Latest news with #ZoeHutin
Sky News
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Sky News
Third heatwave within a month could hit parts of UK, Met Office says
A third heatwave could hit parts of the UK by mid-July, the Met Office has said. The second weekend of July could see increasing heat and humidity, and potentially the third heatwave within four weeks after two weekends of hot conditions for much of the country in the final weeks of June, which was the hottest on record across England. "Whilst it is difficult this far ahead to determine exactly how hot things could get next week and weekend, there is the potential that some parts of the country could reach heatwave criteria," Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said. A location has to hit or exceed 25C in the west and north and 28C in London and surrounding counties for three consecutive days to qualify as a heatwave. 2:17 On 9 July, temperatures are expected to reach the high 20s in the south east and potentially the low 30s on 10 July, Ms Hutin said. The hot conditions would likely continue into the weekend due to an area of high pressure building from the west before stretching across the south and drawing in warm air from the Atlantic and Azores. "Most likely it will be the south and east that see prolonged heat and thus could have another heatwave, but it is too soon to say exactly how high temperatures could get," she added. 1:58 The meteorologist said temperatures this weekend and the start of next week will be lower than recent days, with "cloudier skies prevailing and bringing spells of rain at times, especially for western areas". Temperatures are forecast to reach 25C in the south east on Saturday, 24C on Sunday and 23C on Monday. "It will be drier overall in the east, though some drizzly outbreaks are still possible on Saturday, with showers on Sunday," Ms Hutin said. A yellow weather warning for rain issued by the Met Office is in place across parts of Argyll and Bute, in Scotland, the south Highlands, Mull and Skye until Saturday afternoon. These regions could see up to 60mm of rain and more than 100mm in mountain areas. The Environment Agency has issued flood alerts in Cumbria for the rivers Duddon, Crake and Mill Beck, and other watercourses following heavy rain on Friday. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency also issued six flood alerts in Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Arran, Easter Ross and Great Glen, Skye and Lochaber, west central Scotland and Wester Ross.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Third heatwave could hit parts of UK by mid-July, Met Office says
A third heatwave within four weeks could hit parts of the UK by mid-July, the Met Office has said. The second weekend of July could see increasing heat and humidity and the potential for another period of hot weather which could last into the following week. Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said: 'Whilst it is difficult this far ahead to determine exactly how hot things could get next week and weekend, there is the potential that some parts of the country could reach heatwave criteria.' This follows two weekends of heatwave conditions for much of the country in the final weeks of June, which was the hottest on record across England, with Faversham, Kent, hitting nearly 36C last Tuesday. Looking for a weather forecast for Saturday? We've got all the details here in the 4cast 👇 — Met Office (@metoffice) July 4, 2025 To qualify as a heatwave, a location must reach or exceed a certain temperature for three consecutive days, 25C in the west and north and 28C in London and the surrounding counties. Ms Hutin said temperatures were expected to reach the high 20s in the South East on July 9, with the potential for low 30s on July 10. She said hot conditions were expected to continue into the weekend because of an area of high pressure building from the West then stretching across the South and drawing in warm air from the Atlantic and Azores. She said: 'Most likely it will be the South and East that see prolonged heat and thus could have another heatwave, but it is too soon to say exactly how high temperatures could get.' This weekend and the start of next week will be cooler than recent days, Ms Hutin added, with 'cloudier skies prevailing and bringing spells of rain at times, especially for western areas'. Following verification, temperatures peaked at 35.8 °C at Faversham on 1 July, making this the highest temperature reached so far this year. This surpasses the previous figure of 34.7 °C recorded at St James's Park, which was reported on the same day. — Met Office (@metoffice) July 4, 2025 'It will be drier overall in the East, though some drizzly outbreaks are still possible on Saturday, with showers on Sunday,' she said. Temperatures could reach 25C in the South East on Saturday, 24C on Sunday and 23C on Monday. Meanwhile, a yellow weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for rain across parts of Argyll and Bute, in Scotland, the south Highlands, Mull and Skye until Saturday afternoon, with up to 60mm of rain predicted and more than 100mm in mountain areas. The Environment Agency has issued flood alerts in Cumbria after heavy rain on Friday for the rivers Duddon, Crake and Mill Beck, and other watercourses, from Coniston to Barrow-in-Furness, including low lying areas around Ulpha, Duddon Bridge, Broughton-in-Furness, Kirkby-in-Furness, Dalton-in-Furness and Ulverston. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has a further six flood alerts in Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Arran, Easter Ross and Great Glen, Skye and Lochaber, west central Scotland and Wester Ross.
