0:00:04 > 0:00:10We talk about it all the time. Because it changes all the time.
0:00:10 > 0:00:20And it is totally and utterly unique. Grab your brollies, hold on
0:00:20 > 0:00:33
0:00:33 > 0:00:37to your hats and welcome to The Welcome to The Great British
0:00:37 > 0:00:45Weather. We are here on Porthminster Beach in St Ives,
0:00:45 > 0:00:50Cornwall, where many people have turned up. We are obsessed with the
0:00:50 > 0:00:54weather. Over the next four weeks will be coming to you live across
0:00:54 > 0:01:04the nation as we celebrate and investigate the wonderful weather
0:01:04 > 0:01:07
0:01:08 > 0:01:13we have. Take this week, there was a tornado in Bognor Regis! We are
0:01:13 > 0:01:17going to introduce you now to our studio. We all moan about it, we
0:01:17 > 0:01:21curse it. But there's a lot a lot about the British weather. I
0:01:21 > 0:01:31guarantee by the end of this hour we will all be converted. Strong
0:01:31 > 0:01:34words. This is the great British Tonight, we will introduce you to
0:01:34 > 0:01:39be a huge battle that goes on above our heads, which makes our weather
0:01:39 > 0:01:43so incredibly changeable. We discover how the weather helped us
0:01:43 > 0:01:48to win World War II. A decision had to be made. The legendary Michael
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Fish joins us. Earlier a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there
0:01:52 > 0:01:59was a hurricane on the way. reveal what it was like in the eye
0:01:59 > 0:02:05of that storm. There's a really bad flood here! We revisit the Cornish
0:02:05 > 0:02:09village devastated by 1.5 billion litres of rainwater. One of our
0:02:10 > 0:02:13children were screaming, we are all going to die! And Chris goes in
0:02:13 > 0:02:18search of the biggest beast in the Atlantic. It could get a bit nasty
0:02:18 > 0:02:21on his boat. The ad is what is coming up later on. We are on a
0:02:21 > 0:02:27mission tonight because what we want to do is completely covered
0:02:27 > 0:02:32this map of the UK with weather pictures from you, pictures taken
0:02:32 > 0:02:36from now until we go off air at about 8:30pm, so we can get a real
0:02:36 > 0:02:43oversight of what the weather is going to be like here. Carol
0:02:43 > 0:02:51Kirkwood, I am admiring your map. was up all night cutting this out.
0:02:51 > 0:02:57North, south, east, west. Sandwich, I've got to go to the Open
0:02:57 > 0:03:01Championship tomorrow - where is it? It's in Kent. Down a bit.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05That's where I will be tomorrow morning. I want to know what the
0:03:05 > 0:03:10weather is going to be like there. If you are there, take a photograph,
0:03:10 > 0:03:14tell me what is going on. But if you are going to take a photograph
0:03:14 > 0:03:17out of your photograph or window, send it to
0:03:17 > 0:03:21greatbritishweather@bbc.co.uk. Include your name, postcode and
0:03:21 > 0:03:27where you took it, but please be careful. Don't take it while
0:03:27 > 0:03:31driving a car or using heavy machinery. And don't take a picture
0:03:31 > 0:03:37directly into the sun. You can also join us in the conversation on
0:03:37 > 0:03:41Twitter. You are telling people not to take pictures into the sun. It's
0:03:41 > 0:03:47been a beautiful day all day in St Ives. Interestingly, it's been
0:03:47 > 0:03:52raining in Truro, just nine miles away. Can we show you a picture of
0:03:52 > 0:03:58the seagull? We were trying to get some general views this afternoon.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Shameless opportunism there. He's got a sandwich. It's been a sunny
0:04:01 > 0:04:04day but it might be raining tomorrow or it could be blowing a
0:04:04 > 0:04:09gale. That's the thing about British weather, it changes all the
0:04:09 > 0:04:18time and you never know what it's going to do next. Welcome to Sama
0:04:18 > 0:04:242007. -- summer. This is flooding on a scale no one here can remember.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29Rainfall of a Buntin just one day. Today has officially been the
0:04:29 > 0:04:33hottest day of the year so far. The umbrellas are being used as
0:04:33 > 0:04:38parasols. Even the indoor attractions are happy. The snowfall
0:04:38 > 0:04:41here was the worst for 25 years. We've had hundreds of lorries stuck
0:04:41 > 0:04:47on the roads. Forecasters tell us things will get
0:04:47 > 0:04:50worse before they get better. Our unique weather is all to do
0:04:50 > 0:04:57with our position on the planet. The whole of the UK just so happens
0:04:57 > 0:05:01to be slap-bang under the place where four colossal air mass meat.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04And air mass is an enormous lump of our atmosphere. At the service,
0:05:04 > 0:05:09it's the same temperature and same humidity over thousands of square
0:05:09 > 0:05:16miles. When different air mass Mead they fight for supremacy and the
0:05:16 > 0:05:20one that wins dictates our measure -- weather. Ladies and gentlemen,
0:05:20 > 0:05:26let the battle commence. Imagine that these guys are what the
0:05:26 > 0:05:30weather mark -- boffins call the polar air mass, bringing freezing
0:05:30 > 0:05:35Arctic air, sending temperatures plummeting across the UK. But
0:05:35 > 0:05:38before you have the chance to put the heating on... Here comes the
0:05:38 > 0:05:42tropical air mass, blazing a trail from the south, delivering warm air
0:05:42 > 0:05:48from places such as North Africa and the Mediterranean. When they
0:05:48 > 0:05:52clash, we get a weather front. There are a lot of places in the
0:05:52 > 0:05:57world that's it and aware that tropical air mass and the polar air
0:05:57 > 0:06:01mass meat. But the UK is extra- special because it also sits
0:06:01 > 0:06:07between a large ocean, that's the Atlantic to the west, and a large
0:06:07 > 0:06:11landmass, that Europe and Asia to the east. And that makes our
0:06:11 > 0:06:15weather even more chaotic and a bit more angry. The maritime air mass -
0:06:15 > 0:06:19these chaps in the blue T-shirts - suck up billions of litres of
0:06:20 > 0:06:25moisture from the Atlantic Ocean. Then it travels east to dumped
0:06:25 > 0:06:30torrential rain on our barbecue. Finally, to the rescue comes the
0:06:30 > 0:06:35continental air mass. Cruising across the dry land up Europe and
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Asia, ready to go to war with the cold, wet front. In a bid to give
0:06:39 > 0:06:45us a warm, sunny day. But that is not the whole story because you've
0:06:45 > 0:06:50yet to meet the big daddy of British weather. The jet stream.
