Hurricanes join forces to pose twin menace
What is the collective noun for hurricanes? The dictionaries are largely silent, probably because we usually tend to experience hurricanes one at a time. Tumultitude is the best – and only – offer I could find, and it sounds more like a pile of duvets.
Over on the eastern seaboard of the US, ex-Hurricane Florence, now downgraded to a storm, is doing its damnedest to wreak havoc, while bowling towards us on the other side of the Atlantic is what is left of Hurricane Helene, bringing with it 70mph winds, heavy rain and high temperatures early next week.
For the moment, though, it is calm before the storm. Yesterday was pretty decent in most parts of the UK, with a high-pressure system from the south-west keeping things quiet. Overnight, though, it has been nudged aside by low pressure from further north, bringing rain to northern England and much of Wales. It may also extend its reach further south, but temperatures will still be doing very nicely – 72F (22C) in London and Norwich, 68F (20C) in Cardiff and Birmingham and 64F (18C) in Plymouth. North of the rain band, there will be a mixture of sunshine and showers, with 59F (15C) in Edinburgh and 61F (16C) in Belfast.
Monday will retain the Indian Summer feel-good factor for most of England and Wales with a southwesterly wind blowing in more fine weather, but with the advent of Tuesday, it all gets much more complicated thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Helene. It looks likely to head in from the south-west with some combination of heavy rain, high winds and abnormally warm temperatures for the time of year.