Atlantic warmth for northern Europe by Everton Fox
The stormy start to the year across northwest Europe finally gave way to quieter weather on Thursday, 12th January. Not only has it been violently unsettled here in the UK, but it’s also been incredibly mild. Temperatures have frequently reached the mid teens over the past couple of weeks at a time when highs nearer 6 or 7 Celsius are more likely.
That mild weather has not been restricted to northwest Europe. In fact, much of northern Europe has been under the influence of very mild air streaming in from the Atlantic. Hence temperatures have been a good deal higher than expected at this time of year. Indeed even stretching across Scandinavia, through the Baltic States into western Russia, very few places have experienced the sub zero daytime temperatures that winter usually brings.
Over the last few days, the temperature in Moscow has reached record breaking values with highs around 5 or 6 Celsius. This compares with a January average of minus 9 Celsius. Meanwhile, Minsk in Belarus had a high of 7 Celsius on Wednesday afternoon. The average is minus 6 Celsius. It is a similar story further south in the Ukraine. On Wednesday afternoon the temperature reached 9 Celsius which is 8 degrees above average.
On the other side of the Atlantic, a burst of tropical air brought a warm night to Louisville, Kentucky in the USA on Tuesday. A minimum temperature of 17 Celsius was recorded. This is some 22 degrees above the average low of minus 5 Celsius. The average high is 5 Celsius.
For real heat we need look no further than Western Australia. The town of Paraburdoo in the northwest hit 46 Celsius (115 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. Mind you this amounts to 7 degrees above the average of 39 Celsius so perhaps it’s not that impressive by comparison.
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