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Met Office issues Northern Lights alert
Seeing the Northern Lights is a true bucket list item for any keen stargazer. But budding astronomers won't need to trek to the Arctic Circle this evening to catch a glimpse of the stunning display this evening. The Met Office forecasts that the aurora will light up the sky over huge parts of the UK tonight. As a solar storm strikes Earth, the Northern Lights will be visible over Scotland, Northern Ireland , and even as far south as parts of northern England. This comes as Earth is buffeted by a huge cloud of charged particles and magnetic fields ejected from the Sun known as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). The passage of this solar eruption has triggered a 'moderate', or G2, geomagnetic storm above Earth, leading to enhanced auroral activity. Although you won't need any special equipment to see this celestial show, experts say that a digital or smartphone camera can help to capture colours hidden to the naked eye. However, with yellow thunderstorm warnings in force for Northern England and much of Scotland , spending too long outside is not advised unless the weather permits it in your area. According to the Met Office, strong geomagnetic storms have led to increased auroral activity throughout the day today, with activity expected to persist into the early hours of the morning. With clear skies, the aurora may be visible as far south as northern English towns such as Manchester, Leeds, and Hull. Zoe Hutin, a Met Office spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Enhanced geomagnetic activity is expected tonight, which may provide an opportunity to view the aurora in Scotland, perhaps Northern Ireland, and parts of northern England. 'The greatest chance of seeing the aurora is in the far north of Scotland, specifically the Shetland Islands, and the northern Highlands, where some clear spells are likely around midnight.' Dr Edward Bloomer, astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, told MailOnline: 'Aurorae are generally faint, and transitory. The best thing to do is to make your eyes as sensitive as possible, which means getting away from other sources of light. 'Your eyes take time to adjust, roughly half an hour for best sensitivity, so try to get somewhere dark, and avoid the temptation to check your phone.' However, if you have let your eyes adjust to the darkness and still can't see anything it might be worth trying to take a photo with your smartphone camera. 'Most cameras can control exposure time and sensitivity to collect more light and present it as a single image,' says Dr Bloomer. This means they can often reveal the colours of the aurora even when they aren't fully visible. Dr Bloomer adds: 'The camera lens and sensor don't work exactly the same way as the human eye, so their sensitivity and recreation of colour won't be exactly the same- though it might be close. 'You may notice, for example, that if you take pictures of the aurora the red components seem more vibrant than you were able to see with the naked eye.' If you are planning to go looking for the aurora tonight make sure to carefully check the weather forecast for your area. The Met Office has issued yellow storm warnings covering most of England and Scotland from midnight tonight, with amber warnings given for the southeast coast as far north as Norwich. Ms Hutin says: 'Given this forecast, spending extended periods outdoors overnight is not advised.' Likewise, with cloud cover forecast over much of the UK, it is worth checking the weather to see if good views will be available. But, even if you do miss tonight's display there is no need to worry as more opportunities are on the way. Professor Malcolm Fairbairn, of King's College London, told MailOnline: 'Aurora take place when the Sun sends charged particles - electrons and protons - across the solar system , this is known as the solar wind. 'When these charged particles encounter the Earth, some of them travel down the poles and create light as they accelerate in the Earth's magnetic field and interact with our atmosphere , this light is what Aurora are.' At the moment the sun is extremely active because it is at a point of its 11-year cycle called the solar maximum. This occurs when the sun's north and south magnetic poles flip, causing disturbances in the solar surface that lead to more eruptions of solar material. This period also comes along with a larger number of dark sun spots, less dense regions of the solar corona which appear dark because they are cool. Charged particles are able to escape from these cool areas as a stream of material known as solar wind. Professor Fairburn adds: 'A big gust of solar wind is arriving right now which may lead to Aurora, more visible the more North one is.' This gust is being generated by a vast hole in the sun's outer layers which has rotated to face Earth, unleashing a high-speed form of wind called a Coronal Hole High-Speed Stream. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that this will trigger another moderate, G2, geomagnetic storm starting from Saturday afternoon. This should lead to some even stronger auroral activity that will be visible over the UK, particularly across northern Scotland.
