The_Times__6_March_2020

the times | Friday March 6 2020 1GM 61

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

24224242424222244

Monday

9

10

12

10

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

6 PC 0.0 5.4

6 PC 0.0 1.4

7 PC 0.0 2.1

5 PC 0.2 4.4

7 PC 2.0 **

5 DU 1.0 **

6 PC 0.0 8.7

5 DU 0.4 **

6 R 17.6 0.0

8 PC 0.0 **

5 DU 2.6 0.0

7 DU 5.2 0.0

6 B 1.2 0.0

7 PC 0.2 4.1

6 PC 0.0 1.2

5 PC 0.2 4.8

5 DU 0.0 **

7 R 35.0 0.6

5 R 2.6 1.6

7 S 0.0 0.1

6 R 20.8 **

9 SH 22.0 0.0

8 S 0.2 **

7 PC 0.0 5.5

4 PC 0.2 **

6 PC 3.4 6.9

7 PC 0.2 5.8

5 PC 0.7 2.4

7 PC 0.0 **

6 R 10.4 0.0

5 DU 4.0 0.0

6 PC 0.0 0.6

8 R 19.6 0.8

7 C 0.0 **

7 S 0.2 **

6 PC 0.0 2.7

7 PC 0.0 6.9

5 R 4.6 **

6 PC 13.6 **

5 R 19.8 **

8 PC 5.8 **

6 R 20.8 0.2

6 PC 0.0 0.1

6 S 0.0 **

7 R 13.4 0.7

5 PC 1.4 **

7 PC 0.6 4.3

7 S 0.6 4.5

5 PC 0.0 0.7

6 PC 0.0 **

6 R 9.4 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

Harare

Helsinki

Hong Kong

Honolulu

Istanbul

Jerusalem

Johannesburg

Kuala Lumpur

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

23 S

7 B

16 PC

2 1 B

22 S

33 PC

30 PC

18 PC

9 S

24 S

9 PC

9 PC

2 1 B

1 2 R

7 R

8 D

1 0 PC

3 1 S

24 PC

26 S

18 R

24 PC

8 PC

6 B

15 PC

24 S

25 PC

5 B

1 9 PC

1 0 B

6 R

9 R

17 B

22 B

3 R

1 9 PC

28 PC

14 B

29 S

23 S

33 PC

22 PC

22 PC

22 S

1 5 PC

20 B

29 S

17 R

13 PC

19 PC

23 PC

17 PC

18 D

26 S

28 B

9 B

32 B

3 B

5 DU

28 S

7 PC

26 B

14 PC

2 7 C

12 PC

9 R

20 PC

0 FG

9 B

3 1 S

8 PC

0 S

5 C

26 C

23 S

14 S

21 B

30 S

22 B

3 S

25 R

31 B

5 DU

1 SN

22 R

2 9 S

23 PC

12 SH

8 PC

10 S

11 S

9 PC

16 PC

5 R

The Times weather er r r rrrrrrrrrr

page is provided

by Weatherquestt

Five days ahead

Unsettled and becoming

windy with thick cloud

bringing showers or

longer spells of rain

Today Mainly dry and sunny, but thicker cloud will bring showers across western areas. Max 9C (48F), min -6C (21F)

