Official news blog

What is a Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW)?

8 January 2013

You may have heard talk of the UK possibly seeing some colder weather next week and that ‘things going on’ in the upper atmosphere may be playing a part. The ‘thing’ happening in the atmosphere is known as Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW). When it does happen, it attracts a lot of interest in the UK because it is sometimes linked to the onset of cold weather in winter. Here we shed a little bit more light on the phenomenon.

Top ten coldest recorded temperatures in the UK

16 October 2012

This lists the lowest temperatures recorded in separate cold spells since 1961.

When does Autumn start? Defining seasons

20 September 2012

Seasons are fundamental to how we understand the UK climate and the environment around us, but how do we define when they start and end?

How often do we get tornadoes in the UK?

8 May 2012

Over the past few weeks there have been several reports of funnel clouds and tornadoes across the UK. So what are tornadoes and how do they form?

What is ‘feels like’ temperature?

15 February 2012

Have you ever stepped out of the house in the morning and thought, ‘I knew it would be cold, but perhaps not this cold!’