Daily Mail
13-06-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Met Office issues Northern Lights ALERT: Aurora will shine across huge parts of the UK tonight as a solar storm strikes Earth - find out if it will be visible from your hometown
Seeing the Northern Lights is a true bucket list item for any keen stargazer. But budding astronomers won't need to trek to the Arctic Circle this evening to catch a glimpse of the stunning display this evening. The Met Office forecasts that the aurora will light up the sky over huge parts of the UK tonight. As a solar storm strikes Earth, the Northern Lights will be visible over Scotland, Northern Ireland, and even as far south as parts of northern England. This comes as Earth is buffeted by a huge cloud of charged particles and magnetic fields ejected from the Sun known as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). The passage of this solar eruption has triggered a 'moderate', or G2, geomagnetic storm above Earth, leading to enhanced auroral activity. Although you won't need any special equipment to see this celestial show, experts say that a digital or smartphone camera can help to capture colours hidden to the naked eye. However, with yellow thunderstorm warnings in force for Northern England and much of Scotland, spending too long outside is not advised unless the weather permits it in your area. According to the Met Office, strong geomagnetic storms have led to increased auroral activity throughout the day today, with activity expected to persist into the early hours of the morning. With clear skies, the aurora may be visible as far south as northern English towns such as Manchester, Leeds, and Hull. Zoe Hutin, a Met Office spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Enhanced geomagnetic activity is expected tonight, which may provide an opportunity to view the aurora in Scotland, perhaps Northern Ireland, and parts of northern England. 'The greatest chance of seeing the aurora is in the far north of Scotland, specifically the Shetland Islands, and the northern Highlands, where some clear spells are likely around midnight.' However, they also point out that short night hours will make it more difficult to see the Northern Lights. Since the aurora can be faint at lower latitudes, you will need to wait until the sun has fully set before it is visible. With the midsummer solstice just weeks away, the sun will not set tonight until 21:19 BST so viewing will be best closer to midnight. Dr Edward Bloomer, astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, told MailOnline: 'Aurorae are generally faint, and transitory. The best thing to do is to make your eyes as sensitive as possible, which means getting away from other sources of light. 'Your eyes take time to adjust, roughly half an hour for best sensitivity, so try to get somewhere dark, and avoid the temptation to check your phone.' However, if you have let your eyes adjust to the darkness and still can't see anything it might be worth trying to take a photo with your smartphone camera. 'Most cameras can control exposure time and sensitivity to collect more light and present it as a single image,' says Dr Bloomer. This means they can often reveal the colours of the aurora even when they aren't fully visible. Dr Bloomer adds: 'The camera lens and sensor don't work exactly the same way as the human eye, so their sensitivity and recreation of colour won't be exactly the same- though it might be close. 'You may notice, for example, that if you take pictures of the aurora the red components seem more vibrant than you were able to see with the naked eye.' If you are planning to go looking for the aurora tonight make sure to carefully check the weather forecast for your area. The Met Office has issued yellow storm warnings covering most of England and Scotland from midnight tonight, with amber warnings given for the southeast coast as far north as Norwich. Ms Hutin says: 'Given this forecast, spending extended periods outdoors overnight is not advised.' Likewise, with cloud cover forecast over much of the UK, it is worth checking the weather to see if good views will be available. But, even if you do miss tonight's display there is no need to worry as more opportunities are on the way. Professor Malcolm Fairbairn, of King's College London, told MailOnline: 'Aurora take place when the Sun sends charged particles - electrons and protons - across the solar system, this is known as the solar wind. 