos and disruption, many Australians were seen in footage and images having snowball fights and building snowmen. 'It's a very surreal experience. I've never seen snow before in my entire life,' Brendan Gough, who travelled hundreds of miles from Queensland to experience the phenomenon, told Reuters. Since the onset of the severe weather, the SES revealed it had received more than 3,600 calls and responded to 2,092 incidents, including 25 flood rescues. The service had responded to 11 flood rescues in the last 24 hours, the majority for vehicles being driven into flood waters. SES assistant commissioner, Nicole Hogan warned black ice was a significant risk and was causing dangerous road conditions throughout the northern tablelands On Monday, the SES deputy commissioner, Debbie Platz, said the area around Gunnedah was of 'major concern' because of the high river level. 'We do expect that the river will peak later this evening and then it will stay at a high level, so major flood level, until probably Wednesday,' she told the ABC. It comes after a series of relentless cold fronts brought icy temperatures, rain, damaging wind gusts and snow to Australia's southeast last month. The first of four cold fronts arrived in southwest Western Australia and delivered rain and wind gusts of over 120km/hour to the region. Another cold front powered by a low-pressure system impacted South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and NSW. The Bureau of Meteorology said residents in coastal and elevated parts of South Australia, Victoria and southern NSW needed to remain vigilant amid powerful wind gusts at the time.
BBC News
12 hours ago
- BBC News
Parts of Australia covered in thick blanket of snow
Some of you might have great memories of playing in the snow with your friends and there are some places in the world where children, and even some adults, haven't seen it for the southern hemisphere is it currently is one of those places where snowfall is rare, but some parts of the country have just been covered in a thick layer of the some areas seeing it settle for the first time in 10 years, according to experts. Several towns in the east of the country were covered in the thickest layer of snow in decades, as cold weather swept the area over the weekend. Authorities said the weather caused floods, stranded vehicles and cut power to thousands of much as 40cm of snow fell in parts of northern New South Bradbury who is a meteorologist at Australia's weather bureau - the team that monitors the country's weather - said that the most snow that areas has seen since the mid 1980s. Lots of people made the most of the opportunity, getting outside to have snowball fights and make people even travelled from the neighbouring state of Queensland to experience Gough was one of those people, he said: "I've never seen snow before in my entire life."Miriam said that Australia's weather has become more unpredictable in recent years, but snow isn't unheard said: "What makes this event unusual is how much snow we had but also how widespread."