0:06:50 > 0:07:00That can overpower all of those guys. It's a monumental wind that
0:07:00 > 0:07:01
0:07:01 > 0:07:05can fly across the sky at 250 mph. Powerful and determined, if the
0:07:05 > 0:07:09jetstream heads north it blocks the polar and maritime air masses. And
0:07:09 > 0:07:15it's party time for the tropical and continental air masses. Now
0:07:15 > 0:07:19free to smother resin warmth and sunshine. Thanks to the jet stream,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23we enjoyed the hottest summer on record back in 2006. We had 18
0:07:23 > 0:07:29weeks of uninterrupted sun. Even Northern Ireland and Scotland had a
0:07:29 > 0:07:32decent summer. But, as you'd expect, it's not always good news. If the
0:07:32 > 0:07:38jetstream decides to head south, pushing back the warm, dry front,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41we are in for more familiar wet and chilly conditions. And that in a
0:07:41 > 0:07:50nutshell is why we have our British weather. It's unpredictable, it's
0:07:50 > 0:07:55crazy, it's bonkers, but it's ours. And deep down, secretly, we love it.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00I have no idea we had that going on. It explains everything. That's only
0:08:00 > 0:08:03part of the story because there's a very critical part, too. Can you
0:08:03 > 0:08:07hear me over the noise of the waves? The crucial part we have is
0:08:07 > 0:08:11where we are positioned. We are right in between the North Pole. We
0:08:11 > 0:08:16know what the weather is like there. I'm going to go with cold. Down
0:08:16 > 0:08:20here we've got the equator. It's hot. We are in between. You would
0:08:20 > 0:08:25think we would have a similar weather conditions to other parts
0:08:25 > 0:08:29in the same latitude. Latitude, you share your climate with your
0:08:29 > 0:08:36latitude friends. Yes, but in meteorology there are exceptions.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39If we sweep around. On our level and come to Canada. Canada has the
0:08:39 > 0:08:49Winter Olympics for a very good reason, because they get that kind
0:08:49 > 0:08:59of weather. Carry on... Siberia. In Siberia, the temperature can fall
0:08:59 > 0:09:00
0:09:00 > 0:09:06to minus 40. You have to wear a jumper! Kazakhstan there. Russia.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10These are places that have sub-zero temperatures in the winter. Minus
0:09:10 > 0:09:1530. But as you come back to the UK, we don't have that problem. The
0:09:15 > 0:09:20reason for that is we are surrounded by the sea. Yes, did you
0:09:20 > 0:09:24know that in the UK no one is more than 75 miles away from the sea.
0:09:24 > 0:09:29Doesn't it look beautiful? It makes a huge difference to our weather. I
0:09:29 > 0:09:32will show you that in a big experiment. I'm going to introduce
0:09:32 > 0:09:37you to my crowd. Thank you for coming up. You are wondering what
0:09:37 > 0:09:42we are doing. All will be made simple in a moment. I've got an
0:09:42 > 0:09:46experiment. I've got two gentleman and a big freezer van. You are
0:09:46 > 0:09:51saying, where are the two gentleman? They are inside. My
0:09:51 > 0:09:57first volunteer is representing the UK. There he is. With his little
0:09:57 > 0:10:01bowler hat on. My second volunteer is representing Kazakhstan. He is
0:10:01 > 0:10:06wearing that fetching fur hat. I took their individual skin
0:10:06 > 0:10:10temperatures before we went on air, of which were around 27 degrees.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15That is a little bit cool but about average for a young man. I put him
0:10:15 > 0:10:19into this freezer van, which is playing its part in winter in the
0:10:20 > 0:10:24northern hemisphere. It's a chilly zero degrees in there. Mr UK made
0:10:24 > 0:10:28himself comfortable in a bath of water on the right-hand side. Mr
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Kazakhstan was in an empty bath. The UK is surrounded by water and
0:10:30 > 0:10:36is slightly warmer than the temperature of the land in the
0:10:36 > 0:10:44winter. The Bhoys have been in there for just over a quarter of an
0:10:44 > 0:10:50hour. It's now time to reveal the results. I hope you are decent! You
0:10:50 > 0:10:56were panicking there, weren't you? Would you mind coming out, Mr
0:10:56 > 0:11:04Kazakhstan and Mr UK? I'm introducing my temperature gauge
0:11:04 > 0:11:11person. You are? I'm Jean. Are you willing to help me out? I think so.
0:11:12 > 0:11:21Have a little feel and see who is a bit colder. Yes? And how about this
0:11:22 > 0:11:22
0:11:22 > 0:11:25chap? This one is colder. That could go against our experiment.
0:11:26 > 0:11:32Could you put your arms out, I'm going to take the temperature
0:11:32 > 0:11:38officially. This is Mr UK. That is 29.2 degrees. That's quite warm,
0:11:38 > 0:11:45especially as he's been in a refrigerator. And Mr Kazakhstan.
0:11:45 > 0:11:51Poor you. 22.8 degrees. How are you feeling? I'm pretty cold. Come and
0:11:51 > 0:11:54warm yourself up against Gina. Mr UK's temperature has stayed more or
0:11:54 > 0:12:01less the same because he's been surrounded by a warm water, just
0:12:01 > 0:12:08like us here in Britain. Mr Kazakhstan is freezing. Off you go,
0:12:08 > 0:12:12get warmed up. I meant to show you this. It's the key to Carol
0:12:12 > 0:12:17Kirkwood's dressing room. She said you can warm up there any time.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20can't believe you would say that, Chris! Cornwall is one of the most
0:12:20 > 0:12:24popular holiday destinations in the country. It enjoys temperatures
0:12:24 > 0:12:27which are a couple of degrees warmer than the rest of the UK. But
0:12:27 > 0:12:31it has experienced its fair share of wild weather, and it doesn't
0:12:31 > 0:12:40come much wilder than the exceptional storm of 2004, which
0:12:40 > 0:12:47engulfed the small fishing village of Bosc Castle. -- Boscastle. A
0:12:47 > 0:12:52picturesque village this deep in a valley. It was a nice day, a bit
0:12:52 > 0:12:56like today. A few clouds about but it was sunshine. Andy Evans is on a
0:12:56 > 0:13:02family holiday with his wife and three children, Karl, Luke and
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Emily. The Sun have been shining, we'd had a great time, we'd been on
0:13:05 > 0:13:09the beach, things were going well. In the afternoon we decided we'd go
0:13:09 > 0:13:14out and explore some of the other local villagers. Boscastle was one
0:13:14 > 0:13:19of the places we haven't visited before. But the good weather isn't
0:13:19 > 0:13:27holding. And about 11 o'clock, that's when it started raining, the
0:13:27 > 0:13:31clouds started building up. That was the start of it. In the high
0:13:31 > 0:13:36ground above the village an unusually wet summer had left the
0:13:36 > 0:13:40one -- left the land waterlogged. The huge amount of rain water has
0:13:40 > 0:13:46only one way to go. I stood on the bridge and the water was black. I
0:13:46 > 0:13:49have never seen the river that anything like that. The Evans
0:13:50 > 0:13:54family arrive in Boscastle, park their car and head straight for
0:13:54 > 0:13:56somewhere out of the rain. We went into the visitors' centre and
0:13:56 > 0:14:04literally a few minutes later somebody came in to say that the
0:14:04 > 0:14:08river had burst its banks. Peter Templar's restaurant is right on
0:14:08 > 0:14:12the river's edge. It started coming into the base of the kitchen, which
0:14:12 > 0:14:16is when I have to vacate the whole of the restaurant and ask people to
0:14:16 > 0:14:21get out. The raging waters have now overwhelmed the narrow streets of
0:14:21 > 0:14:25the village and there is no way out. You don't realise the amount of
0:14:25 > 0:14:30danger we were in. That water level was rising and rising and rising.
