What to do in heavy rain

14 05 2013

The next few days will see some heavy rain across the country resulting in possible disruption. Yellow alerts have been issued by the Met Office this week for many areas of the UK.

Met Office warnings and what they mean

If a yellow warnings is issued: Be aware.

During a yellow warning for rainfall there may be some minor traffic delays due to slower traffic and outdoor events may be disrupted or cancelled. There may be localised flooding of fields, car parks and recreational land.

When an amber warning is issued: Be prepared.

An amber warning indicates the need to be prepared for some disruption of daily routines and travel only if well prepared as the journey may take longer. Some flooding of homes, businesses and transport connections is possible. Utility services (gas, electricity and water) may also be affected and protecting property will be needed (for example moving possessions upstairs and using sandbags).

A red warning means action must be taken.

It is essential to follow advice from authorities under all circumstances and expect significant disruption. Only take journeys if absolutely essential and carry emergency food and clothing. Red warnings mean there could be widespread flooding of property and severe disruption to travel. There may be some loss of utilities (gas, electricity and water). There may be possible risk to life and the advice of the emergency services needs to be followed.

Check the latest forecast for your area on our severe weather page.

You can also sign up to our severe weather RSS feed or severe weather twitter account for your local area.

For more information on our severe weather warnings service, watch our video guide:

The Environment Agency’s Floodline 0845 988 1188 is available 24 hours a day for flood advice or you can see the latest flood warnings on our website.

For more detailed travel information check the Highways Agency’s website.

Infographic what to do in heavy rain





April drier and colder than average

2 05 2013

After the wettest April on record in 2012, provisional full-month Met Office figures show this April has been slightly drier than average in the UK.

Rainfall throughout the UK was 64 mm this year, compared to the 1981-2010 average of 72.7 mm. That’s considerably less than the 128 mm we saw last year.

There were big regional differences in April rainfall this year. Scotland saw 121.2 mm of rain which is above the 91.1 mm average and Northern Ireland saw 75.2mm, almost spot on the 75.0 mm average.

However, both England and Wales saw well below average rainfall. Wales had 50.3mm, compared to an average of 89.3mm, and England saw 30.4mm, compared to an average of 58.7 mm.

The month was characterised by generally cold and dry weather, following on from the theme set in March. Despite this, April registered as only slightly colder than average with a mean UK temperature of 6.3 °C, which is 1.1 °C below the 7.4 °C long-term average.

This is the same mean temperature as recorded in April 2012. To find a colder April than the last two years, you have to go back to 1989 – which saw a mean temperature of 5.5 °C.

Scotland saw the coldest temperatures compared to country specific averages, with a mean temperature of 4.8 °C, which is 1.3 °C below average – and is the same temperature as recorded in 1998.

The warmest day of the month was 25 April at Faversham in Kent when the temperature recorded was 23.1°C.

In terms of sunshine, Scotland was sunnier than the rest of the UK with hours of sunshine totalling 170.9, followed by Northern Ireland with 168.0, England at 167.7 and Wales at 162.7 hours.

This compares with only 127.9 hours of sunshine in April last year throughout the UK. The sunniest April in the last 10 years was 2007 with 203.5 hours.

Mean Temperature Sunshine hours Rainfall
Apr-13 Actual Diff to Avg Actual Diff to Avg Actual Diff to Avg
degC degC hours % mm %
UK 6.3 -1.1 168.4 114 64 88
England 7.2 -0.9 167.7 108 30.4 52
Wales 6.4 -1.2 162.7 105 50.3 56
Scotland 4.8 -1.3 170.9 127 121.2 133
N Ireland 6.5 -1.1 168 115 75.2 100




Warm but unsettled weekend ahead as cold eases grip on UK

10 04 2013

The UK is set to see some warmer temperatures this weekend as the colder than average weather seen so far this April eases its grip.

Temperatures have been steadily climbing since the exceptionally cold weather towards the start of the month, with today through to Friday set to see double-digit figures for many places.

On Saturday temperatures will be generally between 11 and 13 °C, feeling much milder than recent days. However, the weather will be wet, fairly windy and unsettled for many parts – with the best of any drier and brighter weather in the south and east.

Forecast chart for midday Saturday shows low pressure moving in from the Atlantic to bring mild but wet and windy weather for most of the country. High pressure still dominates in the south and east, bringing the best of any drier and brighter weather.

Forecast chart for midday Saturday shows low pressure moving in from the Atlantic to bring mild but wet and windy weather for most of the country. High pressure still dominates in the south and east, bringing the best of any drier and brighter weather.

