What's the main topic of conversation in Brigg today?
The European 'in or out' election on Thursday, perhaps.
How far England's footballers will progress in Euro 2016?
No, most talk concerns the "great" British weather.
The forecast for the remainder of this week is either showers (on 'good' days) or prolonged spells of rain, with some thunder thrown in.
Flaming June is becoming a Flaming Joke!
Today (June 20) sees the solstice*** and the official start of summer, although some weather forecasters seem to have relocated the beginning of summer to June 1.
Things were very different weather-wise 40 years ago, the summer of 1976 seeing heatwave conditions. Back then we were praying for rain.
Brigg Town cricketers had to play on bone hard grounds which could not be watered due to a hosepipe ban being in operation. Such conditions did not make batting easy. And there were no helmets in those days!
** Can vary between June 20 and June 22, it appears. They usually quote June 21 as the longest day.
Clever boy, Nige...the Summer Soltice ( North Hem) does occur somewhere in period 20th - 22nd June.
ReplyDeleteTwo reasons for the date variations...1. The Earth takes about 365.22 days to orbit the Sun - hence the leap year every 4th year (not exactly true)..and 2. During the Earth's annual orbit it is affect by other planets' gravitational fields and this can the orbit....the permutation of such forces will vary from year to year, so orbit time can be eit her faster, or slower than the 365.22 day average.
One stricking aspect of today's soltice is that it coincides with a full Moon...and many folks are expecting the combined effect to produce a pinkish/mauve coloured Moon tonight.....it's been called a Strawberry Moon...
Not to be confused with a Blue Moon..a 2nd full Moon in a month..a rarish event...giving the rise to 'Once in a Blue Moon'.
In addition, pollutants in the atmosphere can affect the appearance of the Moon's colour..a dust-storm, for example, can create colour changes..
Met men ( and ladies) tend to use whole months to define a season..so to them, June, July and August is summer...
ReplyDeleteHowever, in astronomical circles, calculations are based upon the dates when the Sun is directly overhead, relatively speaking, the Equator x2 or the Tropics - Cancer and Capricorn....
But just because the days are becoming shorter, it does mean that the weather will become cooler....there is a delay.
ReplyDeleteBriefly, world climate is related to the temp of oceans...water takes time to warm-up/lose heat..
So what happens in the Western Atlantic gives us our climate...and to a lesser degree, also what happens at the North Pole, Asia and N. Africa.
As the warm North Atlantic Gulf Stream hits the UK there is a natural time delay..hence July is uusually the hottest month...and the period of the most sunny/settled weather.
The Irish Sea is warmer than the North Sea...the for met is influenced by the Gulf Stream ccurrents, while the North Sea is a channel for colder water originating in the Arctic Circle..the warmest temp in the NS is about Sept..
Overall, it a bit like the ripple effect of waves hitting the beach...waves are not caused by tides, they are the delayed ripples of a storm far out at sea that probably occurred some days earlier.
But just because the days are becoming shorter, it does mean that the weather will become cooler....there is a delay.
ReplyDeleteBriefly, world climate is related to the temp of oceans...water takes time to warm-up/lose heat..
So what happens in the Western Atlantic gives us our climate...and to a lesser degree, also what happens at the North Pole, Asia and N. Africa.
As the warm North Atlantic Gulf Stream hits the UK there is a natural time delay..hence July is uusually the hottest month...and the period of the most sunny/settled weather.
The Irish Sea is warmer than the North Sea...the for met is influenced by the Gulf Stream ccurrents, while the North Sea is a channel for colder water originating in the Arctic Circle..the warmest temp in the NS is about Sept..
Overall, it a bit like the ripple effect of waves hitting the beach...waves are not caused by tides, they are the delayed ripples of a storm far out at sea that probably occurred some days earlier.
1976..I can remember it well..spent days in the river at Buxton Mill in Northfolk to keep call.
ReplyDeleteThere were substantial insurance claims from house owners who had their foundation's built on clay...the clay dried out, shrunk and twisted and so did many house walls..
1976..I can remember it well..spent days in the river at Buxton Mill in Northfolk to keep call.
ReplyDeleteThere were substantial insurance claims from house owners who had their foundation's built on clay...the clay dried out, shrunk and twisted and so did many house walls..