0:14:31 > 0:14:38It was taking everything in its path. It was then that the first
0:14:38 > 0:14:41car came down and hit the bridge, the red one. There's a really bad
0:14:41 > 0:14:51blood and people are getting injured. We need some emergency
0:14:51 > 0:14:54
0:14:54 > 0:14:5957 miles away the Royal Navy Air Service get the call. The rain was
0:14:59 > 0:15:03that heavy, it was flooding the back of the aircraft. There was
0:15:03 > 0:15:11poor visibility and lightning was going off above us. It was
0:15:11 > 0:15:17somewhere you don't want to be in an aircraft. The crew arrived 15
0:15:17 > 0:15:27minutes later. So much debris - there were phone boxes floating
0:15:27 > 0:15:28
0:15:28 > 0:15:31past. That was followed by vehicles. The flood is declared a major
0:15:31 > 0:15:37incident. Every available emergency helicopter is now on its way. But
0:15:37 > 0:15:41in the visitors' centre, time is running out for Andy and his family.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46We climbed up into the attic space. Shortly afterwards, the glass door
0:15:46 > 0:15:51did smash. It was holding back a huge force of water at that point.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55We got this call, "Save who you can" and you get that cold shiver
0:15:55 > 0:16:00that there's serious chance that will be a loss of life. Andy, his
0:16:00 > 0:16:04wife and three kids had been huddled in the attic for a few
0:16:04 > 0:16:10minutes. Suddenly, a massive tree hit the building and most of the
0:16:10 > 0:16:14building, bar what we were in, collapsed. It was like a bomb going
0:16:14 > 0:16:20off. One of our children was screaming, "We are all going to
0:16:20 > 0:16:24die!" We were saying, "No, we are going to be fine." Deep down, we
0:16:25 > 0:16:30were beginning to think, "Are we going to get out?" With the
0:16:30 > 0:16:34building crumbling, the family had been forced on to the roof.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Freezing cold, soaking wet. Just hanging on for dear life. Then
0:16:37 > 0:16:42suddenly, the Navy helicopter appeared and hovered above us and
0:16:42 > 0:16:46it was quite clear that they were here to rescue us. We had to get
0:16:46 > 0:16:50them off. My concern was this building was going to collapse.
0:16:50 > 0:16:56remember just counting our children up thinking that is one safe,
0:16:56 > 0:17:03that's two safe, that's three safe. Before we know it, we have 15
0:17:03 > 0:17:11people in the aircraft. There's people everywhere. The crew were
0:17:11 > 0:17:16amazing. They all risked their own lives that day. They are heroes.
0:17:16 > 0:17:26When you looked at the scale of it, you felt there had to be a fatality
0:17:26 > 0:17:27
0:17:27 > 0:17:34somewhere. Someone had to be in one of those cars or washed-away.
0:17:34 > 0:17:39millimetres of rain fell sending 1 bpbt 5 billion Lee terse of flood -
0:17:39 > 0:17:49- 1.5 billion litres of floodwater crashing on to the streets. This is
0:17:49 > 0:17:51
0:17:51 > 0:17:55Remarkable pictures. Pictures that you never really get over. What's
0:17:55 > 0:17:59confusing me is we are used to rain in the UK. How did that happen?
0:18:00 > 0:18:03There were a lot of contributing things that happened at once. First,
0:18:03 > 0:18:08the weather hadn't been good beforehand so the ground was
0:18:08 > 0:18:11already saturated. Then on that day, we had a convergence line form, so
0:18:11 > 0:18:17we had wind coming from one direction, wind coming from another,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21they bumped into each other and that built great big thunder clouds
0:18:21 > 0:18:25and they deposited a lot of rain in one area for four hours. The other
0:18:25 > 0:18:29half of the story is the geography. Boscastle is at the bottom of a
0:18:29 > 0:18:35valley and it's a steep valley. So it was raining in Boscastle,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39raining on the hills. The rain on the hills had to come down these
0:18:39 > 0:18:44narrow gullies. If you think of a funnel, if you pour water in, it
0:18:44 > 0:18:48comes gushing out from the bottom. This water came pouring down, the
0:18:48 > 0:18:53riverbanks burst and caused the devastation we have seen. No-one
0:18:53 > 0:18:57was hurt. I want to introduce you to a survivor. You probably saw him
0:18:58 > 0:19:02in the VT. Peter, you are looking very smooth here on the beach.
0:19:02 > 0:19:09have to be. You do. Are you over it now? Is it still in the back of
0:19:09 > 0:19:14your mind? Not really. We spent I would say nine months in temporary
0:19:14 > 0:19:17accommodation, four weeks of that was with our son-in-laws and it
0:19:17 > 0:19:23took us 12 months to get back to normality, that is opening the
0:19:23 > 0:19:28business and getting on with trade. Is this your beautiful wife? She is
0:19:28 > 0:19:3335 years. Congratulations. Do you have nightmares about it? No.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36have moved on? Life is great? It is back to being the jewel in
0:19:36 > 0:19:40the crown of Boscastle. It is a wonderful place to live and it is a
0:19:40 > 0:19:45beautiful place to visit. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you - give
0:19:45 > 0:19:49them a round of applause. APPLAUSE I want to introduce you to some of
0:19:49 > 0:19:56the crowd. Look at these lovely faces. Hello. Have you had a lovely
0:19:56 > 0:20:02day? Yeah. Whafrpblgts have you been doing? -- What have you been
0:20:02 > 0:20:07doing? I went to school. Never mind. You all right over here, gang?
0:20:07 > 0:20:14Yes! Good. I'm so - look at this face. She is responsible for this
0:20:14 > 0:20:19lot. I know! Poor old her. You are responsible for us! Alexander?