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

1 0:44 3. 6 23:19 3.7

0 3:53 10.3 16:3 9 10. 8

0 8: 0 7 3. 0 20 :45 3. 0

0 3:44 9. 6 16 :25 10. 0

0 2:2 0 4.5 15: 0 8 4.5

0 8:14 5. 6 20:4 6 5.8

0 8:51 3.5 21:21 3.5

0 1:52 4.2 14:3 0 4.3

0 9:21 2.9 22:22 2.9

0 8:30 3.3 21:07 3.3

0 7:38 4.7 2 0 :1 0 4.8

0 3:07 6 .0 15:40 6 .2

1 1:5 6 4. 6 --:-- --

0 8:19 7.8 20:53 8.1

1 0:43 6 .1 23:24 6 .1

06 :40 2.2 18:58 2.2

0 3:0 6 5.5 15:44 5.7

0 8:2 6 7.7 20:59 8.1

0 8:08 5.4 20:45 5.7

0 2:02 5.5 14:39 5.7

0 3:1 5 3.1 16:03 3.3

0 1:33 4. 5 14:08 4. 6

0 8:45 3.9 21:20 4.1

0 8:1 6 5.1 20:53 5.4

0 7:22 3.7 20:19 3.9

0 3:10 7.5 15:49 7.8

0 0:24 4.3 12: 56 4. 5

0 3:18 1.5 1 6 :0 6 1.4

Synoptic situation

An area of low pressure centred

over Denmark will bring a north

or northwesterly wind to the

British Isles as an area of high

pressure moves in from the

Atlantic. An occluded front

will bring thicker cloud and

showers over Ireland, Wales,

western England and western

Scotland. Low pressure in the

north Atlantic will move into

northwest Europe.

Highs and lows

24 hrs to 5pm yesterday

Warmest: Jersey,

Channel Islands, 10.9C

Coldest: Katesbridge, -5.9C

Wettest: Goudhurst,

Kent, 35.2mm

Sunniest: Aldergrove, 8.7hrs*

Sun and moon

For Greenwich

Sun rises:

Sun sets:

Moon rises:

Moon sets:

Full moon: March 9

Hours of darkness

Aberdeen

Belfast

Birmingham

Cardiff

Exeter

Glasgow

Liverpool

London

Manchester

Newcastle

Norwich

Penzance

Sheffi eld

1 8:22- 06 :1 4

1 8:40-0 6 :2 7

1 8:2 6 -0 6 :0 9

1 8:32-0 6 :1 3

1 8:34- 06 :1 4

1 8:32-0 6 :2 1

1 8:29-0 6 :1 4

1 8:19-0 6 :0 1

1 8:2 6 - 06 :1 1

1 8:22-0 6 :1 0

1 8:13-0 5 : 56

1 8:42-0 6 :2 1

1 8:23- 06 : 08

General situation: Feeling chilly with h

sunny spells and a few showers,

mainly in the west.

SW Eng, Channel Is, Wales, IoM:

Some sunshine, but thicker cloud will

bring a scattering of showers. Light to

moderate northwesterly wind, fresh

aroundaround the coast Maximum 9C (48F) the coast. Maximum 9C (48F),

minimum 0C (32F).

Republic of Ireland, N Ireland: Sunny

spells and scattered showers spreading

from the northwest, possibly heavy

and wintry in places. Mainly light

winds in the northeast, otherwise

moderate to fresh northwesterly wind.

Maximum 9C (48F), minimum 0C (32F).

SE Eng, E Anglia, E Eng, London: The

risk of a few showers in the morning,

otherwise a dry day with sunny spells.

Light to moderate northwesterly wind.

MaximumMaximum 8C (46F) minimum 8C (46F), minimum

• 1C (30F).
  NE Eng, Edinburgh & Dundee, Borders,
  Moray Firth, Aberdeen, NE Scotland: A
  dry day with sunny spells after a frosty
  morning. Light and variable winds,

turning westerly. Maximum 8C (46F),

minimum -2C (28F).

Cen S Eng, NW Eng, Cen N Eng, Argyll,

SW Scotland, Lake District, Glasgow,

Cen Highland, Midlands, NW Scotland,

N Isles: Dry and frosty with plenty of

sunshine in the morning, then cloud

increasingincreasing from the west to bring a from the west to bring a

few showers. Some heavy and possibly

wintry showers in Scotland. Light and

variable winds, becoming moderate

westerly around the coast. Maximum

8 C (46F), minimum -6C (21F).

Tomorrow

9

8

11

11

Sunday

11

7

8

10

Tuesday

14

7

9

13

10

4

7

11

222

he northeast ot

266 7

1000

oooo

122

6

9

161

neyney Sh

77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

33

9

8

8

6

5

8

2

66

77 8

9

9

8

9

5

8

9

8

5

8

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


• 15

Wind speedWddppee

(mph)

Te mperature

28 (degrees C)

3434

Sea stateSSaa aaee

Calm Cl

Slight

Moderate

Rough

Flood alerts and warnings

At 17:00 on Thursday there were

123 fl ood alerts and 32 warnings

in England, two fl ood alerts and no

warnings in Wales and no fl ood alerts

or warnings in Scotland.

