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- Ian D J
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. . . as things look set to become very stormy as we go into the weekend and for the whole of next week.
It isn't so much the large-looking "deep" low pressure currently sitting to the north west of the UK that is the main issue but I'm keeping an eye on a very powerful jet stream screaming in from the Altantic at 200 mph (I'm talking about what goes on in the upper atmosphere). It is that which will be responsible for producing small but powerful secondary low pressure systems, called "bomb" depressions.
A "Jet Stream" is the result of an interaction of cold polar air and warm tropic air that takes place high up in the atmosphere, sometimes it may be weak and allows high pressure to form quite easily (such as what happened in the first two weeks of January) and sometimes it may spark into action, such as what it will do in the next 7 to 9 days. And then this jet stream may want to position itself to the south of the UK and we would be in the cold side of it.
A "Bomb" depression is a name us amateur meteorologists give for small secondary depressions that suddenly deepens at a very rapid rate as it zips over the UK over a short space of time and then disappears just as quickly. The problem with them is that they do form very quickly and in the time it takes for the media to point it out to the general public, it's already doing the business as it moves over the country.
The famous Burn's Day storm of Jan 25th 1990 where winds gusted up to 100 mph along the southern coast of the UK is the result of a "bomb" depression. It was picked up by the met office 12 hours prior to it's arrival so warnings had to be issued very quickly and hoped that the general public would pick up on it in time.
So, what does it means in terms of weather forecasting?
Today and tomorrow, it's the western side of the UK that will see to windy conditions where winds are likely to gust up to 40 mph.
Then as we go into the weekend and for next week, it's a real case of watching the forecast hour by hour and if you see what looks like a small secondary low pressure with lots of isobars tightly wrapped around it and forming close to the south west of the UK, chances are that it'll be one of those more vigorous bomb depression packed with 80 mph + winds.
For further info and warnings, here's the met office's web site: www.metoffice.gov.uk
Indeed, it's time to batten down the hatches as the Atlantic stirs.
Incidentially, there could be a fair amount of snow over the highest ground of Northern England and over most Scottish hills over the next few days.
One last word before I sign off, I'm still going for a cold and wintry end to the last few days of January and first week of February as cold continential air comes back in over us, but that's a long way off.
It isn't so much the large-looking "deep" low pressure currently sitting to the north west of the UK that is the main issue but I'm keeping an eye on a very powerful jet stream screaming in from the Altantic at 200 mph (I'm talking about what goes on in the upper atmosphere). It is that which will be responsible for producing small but powerful secondary low pressure systems, called "bomb" depressions.
A "Jet Stream" is the result of an interaction of cold polar air and warm tropic air that takes place high up in the atmosphere, sometimes it may be weak and allows high pressure to form quite easily (such as what happened in the first two weeks of January) and sometimes it may spark into action, such as what it will do in the next 7 to 9 days. And then this jet stream may want to position itself to the south of the UK and we would be in the cold side of it.
A "Bomb" depression is a name us amateur meteorologists give for small secondary depressions that suddenly deepens at a very rapid rate as it zips over the UK over a short space of time and then disappears just as quickly. The problem with them is that they do form very quickly and in the time it takes for the media to point it out to the general public, it's already doing the business as it moves over the country.
The famous Burn's Day storm of Jan 25th 1990 where winds gusted up to 100 mph along the southern coast of the UK is the result of a "bomb" depression. It was picked up by the met office 12 hours prior to it's arrival so warnings had to be issued very quickly and hoped that the general public would pick up on it in time.
So, what does it means in terms of weather forecasting?
Today and tomorrow, it's the western side of the UK that will see to windy conditions where winds are likely to gust up to 40 mph.
Then as we go into the weekend and for next week, it's a real case of watching the forecast hour by hour and if you see what looks like a small secondary low pressure with lots of isobars tightly wrapped around it and forming close to the south west of the UK, chances are that it'll be one of those more vigorous bomb depression packed with 80 mph + winds.
For further info and warnings, here's the met office's web site: www.metoffice.gov.uk
Indeed, it's time to batten down the hatches as the Atlantic stirs.
Incidentially, there could be a fair amount of snow over the highest ground of Northern England and over most Scottish hills over the next few days.
One last word before I sign off, I'm still going for a cold and wintry end to the last few days of January and first week of February as cold continential air comes back in over us, but that's a long way off.
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(I'm not at all a big fan of those blue blobs on their maps, bring back the old symbols and make more use of isobars, we're not THAT dumb!). And is it me or today's presenters have become much more annoying and louder? 
:shake: