Monthly Archives: March 2013

Met Office continues to drive forward research on long-range forecasting

Posted on 29 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

The BBC Radio 4 ‘Today’ Programme have run a story this morning regarding the advice the Met Office gave to our government customers ahead of the exceptionally wet weather of April to June 2012. This was an extreme period of weather … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office in the Media | Tagged BBC, forecasting, long-range outlook, Madden Julian Oscillation, Met Office, MJO, Radio Four, seasonal forecasts, Today, weather | 13 Comments

Met Office figures show we are on course for coldest March in over 50 years

Posted on 28 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

This March is set to be the coldest since 1962 in the UK in the national record dating back to 1910, according to provisional Met Office statistics. From 1 to 26 March the UK mean temperature was 2.5 °C, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office Diary | Tagged cold, England and Wales, frost, March, snow, statistics, temperature | 4 Comments

Cold Weather Alert Service extended to help support

Posted on 27 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

With cold weather forecast across the UK as we head through the Easter weekend and into the start of April, the Cold Weather Alert Service, which usually finishes at the end of March, has been extended for an additional two weeks. … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office News | Tagged accurate, cold, cold weather alert, cold weather plan, Department of Health, Easter Week, forecast, Health, Health Protection Agency, Met Office, reliable, weather | 2 Comments

Is there a UK ‘heatwave’ on the way?

Posted on 25 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

There have been some headlines today suggesting the Met Office has forecast a ‘heatwave’ by the end of spring. The articles reference a line from our March to May three-month outlook for contingency planners which refers to how our Spring … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office in the Media | Tagged heat wave, High-pressure area, Met Office, spring, weather | 3 Comments

Latest snow depths and wind speeds – 24 March

Posted on 24 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

As forecast, we have seen some very wintry weather over the last few days. Here are some figures showing where the most snow has fallen. Wittering in Cambridgeshire saw the deepest snow, with 24 cm recorded at 9 am this morning. Many … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office News | Tagged drift, forecast, snow, weather, wind, wintry | 2 Comments

Five things you might not know about thunderstorms

Posted on 20 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

1. Lighting can strike twice. The empire state building in New York has been struck by lightning as many as 48 times in one day. 2. The average flash of lightning would light a 100 watt light bulb for three months. … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office in the Media | Tagged asthma, Lightning, thunderstorms, volcano | 2 Comments

February weather pictures and video summary

Posted on 19 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

February was rather unsettled during the first half, but much more settled for the second half as high pressure brought mainly dry but often cloudy conditions with lower temperatures. This was the longest spell of dry weather of the whole … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office News | Comments Off

March – a month of weather contrasts

Posted on 18 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

Winter seems to have hung on for quite some time this year with low temperatures, frost, ice and snow affecting many areas into late March. This isn’t altogether unusual as we are more likely to see snow at Easter than … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office News | Tagged Air mass, Atlantic Ocean, cold, easterly, frost, ice, Scandinavia, snow, weather, wind | 2 Comments

Guest blog: Met Office launches volcanic ash forecasting game for National Science and Engineering Week

Posted on 15 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

Today’s guest post is from our education channel for children, here’s Billy Blizzard to tell us about EVACuate… National Science & Engineering Week (NSEW) 2013 starts today and is now a mainstay in the UK events calendar. Initiatives like this have … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office News | Tagged Met Office, National Science and Engineering Week, NSEW 2013, volcanic ash | Comments Off

This week’s snowfall captured by rainfall radar

Posted on 13 March, 2013 by Met Office Press Office

The rainfall radar network is a great way of looking back at how weather systems affect the UK. Here we see rainfall radar imagery from 00:00 GMT on Sunday 10 March to 09:00 GMT on Tuesday 12 March. It shows … Continue reading →

Posted in Met Office Images, Met Office News | Tagged Channel Islands, England, France, Kent, Met Office, North Sea, rainfall, Scotland, snow, weather | 2 Comments