the times | Tuesday March 15 2022 57
We a t h e r
Channel IslandsNORTH
SEACHANNELIRISH
SEAATLANTIC
OCEANAberdeenGlasgow EdinburghCarlisleNewcastleYorkManchester
LiverpoolHullLlandudnoShrewsbury NottinghamSheffieldNorwichCambridge
OxfordBristolSwansea
CardiffPlymouthExeterSouthamptonBrightonLondonLondonderryBelfastGalway
DublinCorkBirminghamCELTIC
SEAOrkney Shetland4Friday12141213Aberdeen
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
YeoviltonAround 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 yesterdayNoon today9 S 0.0 0.0
9 S 0.0 3.8
9 R 1.8 6.7
10 S 0.0 0.6
12 S 0.2 **
11 PC 0.2 **
10 ** 2.0 4.3
12 S 0.8 **
11 S 0.0 5.3
12 S 0.0 **
10 S 1.6 1.7
10 PC 0.0 2.8
11 S 1.4 0.5
11 S 0.2 2.9
6 S 8.8 0.0
7 S 3.0 1.0
11 S 0.6 **
12 C 0.0 0.0
11 PC 0.6 1.4
7 R 3.0 2.3
10 S 0.0 **
9 S 1.8 5.6
9 C 4.6 **
11 S 0.0 3.8
9 PC 0.0 **
7 DU 0.0 0.0
11 S 0.8 1.7
12 PC 0.0 0.9
9 PC 0.0 **
13 S 0.0 0.4
11 PC 1.4 3.6
10 S 0.0 3.1
13 PC 2.0 0.0
12 S 0.0 **
13 S 0.2 **
11 PC 0.2 1.7
10 S 0.0 0.1
12 PC 0.0 **
13 S 0.2 **
10 S 1.4 **
11 S 0.0 **
11 R 0.2 0.0
11 PC 0.2 0.6
7 C 6.0 **
12 S 0.2 1.6
9 S 6.2 **
10 S 0.0 0.0
9 S 5.0 0.6
7 S 7.2 0.0
9 S 0.0 **
12 PC 1.0 3.0The 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
LuxorMadeira
Madrid
Malaga
Mallorca
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
Zurich17 PC
12 PC
9 PC
24 S
29 S
33 PC
28 SH
14 PC
17 S
11 PC
12 S
12 S
17 B
12 C
12 PC
6 B
11 S
23 S
12 B
31 S
24 B
19 PC
8 S
7 S
14 PC
30 S
36 S
8 B
14 PC
17 S
11 PC
12 PC
13 B
7 S
25 PC
28 PC
4 B
13 PC
23 B
31 PC
** **
17 PC
16 R
20 S
13 PC
17 B
19 S13 SH
6 R
10 R
19 PC
16 PC
28 PC
26 S
22 B
11 B
32 PC
-7 SN
2 B
38 S
12 PC
28 PC
15 S
12 S
1 B
14 B
13 PC
4 S
13 PC
28 S
7 S
3 R
9 S
33 PC
26 S
15 S
17 B
29 S
24 R
7 R
30 PC
30 SH
4 S
10 S
22 SH
13 PC
19 PC
21 PC
8 B
11 PC
12 S
8 S
1 B
12 PCThe Times weather
page is provided
by WeatherquestFive days ahead
Rain tomorrow for most
places but becoming
sunny and settled
towards the weekendToday Outbreaks of rain in the north and west. Dry, bright and feeling mild elsewhere. Max 16C (61F), min -2C (28F)
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
Weymouth11:55 3.7 --:-- --
05:11 10.8 17:41 11.2
09:34 3.1 22:08 3.0
05:03 10.2 17:32 10.4
03:44 4.7 16:16 4.6
09:25 5.7 21:46 5.9
09:55 3.6 22:20 3.5
03:27 4.4 15:53 4.4
10:43 3.0 23:31 3.0
10:08 3.4 22:24 3.5
08:50 4.9 21:15 4.9
04:27 6.0 16:41 6.4
00:55 4.6 13:12 4.7
09:32 8.0 21:57 8.1
12:09 6.2 --:-- --
08:18 2.2 19:56 2.2
04:32 5.8 16:55 5.9
09:44 8.0 22:08 8.2
09:25 5.6 21:51 5.9
03:26 5.8 15:48 5.9
04:16 3.3 16:45 3.4
02:58 4.7 15:22 4.7
09:51 4.0 22:19 4.2
09:26 5.2 21:55 5.5
08:50 3.8 21:21 4.1
04:32 7.8 16:55 8.1
01:58 4.6 14:11 4.8
04:36 1.6 17:26 1.5Synoptic situation
High pressure will ridge across
England and Wales leading to
a dry day with bright or sunny
spells after any mist and fog
patches burn off, although
areas of medium and high cloud
will spill in from the west.