'When these charged particles encounter the Earth, some of them travel down the poles and create light as they accelerate in the Earth's magnetic field and interact with our atmosphere, this light is what Aurora are.' At the moment the sun is extremely active because it is at a point of its 11-year cycle called the solar maximum. This occurs when the sun's north and south magnetic poles flip, causing disturbances in the solar surface that lead to more eruptions of solar material. This period also comes along with a larger number of dark sun spots, less dense regions of the solar corona which appear dark because they are cool. Charged particles are able to escape from these cool areas as a stream of material known as solar wind. Professor Fairburn adds: 'A big gust of solar wind is arriving right now which may lead to Aurora, more visible the more North one is.' This gust is being generated by a vast hole in the sun's outer layers which has rotated to face Earth, unleashing a high-speed form of wind called a Coronal Hole High-Speed Stream. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that this will trigger another moderate, G2, geomagnetic storm starting from Saturday afternoon. This should lead to some even stronger auroral activity that will be visible over the UK, particularly across northern Scotland. WHAT IS THE SOLAR CYCLE? The Sun is a huge ball of electrically-charged hot gas that moves, generating a powerful magnetic field. This magnetic field goes through a cycle, called the solar cycle. Every 11 years or so, the Sun's magnetic field completely flips, meaning the sun's north and south poles switch places. The solar cycle affects activity on the surface of the Sun, such as sunspots which are caused by the Sun's magnetic fields. One way to track the solar cycle is by counting the number of sunspots. The beginning of a solar cycle is a solar minimum, or when the Sun has the least sunspots. Over time, solar activity - and the number of sunspots - increases. The middle of the solar cycle is the solar maximum, or when the Sun has the most sunspots. As the cycle ends, it fades back to the solar minimum and then a new cycle begins. Giant eruptions on the Sun, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, also increase during the solar cycle. These eruptions send powerful bursts of energy and material into space that can have effects on Earth.
The Independent
07-06-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Sudden downpours and rumbles of thunder across parts of England
Heavy rain and showers have produced rumbles of thunder across parts of England on Saturday. It came as a particularly intense band of showers charged east through the south and west, and forecasters said people should expect sudden downpours, thunder and dramatic skies. A Met Office yellow weather warning for thunderstorms was in place for most the day. The highest rainfall total was in Worlds End, Hampshire, where 31.9mm was recorded in the 12 hours to 8.30pm. The deluge saw rainfall totals of around 27-28mm across the southern stretch of the UK. Met Office data shows England recorded 32.8mm of rain last month – almost half the usual monthly average. The weather warning was initially for parts of central and southern England and Wales to 6pm, and was later altered to cover east, south-east and south-west England to 9pm. As the weather warning expired, Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said: 'The band that had the most active showers on it, so had the most sort of lightning strikes within it, is now just off of the east coast of the country. 'The area of deepest instability has moved away. There are still a few reports of lightning across central England, but I think the worst of it is moving out of the way. 'We've lost the daytime heating, and the temperatures today were also adding to that instability and the development of those thunderstorms.' Top temperature was 19.4C in Manston, Kent, which was one of the areas hit by the downfalls along with Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, which endured the heaviest showers and thunderstorms and recorded temperatures of around 18.7C. Conditions are now expected to settle down, but while 'there could still be some heavy down bursts at times and heavy showers at times – I think the worst is behind us,' Ms Hutin said. Conditions are expected to improve on Sunday, with a drier day forecast for many, though showers may linger in parts of the North and East. Clear and sunny spells are expected for many areas but there could be some more persistent showers later in the West and North West.