Warmest day of the year so far

Sunday looks set to be the warmest day of 2013 so far, with temperatures expected to be widely in the mid-teens Celsius. While the weather will be slightly more settled than Saturday, many places will see cloudy and breezy conditions with a risk of some light showers.

Once again the south and east will see the best of the weather, with drier and brighter conditions and temperatures of 15-18 °C – with a possibility that some isolated spots could reach around 20 °C.

Leading in to next week temperatures look set to cool slightly, but remain around average for the time of year.

Jet stream shift brings milder weather

The reason for the shift away from the colder weather is the re-alignment of the jet stream, a band of fast moving westerly winds high up in the atmosphere which tends to guide Atlantic weather systems. It’s these weather systems that bring us the mild and unsettled weather we normally expect at this time of year.

During the prolonged cold conditions the jet stream tracked far to the south of the UK, guiding those mild weather systems towards the Mediterranean. The UK, meanwhile, saw an easterly flow – bringing in cold conditions from the cold winter climes of north-east Europe.

Now the jet stream has started to shift its track, moving north to a position more in line with what we’d expect at this time of year. This means we expect to see milder, but also more unsettled weather coming in from the Atlantic over the coming week or so.





Today’s weather from above

12 03 2013

Today’s satellite images show the small areas of the UK which have snow lying, as well as a number of interesting cloud formations.

12 March 2013 Left: Visible satellite image of the UK, Right: False colour satellite image of the UK.

12 March 2013 Left: Visible satellite image of the UK, Right: False colour satellite image of the UK.

The snow shows up very clearly over the Pennines and Scottish Borders, over the Isle of Wight, southeast England and the far east of East Anglia. False colour images are particularly good for identifying snow because the turquoise colour helps to differentiate between the white of the snow and the white of the clouds.

snow2

You can also see how the clouds have lined up on the wind across southern Britain – this is a great example of cumulus clouds forming ‘cloud streets’ when the winds at the height of the clouds are strong.

cloud-streets

Over the sea to the north of the UK we can see more shower clouds moving towards us. Here we have a great example of the two different types of convection: open cell – where the individual clouds form circles over the sea; and closed cell – where the individual clouds have ‘clumped’ together across northern Scotland.

cloudconvection

Aren’t satellite pictures wonderful.





January weather – your pictures

7 02 2013

Thank you for sharing your January weather pictures with us on Twitter. Here’s a selection of our favourites. The January summary video is coming shortly.





Latest snow depths and wind speeds – 5 February

5 02 2013

As forecast, unsettled wintry conditions brought snow and strong winds to parts of the UK overnight and this morning.

Eskdalemuir saw the deepest snow, with 14 cm of snow recorded at 10 am this morning, while Aviemore recorded 12 cm.

Many areas also saw strong winds, with a gust of 78 mph recorded at Culdrose, Cornwall and 99 mph recorded at Cairngorm Summit.

Snow depths at 10 am 5 February

TIME SITE NAME AREA ELEVATION SNOW DEPTH ( CM)
10:00 ESKDALEMUIR DUMFRIESSHIRE 236 14
10:00 AVIEMORE INVERNESS-SHIRE 228 12
10:00 DRUMALBIN LANARKSHIRE 245 10
10:00 GLENANNE ARMAGH 161 9
10:00 TULLOCH BRIDGE INVERNESS-SHIRE 249 7
10:00 REDESDALE CAMP NORTHUMBERLAND 211 7
10:00 BALLYPATRICK FOREST ANTRIM 156 5
10:00 SPADEADAM CUMBRIA 285 5
10:00 THOMASTOWN FERMANAGH 72 3
10:00 BINGLEY WEST YORKSHIRE 262 2
10:00 ALBEMARLE NORTHUMBERLAND 142 2
10:00 WADDINGTON LINCOLNSHIRE 68 1
10:00 SHAWBURY SHROPSHIRE 72 1