Low pressure near Greenland
will push a front into Scotland
and Ireland bringing cloud and
outbreaks of rain. Feeling mild
across England and Wales.Highs and lows
24hrs to 5pm yesterday
Warmest: Santon Downham,
Norfolk, 13.9C
Coldest: Loch Glascarnoch, 8.6C
Wettest: Great Cumbrae,
Buteshire, 9.4mm
Sunniest: Valley, 6.7hrs*
Sun and moon
For Greenwich
Sun rises:
Sun sets:
Moon rises:
Moon sets:
Full moon: March 18Hours of darkness
Aberdeen
Belfast
Birmingham
Cardiff
Exeter
Glasgow
Liverpool
London
Manchester
Newcastle
Norwich
Penzance
Sheffi eld18:40-05:51
18:56-06:05
18:41-05:49
18:46-05:54
18:48-05:55
18:49-05:59
18:45-05:53
18:34-05:42
18:42-05:50
18:39-05:48
18:28-05:36
18:56-06:03
18:39-05:47General situation: Dry, mild and bright
for many places. Rain in the northwest.
Republic of Ireland, N Ireland: A dry
start with some bright or sunny spells
before rain pushes in from the west.
Staying dry and feeling mild in the
southeast. Light to moderate southerly
winds, fresh on the coast. Maximum
12C (54F), minimum -2C (28F).
NW Scotland, NE Scotland, Glasgow,
Argyll, Cen Highland, N Isles: Mainly
cloudy with outbreaks of rain, falling as
sleet over the high ground. Drier overthe eastern Highlands. Fresh to strong
southwesterly winds with coastal
gales in places. Maximum 7C (45F),
minimum -2C (28F).
Midlands, SW Eng, Cen S Eng, London,
E Anglia, E Eng: Dry and feeling mild
with increasingly hazy sunshine after
early mist and fog patches clear. Light
southerly winds. Maximum 16C (61F),
minimum 5C (41F).
Wales, Cen N Eng, NW Eng, NE Eng,
Lake District: A dry and bright start
with any mist or fog patches quicklyclearing. Turning cloudier from the
northwest later. Light to moderate
southerly winds. Maximum 13C (55F),
minimum 3C (37F).
Moray Firth, Edinburgh and Dundee,
Aberdeen, Borders, SW Scotland, IoM:
Some early sunshine but overall a
mainly cloudy day, although staying
largely dry. A few spots of rain
in the north at times. Moderate
southwesterly winds, fresher near the
coasts. Maximum 9C (48F),
minimum 2C (36F).Tomorrow137812Thursday121013120Saturday11131313Sunday1212131219n Highlands Fre9 96oooo1617353538neyney Sh2826131211
987
565 71313
14
13111187714(^3) r
3
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
-15
Wind speed
(mph)
Temperature
28 (degrees C)
34
Sea state
Calm
Slight
Moderate
Rough
Flood alerts and warnings
At 17:00 on Monday there was
one fl ood alert and no warnings
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/fl ooding and
for Scotland SEPA.org.uk
Cold front
Warm front
Occluded front
Trough
LOW
HIGH
LOW
HIGH
HIGH
1032
1032
1032
1024
1024
1016
1016
1008
1000
992
968976984
A few showers in northern Scotland,
otherwise dry with plenty of lengthy
spells of sunshine.
Max 15C, min -2C
Unsettled with areas of rain spreading
eastwards across the British Isles.
Drier in Scotland and Ireland later with
sunny spells and a few showers. Mild
in southeastern Britain.
Max 15C, min -5C
Showery rain in parts of Scotland,
Ireland and perhaps northwestern
England. Largely dry elsewhere with
spells of sunshine.
Max 14C, min -3C
Another dry day with plenty of largely
unbroken sunshine, and just a little
patchy cloud at times. Feeling cool
along eastern-facing coastlines. A
touch of frost in places to start.
Max 15C, min -2C
A mainly dry day with plenty of long
unbroken sunny spells after a frosty
start in places.
Max 13C, min -3C
06.13
18.04
14.32
06.06 Wed
9
C
atastrophe struck the
Samoan Islands in the
South Pacific on this day
in 1889. Civil war had
broken out in Samoa,
which Germany, America and
Britain were all keen on colonising.
When Germany intervened in the
war, American public opinion was
outraged and by March 1889
warships had been sent: three
American, three German and one
British. A tense stand-off followed as
the warships anchored close to each
other at the harbour in Apia, on the
Samoan island of Upolu.
And then the unmistakeable signs
of a great storm began to brew.
Barometer readings dropped, seas
grew heavy and the local people
sought shelter. The harbour was
highly exposed to the approaching
storm, and the best action would
have been to sail into the open
sea. But the ships failed to take
action, and the merchant ships
accompanying them also refused to
set sail, leaving a total of 13 ships
anchored close to each other in the
harbour. On March 15, 1889 a
tremendous cyclone struck. At the
last minute, the ships started to run
for the open sea but it was too late.
In scenes of utter devastation, two of
the American ships were wrecked
on reefs and the other one thrown
onto a beach and badly damaged.
Two of the German warships
smashed into each other at the
mouth of the harbour, sinking one
ship in deep water and the other left
on her side on a reef. The third
German ship was hurled high onto a
beach and wrecked but most of her
crew survived. All six merchant
ships were wrecked and more than
200 men from all the ships were
killed. Only the British ship, HMS
Calliope, just managed to steam out
of the harbour in the face of the
storm, possibly because of her more
powerful engines. The captain and
his crew were later lauded as heroes.
But why did the ships fail to take
action in time? The answer was
national pride — none wanted to
lose face in front of the other
nations by fleeing the scene first,
one of the most appalling blunders
in naval history.
Weather Eye
Paul Simons