Weather in the NEWS

September 1999
Europe: 28th August 1999
Clear skies across much of Europe - 28th August 1999

August Bank Holiday sunshine brings out the crowds

The prospect of a real summer bank holiday with plenty of sunshine and high temperatures across most of the UK brought out the crowds with long queues on roads leading to the coast and popular destinations. After the cloudy eclipse, Cornish tourism was hoping for a bank holiday boost in visitors with the news that warmer waters had brought the sighting of a Great White shark off Port Isaac - a first in UK waters. Across the other side of the Channel a Sperm Whale was sighted near Cherbourg.

The Bank Holiday sunshine was a welcome sign after heavy thundery rain in the preceding weeks. Several areas of the UK suffered very heavy rainfall bringing localised flooding. Lightning strikes caused damage in many areas. Thunder storms are not unusual at this time of year, brought on by high temperatures promoting rapid convectional movements in the atmosphere.

The Total Eclipse of the Sun: 11th August
Total Eclipse of the Sun: 11th August 1999
Meteosat image shows the shadow of the Moon passing across the UK: 11th August 1999 - Image: Eumetsat 		August 11th saw the first total eclipse of the Sun to be visible from mainland UK for 72 years. There was a huge amount of interest in the event - and many hundreds of thousands travelled to the far South West (Cornwall and South West Devon) to see one of nature's most spectacular events.

The day dawned with bright sunshine - but it was not to last as heavy cloud rolled in from the Atlantic and covered the skies across most of SW Britain and Western Europe.

A few lucky viewers (Scilly Isles, Alderney etc.) saw the spectacle of totality through gaps in the cloud - but for most it was a case of watching night fall during the day as the moon's shadow raced across the cloud. Even under the clouds the event was spectacular.

After the eclipse the great rush home began - and main roads out of Devon and Cornwall were clogged as tens of thousands tried to leave the area. The Tamar bridge at Plymouth recorded its heaviest ever daily traffic flow as over 26000 vehicles streamed out of Cornwall in one day (12th August).

The eclipse progresses The eclipse progresses The eclipse progresses
Photographs from above the clouds over Cornwall - taken from an RAF Hercules on 11th August

Hurricane Season gets under way
28th August 1999
Western Atlantic region: 28th August 1999: Image - GOES E
At the very end of August two Atlantic hurricanes were giving cause for concern along the south eastern seaboard of the USA. Hurricane Dennis was sweeping parallel to the coast of Florida and threatening to make landfall in Georgia or Carolina whilst a second hurricane, Cindy, was further out to sea and moving in a north westerly direction towards Bermuda.

Weather forecasters in the US had warned people in Florida to watch developments carefully and to prepare for the storm and possible evacuation. The National Hurricane Center gave warnings of strong winds and heavy rain and also warned that Hurricane Dennis was 'accompanied by large and dangerous battering waves' and 'storm surge flooding' taking water levels to 6 to 8 feet above normal.

Above Average Tropical Storm Activity

Earlier in August (10th) the National Hurricane Center had issued warnings of expectations of above average tropical storm activity during this year's hurricane season (August - October) with at least three hurricanes at categories 3 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale during the period (Cindy was rated 4 on 28th August). By early August most of the factors thought to be needed for hurricane development were already in place and were expected to remain throughout the forthcoming season - including below average air pressure across the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean and above average sea-surface temperatures.

The continuation of hurricane patterns is based on links to patterns of tropical rainfall and Pacific Ocean temperatures. Conditions across the Indian and Pacific Oceans affect the atmospheric circulation throughout the Tropics and over the Atlantic these conditions provide for a pattern of wind and pressure that leads to hurricanes.

Earlier news pages are also available:

1999

  • August 1999 - Brilliant sunny summer - and flash floods kill 19 in Switzerland
  • July 1999 - Summer across the UK
  • June 1999 - the Summer solstice (longest day)
  • May 1999 - Warm weather in the UK - tornadoes in the USA
  • 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.

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Page update: September 1999

Online weather resources: St. Vincent College