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This is the official blog of the Met Office news team, intended to provide journalists and bloggers with the latest weather, climate science and business news and information from the Met Office.
The blog will post latest news releases and related content, news diary and information supporting news stories already in the media.
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- Good morning! Thunderstorms will soon clear the northeast, leaving a few showers in the far north. Some low cloud a… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 hour ago
- We've seen some cracking #sunset and #sunrise photos 🌄 Here are a few of our favourites 📸 #LoveUKWeather https://t.co/5ss6G0jnNu 2 hours ago
- The skies will be mostly #sunny today ☀️ Meaning largely high #pollen and #UV levels are likely🌺🧴 https://t.co/Q4XCU1Oorh 2 hours ago
- The latest view from space 🛰️ shows that #thunderstorms are continuing across Scotland and eastern England ⛈️ Stay… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 hours ago
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Thunderstorms are on the way tonight ⛈⬇️ . The storms have been brewing this afternoon over northern France and the Bay of Biscay. . As they come over the UK tonight they are expected to provide a dramatic lightning show. . Potentially damaging hail stones and gusty winds will accompany the thunderstorms too. . As is usual with summer thunderstorms not everywhere will experience them, but where they do arrive there may be impacts. . A warning has been issued, stay #WeatherAware. . . #ukweather #thunderstorm #france #bayofbiscay #hail #winds #warning⚠️The mercury is rising this week - and records could be broken 😮🌡 . Hot air will waft our way from Spain, with temperatures climbing widely across the UK from Tuesday. . It won't just be hot and sunny in London. 29 °C is likely in the north of Scotland on Thursday and highs into the low 30s are possible in northern England and south Wales during the next few days. . However, the very highest temperatures are expected to be recorded in southeast England. . This is where temperatures are expected to climb to 34 °C on Tuesday and 35 °C by Wednesday. . Thursday will be even hotter. So hot, in fact, that the most likely temperature in London is 37 °C. That would break the UK July temperature record. There's even a 30 % chance that the temperature will exceed the UK all-time record of 38.5 °C. . And it's not just about the high daytime temperatures. With high humidity in the forecast, nights will be very uncomfortable. . Of course, many people on their summer holidays will be looking forward to a few days of hot sunshine. But in some places the oppressive heat and humidity will be a risk to vulnerable people. With high UV levels expected as well as oppressive heat and humidity, make sure you take precautions so that you can stay safe in this week's hot weather. . . #recordbreaking #spain #ukweather #hot #heat #humidityHere’s a fantastic photo just before #sunrise this #SundayMorning by @CarlaSears, but will we see skies like this over the coming days? The forecast below might give you some clues. . Headline: Turning wet and windy in the northwest. Drier in south. . This Evening and Tonight: Rain in Northern Ireland and western Scotland will spread into northwest England and Wales, with some heavy outbreaks and strong winds. Further south it will be mostly dry, with clear spells, but it will be breezy. . Monday: After a cloudy and wet start for some, the rain will become confined to western Scotland. Otherwise, warm sunny spells will develop away from windward coasts. . Outlook for Tuesday to Thursday: Sunny Tuesday, and very warm or hot. Thunderstorms likely in west later, lasting into Wednesday. Exceptionally warm night southeast, and hot here Wednesday, Thursday. Fresher in west, risk of thunder.Hotter weather 🌡 is on the way next week - across much of western Europe, including parts of the UK 🇬🇧 . Higher humidities have already arrived in the UK - accompanied by heavy rain and thunderstorms in some places during Friday night and Saturday. . Sunnier ☀️ skies arrive during Sunday and Monday, with temperatures rising significantly during the start of next next week. . Inland Spain 🇪🇸 could reach the low 40s Celsius, whilst parts of France 🇫🇷 reach the high 30s Celsius. . Although we are unlikely to see temperatures that high in the UK, southern areas could still see highs approaching the mid-30s by midweek, with mid-20s in southern and eastern Scotland. . Not everywhere will be sunny, however. Western Scotland, North West England and Northern Ireland are likely to be cloudy, wet and windy at times - especially early next week. . . . #loveukweather #heatwavePlanning a #staycation? 🙌🏻 . Each day, we're going to pinpoint some beautiful locations around the UK. . We'll highlight the brightest and sunniest weather ☀️ . Got a favourite spot? Comment below 👇 . . #loveukweatherIs it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a swarm of flying ants! 