Month: August 2020

Weather Watch 26th August 2020

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Good afternoon and welcome to Wednesdays Weather Watch taking a look at the weather for the islands, the UK and around the Globe.

On this Wednesday afternoon we are seeing a mixture of sunshine (Hazy sunshine in places). Mainly light winds. Today’s high temperature of 13.6C so far. Winds mainly under 20 mph.

This evening we are going to see a few more showers with a mixture of sunshine and cloud.

We are now going to take a look at the next few days weather. All the images shown below come from the Met office and can be found by following this link https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/maps-and-charts/surface-pressure

Western Isles – (UK outlook follows below)

Thursday – A mainly fine and dry day. A Mixture of sunshine and cloud.The odd shower cannot be ruled out. Winds will be brisk gusting 20 to 30 mph.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Friday – A mainly fine and dry day breezy with brisk winds. Cool again but feeling pleasant in the sunshine. Winds gusting 30 mph. Max temp of around 13C

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Saturday – Another breezy day with a mixture of sunshine and cloud. A few scattered showers but for most it should be mainly fine and dry. Still feeling cool though.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

UK Forecast

On Thursday another area of low pressure moves across the UK bringing with it further rain and winds. Not as strong as storm Francis. Best of the weather in the North West. Friday another wet start to the day and feeling cool but improving for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as the day goes on. Saturday fine dry day as high pressure builds in from the West with a few scattered showers.

UK Weather News

Some additional stats from storm Francis.

Global Weather News

Storm Francis may have moved away from the UK but caused problems overnight in Europe

Into the tropics we have Hurricane Laura which will make landfall tomorrow as a suspected Category 4 hurricane. Bringing with it life threatening storm surge, Strong winds and rain.

For the very latest place see the National Hurricane Centre website.

In the West Pacific Typhoon Bavi will make landfall on North Korea tomorrow

Extremely hot weather is affecting the Canaries and they are also see Saharan Dust which is impacting on visibility

Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed it. Feedback is always welcome.

Storm Francis 26/8/20 morning update.

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Good morning here are some of the impacts from Storm Francis in the last 24 hours.

Here in the Western Isles we missed the worst of the conditions with 41 mph being the top wind gust at South Uist range.

Heavy rainfall was recorded across large parts of the UK with flooding in Northern Ireland

More flooding

Heavy rain has also occurred in the Lake District and Glamorgan

Provisionally some record highest wind gusts for August may have been broken

A selection of the highest wind gusts from BBC Weather

Here is the UK wide top wind gusts as of 2200 on Tuesday evening.

This map from here http://starlingsroost.asuscomm.com/weather/uk.php

here is a BBC News article covering the event

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53901520?at_custom4=263BC284-E706-11EA-9BAD-4C8096E8478F&at_custom2=twitter&at_custom3=bbc_weather&at_medium=custom7&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_campaign=64

Thanks for reading any feedback is always welcome.

Wednesday morning brief

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Good morning Western Isles this is your morning brief

On this Wednesday morning are seeing overcast conditions. We are seeing some rain this is mostly light over the Uists and Barra. Mainly dry for Lewis and Harris. Some sunny spells. Winds are under 20 mph.

Pollen forecast for today is Low

Across the Highlands and Eilean Siar on Tuesday Stornoway was the sunniest with 5.6 hours of sunshine and also had the highest maximum temperature of 16.2

Today – further spells of rain this morning which will occasionally be heavy. It’s going to be a mainly overcast morning but when the cloud breaks we are going to see some decent and prolonged afternoon and evening sunshine. The odd scattered shower cannot be ruled out. WInds under 20 mph. Temps a minimum of 7 and max of 16C

Thursday – A fine and dry day with wall to wall sunshine in places. Light winds.

Friday – A mostly dry day few scattered showers. Winds are light and feeling on the cool side but plenty of sunshine.

Saturday – Mainly fine and dry but cool day with more sunshine

Have a great day.

