Weather in the NEWS May 1999	Foaling time in the New Forest - Photo: Peter Milford
Warm MAY DAY holiday brings out the crowds After April showers, May arrived heralding the warmer days of summer. This year, April brought some very variable weather with heavy snow falls as far south as Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The end of April gave way to May over the bank holiday weekend - with strong sunshine and high temperatures. But the warm air temperatures were misleading for those on the beaches. Sea temperatures are still low at the end of winter and HM Coastguard issued warnings to those heading for the sea to ensure that they had adequate clothing and equipment for survival in the cold water.
The arrival of warmer weather is a key part of the annual growth cycle for plants and animals. With improved conditions, survival chances are considerable improved for new-born animals and newly germinating plants. Young animals have warmer conditions for the critical first few months of life. By the time temperatures drop again in autumn, they will have put on enough weight to be able to survive the harsher conditions of their first winter. Look around now and you should be able to see newly born foals, lambs calves etc. in fields - as this foal at Brockenhurst in the New Forest.
Sunset over Poole Harbour, Dorset, 2nd May 1999   Photograph: Peter Milford

The May Day holiday saw roads leading to the coastal resorts crowded with traffic. Bournemouth was said to be 'full' with no more parking space and long queues of traffic - and little space left on the beaches. May is the start of the 'season' for many resort areas. With two holiday weekends during the month (May Day and 'WhitSunday') and warmer drier conditions, tourist trade begins to pick up leading up to hotter the summer months of June, July and August.

Corfe Castle, Dorset Photo: Peter Milford

This visible light band image acquired from the 14:00 overhead pass of NOAA 14 clearly shows the clear skies south of a line drawn from the Severn estuary to the Wash. Southern England experiences warm dry conditions, ideal for the spring bank holiday trippers. The celar skies extended across northern France - the image shows the darker region of Paris and its surrounds.

NOAA: Visible light band image - 2nd May

Tornadoes devastate the American Mid-West
Image shows storm clouds moving across the Mid-West of the USA
Whilst Britain enjoyed the warmth of the Spring Bank Holiday, the American Mid-West was experiencing some of thw worst conditions that nature can produce. A series of violent thunderstorms swept across Oklahoma and Kansas bringing what President Clinton described as 'a night of devastation and terror'. At least two major tornadoes formed in the trailing edges of the thunderstorms - together with dozens of smaller twisters. The most powerful storms formed just to the south of Oklahoma City and swept north east - killing 45 people and laying waste to a huge area. Wind speeds reached 260 mph as the tornadoes uprooted trees and buildings, lifted cars and animals into the air and ripped up railway tracks. Estimates suggested that some 12,000 people had been left homeless. Oklahoma Governor, Frank Keating, described the scenes as 'like a battlefield'. 'We have whole communities that simply aren't there any more', he said. A Kansas resident told of the family hiding in the cellar. 'We opened up the cellar and the house was gone. Compeletely gone,' she said. Oklahoma/Kansas Tornado links
	Twisters - destruction from the sky Surviving a tornado - survivors stories BBC News: Search for tornado victims BBC News: Tornado terror in pictures BBC News: Press review: Devastation and disbelief Kansas Tornado Chasers Home Page Oklahoma: State home page Education World - Lesson Planning: Twister! Understanding -- and Surviving -- Tornadoes

Earlier news pages are also available: 1999 April 1999 - Weather difficulties for high-tech weapons in the Balkans March 1999 - Spring arrives - and alpine avalanches February 1999 - Flooding across southern England January 1999 - Storms lashed both northern and southern hemispheres 1998 December 1998 - Dreaming of a White Christmas! - Seasons of the Sun November 1998 - Hurricane Mitch - one of the most severe hurricanes of this century wreaks havoc across Nicaragua and Honduras October 1998 - Typhoons hit Philippines and Japan - Winter weather warnings for UK September 1998 - Atlantic hurricane season under way Summer 98 - information about conditions in June and July. Return to main Weather index page Page update: May 1999 Online weather resources: St. Vincent College