0:20:19 > 0:20:24shadows are lengthening here as the sun goes down. You can see it
0:20:24 > 0:20:26twinkling away behind us. Now our website
0:20:27 > 0:20:30bbc.co.uk/greatbritishweather has been live since yesterday and
0:20:30 > 0:20:33already loads of people have been in touch and have sent some
0:20:33 > 0:20:41fantastic weather pictures in. Adrian has sent this picture of a
0:20:41 > 0:20:47rainbow. "My sister and I were walking to a section of Hadrian's
0:20:47 > 0:20:52Wall in Northumberland." Nicola Bolton has sent this picture in of
0:20:52 > 0:21:02fog. Look at that. Beautiful. Taken in the countryside near her home in
0:21:02 > 0:21:05
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Chorley. John has sent this picture of a rare cloud form. He says that
0:21:09 > 0:21:12was taken at 12.15am in Fort William on the west coast of
0:21:12 > 0:21:18Scotland. We will be doing clouds next week of course. How is your
0:21:18 > 0:21:24map coming along, Carol? Slowly. I'm glad to hear you mention Fort
0:21:24 > 0:21:28William. That is my stomping ground. You can see how very slowly we are
0:21:28 > 0:21:33building up a picture of what the weather is like across the UK. Now,
0:21:33 > 0:21:37I want to hear from you what it is going to be like or what it is like
0:21:37 > 0:21:43where you are now. This is from Andrew in Exeter. That is a
0:21:43 > 0:21:50beautiful picture. Lovely. So some dark clouds. Let's whack that on.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Hi, Chris. I'm here to help! Live telly! Pictures are falling off! I
0:21:54 > 0:21:58like a man that knows his place! This one is in Norwich. Over your
0:21:59 > 0:22:03side. I know where Norwich is. last one is from Matthew in
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Coventry. Another beautiful one. Chris, do you want to stick that
0:22:07 > 0:22:10on? Yes. Keep your pictures coming in and don't let your region down.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15You can see that we are missing much of Scotland, Northern Ireland,
0:22:15 > 0:22:21we want you to send them in, too. By the end of this hour, we want to
0:22:21 > 0:22:23cover this map completely. So e- mail your pictures to us at
0:22:23 > 0:22:27greatbritishweather@bbc.co.uk. Remember to include your name, your
0:22:27 > 0:22:31postcode and also where you took the picture. Can we have a few
0:22:31 > 0:22:35faces in there? If you are having a barbecue tonight, send it in. Let's
0:22:35 > 0:22:40see what you are cooking with the weather in the background.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44Especially if will is a miserable upset dad in the rain! We have had
0:22:44 > 0:22:47a great story. Katy has contacted us. I love this. She says she will
0:22:48 > 0:22:52never complain about the British weather again. Why? Last winter she
0:22:52 > 0:22:56was driving on the ice roads when her Mini bumped into another car.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01Ahh! It is good. She expected to be in big trouble but turned out the
0:23:01 > 0:23:07driver was really nice and now she's engaged to him. Why does that
0:23:07 > 0:23:14never happen to me?! She also says she is a looker! I'm going to pay
0:23:14 > 0:23:18for that one! Now, maybe you have a fantastic weather story. Did your
0:23:18 > 0:23:25dog rescue you in the middle of a blizzard? Or maybe you live in the
0:23:25 > 0:23:31sunniest place in the UK which is where? Eastbourne. Could be. We
0:23:31 > 0:23:35have a debate. Help me, Alexander. Thank you very much. If weather has
0:23:35 > 0:23:39such an influence on all our lives, it is hardly surprising it's played
0:23:39 > 0:23:44a pivotal role in shaping our history.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48In 1944, the Nazis occupied much of mainland Europe. Five years into
0:23:48 > 0:23:53the Second World War, Hitler's forces still posed a huge threat to
0:23:53 > 0:23:56the UK. If the Germans were ever going to be defeated the British,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00American and Allied Forces had no choice but to invade Northern
0:24:00 > 0:24:07France and force back the German troops amassed just over 100 miles
0:24:07 > 0:24:10from British shores. The invasion was essential to the success of our
0:24:10 > 0:24:18campaign against the Nazis and by extension to freeing Europe and
0:24:18 > 0:24:25turning Europe into the place it is today, a place of free democracy,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29free political will and choice. invasion involved 156,000 men
0:24:29 > 0:24:32sailing across the English Channel, landing on the shores of Normandy
0:24:32 > 0:24:37to invade through Northern France. However, if the invasion was going
0:24:37 > 0:24:40to be a success, the weather would have to play a key role.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43weather conditions required for D- Day to be a success were complex.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48They needed a whole series of circumstances to come together. So
0:24:48 > 0:24:53the timing of the invasion was crucial. They needed cloud cover no
0:24:53 > 0:24:57lower than 3,000 feet for the operations. They needed visibility
0:24:57 > 0:25:01of at least three miles. They needed high tides so they could
0:25:01 > 0:25:05float over the German beach defences. The man charged with
0:25:05 > 0:25:09predicting these weather conditions was 43-year-old James Stagg,
0:25:09 > 0:25:13reporting directly to the Supreme Allied Commander General Eisenhower.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18James Stagg was the senior meteorologist who had been
0:25:18 > 0:25:24commissioned as a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force, he was a
0:25:24 > 0:25:30weather expert. It was his job to head up the teams that forecast the
0:25:30 > 0:25:34weather for the invasion. Stagg was based at Southwick House in
0:25:34 > 0:25:38Hampshire, alongside Eisenhower. From here, the key decisions
0:25:38 > 0:25:45surrounding D-Day were made. Alison Gregory worked in the operations
0:25:45 > 0:25:51room throughout this time. perfectly certain that the job that
0:25:51 > 0:25:56Group Captain Stagg did was vital to the whole operation. So much
0:25:56 > 0:25:59depended on that poor man. pressure on Group Captain Stagg was
0:25:59 > 0:26:03immense. He knew the decision on whether to invade or not to invade
0:26:03 > 0:26:08would be based on his meteorological advice and with
0:26:08 > 0:26:13156,000 troops on standby, many lives were at stake. I had long had
0:26:13 > 0:26:16at the back of my mind the tactical use of weather just to be able to
0:26:16 > 0:26:22pick out some interlude which would be unknown to the enemy forces that
0:26:22 > 0:26:26would allow us to make use of it and catch the people on the other
0:26:26 > 0:26:31side unawares. But weather forecasting in 1944 was not nearly
0:26:31 > 0:26:36as advanced as it is now. It was as much of an art as a science. They
0:26:36 > 0:26:39did use data from weather ships. What they did not have is the sort
0:26:39 > 0:26:44of satellites, the weather satellites that we have today so as
0:26:44 > 0:26:49I say, weather forecasting involved a certain amount of gut instinct as
0:26:49 > 0:26:52well as a considerable amount of technical skill. Stagg knew that
0:26:52 > 0:26:58the next right tide and moonlight conditions to launch an invasion
0:26:58 > 0:27:02would be between the 5th and 7th June but the weather was looking
0:27:02 > 0:27:09atrocious. The rain was pelting down. The wind was blowing. It was
0:27:09 > 0:27:14unimaginable. It must have been frightful for all the senior
0:27:14 > 0:27:18officers having to work out what on earth to do. But then Stagg saw a
0:27:18 > 0:27:20glimmer of hope. After receiving data from a single weather ship in
0:27:20 > 0:27:26the Atlantic, he spotted that a short period of high pressure
0:27:26 > 0:27:30looked like it was moving in from the south-east. He was able based
0:27:30 > 0:27:36on that data to predict a short break in the weather on the morning
0:27:36 > 0:27:41of the 6th June. It didn't mean the just meant that he thought it was
0:27:41 > 0:27:45going to be good enough. There's a big difference. Based on this
0:27:45 > 0:27:51information, Stagg took the momentous decision to advise
0:27:51 > 0:27:57Eisenhower to invade. The whole operation was in suspense and
0:27:57 > 0:28:03everyone in that room knew that within a very few hours now a
0:28:03 > 0:28:11decision had to be made. Eisenhower took Stagg at his word and launched
0:28:12 > 0:28:15the attack. At 11.30 the captain told us that we were leaving to go
0:28:15 > 0:28:24to Normandy to liberate Europe. Stagg was wrong, hundreds of
0:28:24 > 0:28:31thousands of troops could be lost in rough seas. We all understood
0:28:31 > 0:28:34that this is it, you know. It was imminent. As the fleet set across
0:28:34 > 0:28:41the Channel, all Stagg and Eisenhower could do was hope that
0:28:41 > 0:28:48they were right. People of Western Europe, a landing was made this
0:28:48 > 0:28:51morning on the coast of France by troops of the Allied Expeditionary
0:28:51 > 0:28:56Force. Stagg's prediction that there would be this crucial break
0:28:56 > 0:29:00in the weather was correct. For around ten hours on that historic
0:29:00 > 0:29:06day, the cloud cover was perfect for the aerial assault, visibility
0:29:06 > 0:29:12was right for the Naval gunnery and the rising tides enabled the
0:29:12 > 0:29:18landing crafts to sail over the German beach defences. When we knew
0:29:18 > 0:29:26the landing was successful, it was absolutely wonderful. Absolutely
0:29:26 > 0:29:34thrilled to bits. How the hell our boys landed on this beach, I'll
0:29:34 > 0:29:38never, never ever know. Only God above can say miracles happened
0:29:38 > 0:29:46that day. They got there and did a wonderful job. I feel privileged to
0:29:46 > 0:29:50be part of it. That one man, James Stagg, his weather forecasts given
0:29:50 > 0:30:00to General Eisenhower with his advice made the invasion possible
0:30:00 > 0:30:00
0:30:00 > 0:30:06and began the process that ended That's incredibly moving. It is.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10You realise the responsibility on one man. He said, you know what, I
0:30:10 > 0:30:13feel this is the right day. If he'd got it wrong, history would have
0:30:13 > 0:30:16been changed. A lot of Germans had been told to stand down because
0:30:16 > 0:30:22they thought it was so unlikely there be any invasion under those
0:30:22 > 0:30:26conditions. So the UK got it right. A man we are going to meet now have
0:30:26 > 0:30:32that responsibility almost every single day. Who are we talking
0:30:32 > 0:30:36about? Have a look at this. Good evening, a very mixed weekend. The
0:30:36 > 0:30:45prevailing south-westerly wind. years of forecasting. So shine and
0:30:45 > 0:30:51showers everywhere. 40 years on television. Over 10,000 broadcasts.