Maximum gust speeds 5 February

TIME SITE NAME AREA ELEVATION MAX GUST SPEED (mph)
00:00 CULDROSE CORNWALL 76 78
04:00 SCILLY ST MARYS AIRPORT ISLES OF SCILLY 31 75
00:00 CHIVENOR DEVON 6 67
03:00 ISLE OF PORTLAND DORSET 52 66
04:00 JERSEY AIRPORT JERSEY 84 66
03:00 GUERNSEY AIRPORT GUERNSEY 101 64
00:00 CAMBORNE CORNWALL 86.85 62
02:00 SOUTHAMPTON, OCEANOGRAPHY CENTRE HAMPSHIRE 26 62
01:00 SOUTH UIST RANGE WESTERN ISLES 4 62
00:00 AVONMOUTH AVON 9 62
00:00 CARDINHAM, BODMIN CORNWALL 200 61
01:00 TIREE ARGYLL 9 60
03:00 WIGHT: ST CATHERINES POINT ISLE OF WIGHT 20 60
01:00 WIGHT: NEEDLES OLD BATTERY ISLE OF WIGHT 80 60
02:00 YEOVILTON SOMERSET 20 60
01:00 CAPEL CURIG GWYNEDD 216 59
01:00 ABERDARON GWYNEDD 95 59
04:00 ISLAY: PORT ELLEN ARGYLL 17 58
01:00 LERWICK SHETLAND 82 58
00:00 MUMBLES HEAD WEST GLAMORGAN 43 56
01:00 ODIHAM HAMPSHIRE 118 56

Maximum gust speeds – mountain sites

TIME SITE NAME AREA ELEVATION MAX GUST SPEED (mph)
09:00 CAIRNGORM SUMMIT INVERNESS-SHIRE 1237 99
07:00 CAIRNWELL ABERDEENSHIRE 928 86
08:00 AONACH MOR INVERNESS-SHIRE 1130 75
09:00 BEALACH NA BA ROSS & CROMARTY 773 67
04:00 GREAT DUN FELL CUMBRIA 847 56
10:00 GLEN OGLE PERTHSHIRE 564 54

Warnings for ice, snow and wind remain in place in some areas.





UK snow depths Wednesday 23 January

23 01 2013

Following further snow fall yesterday and overnight, the latest snow depth observations for the UK are below. Little Rissington in Gloucestershire has the highest snow depth so far this year with 30 cm recorded.

Location Area Elevation Depth (cm)
Little Rissington    Gloucestershire      210 30
Aboyne    Aberdeenshire        140 27
Redesdale Camp       Northumberland       211 26
Albemarle            Northumberland       142 23
Spadeadam Cumbria              285 21
Dunkeswell Aerodrome Devon                252 21
Lough Fea            Londonderry          225 19
Loftus               Cleveland            158 18
Aviemore             Inverness-Shire      228 16
Eskdalemuir          Dumfriesshire        236 15
Bingley West Yorkshire       262 13
Wittering            Cambridgeshire       73 11
Waddington           Lincolnshire         68 10
Leek, Thorncliffe    Staffordshire        298 9
Drumalbin            Lanarkshire          245 9
Wattisham            Suffolk              89 8
Coleshill            Warwickshire         96 8
Liscombe             Somerset             348 8
Brize Norton         Oxfordshire          82 8
Dyce                 Aberdeenshire        65 8
Hereford, Credenhill Hereford & Worcester 76 7
Nottingham, Watnall  Nottinghamshire      117 7
Odiham               Hampshire            118 7
Shawbury             Shropshire           72 7
Cranwell             Lincolnshire         63 7
Leeming              North Yorkshire      33 7
Altnaharra Sutherland           81 6
Marham               Norfolk              21 6
Filton               Avon                 59 5
Larkhill             Wiltshire            132 5
Scampton             Lincolnshire         57 5
Boscombe Down        Wiltshire            126 5
Middle Wallop        Hampshire            90 5
Bedford              Bedfordshire         85 5
Glenanne Armagh               161 5
Kirkwall             Orkney               26 4
Coningsby            Lincolnshire         6 4
Benson               Oxfordshire          57 4
St Athan             South Glamorgan      49 3
Dishforth Airfield   North Yorkshire      33 3
Valley               Gwynedd              10 3
Leconfield           Humberside           7 3
Strathallan Airfield Perthshire           35 3
Tulloch Bridge       Inverness-Shire      249 3
Charlwood            Surrey               67 2
Northolt             Greater London       33 2
Linton On Ouse       North Yorkshire      14 2
Hawarden Airport     Clwyd                11 2
Rostherne Cheshire             35 2
Ballypatrick Forest  Antrim               156 2
Church Fenton        North Yorkshire      8 2

Further snowfall is forecast today and in the coming days, keep up to date with your local forecasts and warnings  on our website.