Wednesday’s forecast – Winds ease.

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Good evening Western Isles on this Tuesday evening we are seeing a breezy end to the day. it is mostly overcast with some light rain but for most its dry. Max wind gust today of 41 mph and a max temp of 15.5C

Overnight – We are going to see a mainly overcast night with a few mainly scattered showers. Some clear spells. Winds will gust 20 to 30 mph.

Morning – Mainly dry with a few scattered showers but winds will ease down. A mixture of sunshine and cloud. Winds of 5 to 20 mph.

Afternoon and evening – Should be largely fine and dry. The odd shower cannot be ruled out but we should see decent and prolonged sunshine. Winds of 0 to 15 mph.

Winds will be from the North East and temps of 7C to 14C

Sunrise and Sunset

Stornoway – 06:13 and 20:40

South Uist – 06:20 and 20:41

3 days ahead

Thursday Friday and Saturday – Chilly but fine dry and sunny. Variable amounts of cloud and breezy,

Have a great evening

Weather Watch 25th August 2020

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Good afternoon and welcome to Tuesday Weather Watch taking a look at the weather for the islands, the UK and around the Globe.

On this Tuesday afternoon things are mainly fine dry and we are seeing mainly overcast conditions. Winds are brisk gusting to 40 mph. A few scattered showers around. Max temp so far today of 15.5C

We are now going to take a look at the next few days weather. All the images shown below come from the Met office and can be found by following this link https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/maps-and-charts/surface-pressure

Western Isles – (UK outlook follows below)

Wednesday – For the Western Isles we are going to see fine dry conditions. Winds will be light. Plenty of cloud. Feeling cool again. High pressure in charge. Max temp of 14C

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Thursday – A fine and dry day. We are going to see plenty of fine dry and sunny weather. Winds will be light. It will stay on the cooler side. Winds will be from the North East. High pressure remains in charge of our weather.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Friday – Another fine and dry day. We are going to see plenty of sunshine. WInds will pick up again coming in from the North East gusting 30 mph. Feeling cool. High pressure stays in charge.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

UK

Across the UK winds ease on Wednesday. Showers remain but plenty of sunshine and feeling warmer. Showery again for most of the UK Thursday and Friday with another area of low pressure moving in. This one a lot weaker. A chance of some thundery showers come Friday.

UK Weather News

The UK is being hit by Storm Francis at the moment bringing strong winds and rain. Provisionally some places have seen there strongest August winds on record according to the Met Office.

An Amber warning remains in force alongside wind and rain warnings for this evening. Full details can be found via the Met Office website or app

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2020-08-25

Global Weather News

The big news today is now Hurricane Laura which is eyeing up the Gulf Coast and expected to become a major hurricane heading towards the Louisiana and Texas border.

Please refer to the National Hurricane Centre Website for the very latest.

The other major storm is Typhoon Bavi in the Western Pacific

Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed it. Feedback is always welcome.

Storm Francis 25/8/20 morning update.

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Good morning. Impacts from Storm Francis are being felt across the UK and Ireland today. This an update for Tuesday 25th August.

Update Amber Warning issued

The latest Met Office warnings can be found here https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2020-08-25

The latest Met Eireann warnings can be found here

https://www.met.ie/

Some of the rainfall totals from earlier today from the Met Office

and from Met Eireann

Top gusts as of 10:00 this morning from http://starlingsroost.asuscomm.com/weather/uk.php

Some of the impacts so far from Storm Francis.

For us in the Western isles impacts have been minimal and expected to stay that way a gust of 29 mph was recorded at Stornoway Airport and some rain into the Uists and Barra. Again nothing significant.

I will do another update this evening. If anything significant occurs between now and then I will do an extra update.

Please note –

PLEASE DO NOT USE Western Isles Weather for the protection of life and property and as your only source. These warnings will be posted by us, time permitting, to this page. Please seek out the Met Office website or app for the very latest updates. Use the SEPA Website or Floodline contact number for the very latest updates on flooding risk. In the event of any extreme weather, follow any and all advice or guidance given by local emergency planning, Police, HM Coastguard etc.