0:30:51 > 0:31:01The weather looks as though it's going to turn... Four times
0:31:01 > 0:31:10national Tyre man of the year. The longest serving TV meteorologist.
0:31:10 > 0:31:20Michael Fish. Ladies and gentlemen, a fish called Michael. Michael Fish.
0:31:20 > 0:31:26
0:31:26 > 0:31:31Welcome. I commend you on your fine neckwear there. What started your
0:31:31 > 0:31:36Paston -- passion for meteorology? A I'm not sure. I look as if I'm so
0:31:36 > 0:31:40young but believe it or not, it was quite a long time ago. There were
0:31:40 > 0:31:43some really good Masters I had at school with physics or geography.
0:31:43 > 0:31:51It could be that we have that horrendous storm in the early 50s
0:31:51 > 0:31:56that killed nearly 2000 people in Britain and Holland. That perhaps
0:31:56 > 0:32:03sowed the seeds to get my interest going. When did you joined the Met
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Office? It was a very good year for the Met Office because in 1962 they
0:32:07 > 0:32:12had their first numerical forecast on a computer, and I joined them.
0:32:12 > 0:32:18Fantastic. What is your favourite story that you tell about your
0:32:18 > 0:32:22events and action in the Met Office? We have the mouse story. We
0:32:22 > 0:32:27also have an occasion when I got locked out of the office and Mr
0:32:27 > 0:32:33broadcast because the door handle fell off. There was also this
0:32:33 > 0:32:37occasion when we were just about to go live on air at 6:30pm. I noticed
0:32:37 > 0:32:43this mouse running around the studio. A lady news reader was not
0:32:43 > 0:32:52100 % happy, so I popped it in my pocket, did the broadcast...
0:32:52 > 0:32:57are a man of iron! I was very good because I then released into the
0:32:57 > 0:33:06Blue Peter garden. I want to show you pictures of Michael Fish in
0:33:06 > 0:33:12dynamic form. Look at that. If only I looked like that again. Well,
0:33:12 > 0:33:17sort of looked like that again. What was the story behind this -
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Ejide? No, when I used to do Breakfast News in the good old days,
0:33:20 > 0:33:23that was the standard sort of kit. We wore jumpers. People used to
0:33:23 > 0:33:28make them and send their men. That's just one of them. They
0:33:28 > 0:33:32shrink, that's the problem. I can't get them on any more.
0:33:32 > 0:33:40definitely going to wear that on TV the next time. What's your
0:33:40 > 0:33:46favourite Meteorological memory? will gloss over one event. I don't
0:33:46 > 0:33:52know if you are thinking of 1987. The best person to ask his Bill
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Giles, he was on duty that evening. What I always say is when the
0:33:55 > 0:33:59forecast is right and when it's a good forecast, it's my forecast.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02And when it's wrong and an awful forecast, it's the computers
0:34:02 > 0:34:09forecast. Shall we look back at that moment you are talking about?
0:34:09 > 0:34:11It might have been the moment I was referring to. Earlier on today a
0:34:11 > 0:34:15woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the
0:34:15 > 0:34:19way. If you are watching, don't worry, there isn't. Having said
0:34:19 > 0:34:25that, the weather will become very windy but most of the strong winds
0:34:25 > 0:34:32will be over Spain and across into France. The Spanish and French got
0:34:32 > 0:34:36a good warning. You knew about it. The unfortunate thing was the
0:34:36 > 0:34:41computer got it right five days before. As it got nearer and nearer
0:34:41 > 0:34:45it wandered slightly off the course. Unfortunately, on the night before
0:34:45 > 0:34:50it got it 100 miles or so out. If we'd gone on the forecast from five
0:34:50 > 0:34:55days before on the Sunday, it would have been 100 % right. Does
0:34:55 > 0:34:58everybody in your street do what they do with Carol? What is the
0:34:58 > 0:35:05weather going to be like? Every second of the day. You got it wrong
0:35:05 > 0:35:13again. It's your fault. I get people hitting me with umbrellas.
0:35:13 > 0:35:23They hit you! Yes! Not on this programme. They look friendly. Are
0:35:23 > 0:35:27you friendly? Yes! We are going to set you a challenge a bit later on.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31Weather forecasting is now a billion-pound business, but long
0:35:31 > 0:35:36before we had weather ships, farmers and sailors still needed to
0:35:36 > 0:35:40know what the weather was going to do. They relied upon tips and
0:35:40 > 0:35:46wisdom passed down through the generations. I was chatting earlier
0:35:46 > 0:35:54on to Bridgette and Steve, they are local farmers. What weather rule do
0:35:54 > 0:35:59you stick by? Mackerel sky, not long wet, not long drive. Rain
0:36:00 > 0:36:05before seven, fine by 11. If the swallows fly high, it's going to be
0:36:05 > 0:36:10tried. It's raining cats and dogs. It never rains but it pours. These
0:36:10 > 0:36:17are all really good. What about the rest of them, are any of them true?
