UK Weather Online

Archive for January, 2011

UK last month

December 2010

Temperature anomaly maps for December 2010:

It was exceptionally cold across the UK, with mean temperatures some 5 °C below the 1971-2000 average, and the coldest December in over 100 years. It was also one of the coldest calendar months in the last 100 years and the coldest since February 1986. Temperatures quite widely fell to very low values on several nights and remained below freezing during the day. The number of days with air frost was the highest for December for over 50 years.  It was briefly less cold around mid-month and temperatures rose to around normal in the last few days. Snowfalls occurred in almost all areas, especially in the first week and from mid-month until Christmas.

December was, however, generally drier and sunnier than normal. Less than a third of the average rainfall was recorded over most of Wales, western England and western Scotland. Provisionally, it was the driest December over the UK since 1963 and the third driest in the 100-year series.  It was a very sunny month in the west and north, with over twice the normal amount and, provisionally, Northern Ireland and western Scotland enjoyed their sunniest December on record. In contrast, it was a dull month in south-east England with around 60% of average sunshine.

A maximum temperature of 12.0 °C was recorded at Treknow (Cornwall) on 28th. A minimum temperature of –21.3 °C was recorded at Altnaharra (Highland) on 2nd. The significant precipitation fell as snow, with accumulations of over 40 cm in places; amongst the greatest depths were 54 cm at Nunraw Abbey (East Lothian) at 0900 on 7th, 55 cm at Westgate (County Durham) on 2nd and 58 cm at Balmoral (Aberdeenshire) on 1st.

Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister appeared to give ground on the issue of VAT charged on new equipment for Mountain Rescue Teams. The issue has been raised by Mountain Rescue for some time and has been put into sharper focus recently with the recent rise on VAT to 20%. Nick Clegg was speaking at public meeting in Boat of Garten, Strathspey, last week. In response to a question from a member of the public he pledged to investigate the issues and said there were “very compelling” reasons to look into scrapping the VAT charges for MRTs.

The UK weather is a rollercoaster ride, sometimes going from sunshine to snow within days or plunging tens of centigrades within weeks to extreme minus temperatures. The weather is always a talking point for the population and it can be difficult to know whether to leave home in the morning wearing a T-shirt or a raincoat.

The weather forecasts on TV and radio remain essential but so too is the Web. No site can lay claim to being right all the time, but taken together they can perhaps provide a more accurate picture of the weather in the days ahead.

Here are some of the top UK weather forecast sites:

The Met Office

The UK’s national weather service has made several high-profile mistakes over the past couple of years which have called its forecasts into question but the Met Office Web site still remains worth visiting. A key feature of the site are the regional forecasts with descriptions and maps of the next one to thirty days and more localised forecasts are available by selecting a town or by entering a postcode. It’s also possible to get the latest data from the nearest weather observation site, which are updated hourly.

Another reason to visit the Met Office Web site is for the weather warnings, which may be advisories issued several days in advance or flash warnings when there is 80% or more confidence when severe weather is expected in the next few hours. You can also subscribe to these warnings on Twitter.

As well as the Web site having a simplified mobile view, there is also a dedicated Met Office iPhone app.

BBC Weather

This is one of the first sites that many people turn to for the weather but the reality is that it gets its data directly from the Met Office so the two sites are very similar, if not entirely synchronised. The Met Office site is usually a bit more up-to-date than the BBC Weather site but there are still a few reasons to visit it.Firstly, the regional forecasts are clearer to understand, because of the superior graphics. Secondly, the maps also better show, for example, a better idea of where snow may fall when its forecast. And finally, and perhaps most important of all, the site also provides the latest regional and national BBC Weather forecast videos to watch, which are updated several times each day.

Metcheck

This has recently become a popular weather forecast site, although it can’t claim to be more accurate than any other. Like other sites, it provides regional forecasts by postcode, including two week predictions (although these are often as unreliable as you’d expect). Daily forecasts are divided into three hour sections with clear, animated graphics.

The Metcheck.com Web site usually also provides a daily national summary each morning on its home page that may describe the next few days, as well as weather warnings.

Netweather

A good community site featuring blogs and a discussion forum, a unique feature of Netweather are the weekly video forecasts by legendary ex BBC weatherman Michael Fish which provide a unique insight into the next seven days. There’s also a good overview of the days ahead.

