The Times - UK (2022-02-21)

the times | Monday February 21 2022 53

Weather

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

39

Thursday

7

2

3

8

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

** ** ** **

11 S 3.6 1.1

11 M 7.2 0.8

6 PC 25.0 0.4

11 SH 0.8 **

12 C 1.6 **

9 S 13.8 0.0

12 R 1.8 **

12 M 0.0 1.7

12 S 15.4 **

11 S 2.6 0.7

12 DU 0.0 0.4

11 R 10.2 0.5

10 C 9.8 4.5

7 R 52.0 3.6

9 M 23.2 2.4

13 R 3.4 **

11 M 0.0 0.9

11 R 1.6 1.4

11 DU 11.2 1.6

11 S 0.0 **

11 S 0.4 3.1

11 R 40.4 **

8 S 2.8 6.8

9 R 56.0 **

8 S 14.4 **

10 S 5.6 7.9

11 R 4.0 0.6

10 C 11.6 **

12 S 0.2 0.8

11 C 6.4 1.5

12 S 16.8 0.8

** ** 0.2 0.0

11 S 2.4 **

11 R 17.4 **

10 R 15.0 0.6

6 R 10.6 6.5

11 S 1.0 **

11 C 1.2 **

11 S 0.0 **

12 M 0.0 **

12 M 0.8 1.0

12 R 10.2 2.4

10 M 32.8 **

12 S 0.2 1.6

6 S 15.6 **

5 S 14.6 4.9

8 S 15.0 4.2

10 S 81.8 0.6

7 S 7.0 **

13 S 0.4 3.0

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

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

Zurich

15 B

10 R

16 B

24 PC

25 S

32 PC

29 PC

13 S

2 S

18 M

7 B

6 B

23 PC

13 B

10 R

8 PC

8 SH

28 S

16 S

26 M

25 B

24 PC

-8 PC

4 B

15 B

22 S

30 S

11 R

19 PC

16 PC

9 B

10 B

16 B

0 B

8 R

27 PC

11 S

18 PC

25 PC

33 PC

7 PC

20 PC

19 PC

20 S

17 S

19 PC

18 S

17 SH

11 S

16 B

16 PC

17 PC

28 S

25 S

27 PC

13 S

33 PC

-2 SN

2 PC

29 S

9 S

29 B

16 PC

11 S

4 B

15 PC

20 PC

-2 S

12 B

32 S

8 B

2 B

3 B

28 PC

24 S

16 PC

16 S

27 S

25 PC

-2 S

29 PC

32 B

0 B

-3 B

27 PC

18 PC

20 PC

8 B

7 D

12 PC

11 B

4 DU

7 B

10 B

The Times weather

page is provided

by Weatherquest

Five days ahead

Breezy with showers or

rain at times. Some drier

interludes too, especially

in the southeast

Today Very windy with outbreaks of showery rain, especially at first, but turning drier later. Max 11C (52F), min -4C (25F)

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

04:11 4.0 16:17 4.2

10:07 12.8 22:27 12.4

01:38 3.2 14:03 3.6

09:52 11.8 22:11 11.5

08:40 5.3 20:58 5.0

01:33 6.7 13:47 6.5

02:10 3.9 14:31 4.0

07:55 5.0 20:06 4.7

03:18 3.3 15:22 3.7

02:17 3.8 14:49 3.8

00:59 5.3 13:14 5.6

09:17 7.1 21:20 7.4

05:30 5.3 17:39 5.4

01:46 9.0 13:59 9.1

04:35 6.9 16:57 6.8

00:00 2.6 12:31 2.3

09:06 6.8 21:26 6.5

01:57 9.1 14:10 9.3

01:47 6.6 13:59 6.4

07:59 6.8 20:20 6.5

08:22 3.8 20:43 3.5

07:30 5.4 19:49 5.1

02:13 4.5 14:19 4.5

01:48 6.2 14:01 6.1

01:41 4.5 13:57 4.5

09:09 9.2 21:29 8.9

06:37 5.2 18:39 5.4

09:26 2.0 21:47 1.8

Synoptic situation

Storm Franklin will track

southeastwards down the

North Sea during the morning,

becoming centred over the

Low Countries by midday. This

will bring a very windy day

with spells of showery rain

at fi rst, but many places will

turn drier into the afternoon

as high pressure ridges in from

the west, allowing winds to

gradually ease too.

Highs and lows

24hrs to 5pm yesterday

Warmest: Credenhill,

Herefordshire, 13.6C

Coldest: Cairnwell, -5.4C

Wettest: Shap,

Cumbria, 81.8mm

Sunniest: Leuchars, 7.9hrs*

Sun and moon

For Greenwich

Sun rises:

Sun sets:

Moon rises:

Moon sets:

Third quarter: February 23

Hours of darkness

Aberdeen

Belfast

Birmingham

Cardiff

Exeter

Glasgow

Liverpool

London

Manchester

Newcastle

Norwich

Penzance

Sheffi eld

17:52-06:49

18:13-06:59

18:01-06:39

18:08-06:42

18:11-06:42

18:03-06:55

18:03-06:45

17:55-06:30

18:00-06:42

17:55-06:42

17:48-06:26

18:20-06:49

17:57-06:39

General situation: Very windy with

spells of showery rain gradually

clearing southeastwards, leaving a

drier end to the day with sunny spells.