Tuesday morning brief

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Good morning Western Isles this is your morning brief

On this Tuesday morning, we are seeing an overcast start to the day for many with some sunshine. It was a much milder night with the overnight low of 11.6C Winds are under 20 mph at the moment. We are seeing rain across the Uists and Barra this morning. it was always a fine line as to how far north this would get.

Pollen forecast for today is Low

Across the Highlands and Eilean Siar on Monday Stornoway was the sunniest with 7.3 hours of sunshine and Harris Quidnish had the lowest maximum temperature of 14.5C

Today – Quite a lot of cloud around today with some sunshine at times. Rain into South Uist and Barra which could be heavy at times. There is a chance it could move a little further north but for most, it should stay dry. The odd shower cannot be ruled out. It will be a fairly windy day. Winds of 20 to 40 mph gusting 50 mph at times across the Uists and Barra. There is a slight chance we could see some stronger gusts. Max temp today of 16C

Wednesday – Winds ease. Overcast with some sunshine and scattered showers.

Thursday and Friday – Fine dry and cool with plenty of sunshine. Light winds but these coming down from the North.

Havea great day

Tuesday’s forecast – No Storm Francis for us

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.

Good evening Western Isles we have seen a mixed bag of a day. Some sunshine prolonged at times. Light winds with a few at times heavy showers. Winds under 15 mph

Today’s maximum temperature of 14.4C

Overnight – We are going to see an overcast night with some a chance of some light rain but for most, it will be dry. A warmer night than last night. Some clear skies. Winds under 20 mph.

Tuesday – A fine and dry day for most. Some rain moves into the Uists and Barra in the afternoon and early evening. Some sunshine prolonged at times but for most, the cloud will dominate. Occasional showers. Winds will increase. 20 to 40 mph with some gusts across the Uists and Barra gusting 50 mph. The odd gust a little stronger cannot be ruled out.

Winds will be from the North East and temps of 9C to 15C

Sunrise and Sunset

Stornoway – 06:11 and 20:43

South Uist – 06:18 and 20:44

3 days ahead

Wednesday – Overcast with drizzle. Winds easing and drier later.

Thursday and Friday – Mainly fine and dry with a mixture of sunshine and cloud. Breezy and on the cool side.

Have a great evening.

Weather Watch 24th August 2020

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Good afternoon and welcome to Mondays Weather Watch taking a look at the weather for the islands, the UK and around the Globe.

On this Monday afternoon we are seeing a mixture of sunshine and cloud. A few scattered showers. Some decent spells of sunshine. The showers are heavy in places. Max temp so far today of 14.4C Winds under 10 mph.

We are now going to take a look at the next few days weather. All the images shown below come from the Met office and can be found by following this link https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/maps-and-charts/surface-pressure

Western Isles – (UK outlook follows below)

Tuesday – A breezy day across the islands. Winds gusting 30 to 40 mph possibly reaching 50 mph for a time. Mainly overcast with some light rain reaching Barra for a time but most places should stay dry. Winds from the North East. Temps of 9C to 15C

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Wednesday – Across the islands and winds ease. A mixture of sunshine and cloud. Increasing amounts of sunshine for the afternoon and evening. Feeling cool with temps struggling in the low teens.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Thursday – Across the islands will be fine dry and sunny. Still feeling cool but with light winds. Some prolonged spells of sunshine.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Long range – Across the islands and its expected to stay mainly dry with plenty of sunshine. Winds could increase again as we go into the weekend.

UK

Tuesday will see a wet and windy day for most of the UK. Gales and Severe gales in places with heavy rain. Warnings have been issued see the Met Office website or app for the latest on these. Wednesday after the wind and rain clears away becoming fine and dry. But further areas of low pressure wait in the wings for Thursday to bring more wind and rain.

