June’s weather
After a warm start to the month, low pressure moved in from the north bringing wetter and much cooler weather from June 3rd to 12th.
Warmer weather returned in mid-June, from the 13th to 17th. However, the warmth also sparked scattered thunderstorms across the region. On Tuesday 16th, thunderstorms struck parts of Greater Manchester and Merseyside, bringing local flash flooding and some spectacular lightning displays.
Another hot spell occurred from June 24th to 26th. Temperatures soared to their highest of the year so far with 30.9C recorded at both Bridgefoot, Cumbria and at Blackpool, Lancashire.
However, the heat once again gave way to localised thundery downpours and lightning displays on the 26th.
Lightning can be great to watch but is of course hazardous to anything or anyone in its path. Lightning is a huge discharge of electricity, sometimes containing more than a hundred million volts. Lightning also heats the air in its path, briefly creating the glowing lines of plasma that we see. In fact, this plasma can briefly reach a temperature of more than 25,000 degrees Celsius, around five times hotter than the surface of the sun.
It is no surprise then that lightning is more than capable of damaging electrical equipment and causing a power cut. However, lightning diverters on overhead power lines do act to mitigate this risk by rerouting power from lightning strikes safely to the ground. Furthermore, overhead power lines that have automatic switches can turn the power off for a few seconds to avoid more serious and lengthy power cuts. Accurate weather forecasts can also help power companies plan their resources when there is an elevated risk of disruption from thunderstorms.
If you see any damage to our equipment please stay away from it and call us on 105 or 0800 195 4141 to report it. Once reported we will treat this as an emergency and our engineers will come to fix the problem as quickly as possible.
July’s weather
After a cool, breezy and showery start to the month, there are indications of drier and warmer weather returning before mid-July as high pressure extends from the southwest. However, the high pressure area could well weaken again after mid-month, allowing for a return of showers and thunderstorms.
