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Welcome to my weather blog. I produce two weather forecasts per week, normally Monday and Thursday evening, and also put links to any other interesting weather information, and crazy weather videos that I discover. The forecast is based on my expectations for the Reading area, UK. If you want a forecast for your area, please e-mail me or comment below the blog post.

Monday 27 June 2011

Hitler Understand The Lack Of Thunderstorms

Anyone who shares my frustration of the lack of thunderstorms in the UK, yet again experienced today (unless something surprising happens) will find video this amusing.  Seems me and Hitler had something in common after all.

Updated Weather Forecast - Monday 27th June 2011

As I write it is still 25'C outside - it peaked on Sunday in Reading at 27.5'C.  I think this is just the hottest temperature of the year.  Even at midnight tonight it will be around 21'C - not exactly comfortable.

Back to normal tomorrow though.

There is a 50% chance of a downpour later this evening and overnight and I wouldn't totally rule out a rumble of thunder.

Tuesday will be fair, some sunshine but also a fair amount of cloud and a 50% chance of a shower.  It should still feel pleasant in the sunshine at 20'C.
Wednesday will be fresher but with more sunshine I expect.  Still a few clouds around and a 30% chance of a shower, 18'C.
Thursday will be sunny again as high pressure builds, still some cloud and a 20% chance of a shower, 17'C.
Friday sees a ridge of high pressure over the UK and slightly warmer air, but low pressure approaching the west of the UK.  It will stay dry and reasonably sunny and may even reach 20'C.
Saturday I am not 100% confident on yet but most likely to remain nice and maybe reaching 22'C.  There probably will be cloud at times, and a small chance of a shower perhaps.
Sunday should be similar to Saturday, again I am not fully confident on details, there is a chance of showers but if it stays fine then 20'C possible.  I would rule out an upgrade later in the week.

I favour a few somewhat unsettled days after that but nothing too bad, followed by perhaps a couple of days of hot and sunny weather for the weekend of 9th/10th, or maybe shortly after.

Too far out to be sure - but I did predict this one 2 weeks in advance (check old forecasts if you don't believe me!!).

Overall it looks like a decent couple of weeks, and maybe a decent July.  Keep those fingers crossed!

Thursday 23 June 2011

Updated Weather Forecast - Thursday 23rd June 2011

This is one of those forecasts that I love being able to do.  Hot sunshine.  On a weekend.  Oh yeah.  I remember those forecasts thinking, this is just really boring weather that I am forecasting...finally it is going to get interesting.

I am pretty much repeating my last forecast, which is pleasing, though with a slight upgrade.

There is high pressure to our south-west, and low pressure to the northwest.

Friday will see the high pressure squeeze its way into the UK, but at the same time there is rain coming on a warm front from the west, so though Friday will start pleasant and fairly sunny, cloud will build, and there will be outbreaks of rain by the middle of the evening and overnight.  18'C.
Saturday will start cloudy and overcast, perhaps some bits of light rain left over early on, but it will warm up and the sun should come out eventually, and it will feel humid too, 22'C.  As per my previous forecast though, if the sun comes out a bit earlier than expected, it might reach 25'C.
Sunday - say hello summer!  Sunshine.  A few tiny bits of cloud perhaps, but this will be one of the best days of the summer - make the most of it.  I reckon we could reach 27'C.

Then it gets interesting.

Monday will see the humidity increase significantly, and it will still be hot, I think there will be plenty of photography cloud around.  Temperature could be anywhere between 25'C and 30'C,depending on sunshine amounts.  There is the potential for showers later in the day, with a little thunder perhaps.
Tuesday could be a very interesting day.  There will be lots of moisture in the air and it will probably be 24'C by 9am, there is significant thunderstorm potential throughout the day, little in the way of sunshine 27'C.

I've seen these things pass us by many times in recent years, but I do think that we have at least a 50% chance of a severe thunderstorm from Monday night onwards.

This air mass is going to create one or two huge mega thunderstorms I suspect, but I am not yet sure if the UK will experience them - I think I will be doing another updated forecast on Saturday!

After that, well Wednesday should be a relief from the heat and humidity, any early rain will clear to leave sunny spells, possibly up to 20'C but cooling down all the time.

