>Temps soar 10C above normal in parts of Britain on Wednesday

Written by Mark Vogan on September 28, 2011 in Rest of Europe with 0 Comments

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In Today’s Blog

Latest UK Discussion @ #BRITISH ISLES-EUROPE
Temps Increase further for parts of England Thursday while Scotland sees clouds and rain move in, remains warm

Latest US Discussion @ #UNITED STATES
First signs of winter for Northeast late this week with windchills in 20s, 30s and possible snow, while trough digs into East, the ridge rebuilds the heat back West

Today’s Weather Headlines

Britain and much of Europe returns to July as temps soar way beyond normal, nature and wildlife will be confused!

We have a simply stunning weather pattern across not only us here in the UK but across the majority of the ‘heart’ of Europe. With the exceptions of Spain and Scandinavia, skies are void of cloudcover and this could well be rare even during the middle of summer never mind the closing days of September.

WHY SO WARM?

The reason for the lack of clouds covering a huge area stretching from Ireland all the way to the Ukraine is thanks to an abnormally large and strong upper level ridge of high pressure which is basically transporting heat from the African Sahara northwards over the Mediterannean Sea and into the heart of Europe. It’s the intensity of the upper high (depth of atmosphere in which air can sink, compress and ultimately heat the ground and air) which is producing the abnormal warmth. Both the size of the ridge as well as it’s strength for so late in unusual and it’s more suited to June/July than late September. The strength of the ridge as well as the intensity of warmth, particularly over France as well as parts of England is helped by the drier than normal soils which can help heat the air faster than wetter soils. Less moisture for the sun to evaporate means more energy goes diectly into heating the ground and ultimately the air above.

Edinburgh and Kinlochewe topped 25C (77 degrees) this afternoon

This afternoon saw skies mostly cloudfree across Scotland with perhaps just a few high clouds bubbling up over the Highlands thanks to the strong surface heating. Temperatures for most away from the immediate cooling influence of the sea saw 21C or higher. For Scotland, Kinlochewe and Edinburgh topped the list with 25C which isn’t far from Scotland’s highest reading in all of summer 2011 which was 27C recorded at Aboyne, Aberdeenshire.

THOUGH THE SEPTEMBER RECORD IS 35C, THIS WAS LIKELY REACHED EARLY IN THE MONTH, I WONDER WHAT THE RECORDS ARE FOR LATE SEPTEMBER?

When considering the average highs at this late stage in September in Scotland is only 13C in the north, 15C in the south, when you see highs of 21C or greater, it’s pretty unusual as well as quite rare. Highs near 25C is even rarer. The record for the UK for the month of September is a much warmer 35C, however, this was most likely reached in the early part of the summer back in 1906, so I would be curious as to what the records are for LATE September and whether some individual towns and cities across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland are nearing, even tying or breaking LATE September records for this warm spell.

UK Feels Like Summer Through at Least Saturday
ACCUWEATHER.COM

US Latest

NEARLY 30 INCHES OF RAIN IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS IN PHILLY IS UNBELIEVABLE!