Indian Summer and a warm bank holiday - or has global heatwave passed us by?

Tuesday 25 August 2015

The first half of 2015 was the warmest on record for many countries around the world, but not unfortunately in Jersey (in case you haven't noticed).

We've been missing out on the global heatwave with far more changeable weather which has seen us reaching for our brollies rather than the suncream. With the final summer bank holiday looming, are things going to improve for us here?

Jersey Met’s John Searson said: “Globally 2015 has been the warmest year on record but certainly in this part of the world, it hasn’t been particularly warm.

“The persistence of the jet stream has been driving low pressure systems towards the Channel Islands giving us unsettled conditions.

"In Eastern Europe especially Hungary there has been heat wave after heat wave.”

He said El Niño - a climatic change when ocean water temperature rise above normal across the central and eastern pacific - is the main cause for the first seven months of the year being the warmest on record but says the UK Met don't think there's enough evidence to connect it to the weather in the UK, although he said it is directly connected to other weather systems in the southern hemisphere.

Nothing like that fell yesterday – in fact so far this month the weather station has recorded a total of 107.5mm. But there's more rain on the way and Jersey Met say we're in for a week of mostly wet and unsettled weather.

Jersey Met’s duty forecaster Sarah Weber said there will be a temporary ridge over us as the fronts clear through and we can expect a cloudy day with rain or drizzle. She said there might be a dry spell this afternoon with bright or sunny periods but there’s more rain forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

The good news is that it looks like it will improve in time for the Bank Holiday weekend.

Unfortunately Jersey Met say it’s still too early to say whether we’ll see an Indian summer in the following months.