Brrr its feeling cold

Hello weather blog post fans!  

So the SNOW is coming. The first snow of winter has hit the south of England, as forecasters warn more is expected to fall during this week.  Snow, has already fallen in parts of Scotland, Wales and the north of England in recent days, and reached as far south as Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire on Sunday night.

Charles Powell, forecaster at the Met Office, said: “Colder winds will be pushing their way through from the east from Scandinavia on Wednesday. This will bring rain and a bit of snow along the eastern coast, possibly as far south as East Anglia.”

Temperatures are expected to dip to around 28F (-2C) overnight on Wednesday and Thursday, with light winds forecast.   Friday rain is expected to return to much of the country, and there is a risk of widespread ice.

Severe weather warnings for much of the UK have been issued by the Met Office, with alerts for ice, hailstorms and thunder across much of the country as rain continues and temperatures start to fall.   Environment Agency has issued more than 140 flood alerts and 10 more serious flood warnings in the south west, which mean flooding is expected and immediate action is required.

In Oxford, I imagine it is not time to reach for a sleigh, but maybe just some warm gloves!

Image: Laura L Orchard

Weather blog post!

It has been a while since the weather has been in the blog spotlight.  I would say far too long.  And today's post comes with a little warning - get your mittens at the ready.  Yes, it is looking like we are going to have a rather chilly few days ahead!
  
Weather forecasters have warned of snow on the way for parts of the UK as a blast of Arctic wind sweeps across the country.

Nicola Maxey, a spokesperson for the Met Office, said lower-than-average temperatures for December would move across the country towards the end of the week, with some northern areas not getting much above freezing and southern regions significantly colder than usual.

“With the Arctic wind blowing across from cold maritime air, people will really feel the cold," Maxey comments.

The severe weather warning is in place across everywhere north of East Anglia between midnight and 6pm on Thursday (I would recommend not venturing north of Oxford).

Over the weekend, conditions are expected to become milder, with a greater likelihood of rain than ice and snow. Temperatures are not expected to be below average in the coming weeks, however the big question remains will we have a white Christmas? 

Source: The Telegraph, The Independent 

Brrrrr!

So it does seem that this week summer might have truly ended and as we face the cool evenings we are reaching for blankets and woolly socks. The balmy summer has left us struggling to adjust to cooler weather with gas usage up 15% compared with same time last year despite temperatures only being marginally cooler than 2012. September this year is just 0.25C cooler than last, leading to suggestions that homeowners are experiencing a "faux winter" that appears colder than it actually is.

According to energy company Npower, energy usage surged by 65% over the weekend as homeowners turned up the heating to battle with the 'cold'. Npower predicts that demand will drop again at the end of the week, with the "big switch-on" likely to take place in the last weekend of October, when the real despair of the long British winter begins. According to the company, around 60% of Britons will make the switch to regular central heating before the leaves have fully dropped, around the evening of Saturday 26 October.

Npower's managing director of energy services, Simon Stacey, recognised Britons' pain. "We've had such an amazing summer, but because it's been so good with hot, sunny weather for months, now that it's dropped off a little people think it's colder than it really is," she said.

In good news, it is set to get warmer this weekend. Get those summer shorts back out!

 Source: The Guardian

Here continues the summer sun!

Good news, the fine summer is set to continue as we head into September. Forecasters are predicting a late burst of summer sunshine and warm weather as Britain heads into autumn. The UK has enjoyed its warmest, driest and sunniest summer since 2006, according to Met Office figures. For south-east England and East Anglia this will be the driest summer since 1995.

Over the weekend those in the south enjoyed temperatures which reached 22C allowing families to make the most of the good weather on Britain's beaches and parks before returning back to school. But it is looking even more glorious for this week, with parts of the country expected to reach highs of 28C,

Helen Rossington, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, the Press Association's weather division, said: "You don't get an Indian summer until you have already had a frost, but it is going to be warm and we will see temperatures possibly go up to 28C on Wednesday and Thursday.

"While it is going to be nice in the south, it's not looking great for the north, west Wales and Northern Ireland, where conditions are expected to be cooler and cloudier and temperatures will only get up to 19C.

"Things will go a bit downhill towards the end of the week, with unsettled conditions and thunder and rain moving up from the south." Oh no!!!

