Sunday 22nd March
Although the wind from the northeast on Saturday was brisk, the many hours of sunshine lifted the thermometer to a peak of 14.1C being 3.3C above average. The UV level of 2.6 was still classed as ‘Low’ whilst another 2.4mm of equivalent rainfall was lost to the atmosphere due to evaporation of plant life and ground sources.
As expected under clear skies, the warmth very quickly ebbed away into the atmosphere after 15.00 reaching freezing point (-0.1C) much earlier than previous nights, at 23.30, and a minimum of -3.2C at 05.52 early Sunday. This was eventually a hard frost of over 6 hours being the coldest night since 14th January.
Sunday began with glorious sunshine that had lifted the temperature to 2.4C by 08.00. The maximum today will again be above average but probably occur shortly after midday. A cold front, with its associated cloud, will drift in from the northwest early afternoon blocking out the sunshine, likely an hour or so after midday.
We have a couple more days of relative warmth. The forecast surface pressure charts indicate the wind backing into the southwest on Tuesday with the wind strengthening considerably. Later on Wednesday a cold front will arrive that will drag in behind it a much cooler airstream from the northwest, squeezed between a depression over Scandinavia and a high pressure system to the southwest. The cold air stream and strong winds due to the squeeze, will mean a cold snap arrives for the remainder of the week will maxima below average, it will feel distinctly chilly after the warmth of recent days.
Continuation of Met Office article on transformed learning and development programme for early-career meteorologists.
“Meteorology is evolving at pace. Climate change, the increasing frequency of extreme weather, advances in data science and artificial intelligence, and growing expectations from our customers and partners are all reshaping what it means to be an operational meteorologist. In response, the Met Office is modernising how it develops its people to ensure the UK’s national meteorological service has the skilled experts needed to deliver world-class weather and climate intelligence in the decades ahead.”
Dr Matthew Watkinson, Associate Dean (Education and Student Experience) in the University of Plymouth’s Faculty of Science and Engineering, said: “This is a proud moment for everyone at the University. The Met Office is known across the world as a definitive voice of meteorological and climate expertise, and we are excited to be working together to train and inspire future generations of meteorologists.
“This project recognises our excellence in providing innovative and transformational educational solutions for our partners, and harnessing our expertise in ways that can benefit people and the planet. We are excited and honoured to be working together with the Met Office in facilitating such transformational change and creating a world-class training experience for their meteorologists.”
Design work is now underway, and the first cohort of Foundation Operational Meteorologists is expected to begin training under the new model in autumn 2026.