AZORES AIR BRINGS BRITISH HEATWAVE

[tropicana]

Azores air brings British heatwave
July 30 2004

Britain is enduring a heatwave as soaring temperatures head have moved over our shores this week, forecasters said.
Sun-lovers can look forward to anything up to 30C (86F) as the summer heat finally steps up a gear at the weekend.

After the country faced a battering from winds and storms heading in from the Atlantic, a much hotter stream is now heading in from the Azores, experts said.


The heatwave is set to last for almost a week.
A PA WeatherCentre spokesman said: "It looks like we could be facing something of a heatwave. There is a shift now and we are becoming part of what is known as the Azores High."

The South and South East are likely to get the best of the weather on Saturday with temperatures set to reach around 28C (82F) while Scotland will enjoy around 22C (72F). The rest of the country will have an average of around 25C (77F).

It will get even warmer on Sunday, especially in the South West and Wales, with temperatures set to hit 30C.

Monday is likely to be the warmest day, well into the 90s, and could even top the hottest day of the year - currently 31.4C on June 8.

Brief thunderstorms may come and go during next week but the sun is set to stick around until Thursday as the earliest, the weathercentre predicted.

-justin-

[Gord_on_snow]

There was no heatwave here in NE England. Persistent sea fog and drizzle made sure that it go no higher than 19C here.

But there has been a heatwave in the southern UK, which has just broken down in a spectacular way. Heavy severe thunderstorms broke out across southern and western britain today and caused many problems, partcularly in London. A giant storm system developed over 200 miles between London and Bristol containing very severe thunderstorms...which britain hasn't seen a while. Reprts of large hail, flooding, constant lightning and 'explosive' thunder have been coming in all day from this region. The whole lot has moved north west this evening, although it has decayed, parts of north west England have still seen some lively storms.

Meanwhile, here on the NE coast of England, it remained cool foggy and wet!

[tropicana]

Rain and stormy weather batter UK
Tuesday Aug 3rd 2004


Severe thunderstorms that hit the UK on Tuesday have claimed at least one life.
Joseph Wharton, 14, died after being struck by lightning while camping in a back garden in Bloxwich, West Midlands, at 0750 BST, emergency services said.

Four girls, all aged 15, were hurt when they were hit by lightning in London's Hyde Park in the early evening. One is in a critical condition in hospital.

The weather caused severe traffic problems in some places, with some Heathrow flights delayed by two hours.


A shopping centre in Surrey was evacuated after rain caused roofs to collapse.

Spinal injuries

Joseph, a talented teenage footballer, was hit during a sustained thunderstorm which struck the Bloxwich area early in the morning.

He had been staying with his school friend Michael Lees at a house in nearby Cresswell Crescent.

Paramedics were called but were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead at Walsall Manor Hospital.

Michael Lees' father, 39-year-old Shaun Lees, paid tribute to Joseph, saying he was a "smashing lad".

The girl hit by lightning in Hyde Park had stopped breathing by the time she was found by a paramedic, London Ambulance Service said.


People were caught by surprise in the rising floodwaters
She was rushed to St Mary's Hospital, Paddington where she remained in a critical condition.

The three other girls suffered spinal injuries and were taken to University College Hospital.

The girls were all lifted up into the air by the lightning strike, before being thrown back onto the ground, an eyewitness reported.


A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said four or five people died each year as a result of lightning strikes in the UK.

Roger Vincent said people should avoid big open spaces, not shelter under trees or other tall objects, get into a brick building or car and not carry long metal objects.

Drivers were warned of deteriorating conditions on roads in central England and reduced visibility.

A spokesman for Heathrow said the airport had experienced probably the worst disruption through weather since a heavy fall of snow in January 2003.

The backlog had been clearing but passengers should contact their airlines to check for disruption, he said.

Still dangerous

BAA Scotland, which covers its airports in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow, said there had been a handful of cancellations but significant delays on a number of flights to and from London.

People had to be evacuated from the Two Rivers Shopping Centre in Staines, Surrey, after heavy rainfall caused structural damage to several shops, causing some ceilings to collapse.

The wettest place across England was Pershore, Worcestershire, with 46mm of rainfall.

Flooding hit the Newtown area of Wales but Northern Ireland has so far escaped the storms.

The RAC has warned that driving conditions will still be extremely dangerous overnight.

It is advising motorists to test their brakes after driving through floodwater, slow down and switch on their headlights.

The storms are likely to move north overnight before dying out on Wednesday.

-justin-

[Gord_on_snow]

And another bout of storms in the UK today, in more or less the same areas. Reports of flooding and large hail have been coming in again.

As I type they are rumbling away 50 miles to the west of me and up into Scotland. Doesn't look like I will see them here on the NE coast of England as they are tracking north, and again, it is foggy here instead!

Check out various UK weather forums for some superb photos of todays actvity.