Rishi Sunak’s bold decision to call a general election in the middle of yesterday’s downpour has opened the floodgates on social media.
The prime minister stood outside No.10 Downing Street, in the pouring rain, and declared a general election would be held on July 4.
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He then immediately tried to rally voters with a few digs at Labour over the party’s campaigns and policies.
But, no one really focused on that. Most of the attention was on Sunak’s suit, which became completely sodden within minutes.
While all the journalists there to capture the historic moment were sensibly wearing coats or carrying umbrellas, the PM’s bizarre decision to go without for such a pivotal moment, has been demolished by everyone, including today’s newspapers.
Protesters also blared Labour’s 1997 election theme tune – D:Ream’s Things Will Only Get Better – throughout the PM’s speech.
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And so critics were quick to coin the phrase “Things Will Only Get Wetter” in a scathing take on Sunak’s announcement.
Considering the Conservatives are around 20 points behind Labour in the opinion polls right now, the image of a downtrodden Sunak standing in the rain was seen as an apt metaphor by many people on social media.
Others pointed out that the Conservatives actually set up an expensive press conference room within No.10, which is warm, dry and available to use.
Either way, the impact that image of a soaked Sunak has had among his online critics – and the newspapers – is clearly significant.
Here’s a round-up of social media’s best jokes about the embarrassing PR gaffe…
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I wonder if he thought addressing the nation in the rain, facing down the elements, would make him look heroic. But to do so you have to be wearing something from Game Of Thrones, not a Henry Herbert suit.
its how the speaker playing “things can only get better” during todays speech had an umbrella and rishi sunak didn’t. just pure comedy, chaos and shambles. pic.twitter.com/GvkYUxDi9q
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe… Gullis eating soup with a fork. I watched Braverman try to deport a sofa. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain… Time to die.” pic.twitter.com/6Uzq14BcRa
Ah, soggy ol’ Britain. An island where your outfit on any given day should account for all possible weathers because truly, who knows what the day holds? This is especially true during spring when we don’t seem to have any consistency for three solid months.
Following a few weeks of hopeful sunshine, a lot of the country now has, predictably, downpour. Which is set to last for at least the rest of the week with flood warnings even being issued for parts of England, according to the Met Office. Yay.
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Another issue that comes with this weather is that our gardens can get flooded (also known as waterlogged), which is dreadful news for those of us that were excited to finally get back into gardening after a long winter.
However, there are some things we can do to help our lawns recover.
How to fix a waterlogged lawn
Rhiannon Moore, a garden expert at Toolstation, shared her tips for tackling a flooded garden:
Remove any built-up debris
Moore advises that once the water has receded, you should immediately remove any leftover debris such as sticks and leaves to clear the surface of the lawn. She added that you shouldn’t use a metal rake for this as it’ll damage the already weakened soil surface.
Aerate the soil
Using a garden fork or aeration tool, spike holes into the soil surface that are no more than six inches deep.
Fertilise the soil
Using a feed that’s rich in phosphorus, fertilise your lawn. This will help to promote root growth as well as replace the lost nutrients in the soil.
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Moore added: “It’s also important to remember not to mow a lawn after a period of extensive rain and make sure to avoid watering until the ground has dried out.”
Early signs of waterlogging
If you’re not familiar with waterlogging or are new to the world of gardening, you may not be aware of the signs of a flooded lawn. Moore shared the most important signs to look for:
Bare patches – As the grassroots start to die, it will result in bare patches of lawn. These first strike in the worst affected area
Moss patches – Whilst a small amount of moss is beneficial to a lawn, large amounts of it can cause the grass to die as the moss steals the ground nutrients
Excess weeds – Rogue weeds are a common sight in lawns however, they can quickly take over a weakened lawn and starve the remaining grass of nutrients
Long-lasting solutions for a waterlogged lawn
Level out the ground – If the flooding is only happening in isolated areas, you can add some topsoil and new turf to level out the uneven lawn
Add garden walkways – Each time you walk over your lawn, you compact it beneath your feet. Adding a simple paved garden walkway will help to protect your lawn from damage
Consider a French Drain – If flooding is a regular issue, you may want to consider installing a French drain. This is a gravel-filled ditch with a perforated underground pipe to drain away the water. It’s best to check with your local planning authority before starting any digging
If a storm has been named, it means they pose a threat to life.
The Met Office names them in alphabetically order. Isha is the ninth storm of the winter season (which technically begins in September) so it is named after the ninth letter.
The weather has therefore become much milder in temperature, but it’s much wetter and windier, too.
