The Times - UK (2020-12-02)

the times | Wednesday December 2 2020 1GM 59

We a t h e r

Channel Islands

NORTH

SEA

CHANNEL

IRISH

SEA

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

Aberdeen

Glasgow

Edinburgh

Carlisle

Newcastle

York

Manchester

Liverpool

Hull

Llandudno

Shrewsbury

Nottingham

Sheffield

Norwich

Cambridge

Oxford

Bristol

Swansea

Cardiff

Plymouth

Exeter

Southampton

Brighton

London

Londonderry

Belfast

Galway

Dublin

Cork

Birmingham

CELTIC

SEA

Orkney Shetland

888888888

Saturday

6

2

5

6

Aberdeen

Aberporth

Anglesey

Aviemore

Barnstaple

Bedford

Belfast

Birmingham

Bournemouth

Bridlington

Bristol

Camborne

Cardiff

Edinburgh

Eskdalemuir

Glasgow

Hereford

Herstmonceux

Ipswich

Isle of Man

Isle of Wight

Jersey

Keswick

Kinloss

Leeds

Lerwick

Leuchars

Lincoln

Liverpool

London

Lyneham

Manchester

Margate

Milford Haven

Newcastle

Nottingham

Orkney

Oxford

Plymouth

Portland

Scilly, St Mary’s

Shoreham

Shrewsbury

Snowdonia

Southend

South Uist

Stornoway

Tiree

Whitehaven

Wick

Yeovilton

Around Britain

Key: b=bright, c=cloud, d=drizzle, pc=partly cloudy

du=dull, f=fair, fg=fog, h=hail, m=mist, r=rain,

sh=showers, sl=sleet, sn=snow, s=sun, t=thunder

*=previous day **=data not available

Temp C Rain mm Sun hr*

midday yesterday 24 hrs to 5pm yesterday

Noon today

5 C 0.4 1.2

9 C 0.0 0.0

9 PC 0.2 0.0

6 PC 0.3 1.4

10 PC 2.0 **

7 PC 0.0 **

7 DU 0.0 0.0

7 S 0.2 **

8 S 0.0 0.0

8 S 2.0 **

7 S 0.2 0.0

10 PC 2.8 0.6

10 PC 0.2 0.0

7 C 1.0 1.8

2 C 0.0 0.8

6 C 0.0 2.4

8 S 0.0 **

8 S 0.6 0.0

6 PC 1.6 0.0

9 PC 0.0 0.0

7 S 0.2 **

10 PC 2.0 0.6

3 C 0.0 **

7 PC 0.0 0.9

5 PC 0.0 **

6 PC 0.0 0.6

6 C 0.0 2.5

6 PC 0.0 0.3

7 C 0.2 **

7 PC 0.0 0.0

6 S 0.2 0.0

5 PC 0.4 0.0

7 PC 0.4 0.0

10 C 0.8 **

4 PC 0.0 **

7 S 0.4 0.0

7 C 0.2 1.4

7 PC 0.0 **

10 S 0.0 **

8 S 0.0 **

11 PC 0.0 **

7 S 0.0 0.0

6 PC 0.2 0.0

8 C 1.0 **

7 S 0.4 0.0

10 DU 0.2 **

10 DU 0.2 2.5

11 DU 0.2 2.3

3 C 0.0 0.0

7 C 0.2 **

8 PC 0.0 0.0

The world

All readings local midday yesterday

Alicante

Amsterdam

Athens

Auckland

Bahrain

Bangkok

Barbados

Barcelona

Beijing

Beirut

Belgrade

Berlin

Bermuda

Bordeaux

Brussels

Bucharest

Budapest

Buenos Aires

Cairo

Calcutta

Canberra

Cape Town

Chicago

Copenhagen

Corfu

Delhi

Dubai

Dublin

Faro

Florence

Frankfurt

Geneva

Gibraltar

Helsinki

Hong Kong

Honolulu

Istanbul

Jerusalem

Johannesburg

Kuala Lumpur

Kyiv

Lanzarote

Las Palmas

Lima

Lisbon

Los Angeles

Luxor

Madeira

Madrid

Mallorca

Malaga

Malta

Melbourne

Mexico City

Miami