UK Weather News

The main focus of UK weather is incoming storm Francis which was named by the Met Office earlier today. I have a full blog post on this which can be found by following this link

https://westernislesweather.com/2020/08/24/storm-francis-24-8-20/

Global Weather News

Tropical Storm Laura

This is system to keep an eye on. Expected to become a hurricane as it moves into the Gulf and could even become a major hurricane as it heads towards the Louisiana and Texas coast.

Tropical Storm Marco

Tropical Storm Marco briefly attained hurricane status during Sunday and since then has utterly fallen apart wind wise. However it as it moves along the coast it will bring flash flooding and storm surge.

For the very latest on these tropical systems please refer to the National Hurricane Centre Website.

In the Western Pacific we have Typhoon Bavi heading towards North Korea

Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed it. Feedback is always welcome.

Storm Francis 24/8/20

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This is now out date and the latest information can be found on this blog post here https://westernislesweather.com/2020/08/25/storm-francis-25-8-20-morning-update/

The 6th named Storm of the 2019/20 season for the North Atlantic has been named by the UK Met Office Storm Francis.

This follows on from Atiyah on the 6 December 2019, Brendan on the 11th January, Ciara on the 5th February, Dennis 11th February and Ellen 18th August.

This is the second name storm to impact the UK in the space of 10 days. The next list for 2020/21 season will be released some time in September.

Warnings

Weather warnings have been issued for Storm Francis.

First is a Yellow weather warning for strong winds.

The warning text from the chief forecaster

A spell of very strong winds is likely to develop across the southwest of England and Wales later on Tuesday morning, before spreading east across other parts of England and Wales during the afternoon and evening, clearing into the North Sea on Wednesday morning. Gusts are likely to reach 55-60 mph for quite a few places, with exposed coasts and hills seeing gusts of around 70 mph. Whilst not exceptional, winds this strong are unusual for August and they will be accompanied by some heavy rain in places, with possible transport disruption and impacts on outdoor activities.

A yellow weather warning for rain for all day Tuesday into Wednesday morning.

Again the chief forecasters text forecast for the above warning

Storm Francis will bring another spell of very wet and windy weather during Tuesday and early Wednesday. Total rainfall accumulations are expected to reach 20 to 40 mm widely across the area with as much as 60-90 mm for parts of Northern Ireland and south-west Scotland, particularly over high ground. Strong east to north-easterly winds are also expected to develop, with gusts of 50 mph affecting exposed coasts and hills.

and another yellow weather warning for rain

The Chief forecasters text forecast for the above warning

Storm Francis will bring another spell of very wet and windy weather during Tuesday and early Wednesday. Total rainfall accumulations are expected to reach 20 to 40 mm widely across the area, whilst over hills larger totals are likely with as much as 60-80 mm in a few places.

The latest updates from the Met warnings can be found here –

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2020-08-18

The Irish Met office has also issued status Orange and Yellow warnings

https://www.met.ie/warnings

What are the impacts for the Western Isles?

As of 1300 on Monday 24th August there are no weather warnings in force for the Western Isles.

Impacts for us are minimal. There has already been warnings from Calmac about disruption and cancelation to some services due to the adverse website. Please refer to there app or website for the very latest.

For most on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Western Isles it will be fine and dry day. It will be fairly windy with winds gusting 30 to 40 mph at times reaching 50 mph. We are no expecting to see wind as strong as Storm Ellen.

Rain could clip Barra for a time during the afternoon and into the evening. But the worst of the weather will stay to our South.

I will keep you updated in the coming days on the very latest. Any impacts for us in the Western Isles and how the storm is impacting the rest of the UK.

Please note –

PLEASE DO NOT USE Western Isles Weather for the protection of life and property and as your only source. These warnings will be posted by us, time permitting, to this page. Please seek out the Met Office website or app for the very latest updates. Use the SEPA Website or Floodline contact number for the very latest updates on flooding risk. In the event of any extreme weather, follow any and all advice or guidance given by local emergency planning, Police, HM Coastguard etc.