For further information and updates

in England, visit fl ood-warning-

information.service.gov.uk,uk, for Wales for Wales

naturalresources.wales/flfl ooding and

for Scotland SEPA.org.ukk

Cold front

Warm front

Occluded front

Trough

LOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWOWOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

HIGHHIGHHHIGHHIGHHIGHHHHHHIGHHIGHHIGHHHHHHHHHIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

LOWLLOWLOWLOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

LOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

HIGHHIGHHIGHIGHIGHHIGHHIGHIGIGIIIGHIGHIGHIGGHGHGHGGGHGHH

HIGHIGHHIHIGHIGHIGHHIG

LOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOWLOLOWLOWLOLOLOWLLOLOLOWLOWOWOWOOOWOOWOOWOWOOOWOWOOWOWOWOOOWOWOWOOOWOOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

LOWLLOWLOWLOWLOWLLLLLLLLLLLOWLLOLLLLLOLLLOLOLLLOWLLLLOLLLLLOLLLOLLLLLOLLLOWLOLOOOOOOW

1010310321032103210101010321103210110103211101010000000000000000000032000

1024102410241024024002402402402402402402400002400024020240240222222222422444

1102410241024102410241024111024110241024101024102410241024110241024102102101021021021021021024102410241021002402402402402402402402400240000240200200222422424224444444444

10110161016101016101611016101011016101610110110101601010160101010101001001000016000011116

10161101610161101611016101611016110161016110161011016101101610161010110161011011016101611016016016016016010101016010101001016000000160016016001616111616111166666

10081008100811001001110010010100810081008100100100100100100100100810000000000000000000000000800008888

11008100810081008100810081010081100100810081008100101008111008100100810081008111001008100811008100810081011001111001001101008100810010000000800800800080080080000080080000000000800000008080800000000000888888888888888888888888888888

10001000100010001000100010010001000110100010010001000100011001001000100010001010000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

11010101001000100010001000100100100101010101010110100011010101110101011000111110000000000000000000000000000

99992999999992992992992992992999999992999992992992999999999999999999999999999

OOWOWOOOWOWOWOOW 999929929929929999299999999999999999999999999299299999999999999999999999999999992999929929929929 W 999999999999999 W 9999999 WW 9 WWWW 99 WWWW 999 WWWWWWW 9 WW 22

99299999299929929999999299299999999999299992

9849898498989849898989984989898498998989998499898989998499898998888888

97697666

A dry and sunny morning in southern

and eastern areas, otherwise a band

of cloud and rain will move east acrossof cloud andraiinn win win llllll move east across

the British IsleIsleleleleleeeeeees. Heavy raeeeeees. Heavy raes. Heavy raes.ssssss.s.s. s. Hs. Hs. s.s...HHeeeaveavyeavyeavyeaveavyeeeeaveeaeaeeaeaeeeeaveavyavyaavavavyvyrarararararairararararaaaain over

Ireland,Walles aees aes aes aes aes aes aes aees and northes and northes es aes aes aes and northes assasss aandnd nnd nd nnnd nd ndndnd dddd dddd nnrrrrtrrtrthtththththtththththtththhhhweswestwest England.

Max 13C,minminminininin 0Ciinin 0Cinin 0Cinnnnnnnn 0 0C 00 0C 00 0CCCCCCCCCCCC

A dry day over much of England

with cloud increasing after a sunny

morning. Cloud and a band of rain willmorning. Cloud a aand nd aaaband of rain will

move east ovver Ier Ier Ierer Ier Ier Ier Iereer Ier Ier Ier Ier Ireland aner Ireland aner Ireland anr r rr Ir Ir IIIIrelarelarelrelarelllalalalalalaaaaaaaaaand andnnd and and and and annnnnd and adddnndnnnnnnnnnnnd Scotland,

then into WaWaaaaaaaaaales and westales and westales and wesles leslesles les lesleslesles les les les lesles eseesess ananananananandandanaanaanananndnnnddwewewwwewweweweseeesestestesteesestesesteesternern England.

Max 12C,minminminmininiin 0Cinin 0Cinininin 0Cinnnnn 0 0C0C0C 00 0CCCCCCCCCCC

Cloud and rain clearing eastern

England at fi rst to bring a blustery day

across the British Isles with sunnyacross the Britiissh Ish s sslslseswith sunny

spells and scattcattattattatattered showatteredattattatttttered showtteredtttttttttttettttttttteredtttteredttttered showteteerederederederedered sherederederederederederederedeeredeered showerederederedeeredered shoerederederederedredrededsddsddddddd showdddddshshoshowshossshsshoshoshoshosshoshowssssshossssshoshohhhhhhhhhooowowowwwwwewwwwwwwwwwwwwers.

