What are the chances… Glasgow enjoys or endures whatever way you want to look at it, the warmest day since 2005 yesterday. Just as thousands are here for the Commonwealth Games.

According to the Met Office, Friday saw the high at Glasgow’s official recording station at Bishopton, near the Airport top 28.6C (83F). That’s in fact the warmest day since July of 2005 according to STV’s Sean Batty, a high warmer than what was experienced during the heat of last July (20 days at or above 21C) as well as the particularly warm summers of 2003 and 2006 (22 days at or above 21C) which I believe where the warmest on record.

[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level1)]

Interestingly, this July, as warm as it’s been, has only seen 11 days (as of yesterday), today should make 12.. at or above 21C. That’s barely half the number seen at Glasgow back in July 2006 despite yesterday seeing a warmer actual high. The all-time record high for the site is 31.2C (88F) set back in 1975. The all-time Scotland record was set back in the heat of 2003 with 32.9C (91F) recorded at Greycrook in the Borders.

As I expected, global warming of course is getting a mention stating that this year is second warmest on record here in Scotland. The warming can quite easily be explained by the fact that with a warm AMO and in El Nino years as well as the peaking of the solar max (albeit weak), we’re naturally going to warm up. The warmest ever recorded and I must emphasize the word ‘recorded’, was back in 1975 in Glasgow, back during the heart of the last cold spell when the AMO was cold.  It will be interesting to see what happens this upcoming winter when this steady warming trend over the last 6-8 months stops and we potentially flip around.

For the last two straight days, somewhere in Scotland has topped 29C, about 10-12C above normal with widely 24-28C under unusually clear skies. I say that because usually fair weather cumulus builds late morning into the afternoon as surface heat strengthens and the thermals (upward moving air currents) pick up. The reason for such clear skies even at the peak heating of the day? A very strong cap or warm layer in the mid levels of the atmosphere.

Here was Thursday afternoon looking south from my house.

Yesterday afternoon over East Fife.

Why The Cloud, Fog By Night & Morning?

While morning’s started cloudy, misty or foggy, once the sun lifted into the morning sky, that ‘marine layer’ quickly peeled back towards it’s source, the North Sea where it hung as a fog bank over the much cooler waters. The reason for the fog bank? It’s created by the difference in temperature between air and water. As the land cools after sunset, that fog bank heads inland, pushing through gaps in terrain, that’s why the Central Lowlands get blanked as low cloud & or fog push down the Forth Valley in towards Glasgow. Once the sun comes up and the land heats, the cloud and fog retreats back to the North Sea.

When I visited Leven on the shores of the Firth of Fourth yesterday, the fog bank hanging over the cool waters, flexed back and fourth against the shore. That’s why some East Coast areas weren’t as warm and sunny.

You can see quite the warming of are surrounding waters, particularly within the Baltic Sea, due to the warm summer we’ve had.

June 2nd

July 24

Turning Cooler With Rain Today!

Here comes the rain across Northern Ireland and Scotland, heat remains for one last day over much of England and Wales.

Rain spreads down over the UK Sunday with cooler temps. Expect another day near 30 in the Southeast this afternoon, nearer 25 tomorrow.

Will have detailed look at the next 2 weeks in tomorrow’s post!

[/s2If][s2If current_user_cannot(access_s2member_level1)][magicactionbox id=”18716″][/s2If]