The last 7 days of photos 24th Aug

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Hello and welcome to the last 7 days photographs. A selection of stunning photographs of the Western Isles shared by you to us.

Scott Davidson – Sunshine and showers over Stornoway

Guido Blockland – Stornoway Sunset

Tigh Ruairidh, Tong – John Macdonald Nicholson

Scarista – Philly Hare

Benbecula – Gary Ford

Bragar in the Mist – Kirsty Allan

Gress – Impact Imagz

Vatisker Beach – Mick Blunt

Stornoway – Me.

South Uist rainbow – Mike

Mouth of the creed – Mairi Anne Maciver

Newmarket in the mist – Morris K Macleod

Thank you to everyone who shared photos with us

Monday morning brief

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Good morning Western Isles this is your morning brief

On this Monday morning, we are seeing a cool start to the day. The overnight low was a chilly 6.3C. Its a mainly overcast start to the day. Some showers around and these are heavy in places but most places are dry. Some mainly hazy sunshine. Winds are light under 5 mph for most.

Pollen forecast for today is Low

Today – An overcast start to the day with some decent and prolonged spells of sunshine in the afternoon before cloud increases during the evening. Some spells of rain at times but this mainly scattered. Winds light and staying cool. Winds under 10 mph and temps of 10C to 14C

Tuesday – Overcast dry and windy. Winds gusting 40 mph.

Wednesday – Overcast but dry winds easing later with increasing amounts of sunshine.

Have a great day.

Week ahead forecast – A hint of Autumn but mainly dry

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Welcome to the week ahead forecast. The full in depth forecast for Monday can be found in the update below this one. It has been a change in weather this weekend. Feeling cooler dropping down from high teens to low teens and even into single figures at change. A theme into next week,.

Tuesday – A dry but overcast day with winds gusting 40 mph from the North East and temps of 8C to 16C

Wednesday – Dry with a mixture of sunshine and cloud. Winds will be light increasing sunshine as the day goes on. Winds will be from the North temps of 9C to 15C

Thursday – Sunny dry but winds increase as the day goes on gusting 35 mph by end of the day. Winds will be from the North East and temps of 6C to 13C

Friday – fine dry day a mixture of sunshine and cloud. Winds easing as the day goes on. Winds will be from the North East and temps of 7C to 14C

Long range – fine dry and settled with sunshine. A lot can and will change between now and then and I will keep you updated.

I hope you have a great week. Over the course of the coming week, we will keep you updated with the latest weather and the 3 day ahead forecasts. Keep an eye on the blog for extra updates!

Monday’s forecast – Light wind and mainly dry

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Good evening Western Isles on this Sunday evening we are seeing a mainly dry evening. Some rain on coastal fringes. We are seeing a mixture of clear skies and cloud. Winds are light. Todays highest temp was just 13.9C

Overnight – We are going to see a cool night. A mixture of clear skies and cloud. A few showers around but for most it will be dry. Temps will be down to single figures during the night we could see temps as low as 5/6C across North Harris and South Lewis. Winds under 10 mph.

Morning and afternoon – A fine and dry day for most. A few scattered showers that could be occasionally heavy. Some decent spells of sunshine but still quite a bit of cloud. Light winds again. Temps struggling above 13/14C. Winds of 0 to 15 mph.

Evening. – Some decent and prolonged sunshine before in the early part of the evening. Cloud will thicken into by the end of the day. A few scattered showers. Winds will remain light. Winds under 10 mph.

Winds will be variable and temps of 5C to 14C

Sunrise and Sunset

Stornoway – 06:09 and 20:45

South Uist – 06:15 and 20:47

Full week ahead forecast for the week ahead to follow.

Western Isles Weather guide

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This a cut out and keep guide to Western Isles Weather updates. 

