0:00:04 > 0:00:07"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."
0:00:07 > 0:00:10A witticism attributed to writer Mark Twain.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13And we do talk about the weather, a lot,
0:00:13 > 0:00:16but there's a good reason - the weather affects our lives
0:00:16 > 0:00:19every day, from the clothes we wear, to the games we play.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22And, while we can't do anything about the weather,
0:00:22 > 0:00:24we can certainly do things with it.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Strangford Lough in County Down.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48It's beautiful in all seasons, especially in autumn,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52when tens of thousands of brent geese take advantage of tail
0:00:52 > 0:00:54winds to carry them from their summer breeding
0:00:54 > 0:00:58grounds in Canada to their winter retreat in Ireland.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07I've come to Castle Espie to meet up with John McCullough,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10and to see these remarkable birds for myself.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17You have a lot of birds here, but I suppose the big attraction
0:01:17 > 0:01:20- this time of year is the brent geese.- Very, very much so.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24These birds here that we see, they're in the zoo side of things
0:01:24 > 0:01:26at Castle Espie, but when you step beyond the gate here,
0:01:26 > 0:01:28you're looking at the wild.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30You're right out there, there's thousands of birds
0:01:30 > 0:01:32that have migrated a long journey to be here,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35so that's really what draws the crowds at this time of the year.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36How many are we talking?
0:01:36 > 0:01:38A couple of weeks ago we did a count of 6,000 plus,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42just in the north end of Strangford Lough, but we reckon about now,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44you could be talking about 20,000 birds right across.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47And they've flown quite a distance from the Canadian Arctic,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49- all the way here.- Yeah, they've flown right
0:01:49 > 0:01:51the way down, over the southern tip of Greenland.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53They stop off in Iceland, because they need
0:01:53 > 0:01:56it as a staging ground, they need to feed up there.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Then they make their way down into Strangford Lough.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01And they're, I suppose literally, coming here for a vacation,
0:02:01 > 0:02:02- away from the cold. - Of course they are.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05- This is their Caribbean.- Yeah, it is.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08It's getting dark up there, it's getting cold up there,
0:02:08 > 0:02:10they're getting hungry up there,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12so the first thing they want to do is get here,
0:02:12 > 0:02:13relax, and fill their stomachs.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16- That's it. That's all they're doing. - Fair play to them.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30This is a lovely little sheltered bay here.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32It's got plenty of eelgrass in it.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34This green stuff that you can see, Barra,
0:02:34 > 0:02:35this is what they're here to eat.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38So this bay holds quite a few brent geese.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41When the tide's coming in, you'll get them flying over this pier,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43and they'll drop in here.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46It's a massive number of the birds that come here.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Yeah, completely significant.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50I mean, brent geese put Strangford Lough on the map.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52This is why this area is so protected,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55because you're talking about nearly the entire world's
0:02:55 > 0:02:57population of this bird, that comes here.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00It's extremely significant.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04They're really relying on a strong north-westerly wind to get here.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05Oh, very much so.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07If the wind is blowing in the wrong direction on migration,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09they'll not move. There's no point.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12They've only so much energy, so what they need is north-westerlies.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14If you can imagine they're in the Arctic,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16they need to be pushed from behind.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19They're not going to fly into any southerlies coming up, because why?
0:03:19 > 0:03:20You'll expend so much energy.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22How long will they stay here once they arrive?
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Well, they arrive in the autumn, and they'll stay right through
0:03:25 > 0:03:27the winter, and then when we start hitting April or May,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29round about the time we would consider hopefully
0:03:29 > 0:03:32to be spring time here, they're going to be turning round
0:03:32 > 0:03:34and heading back up towards the Arctic.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45There's plenty of truth in the saying that
0:03:45 > 0:03:48"a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," and I'm going to
0:03:48 > 0:03:52attempt to get up close, nose to beak, with the resident geese.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54I think I've got somebody a little bit hungry,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57but absolutely magnificent bird.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59It's weird, you kind of expect them to bite your hand.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03'No biting the hand that feeds you, now.'
0:04:03 > 0:04:04No, no more? All done?