Milan

Mombasa

Montreal

Moscow

Mumbai

Munich

Nairobi

Naples

New Orleans

New York

Nice

Nicosia

Oslo

Paris

Perth

Prague

Reykjavik

Riga

Rio de Janeiro

Riyadh

Rome

San Francisco

Santiago

São Paulo

Seoul

Seychelles

Singapore

St Petersburg

Stockholm

Sydney

Tel Aviv

Tenerife

Tokyo

Vancouver

Venice

Vienna

Warsaw

Washington

Zurich

19 S

1 0 PC

1 2 B

1 9 B

25 S

2 9 PC

30 PC

1 4 PC

2 S

2 1 B

3 S

4 B

22 B

9 R

9 B

3 PC

2 B

21 S

20 S

26 S

29 S

20 B

-1 DU

5 B

18 PC

23 S

28 S

8 B

18 S

9 B

1 M

6 B

18 PC

5 PC

2 1 PC

28 PC

6 R

22 S

2 4 PC

30 PC

0 SN

2 2 PC

23 PC

19 DU

17 S

2 1 PC

23 S

2 1 PC

14 S

20 PC

18 PC

19 PC

19 SH

2 1 PC

28 PC

6 DU

32 B

8 C

-2 DU

34 S

0 SN

** **

14 PC

11 PC

16 R

12 B

20 PC

0 S

8 B

21 S

0 B

4 SH

2 S

3 4 PC

19 S

15 PC

15 S

29 S

31 S

4 S

30 PC

29 SH

2 DU

2 D

27 S

22 S

20 B

12 PC

9 PC

5 PC

0 M

2 S

16 B

1 B

The Times weather er r r rrrrrrrrrr

page is provided

by Weatherquestt

Five days ahead

Becoming unsettled with

frequent showers and

spells of rain, potentially

wintry in some places

Today Cloud and spots of rain in the southeast, sunshine and showers in the northwest. Max 10C (50F), min -5C (23F)

Tides

Tidal predictions.

Heights in metres

Today Ht Ht

Aberdeen

Avonmouth

Belfast

Cardiff

Devonport

Dover

Dublin

Falmouth

Greenock

Harwich

Holyhead

Hull

Leith

Liverpool

London Bridge

Lowestoft

Milford Haven

Morecambe

Newhaven

Newquay

Oban

Penzance

Portsmouth

Shoreham

Southampton

Swansea

Tees

Weymouth

0 2: 0 8 4.1 14:22 4.2

0 8:06 12. 5 20:26 12. 2

1 2:07 3. 6 --:-- --

0 7:51 11.8 20:13 11. 6

06 :41 5.4 18:59 5.2

1 1:50 6 .4 --:-- --

0 0:14 3.8 12:32 3. 9

06 :14 5.0 18:29 4.8

0 1:1 6 3.4 13:24 3.7

00 :22 3. 9 12:38 3.8

1 1:15 5.5 2 3 : 3 4 5. 3

0 7:09 7.1 19:21 7.2

0 3:28 5.3 15:44 5.3

1 2:10 9.0 --:-- --

0 2:3 6 6 .8 14:53 6. 9

1 0:23 2.4 22:41 2.5

0 7:03 6 .7 19:22 6. 6

1 2:11 9.0 --:-- --

1 1:57 6.5 --:-- --

0 5:53 6 .8 18:12 6. 6

0 6:26 3.9 18:52 3.8

05 :28 5 .4 17:4 5 5 .2

0 0:18 4.5 12:28 4.6

1 2: 01 6. 0 --:-- --

0 1:21 4.4 11:29 4.4

0 7:13 9.0 19:34 8.8

0 4:2 6 5 .1 1 6 :41 5 .2

0 7:32 2.1 19:5 6 1. 9

Synoptic situation

A weak cold front will spread

southeastwards across Britain,

bringing a few spots of rain to

England and Wales. Meanwhile,

a trough of low pressure will

bring showery conditions in the

northwest, with sunny spells

and showers, wintry at times.

Low pressure will bring another

unsettled day tomorrow and

will continue to circulate over

Britain into the weekend.