Morning reports – So this is the first port of call for me every day. It is scheduled update that appears at 7:32 every morning. (Don’t ask ). This is where we are looking for weather reports from you where ever you are. We are a broad community so we get weather reports from across the Islands, the UK and around the world. We have a lot of regulars who share reports. We do appreciate everyone who posts. Videos and photos help to enhance the reports as well. It helps me to build up a picture of the weather across our islands. If I am forecasting fog or rain for example it helps to highlight where it is compared to my forecast. So if you live in the Western Isles and reading this feel free to join in you will be more than welcome. 

Morning brief – The aim of this post is to get you morning off on the right foot weather wise. We take a look at the current weather for the day. As well as what is expected for the next few days. As well as pollen forecasts in the spring and summer. We highlight any weather extremes from the last 24 hours as well as giving you a look ahead to the next few days weather. 

Weather Watch – This is my daily blog post where I talk about the weather across our islands, around the UK and across the globe. This appears on our blog Western Isles Weather. However, we do post a link on our Facebook and Twitter. This blog is posted daily and usually appears in the afternoon but sometimes in the evening. This covers that days weather for islands. Takes a look at the next few days weather and any significant or notable weather across the UK which has included heatwaves and thunderstorms recently. In the global weather, we take a look at weather from around the world recently focusing on tropical weather in the USA but has also covered snow in Australia recently. it also gives me a chance to totally geek out about the weather. 

Evening – The bread and butter of our weather forecasts. This covers the entire weather forecast for next day in depth which is broken down into separate chunks and gives you as much information to help plan your day including temperatures, wind speed and Sunrise / Sunset times. 

Extreme Weather – When extreme weather hits. We share Met Office warnings and SEPA flood updates. We also do additional updates as well to give you the very latest information on any approaching severe weather. We also share any pertinent information from local Emergency planning, SSE, Coastguard, Emergency Services and the Council etc helping to give you the very latest information. 

I have been doing this for 8 years now and it has come a long way from the single paragraph once a day forecast updates of 2012.  

Richard Cooke. Western Isles Weather. 

Weather Watch 23rd August 2020

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Good afternoon and welcome to Sundays Weather Watch taking a look at the weather for the islands, the UK and around the Globe.

On this Sunday afternoon we are seeing another chilly day. Its mainly overcast with some rain mainly light. Winds are also light. Some sunshine but most are under cloud. Winds under 10 mph and max temp so far today of 13.9C

We are now going to take a look at the next few days weather. All the images shown below come from the Met office and can be found by following this link https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/maps-and-charts/surface-pressure

Western Isles – (UK outlook follows below)

Monday – A mainly fine and dry day a few scattered showers with a mixture of sunshine and cloud. Light winds again. Feeling cool once more. Going to be a cooler night overnight Sunday into Monday. Down to 7C Tomorrow max temp of 15C

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Tuesday – Low pressure moves across the UK bringing strong winds. For our islands. Winds of 30 to 40 mph at times gusting 50 mph for Barra. We will see rain at times that will be heavy. It will be overcast day with some sunshine at times.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Wednesday – The low pressure clears away and things settle down again. Sadly not signs of it warming back up again with temps in the low teens. High pressure takes control with another overcast day with light winds and some sunshine at times.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

A full in depth week ahead forecast for the Western Isles will be on the blog this evening.

UK

Monday across the UK will see a day of sunshine and showers. The best of the drier weather for Scotland. Heavy rain will reach the far SW of England and Northern Ireland by late tomorrow night. Tuesday will see rain and gales widely with winds gusting 60 mph. Wednesday things will improve as the day goes on winds ease and it will become drier and brighter.

UK Weather News

The Met Office this morning update the Yellow weather warning for winds for Tuesday into Wednesday bringing the warning area further North.

