In the extreme north west of Europe it hasn’t been much of a summer so far – cool temperatures (not much higher than 20°C or 68°F), rain, rain and more rain. On the other side of the pond, in North America, the story has been quite the reverse – more than half of the USA is officially in drought, and in some 26 States natural disasters have been declared. And the reason for all this weather chaos?…. One of the four jet streams that circle the earth. The position of the different jet streams varies according to the time of year, but is still far from predictable. At this time of year our own jet stream would normally flow across the Atlantic in a north easterly direction, but well north of the UK, and just to the south of Iceland. This year, so far, it has been quite a different story.

Until now this northerly jet stream has been flowing much further south, almost across the Bay of Biscay, following the coastline of northern Europe, across France, the Benelux and the north of Germany. This high velocity wind that always flows west to east at an altitude of about 7-10km (4.5-6miles), has the effect of sucking up moisture from the Atlantic Ocean, this year keeping the north of our continent cool and wet. It is this same airflow that makes our return plane journeys back from the USA much quicker than our outgoing trips (it is not downhill, contrary to popular belief!)

The very good news is that in the coming days it is expected that high pressure will develop over the Azores, and this high altitude belt of wind will move north, returning to a more normal position for the time of year. Yesterday, we had one of the hottest days so far this year (33°C – 91°F), so we have our fingers crossed, as always, that our ‘normal’ weather will now prevail.

In the extreme north west of Europe it hasn’t been much of a summer so far – cool temperatures (not much higher than 20°C or 68°F), rain, rain and more rain. On the other side of the pond, in North America, the story has been quite the reverse – more than half of the USA is officially in drought, and in some 26 States natural disasters have been declared. And the reason for all this weather chaos?…. One of the four jet streams that circle the earth. The position of the different jet streams varies according to the time of year, but is still far from predictable. At this time of year our own jet stream would normally flow across the Atlantic in a north easterly direction, but well north of the UK, and just to the south of Iceland. This year, so far, it has been quite a different story.

Until now this northerly jet stream has been flowing much further south, almost across the Bay of Biscay, following the coastline of northern Europe, across France, the Benelux and the north of Germany. This high velocity wind that always flows west to east at an altitude of about 7-10km (4.5-6miles), has the effect of sucking up moisture from the Atlantic Ocean, this year keeping the north of our continent cool and wet. It is this same airflow that makes our return plane journeys back from the USA much quicker than our outgoing trips (it is not downhill, contrary to popular belief!)

The very good news is that in the coming days it is expected that high pressure will develop over the Azores, and this high altitude belt of wind will move north, returning to a more normal position for the time of year. Yesterday, we had one of the hottest days so far this year (33°C – 91°F), so we have our fingers crossed, as always, that our ‘normal’ weather will now prevail.