Oxford looks glorious in the sunshine, enjoy it this week:

Source: The Guardian
Photograph: Martyn J Whelton

Hot Hot Hot

How much do you know about the weather?

I love the weather. I especially love the unpredictability of the British weather. I love checking BBC Weather on a very regular basis. I love to see what we should expect in a day, hour by hour. I love to know what to expect in the next 5 days. I love the weather. I love the weather forecast.

In Britain we have had one of the coldest winters on record and now we are experiencing one of hottest summers in recent years. The heatwave is in its seventh day today and if it continues until July 25th it will be the longest heatwave on record in the UK. This would beat the summer of 1976. Britain has already recorded its longest spell of high temperatures since 2006. 

In the wake of all these summer weather facts, I was absolutely delighted to see that the Telegraph has devised a weather quiz to test our summer weather knowledge. Check it out here.

 

Hot, hot, hot!

Hold onto your hats (straw hats would be the best option)! I have a good news UK weather story for you. It looks like summer is heading our way. It maybe finally time to pack away those wool jumpers and get out some t-shirts! Oh yes! At last its time to reveal the pale limbs for some vitamin D. At OISE Oxford we recommend you don't forget the sun cream.

Weather forecasters are predicting that the UK could enjoy warm weather for the rest of July. They have reported that a buildup of high pressure will lead to fine weather across the UK, resulting in below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures. A few outbreaks of rain are expected between now and Friday, but then the warmer weather is expected to return and stay right through into August.

With parts of Britain experiencing the hottest day of the year so far yesterday, thoughts of one of the coldest springs on record could soon be a distant memory.

I thoroughly recommend reading the BBC's monthly weather outlook, it really is heart warming.

Source: Guardian

We are all going on a Summer Holiday

OISE Oxford enjoys having it pulse on British weather related news stories, and today there is a breaking good news weather story... its going to be fairly warm this week.

Britain looks set to enjoy temperatures up to 27C this week after forecasters revised last week’s estimate that June was to feature "typical" English summer of driving rain and cold winds.  The Met Office now predict a heatwave that will bring the hottest day of the year as thermometers reach 27C on Wednesday.

"This is going to be a warm week and Wednesday will easily be the hottest day of the year so far," a Met Office spokesman said, adding that the sudden change of fortune has been caused by a stretch of good weather on the Continent.

The Met Office reports, "We are going to see warmer air, but it’s not going to be unbroken sunshine and it’s going to be very humid as well. If the sun breaks through we could see 25 or 26 degrees tomorrow."

Excitingly for weather nerds and everyone in the OISE Oxford Office the Met Office has organised a summit to discuss seasonal variability at their headquarters in Exeter tomorrow.

The meeting will see leading meteorologists and scientists consider the reasons for phenomena including the summer floods in 2012, the freezing winter of 2010 and the widespread snow in May this year. I am in eager anticipation for the results and I am certain there will be a blog post to follow regarding this!

 

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/summer-turning-up-the-heat-at-last--but-watch-out-for-the-thunderstorms-8661748.html

 
 

The summer coat

So, the first week of June, which marks the transition to the meteorological summer, brought some fine, dry and warm weather for all areas at times. Indeed one or two locations in the west of Northern Ireland, western Scotland and southern England saw temperatures peak into the mid-twenties through the week, giving the highest temperatures recorded so far in 2013. Some eastern counties did end the week on a rather dull and chilly note though.  Indeed, though I found that there was plenty of blue sky and sunshine (hooray!) in Oxford there was also a chilly breeze, which made it necessary to wear a jacket.

The Guardian offers a useful suggestions about ideal summer coats.

Suggestion 1) Go to your nearest High Street shop to find "a car coat", which is slightly A-line and mid-thigh length. Obviously just perfect to drive a car in and to keep your top part of your thighs warm in a cool summer breeze.

Suggestion 2) The biker jacket is still very much "on trend" this summer. But it is questioned whether this clunky garment looks good on anyone other than bikers and whether its popularity has taken away its rebellious edge?!

Suggestion 3) The denim jacket has been welcomed back into the "on trend" s/s wardrobe.  Is it the perfect accompaniment to the summer dress?!

The bomber and the varsity jacket are also suggested as being "totally in", but that a coat with the hood would perhaps be the most useful of all jackets especially with the monthly weather forecast having a rather unsettled theme.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/2013/jun/10/what-summer-coat-this-year#start-of-comments