Lo and behold, the clouds have parted and the sky is blue. I thought the occasional break in the cloud was possible at times this week, but I wasn't expecting this much. Back to the drawing board for me then.

Moley

Hoping for the same tomorrow

_________________
Lets be careful out there !

Not much in the way of sunshine today but i hope it didn't rain on your new car Kremmen.

So, today heralds the arrival of the official meteorological definition of Spring. The seasons are defined as:

WINTER: December. January. February

SPRING: March. April. May

SUMMER: June. July. August

AUTUMN: September. October. November

Nature doesn't work like that though, so Spring arrived under a mostly dull grey blanket for much of London and The South East. SATURDAY looks like being pretty much the same as High Pressure remains in charge, drawing cloudy conditions from a north/north easterly direction. SUNDAY is showing signs of the cloud beginning to break so a few glimpses of the sun are possible.

Into next week the High Pressure should begin to slip away, and as it does winds should change to a more southerly direction, leading to a slight increase in sunshine and temperatures for a few days. For our region 9-11c ( 48-52f ) in the first half of the week, with the potential for 13c ( 55f ) in one or two places where the sun gets to work.

In the latter half of next week Low Pressure and the Atlantic influence look set to take over, so expect more in the way of showers/rain, and with winds increasing it won't feel particularly Spring like.

Whatever the weather, thanks for reading and have a good weekend.

Moley

Stand by for another useless weather fact bought to you by Moley:

The average climate of ENGLAND is officially measured and recorded by the Met Office and is often referred to as CET.
( Central England Temperature ). It is better explained in the link below but in simple terms Central England is defined by a triangle, with the 3 points being London, Bristol and somewhere oop norf ( Lancashire ).

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/

The Met Office then produce 30 year averages for this area, and for reasons I don't understand ( ahem ), rigidly stick to the period 1971 - 2000 when releasing their findings, although the graph in the link above suggests otherwise.

Anyway to get back on track the official CET confirms the Winter of 2012/13 was again colder than average. Here are some stats:

In 2010, 8 months of that year were colder than average.

In 2011 only 4 months were colder than average, but 3 of them were the Summer months of June, July and August.

In 2012, 8 months were again colder than average, including 2 Summer months of June and July.

Since, and including September 2012, every one of the last 6 months have been colder than the 30 year average.

Moley

**UPDATED SATURDAY MARCH 2nd 2013**

So far my prediction for the next few days looks to be about right, though I admit it was far colder than I expected today
( Saturday ). Raf Northolt recorded a maximum of 4.2c.

So we can expect a few days with the temperature gradually climbing before the rain arrives later next week, but its just beyond then that is catching my eye. One of the most reliable computer models is showing a return to wintry conditions in a week or so time.

If that model verifies, I wouldnt rule out some unseasonably cold temperatures and fairly widespread snowfall for much of the country.

Moley

^^^ My thoughts exactly Pam. I have had enough of the cold weather now. Its the thought of Spring and Summer that keeps me going somedays.

** SAHARAN DUST/SAND ALERT **

Ok its no big deal but I thought Kremmen might like to be forewarned of the possibility and keep his new car under wraps !!

The southerly winds I mentioned in an earlier post could bring some Saharan dust/sand our way around midweek, and they tend to leave some messy deposits on cars in particular. If the weather here is dry at the time, all you are likely to notice is a very thin layer of orange dust. If it is raining here at the time, orange blotches on light coloured surfaces are probably more visible.

Heres a link to the predicted track of the dust/sand. Click on the date and time table on the bottom left to follow its progress. ( If any ).

http://forecast.uoa.gr/dustindx.php

Moley

Do not fear, Krem's motor is parked in a garage at home and in a secure underground car park at work.

So is it snow or a sandstorm ? Place your bets now................

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Lets be careful out there !