Weather warning

[marksi]

There is, apparently, a 15-20% chance parts of the UK and Ireland could be hit by a Tropical Storm on Thursday (ex-Hurricane Gordon). John Hammond indicated at 2235 that we should keep watching forecasts but the BBC Weather website is predictably not able to display the wind speed charts beyond tomorrow, nor does it indicate any weather warnings.

The Met Office website is more useful.

http://www.meto.gov.uk

Expected from 06:00 Thu 21 Sep to 03:00 Fri 22 Sep

This is the first warning of disruption due to Severe gales

The Met Office is forecasting a period of very windy weather over western parts of the United Kingdom in the next few days. The strongest winds are expected during Thursday with Northern Ireland most at risk. Gusts of 70-80mph are expected. Winds of this strength early in the autumn are likely to lead to disruption to transport and power supplies. There is also a small risk of exceptionally severe gales with gusts in excess of 80mph.

This warning will be updated around 1000 tomorrow Wednesday 20 September.

[MattM]

This is a fairly normal occurance. A majority of the hurricanes and tropical storms find their way over here. Most of them are totally blown out though. This one's a bit stronger than normal though...at the moment.

[marksi]

You're right that leftover bits of hurricanes affect us at this time of year but it is very UNUSUAL for a storm to remain categorised as a Tropical Storm when it reaches us (though that's now looking less likely than it was yesterday).

Hurricane Gordon, which crossed the Azores is only the 10th one recorded to have affected that area of the Atlantic in 150 years. Hurricane Helene is now heading towards the same area.

[Ant]

It's certainly been windy up here since last night. A few of the garden chairs are upside down.

[Gavin Scott]

A fairly heavy tree limb has been snapped off a tree in the street where my company is.

Very windy round here.

[Lorns]

http://satellite.ehabich.info/eu.htm

[Neil Jones]

Suddenly become very windy where I am in the last few hours.

[marksi]

Here's the first winter forecast from the Met Office... which tells us that it may be warmer than average or colder than average, and may be drier than average or wetter than average.

Well thanks for that.

Forecast for Winter 2006/7

Temperature

Over much of the European region, the situation is now finely balanced with approximately even chance that the winter will be colder or warmer than average.

For the UK, temperatures near the 1971-2000 average are slightly favoured for the winter season as a whole. However, later in the winter season, there is a signal for lower temperatures (relative to average) and an increase in the frequency of cold snaps.

Note that even an average winter is likely to include some notable cold snaps and snowfalls.


Precipitation

For this winter, wetter-than-average conditions are favoured over central and southern Europe, although for the UK, there is approximately even chance of a wetter-or drier-than-average winter.

Last winter saw much drier-than-average conditions across northern Europe and all parts of the UK - much as last autumn's forecast had suggested. In the south-east of England this was the continuation of a long period of dry weather starting in November 2004, continuing through to the summer of 2006.

[Marcus]

Suddenly become very windy where I am in the last few hours.

You shouldn't have had those beans.

[DVB Cornwall]

Twas blowy enough for 5 hours from 3pm > 8pm down here - got pelted with acorns from one tree as I drove under it. However at 9pm it was dead calm. Really strange.

[marksi]

Was very bad here from 10pm-1am. 108,000 people were without power at the height of the storm. I was in my back garden at half-past midnight securing very heavy pots I thought would be ok but weren't.

Of course usual rules apply - it's only a news event if it affects the south-east of England.