National and local weather forecasts are available and the site features colour coded tables that include the wind chill factor, rainfall and snow forecast. It also features updates on both Facebook and Twitter.

WeatherOnline

Not the most attractive site to look at but WeatherOnline does feature some good information that’s worth checking out. A ‘Morning Call’ is published almost every day that gives a good summary of the day ahead ahead and there’s also a breakdown of the next seven days, the month ahead and even a seasonal outlook.

There’s also a lookback at weather gone by and a ‘scratchbox’ that’s often updated several times each day with commentary about the weather. National and local weather forecast charts are available but these aren’t the clearest or most fully featured available.

TheWeatherOutlook

Like Metcheck, TheWeatherOutlook site features a daily summary of the days ahead on the homepage. There’s also TWO Buzz, a news and views area that is sometimes updated several times each day by the site’s founder, Brian Gaze, which can give a good insight into what’s going on with the weather.

National and local weather forecasts feature clear graphics and even a thirty day forecast is available, together with a discussion forum.

Get the Big Weather Picture

Weather forecasting is not an exact science and no one Web site will give you a completely clear picture if the sun tan lotion or an umbrella need to be taken out but all the sites above will help you develop an informed opinion.

For a bit of fun in the winter, there’s also the #uksnow Map site which is a mashup of Twitter and a map of the country.

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A petition backed by more than 3,500 people to demand action to protect wild land will be presented to the Scottish Parliament today (Tuesday 25 January 2011).

The John Muir Trust, the UK’s leading wild land charity, is submitting the petition to the Scottish Parliament as part of its Wild Land Campaign, which aims to secure greater protection for the UK’s best areas of wild land.

The petition calls on the Scottish Government to improve protection for the best areas of wild land by introducing a new national environmental designation.

Stuart Brooks, chief executive of the John Muir Trust said: “Our vision is that wild land is protected and wild places are valued by all sectors of society. This petition is the first step in making the case for a new designation to protect Scotland’s wild land areas.”

“At the moment there is inadequate protection for landscapes in our most important wild land areas. Half of Scotland’s best wild land has no environmental protection, and only a third is protected by a national landscape designation.

“Wild land has a wide variety of benefits. It is home to some of our most iconic wildlife and provides us with things vital to our everyday lives like fresh water and clean air. 92% of visitors to Scotland cite the fantastic scenery we have as the main reason for coming here.

“In 2003 visitors coming to Scotland’s wild areas contributed as much as £751m to the economy, supporting 20,600 jobs.”

Wild land areas in the UK comprise some of our most iconic and sensitive landscapes and are mainly restricted to Northern and Western Scotland, as well as some areas of upland England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

Wild land is defined as large areas with spectacular scenery and high wildlife value. There is very little evidence of human activity in these areas and they typically include mountains, tracts of blanket bog, river margins and rugged coastlines.

Writer and broadcaster Cameron McNeish, who is supporting the Trust’s Wild Land Campaign, said: “For over 40 years the wild places of Scotland have provided me, and countless others, with the sustenance of redemption. It’s the wild hills and glens that I turn to when I need to flush from my mind the problems, anxieties and stresses of twenty-first century living.”

“Our areas of wild land, those rugged regions that have given Scotland its unique character and identity, are under threat as never before. If we go on losing wild land at the present rate then there is a real risk that our nation will lose its unique identity and our society will move into a bland cultural placelessness.”

The Trust has used mapping by the Wildland Research Institute, University of Leeds to find the top ten percent wild land in the UK. The amount of this area in Scotland without protection from any environmental designation is 50.4%. The amount covered by National Scenic Areas, a designation which is designed to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the landscape, is 33.6%.

According to research by Scottish Natural Heritage, between 2002 and 2008 the area of Scotland unaffected by the visual impact of development fell from 41% to 31%.

Met Office view of 0000 UTC surface analysis

A ridge of high pressure over the UK is gradually eroded from the Atlantic by increasing southwesterly flow. This will bring low pressure southeast of Greenland towards the UK, coupled with the double frontal structure entrained around it. The innermost warm front is strengthening with time (it is frontogenetic).