Unsummery conditions for the British Isles

For well over a week Britain continued to endure conditions that were far from summery. In fact some areas were on alert for night frosts, which at the onset of summer is not what you would expect if we were indeed heading for conditions of Global Warming. In fact a Martian landing at this point in time may well have concluded we were heading straight for the next Ice Age.

Meanwhile strong winds with heavy rain buffeted most of the nation and many areas were on severe weather alerts from the local meteorological service.

During this last week in June the wind brought cold winds that varied in direction from North through North West, to West, before a swirling weather system pulled up winds laden with heavy rain from the South.

The map below illustrates the situation for the British Isles. (Click on map to enlarge)

In South Eastern Europe meanwhile there was a welcome softening of the intense heatwave that resulted in dozens of deaths and temperatures that in some areas came very close to 50 degrees centigrade.

As the map below shows quite plainly this change to cooler conditions was brought about by westerly winds that penetrated the length of Europe from the Atlantic Ocean.