The warning text from the Met Office Chief forecaster –

A spell of strong winds is likely to develop across the southwest of England and Wales on Tuesday morning, before spreading east across other parts of England and Wales overnight, clearing into the North Sea on Wednesday. Gusts of wind are likely to exceed 50 mph for quite a few places, with exposed coasts and hills seeing gusts in excess of 60 mph. Whilst not exceptional, winds this strong are unusual for August and they will be accompanied by some heavy rain in places, with possible transport disruption and impacts on outdoor activities.

The full warning and latest updates can be found here

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2020-08-25&id=11b08d93-9a9f-42d5-ab25-62f4a79c0e92&details

Global Weather News

Main focus at the moment is on the Tropics. We have tropical Storm Marco which is expected to become a Hurricane today before hitting the gulf coast on Monday. We also have tropical storm Laura heading over the caribbean islands expected to make landfall as a hurricane next Thursday possibly as a strong hurricane.

Lots of uncertainty at this stage so please refer to the National Hurricane centre website of the very latest.

Tropical Storm Laura

Tropical Storm Marco

Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed it. Feedback is always welcome.

Sunday morning brief

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Good morning Western Isles this is your morning brief

On this Sunday morning, we are seeing a mixture of sunshine and cloud. We are seeing some morning rain across Barra and elsewhere its mainly light. Overnight low of 10.1C Winds under 10 mph.

Pollen forecast for today is Low

Today – We are going to see a mixture of sunshine and cloud. Some decent and prolonged spells of sunshine in the breaks in the cloud. Winds will be light. We are going to see some showers well scattered and most won’t see any rain. Winds of 0 to 15 mph. Temps of 7C to 15C with another cool evening this evening.

Monday – A mainly fine and dry day a mixture of sunshine and cloud. Light winds and staying cool.

Tuesday – A fairly windy day with the risk of gales for the Uists and Barra. Sunshine and showers throughout.

Wednesday – Winds ease mainly fine and dry but staying cool.

a full week ahead forecast will be posted this evening.

Have a great day.

Sunday’s forecast – Mainly settled.

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Sunday’s forecast – Mainly settled.

On this Saturday evening, we are seeing some rain across Lewis and Harris it is fairly patchy. Winds are light. Elsewhere mainly overcast with some sunny spells. Today’s the max temp of 15C

Overnight – We are going to see a mainly fine and dry night. Some patchy light rain. Winds light. A mixture of clear skies and cloud. Winds 10 to 20 mph.

Sunday day – A few well scattered showers. A few of these showers could be heavy at times. A mixture of sunshine and cloud. Less cloud than on Saturday. Feeling cooler again. With some decent and prolonged sunshine. Winds of 0 to 20 mph.

Winds from the North and North West. Temps of 7C to 15C

Sunrise and Sunset

Stornoway – 06:07 and 20:48

South Uist – 06:13 and 20:49

3 days ahead

Monday – Mainly light winds dry and sunny.

Tuesday – Windy at times with rain later.

Wednesday – Winds easing sunny later.

Have a great evening

The Fujiwhara effect

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Has to be one of my favorite weather terms and yes I have a list of favorite weather terms. This term is getting a lot of traction at the moment in both the meteorological world and outside of it. Now being a big hurricane geek I have known about this term for a long time. But for those that don’t or want to know more then hopefully this blog post will enlighten you.

This blog post has been updated on the 9th April 2021 with the Fujiwhara effect taking place off the coast of Australia

A fascinating dance

So what is the The Fujiwhara effect?

From Wikipedia

The Fujiwhara effect, sometimes referred to as the Fujiwara effect, Fujiw(h)ara interaction or binary interaction, is a phenomenon that occurs when two nearby cyclonic vortices orbit each other and close the distance between the circulations of their corresponding low-pressure areas.

It is named after Japanese meteorologist Sakuhei Fujiwhara who first coined the phrase in 1921 to describe water vortices.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujiwhara_effect#:~:text=The%20Fujiwhara%20effect%2C%20sometimes%20referred,their%20corresponding%20low%2Dpressure%20areas.

So this can occur between tropical cyclones in any part of the globe. This is a prime example in the image below.

