Tue 8 Mar 2011
The United Kingdom has a well earned reputation for bad weather. Unfortunately this reputation tends to give the impression that it is permanently raining here but, in truth, we have some incredibly warm and sunny weather at various times of the year. While the very south of England generally has the mildest temperatures and the least rainfall this does not mean that the rest of the UK is wet and cold. In fact, even in the Western Isles of Scotland, I have been known to be outside in little more than T-shirt and shorts (and I really feel the cold) in the middle of January. Admittedly this happens rarely but it highlights the point about Scottish weather in that it is “variable” to say the least.
It has been said, of various parts of Scotland, that you can experience all four seasons in a day. While it is common for people who say that the weather is cold to get a swift reply of “stick around it will change in a minute”, it is also true to say that if it is hot it could just as easily become very cold all of a sudden. If you are sunbathing on a warm beach the sudden drop in temperature can be an inconvenience , if you are hill walking or mountain climbing it could mean a life or death situation if you are not adequately prepared.
One of the main reasons why I am posting about the weather in Scotland is that I am sat inside on the Isle of Harris looking out across a stormy sea with the wind battering the house but I know that, even in a few hours, it will pass and we will see some better weather. In fact, even though it is very wet and windy, the sun is strong. Another reason I am posting about this is the above mentioned danger which, all too often, leads to death. Far too few people realise that it is extremely easy to find yourself in severe difficulty in the hills and mountains of Great Britain and this is extremely true of numerous places in Scotland. Possibly exaggerating the danger is the fact that Scotland has some rather vast expanses of wilderness and while this is exciting to explore it is also extremely dangerous if you are ill prepared.
Even when walking the glens in Scotland it is vital that you are prepared for all weathers! You should always were sturdy walking or hiking boots even if the terrain is not too rough you could easily find yourself with a broken ankle if wearing the wrong footware and imagine the discomfort of having to wait hours before you are found and taken to the relative comfort of the nearest hospital via an emergency helicopter. The truth is that the emergency services in Scotland are amazing but all too often they are wasting their time searching for, and rescuing , silly people who have set off on a walk in summer clothing as though they were taking a walk to the local corner shop. Even some experienced climbers have been caught out by sudden changes in weather and while most folk check the weather forecasts they can never, really, be relied upon 100% of the time.
Oh dear, I am beginning to make Scotland sound awful. This is, obviously, not the case but Scotland does have extreme weather conditions. In the winter the cold can kill but the summer also carries risks. Extreme weather in Scotland also includes the extremely hot and sunny kind. I’ve been in various places in Scotland where it has been the hottest place in Europe. Even Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis can hit well into the nineties in the summer and one year I was there it was indeed the hottest place in the whole of Europe, hotter than in Greece where there were many reports of people dying due to the extreme heat. While sunstroke, heat exhaustion and other heat related things such as sun-burn are distinctly possible in Scotland one of the greatest risks to life, especially with the middle aged and older, is swimming.
If it is extremely hot and sunny it can actually become rather uncomfortable. At such times many of us head to the seaside and take to swimming in the sea but again it is important to take precautions. Always wear a very high factor sun lotion/cream in Scotland as it is possible to get badly burnt even if it appears to be a rather dull day. If you are at the beach make sure the lotion is waterproof but even if it is you should apply it a few times throughout the day to be on the safe side. The numbers of cases of skin cancer continue to rise even though most of us know the risks you are still likely to see people without protection.
Another important point to always keep in mind when swimming is that fresh water will be much, much, colder than salt water. This is why I said earlier that swimming for the middle aged and older can be immensely dangerous. If it is an extremely hot day many people take a dip in water but if it is extremely hot and the water is fresh-water the shock to the body, from the sudden change in temperature, can be enough to bring on an immediate heart attack. Each year there are a number of deaths from people jumping into freshwater lakes on a hot day so please remember this very important fact and no matter how hot it is please ease yourself gently into that lovely loch you see before you!