From then on, high pressure should take charge for a few days at least, giving sunny but not especially warm days.

And then the question will be, can we repeat this again?  Or do we revert back to type - ie what most of June has been like?

I remain hopeful.

This could be the most enjoyable few days of weather for the year so far coming up.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Updated Weather Forecast - Tuesday 21st June 2011

Summer may well be about to make a re-appearance, which I am please about as I did expect good weather for a good proportion of late June and July, after a relatively poor June though I didn't expect quite this much rain.

Reason being, is firstly a pulse of warm, perhaps hot air from the south this weekend, albeit short-lived.  But happy with the timing.

Secondly, it looks like high pressure over Greenland will fade fairly soon, and the jetstream should move north of the UK.  Not set in stone yet but the first time it has looked possible for weeks.

Details...

Tuesday will be mainly cloudy as low pressure approaches from the west.  There may be some brightness at times, but equally there is a good chance, say 75%, of showers.  18'C in any sunshine, 16'C if it stays cloudy.  Breezy.
Wednesday cloudy with showers or perhaps longer spells of rain developing for a couple of hours, more likely in the afternoon, 17'C.  Breezy.
Thursday will see a cool northerly developing as the low pressure pulls away, but on the bright side the sun should come out.  Still a good chance of showers developing, especially in the afternoon, 16'C.
Friday sees high pressure building from the south-west, still plenty of cloud around I think, and a 50% chance of a shower but mainly light, 18'C if quite sunny, 16'C if mainly cloudy.
Saturday sees high pressure building somewhere near the UK, probably to the south or south-east, allowing much warmer air to come in, but it may be cloudy in the morning with a chance of rain.  I remain confident of a sunny afternoon though, and 22'C.  I will not be surprised though in my next forecast if I upgrade this to 25'C.

Confidence does start to diminish on exact details now, but I am 80% confident of the below outcomes.

Sunday sees high pressure to the east and low pressure to the west, perfect for sucking up hot air from the south, 25'C should be reached across most of England, perhaps up to 28'C in the south, if lucky.  Oh and plenty of sunshine.
Monday will likely see low pressure edging closer, but the sunshine might hang on.  If it does get cloudy, then it should still be very warm at 24'C, if sunny then anywhere up to 28'C.  A 20-30% chance of thunderstorms developing.
Tuesday and Wednesday next week see low pressure likely to be influencing the weather, back down to around 19'C with the chance of showers.

I am 60% hopeful of high pressure building towards the weekend to give a warm and sunny start to July.

I hope you like this forecast more :-)

Friday 17 June 2011

Updated Weather Forecast - Friday 17th June 2011

Nimbostratus.  Beautiful. I enjoyed the clouds and their darkness this morning.



I really want to give you some hope, and I did always think that we needed some rain in June to have a good summer, just not quite in the way that it has come about.

This Sunday will be nice.  Though I told you that a week ago.

Glastonbury might be rained on after all - come on, admit it, that is what you want to see too?  It was looking hopeful for a good weekend next weekend but there is a bit more uncertainty - part of my hesitancy in giving this forecast and it being later than usual, as I was hoping to be able to be more certain but alas I am not.

I'm waffling...


Friday you may have guessed will be dominated by spells of rain, and it being quite blustery, 15'C.
Saturday will be a day of sunshine and showers, quite windy so the showers will pass quite quickly but could be rather heavy, 16'C at the very best.
Sunday will be fair, there may be a few light showers around, but it will feel fairly pleasant at up to 19'C.
Monday heralds the next low pressure, so more rain and wind, again heavy rain at times, 17'C.
Tuesday and the low pressure hasn't actually moved anywhere really, still sat over Ireland, so more showers or longer spells of rain, 16'C.
Wednesday, the low pressure does get a move on and brings more showers or longer outbreaks of rain, 17'C.

I don't know where it is going to go from there - my head tells me continuing unsettled - my heart says follow my long range forecast of a generally good summer which to come to a reasonable standard of accuracy would involve getting some sunny weather at the end of June and into July.

As soon as I have more confidence, you will know.

I hope you like rain.  At least you won't have to listen to farmers moaning.  Oh and your food prices won't go up quite as much as we will have a much better harvest with this rain.

