All posts tagged: rainfall

Met Office names 21 areas facing heavy rain on Tuesday – full list | Weather | News

Met Office names 21 areas facing heavy rain on Tuesday – full list | Weather | News

Published by Sam Flores

The Met Office has forecast rain to hit 21 areas on Tuesday as weather maps show the UK’s heatwave coming to an end. Temperatures peaked last week, with parts of the nation experiencing some of up to 37C. However, it now appears conditions are set to do a U-turn, with forecasts showing there will be no more signs of extreme heat but instead rainfall. The weather agency warns that showers will begin tonight across the northwest, bringing in strong winds, before the showers progress tomorrow across the rest of the nation. The Met Office map shows showers across most of the UK, with the southeast just about escaping the rain. Showers will dominate across Scotland, with Glasgow and the Scottish Borders included in the areas expected to receive heavier rain. Outbreaks are also forecast for the north of England, particularly the north west, and for scattered areas across Wales. The Met Office added that there will also be risks of thunder in the North. The wet weather is expected to clear up by the end …

Rainfall became irregular during Earth’s hottest periods, raising global warming concerns

Rainfall became irregular during Earth’s hottest periods, raising global warming concerns

Published by Jenni Sidey

The climate record holds some of its best warnings in stone, soil, and leaves. In a new study, scientists from the University of Utah and the Colorado School of Mines looked back to one of Earth’s hottest eras to see how rain behaved when the planet ran far warmer than today. What they found challenges existing knowledge regarding climate change and rainfall. The research examines the early Paleogene, roughly 66 to 48 million years ago. During that stretch, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels sat about two to four times higher than modern levels. The team used that deep-time heat as a test case for how a hotter world can reshape the water cycle. Instead of asking only how much rain fell in a year, the researchers focused on something that often gets missed. They asked when rain fell and how steady it was across seasons and years. Their conclusion is blunt. Under extreme warming, rainfall can become far less reliable, even in places that are not deserts. Climate in the modern world and early Palaeogene, including …

Here is why the UK’s weather has been relentlessly wet in 2026

Here is why the UK’s weather has been relentlessly wet in 2026

Published by Sam Flores

There is no doubt about it – it has been a miserable start to the year. The Met Office have said that rainfall totals from December 1 to February 9 already exceed the average rainfall for the whole winter in a huge swathe of locations. Persistent rainfall has led to heavy flooding in parts of the country, including Somerset (Ben Birchall/PA) PA Wire The start of February has been particularly grim – several regions, including south and central England, eastern Scotland and northeast England have already reached or exceeded their entire February average rainfall. But why has the weather been so shockingly bad? What weather systems are causing such downpours, and is climate change to blame? And when, oh when, will we see the sunshine again? Why has the weather been so bad? Atmospheric forces are behind the seemingly endless drizzle – but we need to look beyond the UK to the broader North Atlantic region for the full explanation. The jet stream, the Atlantic air current that controls much of our weather, has been …

Heavy snow and rainfall kill 61 people in Afghanistan : NPR

Heavy snow and rainfall kill 61 people in Afghanistan : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Snow covers the streets of the town of Ghazni , southwest from Kabul, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2025. Heavy snow and rainfall over the past three days have killed and injured scores of people across Afghanistan, the country’s disaster management authority said Saturday. Mohammad Amin/AP hide caption toggle caption Mohammad Amin/AP KABUL, Afghanistan — Heavy snow and rainfall over the past three days have killed more than 60 people and injured over 100 across Afghanistan, the country’s disaster management authority said Saturday, as authorities in the impoverished country struggled to open roads and gain access to cut-off villages. National Disaster Management Authority spokesman Yousaf Hammad said 61 people had died and 110 were injured, while 458 homes had been completely or partially destroyed and hundreds of animals had died in 15 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The numbers, he said, could change as authorities gathered more information from the provinces. Afghanistan is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, with snow and heavy rain that triggers flash floods often killing dozens, or even hundreds, of people at a …

Weatherwatch: Britain’s dedicated band of rainfall measurers | UK news

Weatherwatch: Britain’s dedicated band of rainfall measurers | UK news

Published by Jenni Sidey

British people have always had a keen interest in the weather. Not only do they talk about it, they go out and measure it. A new paper in the journal Weather celebrates some of the UK’s most prolific and dedicated rainfall observers. Richard Towneley started the trend in 1677, taking regular measurements of the amount of rain that fell at Towneley Hall near Burnley. By 1860, George Symons had started to coordinate the collection of rainfall data and set up the British Rainfall Organisation, gathering data from several hundred rain gauges across the nation. Many observers diligently collected observations for 50 years or more, while others, such as Clement Lindley Wragge, went to great lengths to gather their data. Wragge walked a 22km (14-mile) round trip every day between June and October of 1881 to retrieve data from the weather station at the top of the UK’s highest peak, Ben Nevis. This dedication continues to the present day. Tom Bown began daily observations aged 10 in 1948 and has amassed over 75 years of rainfall …