Wales Feed

Wales' worst June storm since 2004

2012-06-08T14:43:32+00:00

What a day it's been today. More like autumn than summer. It's the worst storm to hit Wales in June since 2004!

Andrew Morgan sent this picture to me on Twitter showing rough sea and waves at Bracelet Bay on Gower.

Shelley Page took this one: waves crashing over the harbour wall in Porthcawl.

Elise Jenkins captured this fallen tree on the Taff Trail in Cardiff.

Fallen tree. Photo: Elise Jenkins

The strongest winds and gales have been in the south and west, especially on the coast. Mumbles Head in Swansea recorded a gust of 67mph. 50 to 75mm of rain (2 to 3 inches) has also fallen in places in the last day or so. So many rivers are swollen. At the time of writing, there is one flooding warning in force in Aberystwyth and 14 flood alerts.

And we're not out of the woods yet. There is still a Met Office warning in force for both heavy rain and strong winds until midnight on Friday. Stormy weather at this time of year is not welcome but it does happen from time to time. You may remember the Fastnet Storm of August 1979.

By 7am tomorrow morning the low pressure responsible for the inclement conditions will be over the North Sea so tomorrow the weather will gradually improve. Mid Wales and the north will start off cloudy with some rain but during the day, the rain will turn lighter and clear so the whole country will turn drier and brighter during the afternoon with some sunshine. The wind will continue to ease as well so feeling warmer than today. Top temperatures 14 to 17 Celsius.

I will be in Rhossili tomorrow to open the Gower Walking Festival. After the weather we've had today, tomorrow will be lovely in comparison!

Tomorrow night I wouldn't rule out a shower in the south and west otherwise it should be dry. Some mist forming and quite cool as well. At the moment, I'm not 100% sure about how Sunday will turn out. There is a risk of some rain, especially in Mid Wales and the south but it may miss us. So keep an eye on the forecast over the weekend.

Next week looks mixed. Sunny spells and showers. Heavy downpours likely in places with thunder. But there is a hint of better weather later in the month so don't put the deckchair away just yet and enjoy the sunshine tomorrow.

Head in the clouds

2010-09-14T16:06:44+00:00

Simon Rolfe took these strange cloud pictures in the skies over Sychdyn in Flintshire recently and e-mailed me to find out more.

These clouds are actually known as Fallstreak Holes and I've actually blogged about them before.

If you spot any unusual cloud or weather formations in the sky, please get in touch.

You can send your pics to me here at wales.nature@bbc.co.uk along with any questions you may have and I'll do my best to answer them here in the blog.

And you never know - they might just turn up on the telly during one of my weather forecasts!

Happy cloud spotting

Derek

The cloud appreciation society website

BBC Weather - types of cloud

Fallstreak holes

2009-10-29T11:12:02+00:00

Mike from The Cloud Appreciation Society has been in touch re: my last blog on strange cloud formations.

Apparently it's know as 'Fallstreak holes' in cloud circles.

Fallstreak holes on Wikipedia:

"A fallstreak hole (also: hole punch cloud and punch hole cloud) is a large circular gap that can appear in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds.

Such holes are formed when the water temperature in the clouds is below freezing but the water has not frozen yet due to the lack of ice nucleation particles.

A fallstreak hole. Image courtesy of The Cloud Appreciation Society:

When a portion of the water does start to freeze it will set off a domino effect, due to the Bergeron process, causing the water vapour around it to freeze and fall to the earth as well. This leaves a large, often circular, hole in the cloud.

It is believed that a disruption in the stability of the cloud layer, such as that caused by a passing jet, may induce the domino process of evaporation which creates the hole".

So there you have it - another mystery solved.

Don't forget to get in touch if you see any unusual weather formations and I'll feature them in the blog.

Derek

Strange clouds over Crofty

2009-10-28T16:15:21+00:00

Sometimes you see some strange cloud formations in the sky, like this photo taken by Mrs Ali Collins.

It was taken over Crofty on Gower. I think the hole is in Altocumulus clouds looking up towards Cirrus clouds above.

After a little help from colleagues at the Met Office, we concluded that the hole in the Altocumulus clouds could either be caused by the distrail from a circling aircraft, or descent in mountain waves.

If you take an usual photograph of a cloud, please send it in and you never know - I might be able to show it on the telly!

Derek

The cloud appreciation society

BBC - Types of clouds

Aurora Borealis?

2009-06-24T13:51:13+00:00

However, It's much more likely that what he actually saw were Noctilucent clouds.

These clouds resemble thin cirrus clouds but are usually bluish or silvery, sometimes orange to red, or reddish when on the horizon.

Thanks to Luke Johnson for this stunning image, photographed over Haverfordwest:

They are rare but can sometimes be seen on clear midsummer nights after sunset and appear to be more brilliant after midnight.

It's believed these clouds actually consist of ice crystals and they hover on the edge of space, about 80km (50 miles) above the Earth.

Noctilucent means 'shining at night', and that's exactly what these clouds do!

Derek

Links:

Aurora Borealis

Noctilucent clouds

The beauty of a big sky

2008-08-12T08:13:32+00:00

Now I don't want to come across too whimsy and profound, but to see the Brecon Beacons with a weather front coming over them with swirls and smudges of grey was a beautiful sight.

The Beacons are as good a place as any to see a whole weather front as there is so much horizon and with the altitude you get to see it framed amongst the landscape.

I've had the pleasure of seeing this kind of 'big sky' a few times and have tried to capture it with my camera but the pictures really don't do it justice.

I've been really impressed by the photographs sent into the BBC Wales Nature group on Flickr and I'd love to see if anyone else has had some success in capturing some moody sky.

Or drop me a line using the comment form below to let me know about your favourite view.

On another note I was amazed to come across a picture of a blue marlin that had been found off the coast of Wales recently. Indeed there are some fantastic creatures that you wouldn't expect to bump into while having a swim off the Gower - but they are in fact frequent visitors to Wales.

The enigmatic leatherback turtle and the strange-looking sunfish do actually travel from afar to eat jellyfish off our shores and are often sighted, occasionally being mistaken for dolphins.

However - a blue marlin?! This is pretty spectacular and surely a one-off. No doubt some people will feel this as another indicator of climate change.

Update on the house martins. To be honest, I'm not a true birder and probably prefer bugs and slugs but I'm getting a tad addicted to the house martins. They're hilarious to watch when they're perched as a 'posse' on the telegraph pole. I really can't get enough. Saying that, I've only seen them once since my last posting and hope that they haven't already left.

Here are my tips for some wildlife to watch out for in the coming weeks.

If it warms up visit a river and witness adult caddis flies skating over the river surface en masse. A great sight if the evening light is right - especially if the trout join in and feed resulting in splashy rises. The river Usk is great for this. Also swifts will be heading off this month - so say your goodbyes while they're still here.

Here's my pick of this week's wildlife web:
Cloud Appreciation Society

And finally a couple of events to watch out for:
Birdfair - 15-17 August.
Batwalk , Torfaen - 15 August.