Highs and lows

24hrs to 5pm yesterday

Warmest: Tiree,

Argyll, 11.2C

Coldest: Cairngorm, -5.7C

Wettest: Cardinham,

Cornwall, 4.2mm

Sunniest: Leuchars, 2.5hrs*

Sun and moon

For Greenwich

Sun rises:

Sun sets:

Moon rises:

Moon sets:

Third quarter: December 08

Hours of darkness

Aberdeen

Belfast

Birmingham

Cardiff

Exeter

Glasgow

Liverpool

London

Manchester

Newcastle

Norwich

Penzance

Sheffi eld

16 :00-07: 56

16 :31-07:5 6

16 :2 6 -07:2 9

16 :3 6 -07:2 9

16 :41-07:2 7

16 :17-07:5 7

16 :2 6 -07:3 8

16 :24-07:1 7

16 :23-07:3 5

16 :12-07:4 1

16 :13-0 7 :1 7

16 :52-07:3 2

16:20-0 7 :3 1

General situation: Chilly with patchy ith

rain spreading southeastwards across

England and Wales, then sunny spells

and showers following from the west.

N Ireland, Republic of Ireland: Early

rain clearing southeastern parts to

leave variable cloud, sunny spells and

scatteredscattered showers turning wintry at showers, turning wintry at

times in the north. Light to moderate

westerly winds. Maximum 9C (48F),

minimum -1C (30F).

Scotland: Any early rain clearing

eastern areas to leave sunny spells

and scattered showers, most frequent

in the west and turning wintry at

times. Light to moderate west to

southwesterly winds. Maximum

7 C (45F), minimum -5C (23F).

SW Eng, Wales, W Mids, NW Eng,

Cen N Eng, IoM, Lake District,

NENE Eng: Eng: RatherRather cloudy with patchy rain cloudy with patchy rain

spreading southeastwards, clearing

into the afternoon with sunny spells

developing and the risk of a few

showers, but many places becoming

drier. Light west to southwesterly

winds, turning northwesterly and

moderate in places later. Maximum

1 0C (50F), minimum -1C (30F).

Channel Is, Cen S Eng, SE Eng,

London, E Anglia, E Mids, E Eng: Some

brightness at fi rst, as well as a few

mist, fog or frost patches, before

cloudcloud thickens from the west as the thickens from the west as the

day progresses, bringing spots of

rain into the afternoon. Light west

or northwesterly winds at fi rst, soon

turning southwesterly. Maximum

1 0C (50F), minimum 1C (34F).

Tomorrow

5

3

3

7

Friday

6

1

4

3

Sunday

6

3

5

6

6

3

4

7

222

red showers m

144

133

166

oooo

233

188

0

4

2626

neyney Sh

21212212121222212122122212121212121212212121222221212211111111111111111111111111

1313133

8

9

9

8

6

6

3

55

77 7

7

6

8

9

6

8

7

6

6

10

r

ih

L

k

F

95

86

77

68

59

50

41

32

23

14

5

C

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

• 5


• 10
  -1 5

Wind speedWddppee

(mph)

Temperature

28 (degrees C)

3434

Sea stateSSaa aaee

Calm Cl

Slight

Moderate

Rough

Flood alerts and warnings

At 17:00 on Tuesday there were

three fl ood alerts and one warning

in England and no fl ood alerts or

warnings in Wales or Scotland.

For further information and updates

in England visit fl ood-warning-

information.service.gov.uk, for Wales

naturalresources.wales/flfl oodin ooding ag and nd

for Scotland SEPA.org.ukk

Cold front

Warm front

Occluded front

Trough

HIGHGGHGHHHHHHHHHHH

LOWOOOW

LOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLLOWOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

LLOWLOLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLLLLOWOOOOOWOOOOOWOWOWOOWOOOOWOWOWOOOWOOOOWOWOOWOOOOOWOOWOOOOWOOOWOOWOWOWOOWWWWWWWW

HIGHHIGHHIGHHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHIGHHIGHHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGHIGIGHIGHIGHIIGIGHIIGIIIIIGIGHIGIGIIGHIGHGHGGGGGGGGGHGHGHGGGHGGGGGHGGHGGGHGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

HHHHIGHHIGHHIGHHHIGHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHHHHHIGHHIGHHIGHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHHHHIGHHIGHHHIGHHIGHHHIGHHHHHIGHHIGHHIGHHHHHHIGHHHIGHHIGHIGHHHHHIGHIGHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHHIGHHHIGHHIGHHHIGHHHHHHHHHHIGHHHIGHHHIGHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHIGHHHHHHHIIIGHIGIGHIGIGIIGHIGIGIIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHGGGHGGGGGGGHGGGHGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

HHIGHHHHHH

104010401040101041040101040111101040000004000004444444

10401104111040104010410410110111111101111011111110111010400

10481048110481048104110481048104101048104810481048104101048104810481048110481048104104811048000004804800480048004804804804000400480400480048040480480048000048444844448444484448484848484848484484844448444844484888888888888888

10321031032103210103210110311103101031010311010321110310101101101010321032000032

101011010103210321010311031010110310111103103103210110310101010103101010103103101032103103101031032030000300003000000030300000030000032032003200300323232222222

111111101101110101032103210321101101010110101010100000000032

1024110241024102410241024102102102110241024110102102102102410210241024102102102410210241021021010240000200240002020202422224224222422424222242222224242424242242242224224242444444444444444444444

11021102410241024102410241024102410241024102102102410241021021021024102400240002402400240240240024024020022422224244444444

102410241024002400020002402400200024024024024020240222222422224222424224242424242424242242222424242444444444444444444444444

11016110161110110161016161161616161161111116166666666666666666666666666666

10110101101610101101101016101610161011016101610101110110161101610161016101010161011016110161016101611111110161101101611016101011111011016111101016110100160000000101601600160000160160160016016001600016000160116116111111111111111111616161111111111616116666666666666666

1100100810081008111111111111111100810081100110111008100811111111100810110110010081001111111010101010110081011008101011008100811010111000080080080000800800800008000000000800800800800800000000080080000000080000008000800800000000080080080080800008000800000000008000888888

11100810010081008100810081008100811008110081100100810081008100100810081008100810081008000800000800000000000800080000800000000000000800800000000000080080000008080000800000080800808008008888888888888888888

100010001000100010001000100010000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

99299999299299999929999999999999999999299999999999999999999999999

9849999984999849999999984999999999999998

Remaining unsettled with showers

or longer spells of rain continuing

in many places, perhaps wintry at in many places, , ,perhperhperhperhaaps pwintry at

times, with somesomeomeomeomeomeomeooomeomomeomeomeome drier anome drier anome drier anmmmemmmemeeeeddrdridridridridrdrddrdrirriririrrrriierer aer aer aeeer aer aer aerer aer annnnnnnndnnnnnnd brighter

intervals tooo.oo.o.oo.ooo.o.........

Max 7C, minin -2Cn nn -2Cn nnnn -2Cn-2C-2-2C--2C-2C-2-2C-2C-2C2CCCCCCCC

Showers and spells of rain spreading

eastwards across Britain, turning

wintry over high ground in the northwintry over highhhhgrogrogrogrouuund in the north

and west, especially acrospecpecipecipepecipecipecipecially acrosecieciecieceecieciecieciececially acrosecicicciiiallyallallyallyallyallyallyallyallallyallyallyallyallyallyallyyyyyyyacracraaaacracracraacraacraosososoosososososssssss sScotland.

Some drier aand brighter aaaaand brighter inand bnd bnd bnd bnd bnd bnd bnd nd bnd bnd nd bnd bnd bnd bnd bnd brighter innd ddd bbbbbririgrigrigrigrrirrigrigrigrigiigigigggtettteerererer er erer er erer eer rr rrinteinteininterrvals too.

Max 8C, mininn nnn -6Cn nnnnn -6Cn -6C-6C-6--6C-6C-6C-6C-6C-6C-6C6CCCCCCCCC

Further showers and spells of rain

are likely, potentially turning wintry

in places, especially across easternin places, especcciallialiay y ayy across eastern

Britain. Centraltralralraraaalal areas maal areaalal areaalal areaaal aal areaaal areaaaaalalalalaal areas mayllllareas maaaaaaareareareaareas mayareareaareaareas mayaaaaaaaareaaareas maareas mayrereeeaaas mas maaasasaaaaaasas mas mas maaaasasasaaaaas assmssmsmsmssmssmaymamammammmmmmmayayayayayayayayayayaayayyyyy sy tay slightlyyy

drier with occasional brigccccasccccasccasccccasccasccasioccccasional bcccasioccasional bcasional bcascasional brccacascasional bcasccasccascasional bccasional bcccascascasccasiocasiccascaaaaaaasional brasionaaaaaaaaaaasaaaasionaaasaasasional bssssionssssionaionilbiionaionioiiiionioniionioniionionionooonoonnnananannnannaaaaabbbbbbbbbrbbbrbrbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiigightightighighiiigighigghtgggsspells.

