Jorge has a sting in its tail for the first day of spring
YOU’RE joking; not another one? as Brenda from Bristol once said about too many general elections. In this case, though, it is too many storms. Three weekends and first Ciara, then Dennis and now Jorge. By rights, of course, it should be Ellen, the next designated “storm name” on the Met Office’s list, but their Spanish counterparts got their hands on this one first.
The worst of the damage came yesterday, with wind speeds up to 70mph and more rain, the very last thing anyone wanted, especially along the flooded banks of the River Severn. But Jorge has a sting in its tail for today, St David’s Day, and – though you will struggle to believe it – officially the first day of meteorological spring. The north of Scotland will still see plenty of rain before Jorge finally takes its final bow, and the winds will remain blustery in most parts. Down in southern England, a new lowpressure system will be making its way up the Channel and could well push more rain and wind onshore, depending on precisely which trajectory it takes.
For all parts in between, however, it should be drier. And that element of warm air will remain, mixed in with the rain and wind, as has been found in the recent spate of storms that have headed over our way on a turbocharged jet stream from the other side of the Atlantic. So, London should manage 10C (50F), the eastern seaboard 9C (48F), and the rest of England and Wales 8C (46F). Scotland and Northern Ireland will be a notch or two lower at 7C (45F).
As the working week gets under way, the wind direction will shift to westerly, bringing in colder air, and so the mercury will dip to wintry levels for the start of spring. The familiar mixture of sunshine and showers will continue, but that nip in the air may cause further snow over high ground. Overnight it will get very chilly, so expect frost on the car first thing.