Max 11C,minmiiniinnnnnn1Cnnn1Cnnnnnnnnn1n1nnn1nn -1Cnnnnnnnnnn-1nnnnnnn1nnnnn 1Cnnnnnn 1Cnnnnnnn -1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C-1C 111111 1C 1111 1C1C1C 11 CCC

Blustery with sunshine and scattered

showers spreading east, turning heavy

and perhaps wintry in the north. Mildand perhaps wintnntnry ry i in the north. Mild

over southeaast Est Est Est Est Est Est Esst Est Est Englandst England.tEt Et Et Et Et Et Ett England.t EEEEEEEngngnglanglngglaglaglgglagglaglaglglaglalalalalallaaaaand.nndnnndndndndnd.nddd

Max 14C,miminiiinn -2Cnnnnnn -2Cnnnnnnnn -2Cn-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C-2C 22 2C2C2C2C2C 2 2CCCC

A breezy day with some dry and

sunny spells at times, but a scattering

of showers will spread eastwards. of showers willl sprespresprespreaaad eastwards.

Showers willllturn hturturturturturtturturn hetturturtturn heavyturturturttuturn heavy iturtturtururn huurururn hurn heavyuururn heavy iurn heurn hurn hrrrrrrrn herrn hearrnhn hen hen hen hen hen henhn hen hn henhnhn henhehhehehhheheheeaeeeeeeeeeeeeaaavyavyavyavy avy avy avy avy avy avy avyavy avyaaaaaavyaavvvy ivvvvyyiniiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiin Ireland and

to snow overererererr Scotrr Scotland.rrrScorrrrrScotlandScSSScSScScotlandScScSScotSSSSScotlaScoScScotSSSScotlSSSSSSSSSSSSScScoScotlaScoSSSSSSSSlScotScotlandScotlandSSSSSScotlandScoScoScScSScoScccooooootland.otoooootland.ttltltlatlatlatlatlatlttlttlatlandttlttlatlatlallandlaaaaandaaaaaaddddd....

Max 11C,minminminminiininin -5Ciniiiin 5Cininin 5innnnn -5Cnnn5Cnnn5n5Cnn -5Cnnnn5Cn5nnnn-5C-5---5-55C 5 5C5C5C 55 5C5C5C5C5C 55 5C5C 5 5C 555 5C 5 CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

06 .3 2

17.4 9

13 .2 2

05.49 Sat

8

G

rey whales are

extraordinary long-

distance voyagers,

migrating more than

10,000 miles up and down

the western coast of North America

each year according to the seasons.

But during their migrations the

whales occasionally do something

very strange — they strand

themselves on beaches for no

apparent reason, even when they are

healthy and undisturbed by man-

made noises such as sonar.

Researchers in the US looked at

35 years of data on whale strandings

involving 186 healthy individuals.

They found that climate cycles,

seasonal variations and other

obvious environmental factors did

not have any impact. Instead, whales

washed ashore when there was high

solar activity from sunspots on the

sun’s surface.

Sunspots can burst with solar

flares that send high-energy

particles hurtling through space,

and when these slam into the Earth’s

magnetic field they can set off

geomagnetic storms and auroras in

the upper atmosphere. But the

whales appeared to be unaffected by

geomagnetic storms or even local

variations in magnetic fields that

could lead them to become

disorientated. Instead, the scientists

found that the strandings were four

times more likely on days when

there was a lot of high-frequency

radio noise from solar flares. On

shortwave radios this loud crackling

noise sounds like an egg being fried

and can be so intense it drowns out

communication. The study was

published in Current Biology.

Many animals are known to

navigate using magnetic fields, and

several previous studies have

suggested that solar activity can

affect this magnetic navigation. For

instance, homing pigeons raced

slower on days with high solar

activity. Some birds have a magnetic

sense using a type of chemical

compass in their eyeballs in which

magnetic fields regulate a chemical

reaction involving proteins. This

type of compass can be disrupted by

radio frequency fields, and could

explain the behaviour of the whales.

Weather Eye

Paul Simons