Met Office releases names for next season of storms expected to batter UK

Names of notable meteorologists among choices for names of storms that develop between this autumn and next summer

The Met Office has released the list of storm names for the 2024-5 season.

The weather and climate service has been naming storms since 2015, publishing a list at the beginning of each autumn. To mark the 170th anniversary of the Met Office, this season’s list features names of notable figures from its history.

Continue reading...

Warmest Armistice Day ever for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Three UK countries ‘way above where we should be for this time of year’ says Met Office forecaster

Britain’s armed forces have gone on parade on the warmest Armistice Day on record, according to the Met Office, with the country on track for what could be an unprecedented 11th month of above average temperatures.

Unseasonably high temperatures led to “exceptionally mild” conditions across the UK, the forecaster said, with the record-breaking 19.5C recorded in Myerscough in Lancashire more than a degree warmer than the previous record of 17.8C at Kensington Palace in London.

Continue reading...

UK temperatures to plummet to as low as minus 6C over weekend

Gardeners warned of frost damage to blooms on Saturday night ahead of a week of unsettled weather

The UK is braced for more wintry weather across the weekend with frost creeping in overnight and temperatures set to plummet as low as minus 6C in some areas.

Forecasters said the “peaks and troughs” of spring will hit most of the country over the next week, with sunny spells and windy intervals expected in most regions.

Continue reading...

Forecast of 80mph winds as thousands without power in UK after Storm Eunice

Yellow warnings of wind and rain are issued for Sunday, with wet and windy weather expected next week

Thousands of homes were left without power on Saturday night, as forecasters predicted gusts of up to 80mph were set to batter again Britain on Sunday.

The Energy Networks Association said that about 155,000 customers remained without electricity in the south and east of England and Wales after Storm Eunice, while new yellow weather warnings were announced across the UK.

Continue reading...

Storm Eunice: tens of thousands still without power in UK

Widespread disruption to services continuing in aftermath of worst storm in 32 years that has led to at least four deaths

Tens of thousands were still without power and travel continued to be disrupted on Saturday as the cleanup effort after record-breaking deadly Storm Eunice threatened to be hampered by more weather warnings.

Friday’s storm brought record-breaking winds to the UK and Ireland, and killed at least four, leaving a trail of damage and destruction in its wake.

Continue reading...

Climate crisis: 2020 was joint hottest year ever recorded

Global heating continued unabated despite Covid lockdowns, with record Arctic wildfires and Atlantic tropical storms

The climate crisis continued unabated in 2020, with the the joint highest global temperatures on record, alarming heat and record wildfires in the Arctic, and a record 29 tropical storms in the Atlantic.

Despite a 7% fall in fossil fuel burning due to coronavirus lockdowns, heat-trapping carbon dioxide continued to build up in the atmosphere, also setting a new record. The average surface temperature across the planet in 2020 was 1.25C higher than in the pre-industrial period of 1850-1900, dangerously close to the 1.5C target set by the world’s nations to avoid the worst impacts.

Continue reading...

5G signal could jam satellites that help with weather forecasting

New mobile system to be launched this year ‘will put lives at risk’

The introduction of 5G mobile phone networks could seriously affect weather forecasters’ ability to predict major storms.

That is the stark warning of meteorologists around the world, who say the next-generation wireless system now being rolled out across the globe is likely to disrupt the delicate satellite instruments they use to monitor changes in the atmosphere.

Continue reading...