Chippenham & Beyond original

Yep, this is an actual real picture taken on Porthmeor beach this morning. Some fruitcake decided that they were going to head to the beach regardless of the weather and stick out like a sore thumb in the rain and gales currently in Cornwall. All eyes are now on Gale Tomina which is currently across the South-west. During Friday and Saturday, so the storm will move slowly North towards the Bristol channel with winds of up to 50mph and gusts of up to 60mph across hills and coasts. Needless to say it's going to be pretty yucky, but mariners should be aware that the conditions out there will be horrendous for much of the inshore waters across South-west, Western and Southern England. Heavy rain for much of Southern England too as the frontal systems straddle around Tomina, but certainly a weekend for putting up the shelves if you haven't already decided what to do. In one word... sucks! Have a great weekend anyway and don't play ping pong with anyone we wouldn't play ping pong with on Saturday night. Luv y'all!

The Atlantic hurricane season is starting to take hold with the recent upgrade of Tropical Storm Bertha which is currently in the Eastern Atlantic near the Cape Verde islands. Still way too early to predict the exact path of Bertha, however she is expected to continue on a West-Northwest trajectory over the next few days and of course we'll be following her movements closely. This year, both the UK Met Office and the Colorado State University are forecasting an above average season for hurricanes in the Atlantic basin.

Time to batten down the hatches across South-western parts as Gale Tomina pushes in on Friday bringing not just unseasonal but abnormal weather for the British Isles during July. On Friday, the first of the rain edges into Cornwall and Devon followed later by the wind. The real concern comes into Saturday as winds of up to 50mph combine with high Spring tides to create a monstrous swell across Southern regions. Mariners and aviation should prepare for adverse weather and if you're thinking about taking your uncles boat out to sea then make other plans. Tomina is going to hang around for a while. The system is expected to track North into Southern Ireland during Saturday leaving many areas in a blustery, cool and showery airstream. She finally starts pushing West on Sunday with more showers and strong winds leaving the UK scratching its head and wondering where on earth Summer went. Enjoy... not!

Rain clearing away from Eastern areas smartly this morning, however it's a mixed bag on the cards for all areas as low pressure continues to resume its influence on the British weather. At present, the area of cloud to the South of the UK looks poorly handled by the weather models. There appears to be far more convective potential around than most of the models are predicting, however regardless of this, so many areas will see showers and perhaps thunderstorms later today. Showers initially across Western areas this morning, however during the day so these will develop across more Central and Eastern areas. An encore weather-wise for most places on Thursday, however the trouble is already brewing in the Atlantic as a deep area of low pressure pushes in for Friday bringing a wet and windy weekend for all areas.

Well, not perhaps in the same way as some would think, but we've got a classic UK Summer situation developing today, so we thought we'd sex it up a little bit and show you how thermal troughs should be bigged up in the same way as deep lows. Right now, we've got a system out in the Atlantic called Gale Renate. Because Renate isn't moving that quickly, the air ahead of it is being pumped up from the South bringing us some lovely warm and sunny weather. However, to the West, so cooler air is being pushed in at around 10,000ft. The result? well it's a bit like a boiling plate. You've got hot temperatures at the surface, then cooler air moving in above which will let the little hot air bubbles rise up to 30,000ft. Today we have the warm temperatures, we have a plume of moist air pushing in from the South and we also have cooler air pushing in from the West. Perfect conditions for some home grown and imported thunderstorms. The plume of moist air is expected to pass across the South-east of the UK during Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. With such potent energy there is a high risk of hail and also a low risk of weak tornadoes for a time. So there you go, thermal troughs are sexy and it's official.... and if anyone tells you different then send them to Metcheck.

A fine start to the working week, however things will soon change as Gale Renate pushes in slowly from the Atlantic. The first sign of the unsettled weather will push into Western Ireland during the course of today. Gradually, the frontal system will push slowly East with some heavy, possibly thundery showers ahead of it across Southern and Eastern England during Tuesday afternoon. From Wednesday Renate is in full control and sitting over the UK bringing a mixture of sunshine and showers with the additional risk of further rain pushing in from the South-west on Thursday. Summer it ain't!

Some early cloud across much of the country this morning heralds an incoming frontal system which will bring showers in from the North-west throughout today. Already, some showers have developed across parts of Western Scotland and the Pennines and as the day pushes on, so these will become more widespread as they head South-east. Kent and the far South-east could stay dry as the showers begin to die away once the sun sets, however for many Central and Western areas, so a few showers can be expected later this afternoon. A misty night to come across much of England and Wales, however the sun should return on Monday for many parts, with the exception of the far South coast which could hang on to the low cloud well into the afternoon. Cloud thickening across Western areas too as the next weather system to grace our shores heads in from the Atlantic.

A heads up on some more unsettled weather this week as winds swing to the South ahead of an incoming depression. As usual, this mixture of heat, humidity and instability will have to be watched closely on Tuesday night as some widespread heavy thunderstorms could push in from the near continent. On the plus side, this does mean that warmer temperatures can be expected for most on Tuesday with up to 25&deg:c possible across the South-east and Central areas.

A dull and cloudy start for the weekend days for most areas, however the sunshine will break through across Central and Eastern parts. The UK is currently situated in the blustery wake of Depression Patrizia. The result is showers across Northern England, dull and cloudy weather across Western parts, however as you move East, so the moisture drops and with it cloud levels too. More sunshine around for Ireland and Scotland on Sunday as the area of low pressure pushes out further into the North Sea. Into next week and a warm, sunny start to the week for many parts as a plume of warm air pushes in from the South, however behind it, low pressure tracks in again from the Atlantic bringing a more unsettled picture from Wednesday onwards. Honestly, we are trying to be optimistic about the weather, but at the moment we're about as cheery as the 10 o'clock news read with a headache..... don't worry, we're sure Summer will turn up eventually.