Gordon Fulks writes in about this humorous headline showing how the media catastrophises even simple things like a pleasant weekend forecast:
Hello Everyone:
Just to provide a little balance to the story about snow and cold in the Pacific Northwest that I just sent around, here is a weather story out of Britain:
Source:http://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-hot-sahara-weekend-111451996.html
One comment rewrote this headline as:
‘Sahara to be as cold as the UK this weekend’
20 degrees C is 68 degrees F.
WOW, it is spring somewhere! That’s good news.
Gordon J. Fulks, PhD
This is a great post. Made me laugh. Thanks.
Wow – as hot as 20 – 21 C.
Wonder how all the Brits who migrate to SE Qld survive as during most of summer 20 – 21 is our minimum night time temp ?
Don’t see to many out nightbathing though.
It was great (summer like) day in SW London, at least on the river between Richmond and Kingston.
It was rather springlike here in the south of england today but the temperature at the start of the day was low 10 or 11 and then rose quickly and by sunset fell away again ..we have the heating on now 8pm !…..looking forward to the shale gas!
Seal pups are killed either by hunters using the ice to hunt, or a lack of sea ice?
Warm weather expected to hamper Canadian seal hunt and endanger pups
http://www.straight.com/article-642926/vancouver/warm-weather-expected-hamper-canadian-seal-hunt-and-endanger-pups
…68F….and I would be freezing my feathers off!
Reminds me of the good old days when Britain had an empire, the headlines occasionally would be: “FOG IN CHANNEL, CONTINENT CUT OFF”
I really enjoyed this, thank you 🙂
I’ve got snow on the ground in Pullman, WA, USA.
The Daily Mail prefers the Med and Bermuda as the benchmarks –
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2119253/UK-warm-weather-As-temperatures-21C-today-ready-beach-weekend.html
I am amused that anyone thinks that 20-21 deg C is in any way ‘summery’. Although I suppose it could be a symptom the non-existent summers we’ve had for the past several years.
Nice one Gordon.
Britain has a temperate climate, you know for sure that it’s summer there when the rain becomes warmer.
Truth is in the eye of the beholder
Funny stuff.
Note: Please double check your spelling of the name of PhD Commenter.
“Gordon Folks writes in about this humorous headline…”
“Gordon J. Fulks, PhD”
REPLY: Yeah, autocorrect got that when I typed it in, the other part was cut/paste and didn’t have the issue – Anthony
My news paper says Britian to boil this weekend!
I live in southern England, and I’ve just checked my local forecast online(BBC/Met Office revised at 20.00 tonight).
Highest forecast temps – Saturday pm is 17C, Sunday and Monday is 15C.
Apparently the BBC get cooler weather forecasts than Sky now – standards must be slipping, I can’t imagine what Black will have to say about it.
(I’ve never figured out how to do degree signs!)
the UK BBC forecasters just can’t help but plug the warming meme from the top brass.
all we (joe public) see on weather maps is the UK in isolation, very little of the bigger picture (Europe).
when there is snow in Scotland it’s rushed over, but they like to focus on heat,no rain etc.. & drought in England SE.
anybody know who pays the wages of UK weather forecasters (not just bbc) ?
It’s been around 20C several times here in the Philly area lately…. It’s been nice but I had not thought to go around saying “omg this is just like the scorching hot Sahara Desert”
Funny thing that Sahara. Just this winter snow was observed on the sand where the Star Wars movie was shot.
Dougieh.
Wx forecasters, including BBC, are mostly paid by the Met Office, apart from the private commercial companies.
Algeria and Morocco also got a dusting of global warming earlier this year http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16623355
Visible from space
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=73130
Snow may fall in the UK, especially north, before the true spring arrives. Look for a warmish summer ( plus.5C that will fade earlier than normal, then fall is liable to be quite cold. For most of europe winter 12-13 is liable to make 4 in a row with a bout of severe cold.
Global temps against the 30 year mean are at -.145. See link: (http://policlimate.com/climate/ncep_cfsr_t2m_ytd_anom.png)The next 3 months will be .2 to .25 ABOVE normal but we will continue the jagged downward trend and globally as the fall resumes later in the year,and the coldest autumn since 2000 may be shaping up with the fall of the global temp as seen here, since the shift to the cold pdo link:http://policlimate.com/climate/cfsr_t2m_2011.png Next winter will bottom out colder than this past one.
Better enjoy it while you can folks – this weekend in the UK might be our summer. If the Met Office forecasts another BBQ summer and it runs to recent form then all we can expect is rain.
On the other hand, by the law of averages, we’re due a better summer.
“UK To Be Hot Enough To BOIL WATER This Weekend!!!!!” *
* For those parts of the UK at an altitude above 25 kilometers.
That is horse droppings.
Have a look at the following, which reaches to the north African coast and works pretty well.
http://meteox.com/forecastloop.aspx?type=0&continent=europa
Now look at this and call out the hottists calling England hotter than the Sahara *and* withholding information so you can’t see. That looks like near 35C, much hotter than the all time record high for England.
http://meteox.com/forecastloop.aspx?type=0&continent=afrika
Yes it looks likely to be a pleasant weekend and rather likely next week, high pressure, blocking high yet again… and that is the big news, been repeated blocking, affecting the whole hemisphere. They should address that, do some real work.
Of course what it _should_ have said was:
“Sahara temperatures plunge to below those in Southern Britain! CRU climatologists are forecasting a tipping point into an ice age. UK South coast ports are on standby for the flood of African refugees.”