The final week of February 2019 has been characterised by anomalously warm, record-setting conditions over NW Europe. The United Kingdom broke its all-time maximum record temperature for February on several occasions and at several stations - the previous record of 19.7C from 1998 was obliterated, replaced with a new record of 21.2C (a huge difference …
The January 2009 SSW
24 January 2009. This was the 'central date' (defined as the day on which the 10 hPa 60°N zonal-mean zonal wind reverses from westerly to easterly) of a remarkable, record-breaking major sudden stratospheric warming event. There are several reasons why this event is worth a revisit. The January 2009 SSW set a large number of …
Not all SSWs were created equal
Non-downward propagating SSWs? Major stratospheric sudden warming events (SSWs) attract widespread attention because they are now known to have significant impacts on the tropospheric circulation (e.g. Baldwin and Dunkerton 2001, hereafter BD01). Anomalies in the stratospheric circulation (often expressed as the Northern Annual Mode (NAM) index, or polar cap geopotential height anomalies) propagate downwards through …
The Stratosphere – why do we care?
I study the stratosphere, the layer of atmosphere above the troposphere that extends from about 10-50 km above the surface. Some people might joke (I hope) that "nobody cares about the stratosphere", primarily because, unlike the troposphere, it contains no 'weather' in the traditional sense. Being very dry (...literally), it can't be seen on visible …
Going Viral: Some thoughts one week later
Sunday, July 22, 2018, 9:31 PM BST. I put out a relatively simple tweet comprising of two NASA GISS global temperature anomaly graphics - one for June 1976, and one for June 2018. After listening to the media and meteorologists alike comparing and contrasting the current UK heatwave with that of 1976 (something which I …
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Heatwave Summers: There’s more than 1976
This post was originally written on 18 July 2018. Subsequently, the summer of 2018 nominally became the UK's hottest by average mean temperature (although the difference between 2018, 2006, 2003 and 1976 is minimal) and third hottest by average maxima. 2018 has been a remarkable summer. On the back of the warmest May on record …
Thoughts upon finishing the MMet
Yesterday (May 11), at about 10:50am, I completed my Master's Degree in Meteorology and Climate (MMet) at the University of Reading. The exam - Oceanography (perhaps not the most typical way to end a meteorology degree, but I guess it highlights the diversity of the subject). The way I finished it? Ending a question on …
Reading Half Cancellation: Do people believe forecasts?
This year's Reading Half Marathon was cancelled at ~6:40 AM on the day of the race (Sunday March 18) due to substantial snow in Reading and the surrounding area (indeed, across most of England...). The cancellation of the event only ~4 hours before runners would be taking to the course was far from ideal, with …
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So…why the stratosphere?
On February 23rd, I accepted an offer of a SCENARIO-funded PhD studentship in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading for the project "How can the stratosphere help us predict the weather several weeks ahead?". The project is supervised by Andrew Charlton-Perez and Steve Woolnough at Reading and Jason Furtado at the University …