0:04:14 > 0:04:18As evening falls over Strangford Lough, the brent geese feed
0:04:18 > 0:04:21and settle down for the night in their winter home.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45I like my weather like I like my tea - not too hot, not too cold,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49and the Gulf Stream does that for me, it regulates the temperature.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50How does it do it?
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Well, it's the strong, swift, warm Atlantic current,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56that goes along the east coast of the United States,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and makes Ireland warmer than it would be otherwise.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03A small tendril of the Gulf Stream, called the North Atlantic Drift,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06comes towards Ireland, and this warms the surrounding waters.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Think of it like our own hot water bottle.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Also, thanks to the Gulf Stream, the north coast of Ireland picks
0:05:21 > 0:05:25up consistent amounts of Atlantic swell.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28People say to me, "Barra, I remember summer last year.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30"It was on a Tuesday."
0:05:30 > 0:05:33We have some of the best beaches in Europe, but it's very rare that
0:05:33 > 0:05:37someone feels brave or optimistic enough to go into the sea.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41But one man who's not afraid to look into the eye of a storm is
0:05:41 > 0:05:43big wave surfer, Al Mennie.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Al has surfed all over the world in search of that perfect wave,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and weather is the hinge on which surfing depends.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13A surfing globetrotter Al may be, but he caught his first wave
0:06:13 > 0:06:14closer to home.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16I got into surfing through being at the beach at Castlerock,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18at the age of nine.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20My brother and I surfed, my mum and dad,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22we've always had boats around the family
0:06:22 > 0:06:25and that sort of thing, so it seemed normal to be in the sea.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27And when lots of people think of surfing, they picture
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Australia, they picture California,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32but we have people coming from all around the world to surf
0:06:32 > 0:06:34here in the north coast, and along the west coast.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Yeah, we have excellent waves here,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39it's just that it's colder here, obviously.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42It's wild in the winter, but we do have very good waves,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45especially the north coast, with a prevailing wind direction in the
0:06:45 > 0:06:47south-west, so that's the best wind, because it blows offshore
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and cleans up the surface of the waves.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52When I'm thinking about the weather, I'm thinking about
0:06:52 > 0:06:55when the next batch of rain is going to come in from the Atlantic, but
0:06:55 > 0:06:57when you're thinking about surfing,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01you're looking at systems around the globe, almost.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Yeah, well, in order for us to get surf here on the north coast,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06we need weather to happen in other parts of the world, to send
0:07:06 > 0:07:08those waves to us.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10There's a misconception where people think, "It's really windy
0:07:10 > 0:07:13"by the sea today, there'll be really good waves for surfing."
0:07:13 > 0:07:16That's not how it is, that's not the kind of waves we look for.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18In particular, I look for these storms,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21these deep depressions starting to form down in the Atlantic, over
0:07:21 > 0:07:24towards the Caribbean, and, believe it or not,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27if we see hurricanes down there, we're sitting here going,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29"There's going to be waves in seven to ten days."
0:07:38 > 0:07:39Al's taking me round the coast now,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42to check out a few of his favourite surfing spots.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47What's the highest wave you've surfed off the coast of Ireland?
0:07:47 > 0:07:51- Probably over 60 feet.- Impressive.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Was that during a storm of some sort?
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Yeah, that was actually back in 2008.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58At the time it was the biggest recorded swell in the Atlantic.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01With all this technology, we can see all these different swells in
0:08:01 > 0:08:04the wind forecast, and everything coming together, and predict
0:08:04 > 0:08:05where the waves are coming to.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08Then, whenever they come to the coast, we've got wave buoys in location.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11A wave buoy is basically a measuring device on the ocean,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13and it's moving with the swell and with the wind,
0:08:13 > 0:08:14and it's recording all this data.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16So when I log into the internet and I see these wave buoys,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20and it's telling me there's a 25 foot swell, and a wave period
0:08:20 > 0:08:24of 15 seconds, I know what's coming, so that's very valuable information.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33And sometimes, Al finds big waves in unexpected locations.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38MUSIC: Riptide by Vance Joy
0:08:44 > 0:08:47And sometimes it's Al who provides the photo opportunity.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52We're at the Giant's Causeway, one of our most popular tourist
0:08:52 > 0:08:55destinations to see all the rocks, but you like to come here to surf.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58- How dangerous is it?- This is one of the most dangerous
0:08:58 > 0:09:01places you can go surfing, and I would not advise it to anybody.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04It's dangerous here, because of all the rocks, in particular.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06It just gets battered here.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08It's an extremely rough, wild part of the coast.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12And these are the charts that you use to figure out where to go?
0:09:12 > 0:09:15This is an Admiralty chart, it shows the depth of the ocean
0:09:15 > 0:09:17and various currents and things on it.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19If you look here, this is where we are at the minute.
0:09:19 > 0:09:20Uh-huh.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23I look at the depth of the sea, and then I look at what direction
0:09:23 > 0:09:26we're going to need for swell, and various things like that.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29So, if you imagine I'm sitting out here normally, on a big day,
0:09:29 > 0:09:30just around where we are.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34I'm looking for a big storm, way up in the North Atlantic,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38so the winds are kept away from us, it's all crazy chaos out there.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41It pushes these swells in towards the coast like that, and we've got
0:09:41 > 0:09:44a local weather system, which is giving us light offshore winds.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47That's ideal, to push off against the swell, to clean it all up.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49- Smoothing out the waves? - Smoothing it out.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52And if you look at these massive cliffs, they kill the wind.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55So if it's a really strong windy day, say it's 25mph, that
0:09:55 > 0:09:59big cliff will knock that wind out of it, so it could be down to 10.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01So in here it could be nice and smooth and clean,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04despite out there being very rough.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Al's enthusiasm is infectious, and I certainly wasn't going to let
0:10:08 > 0:10:11one of the best surfers in the world go without a lesson.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15MUSIC: I Get Knocked Down by Joey Ramone
0:10:23 > 0:10:25OK, it isn't the 60-foot wave,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27but it's still a huge achievement for me.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Let's get the latest on the weather forecast now...
0:10:41 > 0:10:44While Al's looking at the bigger picture and what the weather is
0:10:44 > 0:10:48doing out in the Atlantic, most of us
0:10:48 > 0:10:51want to find out what the weather is doing closer to home.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54People no longer want just a forecast -
0:10:54 > 0:10:56they want a now-cast, an immediate,
0:10:56 > 0:11:01real-time report on the weather, and you already help us do that,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03by posting photographs on Twitter, Facebook,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06and on the BBC Weather Watchers website.
0:11:08 > 0:11:09It looks like a great day
0:11:09 > 0:11:11in the Orchard County of Armagh.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17Well-named, today more than 4,000 acres of Armagh is dedicated
0:11:17 > 0:11:19to apple-growing,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22and I'm at one of the orchards today to meet up with Philip Troughton.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Philip, looking around, it seems summer's been kind to you.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31- Is this a normal crop? - This is a late-flowering variety.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35It has actually cropped reasonably well. In fact, very well.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40There's really two reasons why we grow apples in County Armagh.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43One is tradition. There's a tradition of apple-growing
0:11:43 > 0:11:44in the area.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48The other is climate and, because of the influence of Lough Neagh,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52there's a small area between the rivers Blackwater and Bann,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56where we get slightly less early spring frosts.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Early spring frosts is what totally determines how many apples or
0:11:59 > 0:12:01what crop we grow.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03So it really is that weather-dependent for you?
0:12:03 > 0:12:05It is totally weather-dependent.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Could you do this anywhere else in Northern Ireland?
0:12:08 > 0:12:11There's no apples grown any further north than the southern
0:12:11 > 0:12:12shore of the lough.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17In the UK, there are no apples grown north of Birmingham,
0:12:17 > 0:12:21and we're at a level with Stranraer or southern Scotland.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24So we're probably 200 miles further north than
0:12:24 > 0:12:25apples are grown in the UK.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28So literally its own little micro-climate?
0:12:28 > 0:12:30It's a very little micro-climate,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32which just happens to suit this area.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35How does the weather influence the taste of your apples?
0:12:35 > 0:12:40The sunshine will increase the sugar levels of the apples,
0:12:40 > 0:12:44and the increased sugar levels allow us to make cider.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47It's the sugars in the apples that make the alcohol.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50These eating apples will be pressed into juice,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53and that juice can either be pure apple juice,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57or it can be blended off and made into cider.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01That takes us about six months. There's other by-products.
