After both the record breakingly high temperatures and sunshine amounts during July it may seem that the course of our summer is set. Whilst it certainly looks as though the summer overall will be a warm one there are some significant trends that we should carefully note.

One of the most obvious is that our climate has a habit of righting itself; that is for most periods when the weather has set into a warm dry pattern there will be a definitive break from this; a period of unsettled wetter weather may result. There have been several notable periods when hot dry weather has been followed by very wet unsettled weather, such as in 1947 and 1975 when standpipes had hardly been erected in the streets (and a Minister for Drought appointed) before it was raining heavily!

Another concern is that the sea water temperatures are up to 3-4C warmer around our coasts now than they would normally be. Whilst this means our sea bathing is rather pleasant, meteorologically

May is often the time when mariners get out onto the open seas again, especially if April proved too poor or cold. However, there are a number of things to think about weatherwise when you do so. Whilst a calm wind and sea makes for an enjoyable experience a fresh breeze and light chop offer something a little more challenging though potentially more rewarding. In the late Spring the weather can soon change to something more dramatic, and if you're unprepared, potentially dangerous.  Blackclouts, gusty winds, heavy downpours and even thunder and lightning can cause a lot of problems for the owner of a small craft... and its crew.

The main thing is to keep up to date by using the latest marine forecasts. Pay attention to the TV forecasts and listen in particular to the more detailed marine weather forecasts available, taking note of any small craft advisories or wind warnings

Whilst I have noted before that November is often a dull, rather bleak month when we often spend many of our waking hours in the dark or a dusky twilight, it doesnt have to be that way, as our look this month at November 2004 in the 'weather events' section shows.  Such periods of bright November days when they occur can be a real antidote to the late dawns and early evening dusks.

Remember though that without the benefit of the artificial light that we rely on, the winter must have been an even darker and altogether duller affair in days gone by. In the States they call it 'Cabin Fever'. However it can develop into something more serious, the syndrome called ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD),  a type of winter depression that affects an estimated half a million people in the UK between October-March, and especially during the winter months. Symptoms generally include depression, sleepiness and a loss

The month of November is still epitomised well in this 19th century poem:

No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -no dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease, no comfortable feel in any member.
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, no fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds!
November!

Thomas Hood (1799-1845)

November can often be a dull, rather bleak month when the weather refuses to set itself into winter proper but as the hours quickly shorten, we often can spend many of our waking hours in the dark or a dusky twilight.

The poet Thomas Hood captured it well above and when he wrote it, the month, without the benefit of the artificial light that we rely on, must have been an even darker and altogether duller affair.

Recently the syndrome ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) has been recognised. This condition is a type

On 31^st March 2005 we had the official opening day of The Weather Shop by Michael Fish and Eastbourne’s Lady Mayor. We had the pleasure of welcoming many of our manufacturers’ representatives and new and re-visiting customers.

To celebrate opening our new shop we staged a grand opening weekend at the beginning of April 2005, which included a large Prize Draw entered by all whom visited the shop over our special weekend. Prizes included a WMR928, Multi Stark Weather Forecaster donated by Oregon Scientific, and products from other manufacturers.

Brian Hamilton, author of Weather Display software, was able to join us all the way from New Zealand for the weekend and was on hand to answer any queries. This provided a great focus for face-to-face introductions between Julian, author of Weather Display Live, and Chris, who runs the Forum for Weather Display 32, and publishes his weather data to the following link,

In the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year (around June 22) occurs when the sun is farthest north and marks the official first day of summer, although weather wise we consider June 1st as the start of a three month summer period which ends on August 31st. The summer solstice marks the period when the length of time between sunrise and sunset is at a maximum for the year.

The area that sees the very longest period of possible daylight (and therefore sunlight) in the UK is in the far northern isles of Scotland near the town of Lerwick. Here the sun rises at about 0330 on June 21st and sets at about 2241 BST, giving -in theory- the possibility of around 19 hours sunshine. In practice such amounts are rarely achieved.

However some months can be extremely sunny in June. For example, Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, recorded 381.6 hours, the highest monthly sunshine record for this century, an average of 12.7 hours per day.

Here are a some intersting weather facts from the past from 2005. You might find them usefull for the pub quiz but check them first. If you see any that need updating please let us know.

Temperature Facts

The highest temperatures recorded in the UK was 38.5°C in Brogdale, near Faversham, Kent, on 10 August 2003.

The lowest temperature recorded in the UK was -27.2C at Braemar in the Grampians, on January 10 1982 and Altnaharra, Highland on 30 December 1995.

Highest and Lowest
The highest temperature recorded in the world was 58C at El Azizia in Africa, on September 13, 1922.

 Amazing Wind Facts
Hurricane force winds blow at more than 72 mph, sometimes much more, and move the storm along at up to 30mph. They can travel 300 to 400 miles a day or up to 3,000 miles before it dies out.

The strongest winds ever measured (excluding tornadoes) were gusts of 372 km/h (231 mph)at Mount Washington,

If you're young or just young at heart (!) the idea of going to a big muddy field and listening to loud music whilst peering at figures on a stage in the mid distance, will still probably appeal. And June is the month when the English music weekend really gets off the marks.

One of the biggest is Download from June 12th-14th at Castle Donington in Derbyshire. It's hefty £135 price tag is par for the course nowadays but for that you can see bands like Faith No More, Slipknot and  Def Leppard. Heavy Rock lives! 
See www.downloadfestival.co.uk .

More appealing to many and more mainstream now is the famous (infamous) Isle of Wight Festival on the same weekend. At Newport (the Isle of Wight one of course) for £140 you can see Neil Young, The Prodigy and Razorlight strut their stuff. Its

By the time we get to November most places have usually experienced a frost or two. Certainly enough to crisp up the ground, throw a layer of ice across the car windows and make us wake up and walk just that bit faster in the morning.

However such events usually do not last more than a few hours and the ground has soon warmed up enough to dissipate the frost, either because of its relatively high soil surface temperature or radiant heat from the sun. Sometimes however, if we get a longer lasting cold spell the ground will freeze enough for it to stay below freezing all day, especially if there is no sunshine or in places that don't see any weak winter sunshine, such as north facing slopes.

Just how deep does the soil usually freeze though? Many will think of the popular Christmas Carol "In the bleak Mid winter" (and we will return to seasonal weather as portrayed in Christmas Carols next month). The first verse, written by Christina Rosetti in 1872

Last month we discussed the risk of flooding due to high rainfall, noting that periods when hot dry weather predominates are often followed by wet unsettled weather, causing local flooding, such as in 1947 and 1975. Indeed it seems that for many parts 2006 has repeated this pattern; up to 200% of the average rainfall fell in August over parts of East Anglia giving local flooding, bringing rather too much of the needed rainfall in too short a period.

This month our attention need turn to flooding again, though of a rather different sort. During September and October we are expecting to see some of the highest tides for twenty years in places. The cities of Hull, Portsmouth and Cardiff have been recently named as being at especial risk but many other areas are also implicated, particularly resorts down the East coast. Scientists have made the point that as sea levels rise due to Climate. This is the historical record and description of the average daily