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Weatherwatch: How the weather affected early flight record attempts

A century ago, René Fonck tried and failed to cross the Atlantic despite having clear weather In September 1926, the French pilot René Fonck set out on a daring attempt to make the first crossing from New York to Paris in an aircraft, piloting a custom-built Sikorsky S-35. John Alcock and Arthur Brown had flown the shorter distance from Newfoundland, Canada, to County Galway, Ireland, seven years earlier. That was in June, when good weather was expected, but the aviators encountered dense fog and freezing temperatures in an eventful but successful flight. Continue reading...

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Weatherwatch: wildfires driven by global heating destroy UK bird habitats

Hot and dry summer created conditions for fires in Scotland and England that tore through vital wildlife areas Major wildfires this summer in the Cairngorms, along the Suffolk coast and in the New Forest have destroyed huge swathes of important bird habitats, affecting the populations of some of our most threatened and specialised species. The first to break out, in mid-July, destroyed much of the RSPB’s Abernethy reserve, home to declining species such as black grouse and capercaillie, as well as scarce songbirds including Scottish crossbill and crested tit. Fortunately it was brought under c

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Weatherwatch: UK’s migrant waders feel the effects of a changing Arctic

Warmer winters and springs are drying out wetlands and the birds are missing out on an abundance of insects to eat When we think of spring migrant birds, it is easy to focus on songbirds such as warblers, flycatchers and swallows. Yet during late spring, many are waders – passing through Britain on their way north to breed in the high Arctic from their winter quarters in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the British Trust for Ornithology’s regular migration blog, it has been a good year for waders: including more common species such as ringed and grey plovers, bar-tailed godwit, sanderling and

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Weatherwatch: Saharan dust drops microorganisms into European soil

Scientists are examining how ‘blood rain’ affects soil microbiome, with Portuguese vineyards a particular focus Dust events, when thousands of tonnes of fine sand whipped up from the Sahara are dumped over Europe, are becoming more intense. These sometimes produce “blood rain” that leaves visible red streaks, and while generally harmless, the dust is not sterile but brings a freight of microorganisms. One big concern is how imported microbes may affect the soil microbiome and impact agricultural fertility and crop yield. Southern Portugal lies along one of the main deposition routes for Sahara

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Weatherwatch: How UK firm’s low-cost tech can warn of volcanic eruptions

VolcanoTech’s sulphur dioxide detecting sensors are in already in use in a number of countries Weather forecasts now include air quality warnings and cities have networks of air quality sensors driving real-time maps online. Similar air quality sensors can warn of an imminent volcanic eruption. Just as a fizzy drink releases carbon dioxide when the pressure is released, rising magma emits dissolved sulphur dioxide as it rises. So a big increase in this gas warns that a volcanic eruption may be imminent. Continue reading...

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Weatherwatch: Cleaner clouds may slow rate of global heating

Study shows falling dust levels are making clouds more reflective, an effect not taken into account in climate models Cleaner clouds are helping to slow the rate of global heating, a study shows. Falling levels of dust in the atmosphere are making clouds more reflective. This previously unidentified effect is not being taken into account by current climate models, which may mean they are slightly overestimating the projected rate of global heating. Researchers analysed satellite observations of high clouds in the northern hemisphere and assessed the ratio of ice crystals to liquid droplets ove

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Weatherwatch: How thunder is made

Sound of thunder varies depending on distance of listener from lightning as atmosphere muffles and absorbs sound A bolt of lightning heats the air almost instantly to as high as 30,000C, causing explosive expansion and a supersonic shock wave that becomes thunder. What that thunder sounds like to a listener depends largely on where they are. Nearby lightning produces a distinctive snap or crack, or a startling explosive boom. Large, complex lightning with multiple segments generates a peal of thunder, a series of booms of different pitches as the sound from each of the segments reaches you in

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Weatherwatch: How English summer clouds can warn of trouble ahead

Mackerel skies and mare’s tails signal arrival of warm fronts that push moisture to high altitudes and creates distinctive clouds “Mare’s tails and mackerel scales make lofty ships to carry low sails,” runs an old English saying about summer skies. Mackerel skies are cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds in regular but patchy rows, resembling the light and dark-scale pattern on a mackerel. The cirrocumulus version is white and wispy, altocumulus is grey and thicker. One easy rule is that cirrocumulus is narrower than a finger at arm’s length, altocumulus more like three fingers. Continue reading.

