Whether the Weather

"Whether the weather be cold,

or whether the weather be hot,

We'll weather the weather

whatever the weather,

Whether we like it or not.'

In 2014, the British Isles were
hit hard by a large storm with high winds
and 50 foot waves.

When most people picture Britain's normal weather patterns, cyclones such as hurricanes don't usually come to mind. Great Britain is located out in the Atlantic, therefore far away from the low-pressure ares such as the Caribbean that it doesn't get caught up in cyclones. However, that doesn't mean it hasn't been entirely unaffected.

According to Keller and Devecchio a cyclone is large low-pressure system with winds circulating toward the center. Cyclones that occur away from tropic regions are called "extropical," while tropical cyclones are those which occur near the 5 and 20 degree latitude regions where the water is warm.

Strong westerly winds brought high
winds, high waves, and flood warnings to
western parts of the UK. Pictured above
is Dawlish (Devon) taking a beating.

According to Livescience.com, between 1851 and 2010, the UK was only hit by 10 cyclones coming at most within only 200 miles from Ireland! How do these extropical storms show up there? Dennis Feltgen from the National Hurricane Center says that as warm storms like hurricanes move across the Atlantic Ocean, they are no longer fed by the warm water. Unlike tropical storms which form when warm air rises to make spiraling clouds extropical cyclones are fed by cold, dry air, making their cores very cold, (Keller and Deveccio, 333).

To warm people of severe weather, the UK's Met Office offers map which show the movement of potentially dangerous forces in different colors. You can find the website here!