Get ready for a typically damp British summer as forecasters warn jet stream plunge could lead to unsettled wet weather into August ~ AMANDA WILLIAMS, Daily Mail.
- Last two weeks of hot, clear days have been replaced by erratic conditions
- Rain and winds of up to 40mph set to hit the coast over next few days
- It is being caused by a south shifting jet stream – fast flowing air currents
- Jet stream sitting further south than is normal for this time of year
- It means the UK is experiencing unsettled and fast moving weather
Britain’s fine weather looks set to be over for the foreseeable future as forecasters warn the unsettled and wet conditions could last until the end of July and into August.
The last two weeks of hot, clear days have been replaced by erratic conditions, including rain and high winds of up to 40mph, interspersed with pockets of warm, sunny and dry periods.
Forecasters have attributed the unpredictable stretch – which is being caused by a south shifting jet stream – to just another ‘typical British summer’.
The Great Marquess steam locomotive cuts her way across gloomy skies on her maiden ‘Fellsman’ voyage of the year over Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire. It comes as forecasters warn the unsettled and wet conditions could last until the end of July and into August
It is one of the most scenic railway routes in Britain, the Settle to Carlisle line. But passengers would have been able to see little of their beautiful surroundings thanks to the ‘typically British’ summer we have been experiencing – caused by a south shifting jet stream
Jet streams are belts of fast flowing, narrow air currents found in the atmosphere, formed near air masses with significantly different temperatures
The ‘blink and you’d miss it summer’ is the latest in six months of unsettled weather, including a particularly bitter winter, and unseasonably cold Spring – which saw the coldest Easter Sunday on record.
Jet streams are belts of fast flowing, narrow air currents found in the atmosphere, formed near air masses with significantly different temperatures.
They are responsible for moving weather around the latitudes.
The Polar jet stream, which is the most northerly jet stream, affects the UK, and tends to be further south in the winter and further north in the summer.
But it has been sitting further south than is normal for this time of year, which is why the UK looks set to experience a wet summer.
BBC weather forecaster Paul Hudson wrote on his blog about the work of Professor Hubert Lamb, who noted a yearly change of pattern from around the middle of June. He called it the ‘return of the westerlies’; and means a ‘typical British Summer’ sees unsettled weather last well into July and August.
He wrote: ‘Lamb’s work effectively describes a typical British summer; one in which long spells of fine settled weather are the exception rather than the rule.
An aerial view over the town of Fischbeck, near Magdeburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt after flooding from the river Elbe
The bursting of a dyke, top has led to the flooding of the village. Weeks of heavy rain this spring have sent the Elbe, the Danube and other rivers such as the Vltava and the Saale overflowing their banks, causing extensive damage in central and southern Germany
‘Although it’s early days, there are already indications that this summer is starting to resemble one of Professor Lamb’s typical British summers.’
A Met Office spokesman said what we were experiencing was indeed a ‘typical British summer’.
He said: ‘The weather can be best summed up over the course of the day as quite unsettled, a few places experiencing dry, bright spells, and temperatures will be quite decent when the sun does come out – with highs of around 22 degrees.
‘There is rain clearing out of Scotland, heading into the South West moving along the south coast into the afternoon – turning into heavy rain throughout the evening.
‘There will also be more rain overnight in places and it will windy as well along the western coast, with gusts of between 35-40mph.
A sea of red as giant poppies shine in the sun at Bamburgh in Northumberland. The glorious conditions experienced last weekend, however, already seem like a distant memory
But Met forecasters say there will still be some ‘pockets of fine weather’, it just depends ‘where and when you ‘catch them
‘There is a lot of weather going on and it is looking quite unsettled.
JET STREAM: WHY THE WEATHER IS SO UNSETTLED AND WET
Jet streams are belts of fast flowing, narrow air currents found in the atmosphere, formed near air masses with significantly different temperatures.
They are responsible for moving weather around the latitudes.
The Polar jet stream, which is the most northerly jet stream, affects the UK, and tends to be further south in the winter and further north in the summer.
Recently, the jet stream has been further south – which is why the UK has experienced such wet summers.
A band of high pressure is blocking the path of the jet stream, meaning that the present weather conditions will stay until this pressure moves.
‘The jet stream is a narrow band of fast moving wind high up in the atmosphere, which effectively can steer in low pressure systems off the Atlantic which then get caught up in this area
‘Where that jet stream sits is important. If it is to the north, we get settled conditions.
‘To the south we get unsettled conditions sent to us.
‘At the moment it is sitting more or less over us or just to the south.
‘We will see some bright spells in between, where it is sunny with some pretty decent temperatures, but the weather is moving through quite quickly.
‘It really depends on ‘where and when’ if you are hoping to see better weather.
‘It is typical British weather – with areas of sunshine and showers.’
Britain’s wheat harvest this year could be almost a third smaller than it was last year due to extreme weather, the National Farmers’ Union has warned.
It said the reduction came after arable crops had been hit by severe snow, rain and flooding since the autumn.
In Europe the torrential weather this spring has sent the Elbe, the Danube and other rivers such as the Vltava and the Saale overflowing their banks, causing extensive damage in central and southern Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.
So far, the flooding in Europe has claimed at least 22 lives.
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- Cold and wet month ahead in Britain’s summer of glove (thesun.co.uk)
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