Torrential rain brings extended summer to a close
THE rule that all good things must come to an end is truer of the weather than most other aspects of life, as the week ahead will once again remind us.
After a first half of September that has been hotter than the same period in June, July or August, a burst of thunderstorms and torrential rain has ushered in a damp weekend.
Some parts of the country have witnessed half their average rainfall for September in one hour and temperatures have now plunged towards the norm for this time of year.
Today London and the South East may just make 68F (20C), with much of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland stuck at about 59F (15C), all a far cry from the record-breaking run of three consecutive days last week with the mercury over 86F (30C).
Those who like it hot will be looking enviously at the north Kent coast, fast becoming our very own Riviera, where Gravesend hit 93.9F (34.4C), displacing nearby Faversham which had been holding the 2016 record with 93.4F (34.1C) since August 23.
What has brought our extended summer to a close is the jet stream, the air currents in the high atmosphere that push in our weather from the Atlantic. They have been giving us a wide berth to the north west, allowing hot weather to blow in on breezes from the south, but now they’re back and will bring rain, wind and nothing beyond 68F (20C) all week.
And as the seasons change, the jet stream now contains the first burst of wintery weather that has started coming down from the Arctic. It brought snow to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming last week. Hillary Clinton wasn’t the only one in the United States to catch a chill.