Channel Is, SW Eng, Cen S Eng, SE Eng,

London: Another very windy day with

variable cloud, sunny intervals and

spells of showery rain possible at

times, but many places staying dry.

Strong to near-gale force west to

northwesterly winds, gradually easing

into the evening. Maximum 11C (52F),

minimum 2C (36F).

Wales, Mids, E Anglia, E Eng, NW Eng,

Cen N Eng, NE Eng, Lake District,

IoM: Very windy, especially at fi rst,

with spells of showery rain spreading

southeastwards, briefl y sleety over

high ground. Becoming drier with

sunny spells during the afternoon.

Strong west to northwesterly winds,

close to gale force at fi rst, slowly

easing later. Maximum 11C (52F),

minimum 0C (32F).

N Ireland, Republic of Ireland: Bright

and breezy, with variable cloud, sunny

spells and a few showers at fi rst.

Then cloud increasing from the west

before rain later. Strong to near-gale

force west to northwesterly winds,

easing and turning southwesterly into

the afternoon. Maximum 11C (52F),

minimum 4C (39F).

Scotland: Showery rain, wintry over

high ground, will clear southwards with

many places turning drier and brighter

into the afternoon. Moderate to strong

northwesterly winds, easing. Maximum

9C (48F), minimum -4C (25F).

Tomorrow

12

9

11

12

Wednesday

9

7

9

10

Friday

7

4

8

9

Saturday

8

6

8

8

33

ds E Anglia E E

39 42

36

oooo

45

37

28

28

26

neyney Sh

28

27

10

8

9

7

8

5

4

6

6 5

9

10

10

9

6

9

10

8

6

10

r

0

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 Sunday there were 150

fl ood alerts, 111 warnings and two

severe warnings in England, 39 fl ood

alerts and 22 warnings in Wales, and

seven fl ood alerts and 20 warnings in

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 LOW

LOW LOW

LOW

HIGH

HIGH

1032

1032

1024

1024

1024

1016

1016

1016

1008

1008

1008

1008

1000

1000

1000

1000

992 992

992

984

984

976

976

968

Cloud and rain gradually clearing in the

southeast to leave a bright and breezy

day with scattered wintry showers,

most frequent in the northwest.

Max 9C, min -4C

Another breezy day with spells of rain

spreading eastwards across Britain

and Ireland, followed by sunny spells

and a scattering of blustery showers

into the afternoon.

Max 13C, min -2C

Rain spreading southeastwards across

Scotland and Ireland through the day,

reaching Wales and northwestern

England later, but staying dry with

sunny spells in the southeast.

Max 11C, min -4C

A bright day with scattered wintry

showers, most frequent near the coast

at fi rst, then becoming more isolated

as the day progresses and many places

turn dry with sunny spells.

Max 10C, min -5C

Largely dry across England and

Wales with sunny spells and a frosty

start in places, while cloud, rain and

strong winds spread into Ireland and

Scotland.

Max 9C, min -3C

07.01

17.25

23.24

09.18 Tue

9

T

he Old Battery is a

Victorian gun

emplacement at the

western tip of the Isle of

Wight, next to the Needles

rock formation. High up on the edge

of a cliff, the battery has

commanding views over the

Channel and was built in the 1860s

on the orders of Lord Palmerston,

when he was prime minister, to

guard Portsmouth against the threat

of attack by the French. It also

played an important role in

defending the south coast in both

world wars.

Now the Old Battery is a National

Trust property and popular visitor

attraction for its stunning views and

its history. It is also the site of a Met

Office weather station that

registered a wind gust of 122mph

during Storm Eunice on Friday, a

provisional record wind speed for

England. Not surprisingly, this was a

big news story, but was it really so

dramatic?

The battery is a notoriously

windswept location perched 80m

high near the cliff edge, facing out to

the Channel with open sea as far as

the tip of Brittany and beyond to the

Atlantic.

Because wind speeds are much

higher over the ocean than over

land, winds from storms can hit the

battery at great speed. Even though

strong winds can hit other sites on

the south coast, the battery often

records some of the UK’s fastest

wind speeds during storms.

It is especially telling that during

Storm Eunice the highest gusts of

wind elsewhere were generally far

less, between 80 and 90mph — so

there is a suspicion that the wind

speeds at the battery were hardly

representative of conditions

elsewhere in the UK.

A particular feature of the battery

may help to drive up wind speeds.

When winds hit the cliff face they

can launch a plume of ultrafast

winds shooting upwards and

spreading out across the cliff edge,

creating exceptional gusts. This all

raises the question why the Met

Office uses a weather station at such

an unusually exposed location, with

such freakish wind speeds.

Weather Eye

Paul Simons