Humidity could Leave but will the storms Remain?
IF THE referendum next Thursday was about a choice to Remain with our current weather, or Leave it behind in favour of something better, the result would be a foregone conclusion. Even the most avid gardener and farmer must be frustrated by the stifling grip of humidity, rain and thunderstorms.
The cause of our suffering has been a stubborn low pressure stuck over the UK, but, with luck, it was expected to start to shift late yesterday, especially in the west with temperatures in Cardiff up to a sunny 68F (20C). Today those benefits will reach most of the rest of us in time for Father’s Day. Even the east coast will perk up, with highs of 64F (18C) from Norwich to Newcastle.
The high pressure to the south that has brought this more seasonally appropriate weather will stick around for the start of the week, bringing drier, more settled conditions, from 62F (17C) in Plymouth to 72F (22C) in London. But don’t get too used to it.
There is another low approaching, looking to make landfall over the north and west of the country by mid-week, heralding some more un-June-like misery.
Further south, it is touch and go. The jet stream – winds in the high atmosphere that blow weather systems west-to-east across the Atlantic – can be a fickle friend. It may sit directly over the UK, in which case prepare for a north-south split, with Scotland remaining wet and cloudy, but anywhere from the Midlands down leaving the grey skies behind. Or it could change its mind at the last minute, allowing in more of that clammy weather from Europe which – as we have learnt to our cost – means more thunderstorms.