0:36:17 > 0:36:23Each week, our meteorologist Tomasz Schafernaker is investigating a
0:36:23 > 0:36:28proverb. A mighty kicks off with the one we've all heard of. --
0:36:29 > 0:36:33denied he kicks off. Red sky at night. Shepherd's delight. Red sky
0:36:33 > 0:36:37in the morning. Shepherd's warning. Red sky at night. Shepherd's
0:36:37 > 0:36:45delight. It's one of the earliest examples of weather forecasts we
0:36:45 > 0:36:50have. It's even mentioned in the Bible. I've come to the Cumbrian
0:36:50 > 0:36:54fells to discover whether raw not it's actually true. A really good
0:36:54 > 0:37:00feeling, it's going to be a beautiful sunset tonight. We might
0:37:00 > 0:37:05just get the red sky that I'm hoping for. We are getting that
0:37:05 > 0:37:11beautiful yellow tinge in the sky. But stunning as this Cumbrian
0:37:11 > 0:37:17sunset is, it might not delight in Shepherd. At the moment it looks
0:37:17 > 0:37:21absolutely beautiful. It but this still isn't the classic red sky at
0:37:21 > 0:37:25night. It's not this guy that's red here, it's the low-lying cloud that
0:37:25 > 0:37:32is illuminated by the setting sun. But it should still allow me to
0:37:32 > 0:37:40test the old theory in reverse. We've woken up to pretty grisly,
0:37:40 > 0:37:45cold, cloudy weather. It's no surprise that this morning isn't
0:37:45 > 0:37:50clear. I'm still in search of a classic red sky. I want to
0:37:50 > 0:37:52understand why it might forecast good weather. Rachel Marston is a
0:37:52 > 0:37:57modern-day shepherd who swears by this primitive method of
0:37:57 > 0:38:01forecasting. Rachel, you run a really successful farm here, you've
0:38:01 > 0:38:05got nearly 2000 sheep. How important is it for you to know
0:38:05 > 0:38:09what weather is coming your way? It's really important as farmers.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13On a hill farm like this, in the winter we need to know if it's
0:38:13 > 0:38:17going to snow, we need to bring the sheep in. In the summer, if there's
0:38:17 > 0:38:21a red sky in the night then we know it's going to be a good day the day
0:38:21 > 0:38:27after. It's a sign of a good spell of weather. So every time you get a
0:38:27 > 0:38:31red sky at night, the next day the weather is brilliant? More-or-less.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35But more or less doesn't quite cut it for a meteorologist like me. So
0:38:35 > 0:38:39I'm putting this ancient proverb to the test by enlisting two Junior
0:38:39 > 0:38:44weather watchers. Rachel's daughters, Abigail and Catherine.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48What we are going to do is each time you see a red sky you are
0:38:48 > 0:38:53going to get us to go like this and put it on one of these days. You
0:38:53 > 0:38:58are going to record each time you have a red sky. According to your
0:38:58 > 0:39:02mum, every time we get a red sky, the next day is beautiful and sunny.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06So if it's nice and sunny you put the sunshine on there, if it's
0:39:06 > 0:39:12cloudy you stick a cloud on there. That way, we are going to find out
0:39:12 > 0:39:18if mum is right. Are you ready? And it turns out it won't be long
0:39:18 > 0:39:28before we have our first test. As I'm leaving, this guy I've been
0:39:28 > 0:39:30waiting. To appear. -- the sky. We are in for a stunning sunset. The
0:39:30 > 0:39:36red light is travelling deep through the atmosphere at a low
0:39:36 > 0:39:40angle. This is a proper red sky. Sunlight is made up of many colours
0:39:41 > 0:39:46which all travel in a different way. Only the red light reaches us when
0:39:46 > 0:39:50the sun is setting up such a low angle. There are several reasons
0:39:50 > 0:39:55why a red sky might mean a good day tomorrow. The simplest one is
0:39:55 > 0:39:59because red light is meeting us from the West, the skies to the
0:39:59 > 0:40:04West are clear. As most of our weather fronts come from the West,
0:40:04 > 0:40:10clear skies mean a fair weather. It's this guy that glows with that
0:40:10 > 0:40:14beautiful orange and sometimes deep red, pink colour. That's what we
0:40:14 > 0:40:19are interested in for red sky at night, shepherd's delight. I have
0:40:19 > 0:40:25to see what Abigail and Catherine come back with. Wasn't that
0:40:25 > 0:40:30beautiful? I'm joined by Tomasz, Rachel, Catherine and Abigail.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35Abigail, can I come to you first? We saw the beautiful sunset there.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40What was the weather like the next day? It was really nice and hot.
0:40:40 > 0:40:48the theory is working so far. This is the chart we asked you to fill
0:40:48 > 0:40:52out. Can you tell me what was going on here? We had to record when it
0:40:52 > 0:41:00was a red sky at night and red sky in the morning. Red sky at night
0:41:00 > 0:41:07there. Next day - lovely. And red sky in the morning followed by...
0:41:07 > 0:41:11bad day. Tomasz, what's the red sky in the morning? You come up with
0:41:12 > 0:41:16lots of interpretations. As a meteorologist, the way I understand
0:41:16 > 0:41:21it is a red sky in the morning means this. Imagine that the sun
0:41:21 > 0:41:25rising in the east. It's illuminating the other side of the
0:41:25 > 0:41:28sky in the West with a beautiful red colour, the clouds are coming
0:41:28 > 0:41:33in. Those clouds may be an indication of an approaching
0:41:33 > 0:41:37weather front. You have the sun in one side of the sky and red clouds
0:41:37 > 0:41:41on the other side of the sky. That is the warning for the shepherd
0:41:41 > 0:41:45that there might be rain on the way. The difference for this one is we
0:41:45 > 0:41:55are searching for red clouds. The one in the evening is the actor
0:41:55 > 0:41:58
0:41:58 > 0:42:02Paul red, blowing up skies. -- the red, blowing it skies. Thank you
0:42:02 > 0:42:07for coming to join us. You look absolutely gorgeous tonight,
0:42:07 > 0:42:15Abigail. Next week, Tomasz will be investigating when carols lie-down.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18Does it mean it's going to rain? -- When cows lie down. Here are
0:42:18 > 0:42:23Alexander and Carol, who should know what they're talking about.
0:42:23 > 0:42:30Any pictures? No red sky but we've got some wonderful pictures.
0:42:30 > 0:42:35Anthony has sent this in of fantastic cloud. We will be doing
0:42:35 > 0:42:45clouds next week. Look at this from Mark, there's a rainbow cloud here.
0:42:45 > 0:42:46
0:42:46 > 0:42:54That is gorgeous. A rainbow cloud, that was taken in Chichester. Ian
0:42:54 > 0:42:59from Newcastle-upon-Tyne has sent in this. That is a son halo. That's
0:42:59 > 0:43:03gorgeous. It's the light refracting through the clouds that leads to it.