0:13:01 > 0:13:02Whenever we make the cider,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04we can change that into apple cider vinegar.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Whenever these apples are pressed,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10the by-product of that is basically dry apple.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12And that, we can send for cattle feed.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15And that actually increases milk production?
0:13:15 > 0:13:18In a dairy herd, apples will increase milk production.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21It would be a bit like the spring flush of grass.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26'If an apple a day does actually keep the doctor away,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28'then I've come to the right place.'
0:13:41 > 0:13:44'Weather affects everything we do, in work and play.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50'Clouds, clear skies, wind, rain,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54'and sunshine all have their part to play.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56'What we really need now is a perfect day.'
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Put your elbows in, watch your coat!
0:14:02 > 0:14:03FLAME-THROWER ROARS
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- Is this why you have no hair, it's burned off?- Occupational hazard.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08FLAME-THROWER ROARS
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Hands off for one second. Hands off.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24And we're off. Fantastic.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28We're just going to gently float down, and we'll
0:14:28 > 0:14:30see what's happening with the wind.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- It's remarkably smooth, isn't it? - Yeah, it is.- Wow.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45It's just so peaceful up here. You can barely hear a sound.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48In fact, the only sound is from the flame-thrower that's keeping us
0:14:48 > 0:14:50up in the air.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52FLAME-THROWER ROARS
0:14:57 > 0:14:59This is a lovely, smooth ride, but
0:14:59 > 0:15:01you can't help but feel a little bit helpless.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Yeah, well, to a certain extent, we are.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06The wind's taking us in a direction, but I'm controlling the height.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09That's the important thing, so we're still off the ground.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13MUSIC: Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
0:15:30 > 0:15:33It's not often we get perfect weather like this.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34What do you look for?
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Weather conditions in Northern Ireland maybe aren't the most
0:15:37 > 0:15:40suitable, but we need steady, still conditions like tonight.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41Winds, eight knots maximum.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46Five is ideal, like we're having here tonight, and no rain.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49So our typical unpredictable Irish weather is not great for you.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Why would you want to balloon here?
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Well, they always say, if you learn to balloon in Northern Ireland,
0:15:54 > 0:15:55you'll be able to fly anywhere.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58If you look down around you, the fields are small,
0:15:58 > 0:16:00there's a lot of electric wires and a lot of animals about,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04so it's fun and it's good activity, because
0:16:04 > 0:16:06there's a wee bit of thinking needed, rather than
0:16:06 > 0:16:10having big 40-acre fields that anybody could put the balloon into.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21So now we're drifting down, but you're controlling this?
0:16:21 > 0:16:22Yes, I'm controlling the descent down,
0:16:22 > 0:16:24and we're going to go over the forest here.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27And what you'll find is we've picked up in speed slightly,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29because it's a bit cooler over the forest.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32One thing about the weather and the temperature is,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34the sun warms up the ground at different rates, so therefore
0:16:34 > 0:16:38a ploughed field would be different to a grass field to an actual...
0:16:38 > 0:16:40FLAME-THROWER DROWNS SPEECH
0:16:40 > 0:16:42MUSIC: Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Tonight is great. If you look at any of the trees, even the
0:16:55 > 0:16:58wind turbines, very little movement on them. But there's enough movement
0:16:58 > 0:17:00here to actually move us across the air.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04Your ideal flight time, then, is around dawn and dusk.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Yeah, if you're in there ready to take off from the field
0:17:06 > 0:17:09just as day breaks in the mornings, it's perfect timing.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12And then, in the evenings, you have to be down by sunset,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15so you're talking maybe an hour, an hour and a half, before sunset.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Is it because the thermals during the day can cause you problems?
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Yeah, the thermals are a literal unpredictability to a balloon,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23because it'll move from one thermal to the next thermal,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27and that's not good because you're losing full control of the balloon.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28At the minute, we have control
0:17:28 > 0:17:32because we're going with the wind in the one direction.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39From this height, I can appreciate Mother Nature in all her splendour.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Anywhere in our part of the world can make your senses dance,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14or sing, if the weather's right.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Take a walk in the hazy sunshine, but enjoy it,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20because the clouds floating above might not have a silver lining.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Till next time, bye-bye.