The Great British Weather

What influences the weather in Britain?

Britain has a temperate maritime climate. It is a maritime climate as the sea influences the type of weather we receive. This means that on average we have warm, wet summers and cool but fairly mild winters.

Our close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the presence of the Gulf Stream (a warm current in the Atlantic) and our northern latitude are the three principle factors influencing the weather of the British Isles. The Gulf Stream is the reason why the British Isles are a lot warmer than other countries at the same latitude including Canada and Russia. 

The prevailing (dominant) winds flow from the south-west bring moist warm air transported via the Gulf Stream. As a result the western side of the country is the wettest, particularly areas of high relief such as Wales, Scotland and the Lake District which experience orographic rainfall. 

Temperatures are largely controlled by latitude, varying from an average of 10.8 °C in the south and a cooler 7.9 °C in Aberdeen in the north of Scotland. In the summer the latitudinal temperature difference can be as much as 5 °C and they are marginally lower on the west coast due to the cooling effect of the prevailing winds. By contrast, in the summer the west coast is generally warmer as the water warms the prevailing winds.

The Gulf Stream

Also know as the North Atlantic Drift, the Gulf Stream is a warm current that flows from the tropical seas of the Caribbean northwards along the east coast of the USA acoss to Europe. Consequently Britain is 5-8 °C warmer than it would otherwise be.

BBC TV Series

The BBC’s The Great British Weather live show aired earlier this summer provides inspiration for creating fascinating weather and climate lessons. The link below, entitled ‘The Battle of the Weather Fronts’ is a short film clip of rugby player’s acting out as the 4 major air masses that influence Britons weather. This has an element of fun about it and I expect it will appeal to boys in particular. To benefit all of the kinaesthetic learners, this battle of the air masses could be played out on the school field (also a good way to wake up any sleepy heads on a Monday morning).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ltM3GYNmtQ

The Big Freeze of 2010

Satellite image of the British Isles under a blanket
snow, captured on the 7th of January 2010 from
the NASA Earth Observatory.

The 2010 winter was the coldest in almost 30 years, the lowest recorded temperature was an icy –21°C in the Scottish Highlands and snow and ice covered much of Britain for three weeks. Cold conditions arrived on the 24th of November with the polar continental air mass that migrated from Siberia and then Scandinavia. Low pressure resided over the Baltics and high pressure dominated over Greenland. The UK saw the earliest widespread snowfall since 1993. Further snowfall accumulated up to 60 cm in rural areas. The mild and rain bearing air masses which usually flow from the south-east became blocked, allowing the cold Arctic weather front to protrude over the British Isles and continental Europe.