Anywhere in the world, the climate is unique. And the inhabitants of different places would have something to gossip at the meeting. That climate of the island of Great Britain does not leave the British, Irish and Scots indifferent. And how many funny sayings they came up with on this subject!
Specific traits
The main feature of British weather is variability. In the morning the sun can shine, and in the evening the sky will be cloudy and colder. Or all day it will be clear and warm, but tomorrow it will rain heavily. There is a special discussion about the latter. Residents of the island say that they have three types of weather: rain in the morning, rain in the afternoon and drizzle in the evening. An exaggeration, of course, but it is really quite humid here.
What can I say, if in the wettest region of Great Britain (this is in Scotland) up to three thousand millimeters of rain fall annually! This is a lot. In the driest place - Cambridgeshire - about six times less, but also a lot. So what is the climate in the UK? It is customary to describe it as moderate, wet and cool. But that says little. To understand the features of the UK climate, you need to study it comprehensively.
Humidity
As mentioned above, there is a lot of rainfall on the island: somewhere more, somewhere less. On average, two thousand millimeters of rain fall annually in the UK. Moreover, the wettest period here is from October to January, and the driest - from March to June.
Snow cover
Winter precipitation, of course, is not uncommon in the UK. Snow falls on the island everywhere, but with a thin cover, and lies mostly for no more than a week. And only in the mountains of Scotland can it be observed up to one and a half months. However, in recent years, in connection with a noticeable change in the global climate, severe snowdrifts have also occurred in London .
Temperature
The warm weather, of course, is not famous for Great Britain. The climate here is more moderate than at the same latitudes in Russia or Canada, thanks to the Gulf Stream (but more on that later). But they say that the inhabitants of Misty Albion at the first opportunity tend to leave the country - for the weekend, of course. And as soon as a warm day is issued, the British immediately take off their warm clothes to tan a little.
Although, again, due to climate change (either warming, or cooling - you can’t understand anymore), on the island in summer the temperature began to rise to extreme values. But for one or two days a year. On average, the temperature here (in the spring-summer period) is 15–23 degrees above zero Celsius. And in winter, rarely when it drops below minus ten. The coldest months are usually January and February. The warmest is in July and August. Severe frosts rarely occur in winter, like drought in summer. But the sundial here is only 1340 a year, which is one third of the maximum value in the world. That is why it is always cloudy here!
The maximum temperature was recorded in August 2003. Then the thermometer rose to 38.8 degrees above zero! The record was set in Kent. And the coldest day in the history of the British Isles is December 30, 1995. On New Year's Eve, the temperature in Scotland dropped to minus 27.2 Celsius.
Wind
In general, the type of climate in the UK can be described as marine. After all, this is an island, and therefore it is not surprising here and the abundance of windy days in the year. Strong hurricanes also happen. As a rule, the sea is more windy than in the mountains and in the center of the country.
So, on the coast of windy days there are up to thirty-five a year. But in the interior of the island of Great Britain, the climate is not so cruel, and blows here no longer than a week. The maximum wind speed that was recorded on the island is two hundred twenty-eight kilometers per hour! This happened in February 1989 in Scotland.
About the weather on the ground
We will tell you more about the situation in different parts of the island of Great Britain. The climate in England is the mildest. But there are also disadvantages. For almost half a year the sun is not visible due to clouds, it often rains, and fogs are not uncommon. The coldest here is in January. But the average temperature usually does not fall below four to five degrees Celsius with a plus sign. But in the warmest time - in July - the street is usually not higher than eighteen. It rains here usually from September to January, and most of all - in October.
In Wales, the climate is also quite mild. The average temperature in winter rarely drops below minus five to six degrees Celsius. A negative record here is at the level of –23. In the summer, the thermometer column most often keeps within plus fifteen to sixteen. The climate is drier in the central regions than in the east.
Scotland is the coldest part of the island of Great Britain. The climate here is also quite mild, but still different from other regions. Snow often falls in the mountains in winter, and the average January temperature is minus three degrees Celsius. The warmest time of the year is July. The air here warms up to plus fifteen. Do not sunbathe. But fogs and rains in the region happen up to two hundred and forty days a year. This is especially true for the western regions.
It is impossible not to tell about another component of the state of Great Britain. The climate in Northern Ireland is not too different from the Scottish one. The temperature of the coldest month (January) is four to five degrees Celsius. And in July, it rarely rises above fifteen to sixteen.
Who "makes" the weather
The climate features of Great Britain are associated, of course, primarily with the Pacific warm Gulf Stream. According to scientists, it is because of it that the average temperature here is higher than it should be at this latitude, about eight degrees. The Gulf Stream extends over ten thousand kilometers, and its speed is from three to ten kilometers per hour.
The flow per second carries about 50 million cubic meters of water. This is twenty times larger than all the rivers of the world. And this heat transfers as much heat as a million nuclear power plants would produce.
Another factor shaping the climate in the British Isles is high-altitude jet air currents. The speed of some of them is up to five hundred kilometers per hour. They pass at different heights (from ten to fourteen thousand meters). Some of them carry cold air (these are the so-called polar jet streams). Others are warm. The average speed of the latter is 50 m per second.
Now you know what the climate of Great Britain is special. In conclusion, it is necessary to say about some of the consequences of such weather conditions. In the British Isles - a real paradise for growing flowers. This is a plus. Of the minuses, in most houses there is no central heating, and there is one glass in a double-glazed window. Therefore, in cold winters, the British have to use heating pads.