Typhoon Parma (left) and Melor (right) interacting with each other in the Philippine Sea on October 6, 2009.

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek. – http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=40615(direct link)

So why is sudden increase in media attention?

Because in the Atlantic we have two named Tropical Systems Marco and Laura and there is a chance of some interaction of these systems into early next week as the both head into the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately this is resulted in a lot of clickbait headlines and pronouncements of the two storms merging into one mega storm which would be so “2020”! Please bear with me a moment whilst I facepalm and sigh loudly. This just wouldn’t happen. Some tweets below show examples of what can happen.

What is known there is a lot of uncertainty about the track and intensity of these two systems. To get two named systems in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time is unusual

Please refer to the National Hurricane Centre website for the very latest on the track of these two systems

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

So what are the other occurrences of the The Fujiwhara effect?

Dr Kim Wood on twitter posted an excellent thread on this earlier today.

Which can be found here https://twitter.com/DrKimWood

Hopefully helps to explain the Fujiwhara effect. Any feedback is always welcome!

Weather Watch 22nd August 2020

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Good afternoon and welcome to Saturdays Weather Watch taking a look at the weather for the islands, the UK and around the Globe.

On this Saturday afternoon we are seeing a much cooler and mainly overcast day with some rain this is mainly light with some drizzle. We are seeing some sunshine but this is mainly hazy. Winds are mainly light under 10 mph and the max temp so far today of 15C

We are now going to take a look at the next few days weather. All the images shown below come from the Met office and can be found by following this link https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/maps-and-charts/surface-pressure

Sunday – Across the Western Isles is expected to mainly fine and dry. The odd shower cannot be ruled out. We are going to see a mixture of sunshine and cloud. Breezy and feeling cooler again.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Monday – Overnight lows into the single figures as this slightly cooler spell of weather continues for the Western Isles. We are under a brief ride of high pressure so mainly fine and settled. Light winds and a mixture of sunshine and cloud.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

Tuesday – Now this is the interesting part there is a lot of uncertainty with tuesday for the islands. Another fairly low pressured system is expected to rattle across the UK. Now some not all all model runs are moving this system further north and giving us strong winds and rain in the Western Isles. Met Office warnings are in place for England and Wales ( see below) so it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. Nothing too unusual however this is more like autumn weather then something we would see in August.

Surface pressure - Forecast chart

For for the UK Sunday will be showery again heavy at times and fairly windy. Best of the sunshine and drier conditions for Scotland. Monday feeling chilly and again sunshine and showers widely for parts of England and Wales. Best of the more settled weather in Scotland. As mentioned above turning stormy with gales for Tuesday and Wednesday.

UK Weather News

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for winds for England and Wales for Tuesday into Wednesday

From the chief forecaster at the Met Office

A spell of strong winds is likely to develop across the southwest of England and Wales on Tuesday morning, before spreading east across other parts of England and Wales overnight, clearing into the North Sea on Wednesday afternoon. Gusts of wind are likely to exceed 50 mph for quite a few places, with exposed coasts and hills seeing gusts in excess of 60 mph. Whilst not exceptional, winds this strong are unusual for August, with possible transport disruption and impacts on outdoor activities.

The very latest Met Office warning update can be found here https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2020-08-25&id=11b08d93-9a9f-42d5-ab25-62f4a79c0e92&details

Yesterday’s windy weather gave this stunning image from Cornwall

Global Weather News

One of the main talking points at the moment is in the Atlantic with two Tropical Storms Laura and Marco heading towards the Gulf of Mexico. Only twice in 1933 and 1959 has there been two named in systems in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time. Still quite a large amount of uncertainty of exact location of where these tropical systems will end up at the start of next week.

Please refer to the National Hurricane Centre website for the very latest.

and finally Antarctic air has reached parts of Australia giving the unusual sight of Kangaroos in the snow.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have enjoyed it. Feedback is always welcome.