Monday 13 June 2011

Updated Weather Forecast - Monday 13th June 2011

I perhaps went a tad over-pessimistic on my last forecast suggesting summer may be over - much of my long-range thoughts for a fairly good summer depended on downpours during June, especially around the middle part and perhaps I shouldn't jump the gun.

I can only offer glimmers of hope, and sadly pretty much a guarantee that this coming weekend overall be slightly more minging than the one just gone (you don't get descriptions like that on the Met Office forecasts).  But as per my previous forecast, a couple of nice days first.

Tuesday will be fairly sunny, and fairly warm, 20'C, as a ridge of high pressure builds.
Wednesday has the potential to be rather cloudy, but still quite warm at 19'C.  If the sun manages to break through, which is quite possible, then it could go to 22'C.
Thursday sees the next area of low-pressure coming towards the north-west of the country, and preceding down south it is a little system which brings a high chance of some heavy, showery outbreaks of rain, possibly thundery, possibly very heavy, 16'C, a little higher in any sunny breaks.
Friday may start dry, possibly even sunny, but another little area of low pressure is set to develop, currently most likely in the evening, but maybe the afternoon - maybe overnight, the timing is not yet set in stone, probably some quite heavy rain too, 16'C.

I'm not exactly confident on the details of when it will rain during the weekend, and whether it will be rain or showers, but here goes.

Saturday and the low pressure will be hanging around, the potential for more rain, or showers, or if lucky then just damp and cloudy, 15'C, and possibly rather windy.
Sunday is most likely to be showery, but I would not rule out another area of rain developing.  15'C.

Maybe a nice day or two early the week after, before another low pressure looks like developing especially for the start of Glastonbury, ha ha!

All may not be lost though as the actual weekend part currently looks more likely to be settled and dry, possibly warm, than wet.  But with the jet-stream behaving like it is at the moment, I wouldn't bet on it yet.

There are tentative signs of something better to finish June off.  But don't get your hopes up.

Friday 10 June 2011

Updated Weather Forecast - Friday 10th June 2011

Is summer over?  Will the temperature of 27.8'C that was recorded in April be the highest of 2011?

I am becoming increasingly pessimistic about the rest of summer.
My reasons are a large area of high pressure over Greenland.  And the southerly tracking jetstream (see pictures below).
These were both dominant features of our previous 4 disappointing summers in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
I see no reason to be optimistic, for a minimum of two weeks, but these patterns are very hard to shift when they set in, and normally take weeks - or months.
Current jet-stream pattern.


Projection for Sunday 26th June.

As you can see, the jet-stream is generally heading over the UK.  If we want a good summer, it needs to go above the UK.
Anyway, onto the weather - I can offer a couple of decent days, though not the ones we want.
Friday will see showers develop, and they could be heavy and possibly thundery, 90% chance.  Remember - the nature of showers means we could stay dry, equally we could get several.  Afternoon and evening most likely - 15'C at best.
Saturday, showers developing during the day, 80% chance of one.  16'C in any sunshine.
Sunday sees rain and wind spreading from the west, it could be heavy at times, 13'C.  The morning may stay dry.
Monday will likely start cloudy, perhaps with a light shower but should turn sunny in the afternoon and become quite warm, 18'C.
Tuesday is your other nice day, though cloud may develop in the afternoon, 18'C.
Wednesday sees low pressure developing and will bring the chance of some heavy and possibly thundery downpours - but in any sunshine it could be even warmer at 19'C.
Thursday has low pressure still around and plenty more showers, 16'C.
Friday and Saturday probably unsettled, but maybe next Sunday will be nice.  Far too far ahead to have any certainty though.
The general pattern seems to be 5 crap days and 2 reasonable days.  Not quite what I hoped for.
Maybe July will bring something better.

Monday 6 June 2011

Updated Weather Forecast - Monday 6th June 2011

I will try to make it short and sweet, as I am quite tired.  Which should be quite easy as the next few days are going to be very similar to one another.

Low pressure is going to be situated somewhere between the northwest and the north of the UK this week, which means showers, especially the further north and west you are, but also for me in Reading.