August 23rd, 2011 at 10:24 pm
Stornoway has never recorded a temperature into the 90s Fahrenheit, according to Met Office statistics. A temperature of 90 Fahrenheit is exceptionally rare anywhere in Scotland (almost to the point of being unheard of), although usually occur in the Borders. The highest recorded temperature in Scotland is 32.9 Celcius (only 91 Fahreneit).
August 23rd, 2011 at 10:43 pm
FYI, after further research, I’ve found out that the highest ever recorded temperature in Stornoway appears to be 26.3 Celcius (around 80 degrees Fahrenheit).
If you have a home thermometer that is giving you readings of 90 +, then I’d have to suggest that you move the sensor into the shade.
Whether the fine, sunny summer days that we normally get in Scotland (with temperatures reaching sometimes into the mid seventies, or even the low 80s in some favoured locations) can be classified as ‘extremely hot’ is a matter of subjective opinion, but I doubt that most people reading this, residing in the US, Australia, Europe, even England would consider the 70s to be extremely hot, so you have to be somewhat careful when writing about the weather for an audience of non-Scots.
August 23rd, 2011 at 11:39 pm
Hi Michael
Thank you for your posts but the Official figures are always a VERY rough guide to the weather conditions. This is especially the case here where you can sit on one beach and have to move to another because it is too hot only to find that the next one (only minutes away) is far too cold or it may even be raining.
Unfortunately there is little they can do to correct this because the few weather stations they have are either close to a road or in a very remote spot where they are checked manually, this means that they often are well away from hot spots. However they have also recorded some extremely unusual numbers when hundreds, if not thousands, have witnessed something radically different. This has led to some very angry reactions, especially when we were hit by a “hurricane”. Now I am no weather expert but I was there when it “hit” and it was immensely dangerous for several hours and then no winds for an hour or so, followed by another extended period of dangerously high winds going in the opposite direction. The sea level rose dramatically to the point where previously considered safe houses were abandoned (which sadly led to the death of one family nearby). Property was damaged, boats were thrown up onto roads and roads were ripped up. We all had to sleep downstairs that night and it was not easy. I spoke to friends while it was going on and they could hardly hear me but they said it had been on the news and described as a “hurricane”. The next day the news again reported it as a hurricane but the following day it was said that it wasn’t. Maybe it is a “classification” thing but everyone noticed that the recorded speeds varied dramatically across the islands and none actually recorded speeds as high as a great many folk witnessed. In fact the wind speeds are rarely recorded as high as they can be and this has led to some problems with people not expecting such force during the winter – I know of one case in particular when I warned somebody that they would have to move their years supply of coal to a safer place otherwise they could lose it. Unfortunately they just laughed but only a few weeks later they were trying to retrieve bags of coal at low tide because the wind had blown them into the sea!
You may have gathered now that I have no respect for “official figures”. I know for a fact that on the 4th of July 1991 the temperature was well into the nineties because I was there! In fact it was stated on the news – I think it was as high as 96 or 97 – and they said it was the hottest place in Europe. The reason I know the date so well is that it was the day my wife gave birth to our daughter in Stornoway’s “old” hospital. I have witnessed extremely hot weather on many occasions when the official figures where ten or more degrees less. These temperatures where for a sustained period of several hours so I do not understand the discrepancies.
Strangely the winter temperatures can also be recorded dramatically different to which you would experience in certain areas of Harris (I say Harris as this is where I have personally experienced it). Now I feel the cold terribly and rarely, if ever, wear a T-shirt but in the middle of January one year the islands had a hot snap and it was so hot I actually spent a couple of days wearing one! Such extremes are very rare but they do happen!
I take great care to ensure that everything I say on this blog is 100% accurate and I thank you sincerely for informing me of these figures but, as I have said, I, and others (in my family and outwith), have personally witnessed the above mentioned weather. I would hope that I have not caused offense with my reply as I merely wished to explain my statements in the blog and, in future, I will take more care to mention the source of my information so I also have to thank you for this.
I must say that I felt motivated to write this particular post because it was a very hot spring day and the TV weather showed a radically different temperature on their map – maybe if I had mentioned this things may have been clearer so I owe you an apology.