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Weatherwatch: How increased Arctic shipping affects cloud formation

Shipping routes opened by climate change mean more industrial pollutants in the air The gradual reduction in Arctic ice has started to open up new shipping routes, with marine traffic increasing by about 40% over the past 12 years. All these ships leave trails of pollutants in the air, which are already having a measurable climate effect. Aerosol particles in engine exhaust act as nuclei for water droplets, promoting cloud formation. Like aircraft, ships may leave contrails behind them in the sky. Continue reading...

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Weatherwatch: rainclouds are travelling farther in warmer world

Climate crisis affects not only the amount of rain that falls but where, with implications for land use and water security Have you ever wondered how far a raindrop has travelled before it lands on you? It may have journeyed thousands of kilometres from the ocean, sea or lake it evaporated from – and now research shows raindrops are travelling even farther than they used to. Warmer air can hold more water vapour, and that is changing not only how much rain we receive but also where it falls. Travis Aerenson, of the University of Wyoming, and his colleagues modelled atmospheric moisture movemen

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Weatherwatch: Paving over front gardens is leading to hotter nights

Changing paved areas to grass and planting trees can reduce urban heat island effect by as much as 1C, study shows Add together all the UK’s household gardens and they cover an area three times larger than all the country’s nature reserves combined. But as the demand for car parking increases, many front gardens are being paved over, with research showing that this loss of green is adding to the urban heat island effect, particularly at night. In 2005, about 7.5% of the UK’s front gardens were paved; by 2025 that had risen to 55%, according to Royal Horticultural Society estimates. Those hard

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Weatherwatch: Why Britain’s heatwaves don’t always end with thunderstorms

The science behind summer storms – and why they have yet to break the hot spell gripping the country “The English summer: three fine days and a thunderstorm,” George II is reputed to have said, although the line has also been attributed to Charles II and others. It was not recorded until 1867, by which time it was already in common circulation. A brief hot spell ending in a thunderstorm is a familiar pattern, but it is not what we have experienced in recent weeks. Continue reading...

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Weatherwatch: Climate crisis fuelling steep fall in migratory bird numbers

Many species under threat use the African-Eurasian flyway, one of the planet’s largest mass-migration systems It may still feel like summer, but in the world of birds, autumn migration is already well under way. Cuckoos and swifts have already left us, and while swallows and many species of warbler will not depart our shores until September, many species of Arctic-breeding waders have begun to stop off at our coastal marshes to refuel for their long journey south. This year, however, there could be fewer than usual. A review by the British Trust for Ornithology, working with other internationa

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Weatherwatch: how to protect our railways in hotter summers

Steel rails warping and signalling equipment failing in metal cabinets are among the problems to be solved Tarmac softens in the summer heat, which may cause problems on the roads, but even trains running on steel rails are not immune. Railways in the UK are generally designed to operate within a 45C temperature range. The rails expand slightly in the heat, and excessive temperatures can produce “sun kink” with rails warping into S-shapes. The effect is small but the distortion can derail fast trains, so speeds are reduced for safety. Continue reading...

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Weatherwatch: Will St Bartholomew’s Day bring ‘cold dew’ to parched UK?

According to tradition, saint’s harvest celebration heralds the coming of cooler weather and a prosperous autumn St Bartholomew’s Day was on 24 August, 40 days after St Swithin’s Day. An old saying has it that “St Bartlemy’s mantle wipes dry / All the tears that St Swithin can cry”, at the end of a wet spell. Bartholomew was a disciple, notable for being skinned during his martyrdom. His day heralded the coming of cooler weather: “At St Bartholomew / There comes cold dew.” Continue reading...

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Weatherwatch: AI model beats standard methods at predicting cyclones

Artificial intelligence system delivers a three-day forecast as accurate as previous two-day predictions Google’s WeatherNext AI model is better than existing systems at forecasting cyclones, according to a paper published in Nature. The AI-based technology gives an extra day of warning, providing a three-day forecast for hurricanes or typhoons that is as accurate as previous two-day predictions. Continue reading...

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Weatherwatch: soil moisture deficit – how dry are the UK’s thirsty soils?

SMD is the moisture the soil must make up until it is at capacity, with very dry conditions over most of England and Wales When the ground is thoroughly wet, after excess rainwater has run off it is said to be at field capacity. Meteorologists describe drought in terms of soil moisture deficit (SMD) from field capacity. The SMD is a measure of how thirsty the soil is, expressed as how many millimetres of rain it would take to top it up to field capacity. In southern England, the SMD tends to hover around zero in winter when fields are wet. In summer it may be about 100mm, going up to 150mm or

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