0:43:03 > 0:43:08Let's have a look at the map. We haven't been to it recently to see
0:43:08 > 0:43:12how it is doing. It's looking a lot healthier this time. Lots of
0:43:12 > 0:43:15pictures coming in. Lots of interesting ones as well. It's very
0:43:15 > 0:43:19much like the middle section of England into Wales is looking
0:43:19 > 0:43:28cloudy. But in the north of the country there are beautiful, blue
0:43:28 > 0:43:34skies. Very similar to here in St Ives. Isn't this gorgeous? This is
0:43:34 > 0:43:38from Jeff in Merseyside. That looks gorgeous. Itself the evening sun.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41If you haven't got in touch yet, hurry up. You've got about 10
0:43:41 > 0:43:47minutes to get your pictures on the map. We are lacking them across
0:43:47 > 0:43:52Scotland, north-west England and Northern Ireland. Whilst Alexander
0:43:52 > 0:43:59and I have been working our socks off here, where his Chris? He's
0:43:59 > 0:44:03having a cream tea! You caught me then. I am having a Cornish tea,
0:44:03 > 0:44:09but they is a good reason. Cornish cream comes from Cornwall but I'm
0:44:09 > 0:44:19also washing it down with tea from Cornwall. That's right. Tea from
0:44:19 > 0:44:21
0:44:21 > 0:44:27Cornwall. They is a plantation in Cornwall. I'm going to show you
0:44:27 > 0:44:30something else. Look at these palm trees. You are saying, that is
0:44:30 > 0:44:38impossible in Cornwall! But it's all about the climate we get around
0:44:38 > 0:44:43here. The palm trees are sprinkled all up the west coast. So something
0:44:43 > 0:44:53must bring a touch of the tropics to the UK. I tell you what it is.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55
0:44:55 > 0:45:00Cornwall has almost 400 miles of coastline - more than any other
0:45:01 > 0:45:05county in the UK. And channelling its way towards that coastline is
0:45:05 > 0:45:10the largest ocean current in the world - the Gulf Stream. It's the
0:45:10 > 0:45:13reason why this sea is home to some of the most diverse marine life on
0:45:13 > 0:45:19the planet. For me, one of the greatest creatures of them all is
0:45:19 > 0:45:23the basking shark. The second biggest fish in the world. The
0:45:23 > 0:45:30largest can weigh up to seven tonnes and grow up to we colossal
0:45:30 > 0:45:3612 metres long, the same length and weight as a double-decker bus. And,
0:45:36 > 0:45:43if you came across one in these waters you'd be greeted with a
0:45:43 > 0:45:49smile Anita 1/2 in diameter! So today I'm going shark hunting. When
0:45:49 > 0:45:53I say shark hunting, I'm looking for sharks. The only reassuring
0:45:53 > 0:45:57fact about these monsters of the deep is that despite their huge
0:45:57 > 0:46:01numbers off the Cornish coast, they are incredibly difficult to spot.
0:46:01 > 0:46:06They came early this year. We had our first sighting in March, so we
0:46:06 > 0:46:10know that they have already arrived. We've just got to wait and see if
0:46:10 > 0:46:15we can see them today. But what does the Gulf Stream do to attract
0:46:15 > 0:46:19these shy and retiring giants? Well, it's a story that starts in the
0:46:19 > 0:46:24Caribbean. The Gulf Stream is actually an enormous current
0:46:24 > 0:46:28carrying 100 times more water than every river on earth. It begins its
0:46:28 > 0:46:33journey north along the coast of America, travelling 60 miles per
0:46:33 > 0:46:38day and swelling to one kilometre deep and 100 kilometres wide. When
0:46:38 > 0:46:43it's warm waters meet the cold North Atlantic, a current friend is
0:46:43 > 0:46:53created. This turns up the seabed, throwing up nutrients, attracting
0:46:53 > 0:46:56
0:46:56 > 0:47:01What is plankton? The first type is phyto plankton. These are plants
0:47:01 > 0:47:06that live in the water. They are eaten by the tiny animals known as
0:47:06 > 0:47:10zoo plankton. There's some here. The zoo plankton are eaten by
0:47:10 > 0:47:15bigger zoo plankton. I can see them moving about. Eventually the sharks
0:47:15 > 0:47:20will be feeding on these. This is what they want to get out of the
0:47:20 > 0:47:24water, the larger zoo plankton. It's these tiny organisms in the
0:47:24 > 0:47:29waters off the coast of Cornwall that attract the world's second
0:47:29 > 0:47:33biggest fish and the basking shark will consume a staggering 30
0:47:33 > 0:47:37kilograms of them every day. But two hours into our search, it
0:47:37 > 0:47:41doesn't seem to be feeding time. They are right down below, are
0:47:41 > 0:47:47they? They are here all the time. They are down deep so we need the
0:47:47 > 0:47:52surface water to calm so the plankton can congregate to the
0:47:52 > 0:47:56surface and that is when the sharks will come up to feed. So we head in
0:47:56 > 0:48:05search of calmer waters and a little local knowledge. Hello, Sir.
0:48:05 > 0:48:13You haven't seen any sharks? I have seen two. Today? Three weeks' ago.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16He's seen them here but three weeks' ago. This search is going to
0:48:16 > 0:48:21depend on the good old-fashioned British weather. It is nice and
0:48:21 > 0:48:26warm now, but it is a bit choppy. We need the water to be very calm.
0:48:26 > 0:48:36Gary says it will be windy later on so it could get a bit nasty on this
0:48:36 > 0:48:36
0:48:36 > 0:48:39boat. These winds also benefit from the Gulf Stream. Its waters reach
0:48:39 > 0:48:4325 degrees Celsius as they leave the Caribbean and these warm waters
0:48:43 > 0:48:48heat up the strong south-westerly winds as they travel across the
0:48:48 > 0:48:53Atlantic meaning the UK is delivered warm air as well as warm
0:48:53 > 0:48:57water and without this warm water and air, our winters would be
0:48:57 > 0:49:03several degrees colder and Cornwall wouldn't enjoy the mildest and
0:49:03 > 0:49:07sunniest climate in the UK. The sun is going down, it is not looking
0:49:08 > 0:49:12good? No. These are shy creatures and I don't think the weather
0:49:12 > 0:49:19helped us. It is nice and sunny now. But it was choppy early on. It is
0:49:20 > 0:49:24still quite windy? Let's blame it on the weather! How big is a
0:49:24 > 0:49:29basking shark? The size of a double-decker bus. You didn't find
0:49:29 > 0:49:34one? No. Have you seen how big the ocean is? It is like finding a
0:49:34 > 0:49:39needle in a haystack. Are you enjoying the lovely warm water?
0:49:39 > 0:49:42am. If anyone out there has been luckier than Chris and spotted a
0:49:42 > 0:49:46basking shark, please let us know. We have seen how weather can affect
0:49:46 > 0:49:54us on a national scale. Sometimes you have to go a bit smaller.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Weather can be surprisingly local at times. The United Kingdom has a
0:49:58 > 0:50:05landscape that is not only spectacular but also incredibly
0:50:05 > 0:50:10varied. And whilst it is stunning to behold, what is more remarkable
0:50:10 > 0:50:14is how our changing scenery changes our weather. This diversity gives
0:50:14 > 0:50:17rise to microclimates which are local atmospheric zones where the
0:50:17 > 0:50:23weather differs from the surrounding area. They can be as
0:50:23 > 0:50:28small as a window box or as larges a city. These microclimates can be
0:50:28 > 0:50:32significantly warmer or colder or foggier or windier than areas right
0:50:32 > 0:50:36beside them. The microclimates of our nation's large towns and cities
0:50:36 > 0:50:42are known as urban heat islands and it is the man-made landscape that
0:50:42 > 0:50:47is causing them. Densely-packed buildings act like a giant storage
0:50:47 > 0:50:52heater absorbing heat and radiating it back out. Ensuring that cities
0:50:52 > 0:50:54like London can be up to ten degrees warmer than their
0:50:54 > 0:51:02surrounding areas. But while you might assume the coldest place in
0:51:02 > 0:51:12the UK is hundreds of miles north, one night last winter it was in
0:51:12 > 0:51:12
0:51:13 > 0:51:17fact just outside the M25. I'm in Buckinghamshire. You tend to find
0:51:17 > 0:51:24them in valleys and dips. The reason for that is cold air is
0:51:24 > 0:51:29heavier than warm air. So the cold air descends down the valley and
0:51:29 > 0:51:35that allows the temperatures to plummet. Blizzards and widespread
0:51:35 > 0:51:40ice in many parts of the UK are causing severe disruption...