😮 . Normally, our radar network only detects rain or snow. This morning, large blobs of blue appeared over parts of southern and eastern England – despite the weather being dry. . So, why does the radar detect flying ants and not other insect or even birds? . Radio waves emitted from an antenna travel out at the speed of light, only bouncing back when they encounter an object. When radar was first used during the Second World War, we were trying to detect enemy targets and not rain or snow. On a clear day, radar could quickly tell us the position of aircraft in the sky. On a wet day, echoes visible from the radar signal would only tell us about the weather. . Since the 1950s, radar has told us more and more about the weather as it happens – from rain to snow and from light drizzle to supercell thunderstorms. . The UK is now covered by 15 radar sites, collecting data at 1 km resolution every five minutes. . However, anything from birds and insects in the sky to hills and buildings on the ground can and have interfered with the vertical radar signal and returned false data. . Since a recent upgrade of the UK radar network, we now send two radar beams at once using a technology known as dual-polarisation. . One beam travels horizontally, one vertically, allowing us to build a 3D picture of any objects in the sky. There are now thresholds in place that allow us to discount larger objects such as birds or flies. Flying ants are so small, they slip under the threshold. But if the threshold were smaller, we’d miss some of the rain or snow in the sky. . . #flyingants #radar #weird #satellite #uk #ukweather #wednesdaywisdomArchives
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Met Office News- A cold and bright Bank Holiday weekend 2 May, 2019
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Top Posts
Monthly Archives: July 2016
North-south rainfall divide for July
The early July statistics (1st -28th) show a stark contrast in the UK between parts of the north and south as far as rainfall is concerned. St Catherine’s Point, on the Isle of Wight, recorded only 1.4 mm of rain, … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
Tagged cold, dry, England, forecast, Met Office, rain, rainfall, record, summer, sunshine, temperature, UK, weather, weather forecast, weather forecasting
3 Comments
Record breaking rainfall and cold weather grips South Africa.
There has been snowfall, heavy rain, and flooding across parts of South Africa as a low pressure system moves slowly along the southern coast. Flooding and mudslides have been reported in and around Durban with the city recording 150mm of … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
Tagged cold, flood, flooding, forecast, frost, heavy rain, Met Office, rain, rainfall, snow, South Africa, wet, wind
5 Comments
Heat and rainfall making headlines around the world
While the UK has seen a brief spell of hot weather this week followed by thunderstorms in some areas, heat and rainfall have also been making headlines in other parts of the world. The North Pacific hurricane season has also … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
2 Comments
Saving Lives at Sea – a window on the work of the RNLI
This evening, the vital life-saving work of the RNLI will be highlighted in the first of a major new four-part documentary on BBC1: Saving Lives at Sea. The Met Office enjoys a special relationship with the RNLI because in August … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
Unusual clouds spotted over southern England
There were a number of sightings of unusual and striking cloud formations over the weekend as the UK experienced a mix of weather. Photos were taken in Dorset, particularly the Poole and Bournemouth areas. This particular photograph looks as if … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
Tagged asperitas, cloud types, clouds, International Cloud Atlas, WMO
1 Comment
Stunning North Sea phytoplankton bloom
The Met Office, in conjunction with our partners at NASA, have managed to get some stunning satellite pictures of phytoplankton blooms in parts of the North Sea. This natural phenomenon has been occurring through much of June and into July. … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
How our forecasts measure up
You may have read an article in a paper about verification of weather forecasts. We appreciate the importance of this as it is essential our users trust the forecasts ‘when it matters’, and by anybody’s standards the results below are … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
2 Comments
Assessing the global impacts of climate and extreme weather on health and well-being
The impacts of extreme weather and climate change on health and well-being is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century. For the first time the Met Office, supported by The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and World Health Organization … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
3 Comments
Encouraging a new generation of weather observers
The Met Office exhibit at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition has been up and running for a couple of days now and runs until Sunday 10 July. Our scientists are busy talking about how we ‘Get a Measure of … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
1 Comment
North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Season Finally Gets Underway
2015 saw very high levels of tropical cyclone activity across the North Pacific due to the strong El Niño. Numerous records were broken during the season which included the exceptionally strong Hurricane Patricia in the eastern North Pacific. In recent … Continue reading
Posted in Met Office News
1 Comment