Also, what a change to get a sensible and well considered response. I get responses posted on this blog every day but they are always somebody just trying to get a link to their site from here. Their posts are often automated but always include text irrelevant to the actual blog post! What a refreshing change to get one specific to the post, so thanks again
August 23rd, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Thinking about this further, maybe time has increased the numbers in my memory but it was definitely more than 91.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:12 am
Hi. Thanks for your comprehensive response and no offence taken. I think that what may have happened is that the TV news reported figures for temperature in direct sunshine. I think that this was likely done for the sake of sensationalism (eg in the same way that a snowfall of 2 inches in London makes tabloid headlines!). I’ve had a look at the almanac** and the max temperature figures given for the 4th and 5th of July are 22 and 23C. The difference of course, between readings obtained by weather enthusiasts and figures obtained by the Met Office is the equipment used. The Met Office obtains its temperature readings by enclosing the thermometer in a white, slatted box called a ‘Stevenson Screen’, to ensure that the thermometer is always out of direct sunlight and there is no reflected sunlight.
For many years, I myself have kept a house thermometer, here at my home in Glasgow. I found that when I used a model that had a sensor attached to the main unit with a wire, I obtained figures that were patently inflated (when direct sunlight was reaching the sensor, these readings could often exceed 90F), because it was not possible due to the southern exposure of the house and heat radiation of the brick walls of the house, to obtain a reliable shade temperature on warm, sunny summer days. Nowadays, I have a different set-up. The remote sensor unit is located at the bottom of the garden, nailed to a tree in a wooded area, whose canopy sunshine does not penetrate. I tend to find now that my readouts are usually well in line with the figures reported by the Met Office for Glasgow Bishopton (my nearest Met Office site).
Anyway, I hope no offence is taken and I didn’t suspect that you were attempting to mislead your readers, I just wanted to provide a bit of my own perspective based on my own knowledge as a weather enthusiast.
**(http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/maps/city?WEEK=04&MM=07&YY=1991&WMO=03026&LANG=en&SID=03026289cde676b1b44b5e0a38cac05570a86a&ART=MAX&CONT=ukuk&R=0&NOREGION=0&LEVEL=150®ION=0002&LAND=SCO)
August 24th, 2011 at 2:35 am
Thanks Michael your information is highly interesting and directly relevant to this post. I am always keen to get things right as far too many sites give the wrong impression of the Islands (lots of fairy tales) and Scotland in general. This annoys me so much as the truth is more than sufficient to attract visitors!
I had a little giggle when you compared enthusiasts and the Met, the folk who look after some of the Met stations here are enthusiasts!
Most interesting is your explanation about the box used, I’ve never actually looked at one close up I just know where a few are and suspect where others are due to the little windmill things I see here and there. When I was talking about the temperature in Stornoway I was talking about the temperatures in general, in direct sunlight with no wind it was simply too uncomfortable to stand and even in complete shade it must have been in the mid 80 region. Indoors it was painful even though the hospital assured me the heating was off LOL
I can now, thanks to your info, understand the discrepancies but it is such a shame that it would appear that the official readings are really the lowest when people looking at taking a vacation are looking for the warmer spots. I hope that this post now explains everything in as much detail as anyone would possibly need so thanks again.
August 24th, 2011 at 2:40 am
I forgot to ask, when it was -29 in Glasgow a few years back was it really that low or do the official figures here hide something too
August 24th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
As far as I know, the lowest recorded temperature in Glasgow (depending on the particular station you consult) is somewhere around -19C. The title of lowest temperature recorded in all of Scotland is shared between Braemar and Altnaharra, at -27.2C. I’m guessing that -29 (Celcius?) was probably a ‘windchill factor’. Which would have meant that it ‘felt like’ -29C according to the temperature + wind speed formula that the weather forecasters use to calculate how cold it feels on the skin, due to heat loss.
Similarly, there’s also a ‘feels like’ factor that is used in calculating what a summer temperature ‘feels like’ (called ‘humidex’ in the US), taking humidity into consideration; but that doesn’t seem to be used much by UK forecasters, probably due to our temperate climate.