Latest UK snow depths Monday 21 January

21 01 2013

Following further snow yesterday in the central and eastern areas of the country, snow depths over the UK were as follows at 9 am this morning:

Location Area Elevation Snow depth (cm)
Albemarle              Northumberland       142 19
Lough Fea              Londonderry          225 19
Sennybridge     Powys                307 18
Redesdale Camp         Northumberland       211 18
Little Rissington      Gloucestershire      210 17
Wittering              Cambridgeshire       73 16
Bingley         West Yorkshire       262 15
Waddington             Lincolnshire         68 13
Wattisham              Suffolk              89 13
Dunkeswell Aerodrome   Devon                252 13
Nottingham, Watnall    Nottinghamshire      117 12
Gutersloh              Germany              70 12
Cranwell               Lincolnshire         63 12
Coleshill              Warwickshire         96 12
Leek, Thorncliffe      Staffordshire        298 11
Liscombe               Somerset             348 11
Spadeadam   Cumbria              285 10
Filton                 Avon                 59 10
Middle Wallop          Hampshire            90 10
Aboyne    Aberdeenshire        140 10
Aviemore               Inverness-Shire      228 9
Eskdalemuir            Dumfriesshire        236 9
Marham                 Norfolk              21 9
Coningsby              Lincolnshire         6 9
Larkhill               Wiltshire            132 8
Scampton               Lincolnshire         57 8
Brize Norton           Oxfordshire          82 8
Hereford, Credenhill   Hereford & Worcester 76 7
Valley                 Gwynedd              10 7
Bedford                Bedfordshire         85 7
Shawbury               Shropshire           72 7
Charlwood              Surrey               67 6
Manston                Kent                 49 6
Boscombe Down          Wiltshire            126 6
Northolt               Greater London       33 6
Glenanne   Armagh               161 5
Heathrow               Greater London       25 5
Herstmonceux, West End East Sussex          52 5
Dyce                   Aberdeenshire        65 4
Hurn                   Dorset               10 4
Leeming                North Yorkshire      33 3
Linton On Ouse         North Yorkshire      14 3
Leconfield             Humberside           7 3
Shap                   Cumbria              252 3
Hawarden Airport       Clwyd                11 3
Rostherne   Cheshire             35 3
Odiham                 Hampshire            118 3
Benson                 Oxfordshire          57 2
Strathallan Airfield   Perthshire           35 2
Drumalbin              Lanarkshire          245 2
St Athan               South Glamorgan      49 2
Camborne               Cornwall             86.85 1
cloud cover over uk

Satellite image of the UK this morning, cloud is covering the UK which prevents us from seeing the areas covered by snowfall.

Further snow is forecast in some parts, and ice continues to be a hazard in areas that have already seen snow. Keep up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings for your area on our website.





Is 2012 the wettest year on record?

31 12 2012

We announced last week that 2012 is already the wettest year for England in our records dating back to 1910, but we’re still waiting to hear whether it’s the wettest on record for the UK.

The latest figures we have for 2012 go from 1 January to 26 December, and show that during that time we’ve had 1291.2 mm of rain for the UK – meaning it is currently the 4th wettest year on record.

It’s 46.1 mm short of the record of 1337.3 mm, set in 2000, so if 46.2 mm of rain falls between 27-31 December we will have a new record.

It’s likely to be fairly close-run, but it’s impossible to say whether 2012 is a UK record for rainfall until all the data come in from our weather observation sites around the country.

This information should come in on the 1st and 2nd of January, then all the data will need to be processed and we expect to have a provisional answer on Thursday, 3rd January.

We’ll post the news here on our blog as soon as all the provisional statistics for 2012 come in.





Persistent rainfall across the UK

20 12 2012

We all know the UK sees a good deal of rainfall, but it’s not often you cannot see the country at all on a rainfall radar image like the one below.

Rainfall radar image from 6.50 am this morning

Rainfall radar image from 6.50 am this morning

As you can see from the picture, taken from 6.50 am this morning, rain is falling widely across a large part of the UK.

Some places have seen persistent rain since the early hours of yesterday (Wednesday) morning, with some fairly high rainfall totals.

Rainfall totals in the table below are from 00:00 am on 19 December to 10:00 am on 20 December

Station Area Rainfall (mm)
Plymouth, Mountbatten Devon 55
Cardinham, Bodmin Cornwall 54.6
Camborne Cornwall 49.2
Tredegar, Bryn Bach Park Gwent 44.8
Thorney Island West Sussex 43.6
Hurn Dorset 42.8
Cardiff, Bute Park South Glamorgan 42
Shoreham Airport West Sussex 41
Usk Monmouthshire 40
Ballypatrick Forest Antrim 39.8

More rain is expected to fall over the next few days, which is likely to cause localised flooding and disruption to travel in the run up to the festive period.

During this period of unsettled weather we’d advise people to stay up to date with the Met Office’s weather forecasts and warnings.

If heading out on a journey, check local traffic updates and allow additional time for potential for delays.








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