Woolly cardigan bay!
Crowds shun the beach as bank holiday turns shivery
WHAT a difference a year makes.
Twelve months ago, Britain basked beneath sunny skies as temperatures reached 33.3C (92F) on the hottest August bank holiday weekend ever.
Yesterday, however, the country shivered, with parts of the Pennines and East Coast struggling to reach 14C (57F) amid strong northerly winds.
The maximum temperature in Bingley, West Yorkshire, reached just 12.9C (55.2F), not far above the coldest late August bank holiday temperature on record – 10.1C (50.2F) in Shetland in 1979.
In Brighton, some hardy souls ventured on to the beach but many were wearing jumpers rather than swimsuits and numbers were well down on last year.
While the chilly weather may not have been ideal for a dip in the sea, visitors still descended on Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno in North Wales, with many hotels and guest houses full.
North Wales Police went on Twitter to urge people to observe the two-metre social distancing rule. But Cardigan
The remnants of Hurricane Laura
Bay resident Dai Humphreys complained that many were ignoring the request. ‘It’s beyond a joke – the best thing is to stay indoors,’ he said.
Visitors were urged to stay away from the popular Hive Beach in Dorset after a huge section of the Jurassic cliffs collapsed early on Saturday.
The rocks are believed to have become unstable due to recent heavy rain.
Cloudy and cool weather is due to continue through today after a chilly start, with ground frost expected overnight in northern England and even an air frost in some Scottish glens.
Tomorrow will be dry but with more widespread sunshine. On Wednesday, the remnants of Hurricane Laura – which killed 14 people as it tore through Louisiana in the United States – are heading our way. Met Office spokesman Steven Keates said: ‘Some western spots might receive half a month’s rainfall in a few hours.
‘The wettest places will be northwestern hills such as in Cumbria, where it looks as though there could be 40-50mm (1.6-2ins), rising to 60-80mm (2.4-3.2ins) in the worst-case scenario. Cumbria normally receives 124mm (5ins) of rain on average during the whole of September.’
Mr Keates said other areas of the country were also likely to have a wet day but the rain will be lighter and patchier further east, with just five to 10mm (0.2-0.4ins) expected. Parts of southern England could be hit by 20mm (0.8ins) of rain on Wednesday and going into Thursday. It will be accompanied by strong winds, which could reach gale force on western coasts.
Once the Hurricane Laura weather system moves out of the way, there will initially be showers through Thursday into Friday. But Mr Keates said: ‘As we go towards next weekend, we are confident we will see a high-pressure area developing in the Atlantic close to us, and we’ll see a drier interlude.’
He said it was too early to tell whether the weather will become warmer, however. If the high pressure stays to the west, the winds are likely to be northerly – keeping the country chilly.
If the high pressure moves east, however, it will drag up a warmer, southerly airflow.