The nature of a weather forecast of showers does not guarantee that we will get one on any particular day, but equally we could get four or five each day.  So if we get lucky and it stays dry and we get some sunshine, then temperatures could exceed my forecasted values, equally if we get lots of showers then they may not reach what I state below.

Tuesday, as I suggested showers will develop especially during the afternoon, I'd say a 70% chance of getting one, but there will be some sunshine too.  18'C.
Wednesday will also be showery, more likely in the afternoon but possible in the morning too, 80% chance of a shower, breezy too, 17'C.
Thursday, little change, perhaps fewer showers but still a 60% chance of one, 17'C.
Friday I think the risk of a shower reduces to 40% as a ridge of high pressure builds from the south-west, 16'C.
Saturday I am less confident about, it looks like a south-westerly wind will pick up, there will be rain to the west which might affect Reading, but I just favour a dry day with hazy sunshine, and temperatures picking up to maybe 18'C.  I'm 60% in favour of this outcome, 25% of a cloudy but mainly dry day, 15% of cloudy and wet.
Sunday looks likely to see high pressure exert its influence once again, I expect it to be dry, I am not sure on sunshine amounts yet but hopeful of a reasonable amount and 20'C.

I reckon next week might be quite sunny and warm at times, perhaps cooling down in time for the weekend with some showers once more, and then warming up for the latter part of the month - fingers crossed maybe even into the category of hot (but definitely no promise!!).

I remain hopeful of a decent summer - but I do expect interruptions like this week.

Long Range Summer Forecasts

Most long-range weather forecasts for the UK this summer that I have seen, have been fairly mixed - periods of cooler and somewhat unsettled weather mixed with periods of warm and sunny weather.

One stuck out like a sore thumb though, from netweather - not my favourite site but a good site nonetheless.  They predicted a hot, sunny and dry summer like the infamous 1976 type and were one of the first to come out with a summer forecast if I recall correctly.  It has been quoted aplenty in the media.

Interestingly they have changed it and gone back into line with other forecasts that I have seen.

Nice to see that they are not afraid to make amendments.  I wonder if the general media are going to stop writing articles to say that we are in line for a hot summer?

On another note, I don't think it will be long until we get more warm and sunny days - Sunday perhaps?  Will do my forecast tomorrow morning.

Thursday 2 June 2011

Updated Weather Forecast - Thursday 2nd June 2011

Hello sunshine!  23'C in Reading today.  But for how long?



It's a difficult one.  We have a big lump of high pressure over the UK at the moment, it is not especially strong, and there is a pool of cold air wanting to come down towards us from the Arctic, but also the heat to the East (Europe is having a fantastic summer so far) is also wanting to edge our way.

But we do definitely have something to enjoy first.

Friday, I love Friday, sunny, a few clouds, very warm, 24'C, maybe a 25'C.
Saturday will see more in the way of cloud as the high pressure slips west of the UK, but still plenty of sunshine and very warm, depending on sunshine amounts it will be between 23'C and 26'C.  You may notice the breeze.
Sunday and the high pressure is well back in the Atlantic and there is quite a bit of cloud around, but it will still feel warm, around 20'C perhaps.  There is a small chance of a shower later in the day, more like in the evening, say 20%.
Monday is where things get tricky, low pressure is coming down from the north, to the north-west of the UK, and bringing the cooler Arctic air.  I am not especially confident, but I think it will end up being cloudy with bits of rain, and quite cool, 15'C.

Anything after that, depends on what track the low pressure takes.  My suspicion is that it is going to meander out to the west and end up sitting over the south of England.  Which is good if you don't want to be paying higher prices in the supermarkets for your food later in the year, but bad if you want to get a natural sun-tan (boo to all those fakers, ha ha!).

I hesitate to guess at details for next week, as it really would be a guess.  The Met Office or BBC aren't going to tell you either.

But I think Tuesday onwards may actually see temperatures start to recover, but with low pressure very close to our west, and a feed of Arctic air to mix with the hotter air over the continent trying to feed in, we will end up rather cloudy, with afternoon downpours for much of the week.

That is what I am tending towards for next week.

So, yes, you might regularly need your umbrella next week - but summer is far from over.