washout – Hoang Viet

Aug 23 2024

UK weather: A wet and windy bank holiday expected – but it won’t be a washout for all | UK News

For many, it’s felt a bit like autumn this week, with spells of wind and rain. But will this change just in time for the bank holiday?

Sky News’ weather producer Jo Robinson predicts a rather unsettled and cool tone for the long weekend, but it won’t be a washout for all.

As Storm Lilian sweeps across the UK – the 12th named storm of the season – two yellow weather warnings for rain have been issued in south-west Scotland and the Aberdeenshire coast until 9am Friday.

The Met Office said there is a possibility of thunder, while 20-30mm of rainfall is expected widely across both areas – with a chance of 40-50mm over higher ground.

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A separate warning is also in place until 11am on Friday for parts of northern England, north Wales and south-west Scotland with strong gusts widely expected in the 50-60mph range.

As the bank holiday gets under way, the RAC estimates that 19.2 million leisure trips by car will be made over the weekend, with 3.2 million on Friday alone.

There are also numerous events including the sold out Reading and Leeds festivals and electronic dance event Creamfields.

After the possibility of some heavy showers early on Saturday, settled conditions are likely to develop across southern and eastern England and Wales with sunny spells and dry conditions mixed with the odd chance of scattered showers.

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The North and North West will continue to see “a fairly unsettled weekend”, with various fronts moving in and bringing more persistent rain, particularly for parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.

Temperatures in the South East will reach 21C on Saturday and Sunday and 23C on Monday, slightly below average for the time of year.

On Sunday, southern Britain and Ireland will be mainly dry, with some sunshine, but elsewhere there’ll be showers or longer spells of rain. It’ll be on the cool side again and rather blustery, especially in the North.

A similar picture is expected for bank holiday Monday as southern and eastern Britain will be mainly dry, with bright or sunny spells while the wind will pick up again in the North and West.

Temperatures will remain below average for most of the country.

Looking further ahead, more settled weather is expected later next week to end the month and season, Sky’s Jo Robinson said.

There’s also growing confidence that very warm or hot conditions will affect the South at least.

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Nov 27 2023

Christmas dinner favourites at risk after washout harvest | UK News

Christmas dinners could be in jeopardy with storms causing havoc for farmers struggling with one of the toughest harvests on record.

Britain’s latest potato crop is predicted to hit a record low of 4.1 million tonnes with retailers forced to supplement supplies from cold storage, experts say.

Shoppers can also expect empty shelves after the harvests of broccoli and cauliflower were badly affected.

Supplies of Christmas cornerstones sprouts and parsnips have also suffered but are expected to recover enough to reach plates on 25 December.

Unprecedented rainfall, almost double the average for October, including Storms Agnes, Babet and Ciaran have meant waterlogged farms have struggled to produce enough vegetables for the festive rush.

Fred Searle, editor of Fresh Produce Journal, said: “The British potato harvest has been hit hard by heavy rain and flooding in recent weeks, causing delayed lifting and large crop losses. This was preceded by a cold, wet spring and a cool summer with low light levels.

“With the potatoes that are in store there’s likely to be enough supply to meet demand for the time being, but that might not be the case in the months ahead.”

Lincolnshire grower Martin Tate, who manages 18,000 acres in the county, said: “There won’t be enough broccoli to supply the Christmas dinner demand.

“Cauliflower is still a problem, and you can expect to see empty trays over the next few weeks but may return to normal before Christmas. After some initial issues, brussels sprouts supplies look like they will be okay.”

Experts said that chips will not be affected as those potatoes used for chipping are mostly grown in Belgium.

Earlier this month, T H Clements, one of the country’s largest suppliers of Brussels sprouts with 11,000 acres in Lincolnshire and 1,000 in Cornwall, warned that sprouts would be smaller this year than average.

CEO Chris Gedney told BBC’s Farming Today: “Brussels sprouts are likely to be smaller this year as the larger ones tend to fall in the water and rot.”

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