0:51:40 > 0:51:4515th December 2010 the lowest temperature in the British Isles
0:51:45 > 0:51:51was in a tiny frost hollow. There have been record low temperatures...
0:51:51 > 0:52:00A reading of minus 19.6 Celsius was recorded in Chesham,
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Buckinghamshire, by Michael Duke. Chesham has a fantastic
0:52:04 > 0:52:08microclimate? It does. What is unique about it? The geology here
0:52:09 > 0:52:14is very important. We are in a chalk valley. It lets the rain seep
0:52:14 > 0:52:18through it so the soil tends to be drier and drier ground loses heat
0:52:18 > 0:52:23more effectively than wet ground. If you have no cloud, the heat goes
0:52:23 > 0:52:32up into space. If the wind is blowing, that cold air gets blown
0:52:32 > 0:52:37out of the way. If you can block off the wind, you will get some
0:52:37 > 0:52:40really low temperatures. Up-and- down the country, amateur
0:52:40 > 0:52:45meteorologists attempt to chart the huge number of microclimates that
0:52:45 > 0:52:51exist in the UK. Cold night-time air can flow into the shallow
0:52:51 > 0:53:00valley below us. When it snows here, a mile or two down the road there
0:53:00 > 0:53:07is hardly anything on the ground. On some winter's day it can be rain
0:53:07 > 0:53:12ing at one part of the village, but snowing in another part. I'm here
0:53:12 > 0:53:19at a different microclimate. I'm at an award-winning vineyard which is
0:53:19 > 0:53:23basked in sunny and warm conditions. This vineyard sits in a classic
0:53:23 > 0:53:28example of what is known as a dry upland microclimate. It is warmer
0:53:28 > 0:53:31than neighbouring areas in the summer by up to three degrees,
0:53:32 > 0:53:40receiving 11% less rainfall each year than the regional average and
0:53:40 > 0:53:46it is 2% cooler in the winter. particular location just south of
0:53:46 > 0:53:52Oxford has a very good microclimate. We are 160 feet above sea-level. We
0:53:52 > 0:53:56are sheltered on all sides. The Chiltern hills to the north-east,
0:53:56 > 0:54:02the Cotswolds to the north-west and the North Downs to the south. All
0:54:02 > 0:54:06of which give an effect that as the rain approaches, it dissipates over
0:54:06 > 0:54:13the hills and we get a lighter shower so all in all it produces a
0:54:13 > 0:54:19very good climate. So thanks to microclimates within a journey of
0:54:19 > 0:54:2250 miles the great British weather experiences man-made highs, record-
0:54:23 > 0:54:28breaking lows and perfect conditions for creating something
0:54:29 > 0:54:34to toast it with. Cheers. It was a dirty job but
0:54:34 > 0:54:38somebody had to do it! You get champagne, you get cream teas. I
0:54:38 > 0:54:42get wet! Wasn't that Gulf Stream warm? Wasn't it just! Someone
0:54:42 > 0:54:46switched it off. It is nearly the end of the show and loads of you
0:54:46 > 0:54:51have been getting in touch with us. You will love this. "I proposed to
0:54:51 > 0:54:57my girlfriend in a storm 21 years ago. I was knelt in the road and we
0:54:57 > 0:55:02were both soaked. Storms are my favourite weather." That is so
0:55:02 > 0:55:07romantic. "I hope it is beautiful in St Ives next week because that
0:55:07 > 0:55:12is where we are going on our hols." Beautiful tonight in Tyne and Wear
0:55:12 > 0:55:15as well. The map of course has been shaping up. We have hundreds of
0:55:15 > 0:55:20your pictures coming in from across the country showing us what the
0:55:20 > 0:55:25weather has been like over the last hour. Why don't we have a wee look?
0:55:25 > 0:55:29So, this is our final look at the map. Wow! It is looking good. You
0:55:29 > 0:55:34know what we want now. We will be doing this for the next three weeks,
0:55:34 > 0:55:38every Wednesday, send in your weather pictures so we can get a
0:55:38 > 0:55:42good look at the weather. Now, again, across the middle part, we
0:55:42 > 0:55:48have mixed weather. We have a bit of cloud, some sunshine as well.
0:55:48 > 0:55:53Wow, look at this. Gorgeous! Some cars there, the sun. Cloud starting
0:55:53 > 0:56:01to build. This is a lovely one. Where is this? This one is from
0:56:01 > 0:56:05Kenny and it is Stirling. That is a lovely evening. Keep your pictures
0:56:06 > 0:56:09coming in. They have been fantastic. Check out our website over the next
0:56:09 > 0:56:13week as your picture may have made it into our gallery. That is about
0:56:13 > 0:56:18it for tonight. Next week we are coming to you live from glorious
0:56:18 > 0:56:24Ullswater in the Lake District. Our subject, Lake District, what do we
0:56:24 > 0:56:29think? Could it be something to do with rain? And lots of it! Yes.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33Carol is going where no weather presenter has gone before - into
0:56:33 > 0:56:42the heart of an enormous cloud. is very scary. I'm still too scared
0:56:42 > 0:56:46to look down. Oh gosh! That was petrifying. I was not acting in
0:56:46 > 0:56:51that. I have never done anything so scary. We were 5,000 feet up
0:56:51 > 0:56:56amongst the clouds. 5,000 feet?! Normally, when you are that height
0:56:56 > 0:57:00up, you have a lovely great big aeroplane around you. A drink of
0:57:00 > 0:57:05champagne if I know you! We will be going to the wettest place in the
0:57:05 > 0:57:09UK? That's right. We are going to see a lovely family that enjoys 211
0:57:09 > 0:57:15days of rain every year. The Lake District is beautiful. We will be
0:57:15 > 0:57:21there. I want to say, can we have a look around? Are you having a good
0:57:21 > 0:57:26time? ALL: Yes! Have you enjoyed yourselves tonight? ALL: Yes.
0:57:26 > 0:57:35of you ought to go to the chemists and get some aftersun. There is a
0:57:35 > 0:57:39few red noses there. As we have just said, next week we will be
0:57:39 > 0:57:43celebrating clouds so send us your cloud shots and we will showcase
0:57:43 > 0:57:46some of them on next week's show. You can go to our website where
0:57:46 > 0:57:52there is a fantastic cloud-spotting guide and you can find out how to
0:57:52 > 0:57:56make your own rain gauge. Chris, you were keen on doing that?
0:57:56 > 0:57:59getting into this! One more thing to do. No-one gets a free lunch
0:57:59 > 0:58:06around here. Could you have a stab at the weather next week in the
0:58:06 > 0:58:12Lake District and we are recording it! I haven't the faintest idea!
0:58:12 > 0:58:18There is probably going to be a hurricane, tornado, snowstorm, a
0:58:18 > 0:58:22plague of locusts. Anything like that. Seriously, that... That is
0:58:22 > 0:58:26called covering your back! It will probably be wet and windy. We will