Weather

Before I start the main article I thought it might be interesting to mention a little known fact.  Did you know there are hundreds of 'Tornados/Waterspouts' occurring in the UK every year.  They are not as big as their American cousins and the English definition means they do not have to reach the ground, but none the less they exist and often cause considerable damage.  You may remember the one last year that swept through the outskirts of Newcastle.  Well on Monday 22nd June as I was driving home from work I actually saw my first on over the Hexham and Haydon Bridge area in the middle of an immense black storm cloud.  There we go. Now back to the real article.

In this edition we look at Sea Breezes.  We have probably all heard of them but how do they happen?

Sea breezes often occur on hot summer days but can occur all year round.  They usually occur late afternoon.  As the sun heats the land faster than the sea during the day, hot air rises over the land.  This starts a circulatory wind motion where colder air from the sea is sucked in to replace the hot air rising over the land - this is the resulting sea breeze.  This is not just a local effect a few miles from a coast but is felt as far away from the sea as Kielder.  If the general wind direction and the sea breeze direction are the same then this can result in some quite strong wind forces.

Steve Gibbon

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