Max 7C, minin2Cnnnnnnn n -2Cnnn n2Cnnn-2C-2-2C----2C-2C--2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C2CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Spells of rain and showers will

continue to affect much of Britain,

although some places will stay dry although some plplpplaceaceees will stay dry

with bright inteintententententetetervals.tetetetetervals.ttettettervals.teeeervalrvalrrrrrvalrvalrvalrrrvalrvalrvarvalrvalrvarvalrrvarvalvalvallssssssss.s.ss.s

Max 7C, minn n n n -3C -3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3C-3CCCCCCCC

The potential for rain to clear

northeastern areas, leaving drier

and brighter conditions across many and brighterconnnndditiditioooons across many

places, althoughouguughughugugugh further rughgh furgghgh furgghghgghgh furghgghghghgh furtgghghgghhhhhhhh further rh furh furth further rhfurfurfurfurfururururrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttherthertththertherttttttttthttherthtththeththherhhhhhehhhehhherherhhherher rereeeerararrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrain may

arrive in thee soe soe esouthwest.southwestsssssossouthwestsososouthwestsossouthwestsosssssossouthwesssssosososossouthssousosssouthwessouthwsossouthsoooouthwesooouthwesooouthwooooouthwestooouthwoooouthooouthwestooouthwoouthwuthwuthuuuthwuthwuthwututhuuthwuthwuthwuthuthwuthuthwuuthuthwuthwththtthtthwesttththwesthhhweshweshwhwestwwwwwwwssstssssstssssstt.tttt.t.t.t.t.t.t.ttttt.

Max 8C, mininnnnnnnnnnnn n nnn0 00 0C0C0C0C 000 0C0C 000 0CCCC

07.4 5

15. 53

1 7.2 3

10 .41 Thu

103333333333233332333332323332323233233233333232333232322222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

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S

tones standing on pedestals

of ice have appeared on Lake

Baikal in Siberia, and are

thought to have been created

by wind eroding the ice

under the stones, and possibly also

by sunshine (World, November 30).

This is reminiscent of the surreal

sight of stones found balancing on

pillars of rock or earth. The Ritten

earth pillars in the Italian Tyrol are

cone-shaped spires of clay capped

with a rock. They date back to the

end of the last Ice Age, when

melting glaciers dumped vast

amounts of clay and rocks.

Over time, the clay was washed

away by rainfall but the rocks

became exposed and protected the

clay underneath them. Eventually

spires of clay, some more than 40m

(130ft) high, were left with the rock

sitting on top like a hat. At some

point the rock falls off, leaving the

clay spire naked to the elements and

it washes away. But new pillars form

under freshly exposed rocks, and so

it goes on in an endless cycle.

Hard rocks can also be left

teetering on top of spires of soft

rocks. These are called hoodoos or,

in the French Alps, demoiselles

coiffées (ladies with hairdos).

Impressive hoodoos are found in the

deserts of the US. At Bryce Canyon

in Utah the erosion has created a

stunning amphitheatre of rocky

sentinels sticking out from a cliff

face. Some Native Americans

believed that the spires were wicked

“legend people” turned to stone by

an all-powerful coyote spirit.

The rocks are sculpted by water

erosion. Water seeps into fine cracks

in the rocks and in winter freezes

into ice that eventually cracks the

rocks wide open. In summer,

seasonal thunderstorms drop

torrential rains, unleashing flash

floods that wash away boulders and

stones, carving out rocky pinnacles,

towers and even bulging fins.

Despite their grandeur, these

hoodoos are fragile beauties, easily

upset even by people walking too

close to their foundations. Like all

hoodoos, they are doomed by the

erosion that first created them,

which eventually brings the rocks

tumbling down.

Weather Eye

Paul Simons