And that’s why meteorologists keep saying Isha is of particular interest – the UK does not often see storms which see the whole country hit by weather warnings.
According to Sky News, Met Office forecaster Ellie Glaisyer said that the “main thing” about Isha is that it is “very widespread” – and it’s “relatively rare” to have the whole of the UK covered by a warning.
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“That’s the main difference to previous storms we have seen,” she said.
Channel 4 weather presenter Liam Dutton echoed this, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “Storm Isha is unusual because the disruptive winds cover a very large area.”
The Met Office has already issued an amber weather warning for wind for the north and south-west of England, Wales, large parts of Northern Ireland and central and southern Scotland, from Sunday into Monday.
Another warning will be introduced for Sussex and Kent from Monday morning.
Winds of up to 80mph are expected along the UK coasts, and many places will see gusts of 50-60mph inland.
There’s a risk to life in coastal areas, and yellow flood warnings are expected for the next two days.
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Ireland’s meteorological service, Met Eireann, has also introduced amber wind warnings for Sunday, which will escalate into a red storm warning for coastal areas in the north of the country on Monday.
Amber means there’s a good chance of power cuts, and other services could be impacts. Buildings may be damaged, journeys may be lengthened or cancelled altogether and some roads and bridges may close.
It also means injuries and danger to life likely from large waves and beach material thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and property.
A red weather warning means people need to seek cover and protect themselves or their properties.
A yellow wind warning will be in place covering Northern Ireland, north Wales, northern England and much of Scotland from Tuesday until midday on Wednesday.
The winds will gradually east throughout Monday, and overnight it should be a “calmer interlude” according to the Met Office – although it will be wet and windy again on Tuesday.
2023 was the second hottest year since records began in the UK, according to provisional data from the Met Office, with the hottest year still being 2022.
While the UK did not experience same kind of record-breaking heatwave we saw in 2022 – and just dodged the extreme temperatures which hit southern Europe – the weather experts looked at the average mean temperature and found the climate across the two years was not too different.
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2023 had a provisional mean temperature of 9.97C, while 2022′s average mean was 10.03C.
The third highest temperature for the UK was not very long ago either – it was in 2014, when the average of 9.88C. In fact, all of the ten warmest years in the UK have occurred since 2003.
The last year was also the warmest year for a minimum temperature, according to the Met Office, and was ranked the second warmed for Central England Temperature – that’s the world’s longest instrumental series dating back to 1659.
When just looking at Wales and Northern Ireland, they had their hottest year ever, while Northern Ireland had its wettest year since 2002.
Eight of the last 12 months were warmer than average for the UK, particularly June – the hottest for the UK on record – and September, when temperatures peaked at 33.5C on September 10.
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As the Met Office pointed out, human-induced climate change is behind this.
2023′s temperature would have been around a 1-in-500 year event in a climate unaffected by humans – that’s a 0.2% chance of reaching the same temperature each year.
But, due to human’s carbon emissions, there’s now a 33% chance of reaching that mean temperature each year.
By the end of this century, that likelihood could increase to 79%.
And we already know the damage it is doing to the UK environment and biodiversity – the iconic oak tree is also under threat due to the changing temperatures.
The UK was not alone in seeing temperatures rise last year – 2023 is expected to be the hottest year globally.
Met Office senior scientist Mike Kendon said: “The observations of the UK climate are clear.
“Climate change is influencing UK temperature records over the long term, with 2023 going down as another very warm year and the second warmest on record.
“Had the 2023 value occurred during the 20th Century, it would have been, by far, the warmest year on record.”
Of course, the climate crisis isn’t just about rising temperatures.
As Kendon said: “A warmer atmosphere has a greater capacity to hold moisture, so as our climate warms, we expect it to become wetter too and, while there is a large amount of annual variability, that trend is also apparent in the observations.”
We saw 11% more rain than average in 2023, with the UK’s sixth wettest March, July and joint-sixth wettest October, especially after storms like Babet and Ciaran.
December was also a particularly gloomy month – some counties in the UK only enjoyed around one hour per day of sunshine in December, according to the Met Office.
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In fact the UK had just 27.9 hours of sunshine across the whole month.
Storm Ciarán has swept across northwestern Europe today, causing travel disruption and leaving millions without power.
It has triggered a record low for sea pressure levels around England and Wales, and a red weather warning for the Channel Islands.
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The BBC has also reported windows being blown in by the storm and said a roof had been ripped off a house on Jersey.
School closures have already been announced on the island as winds have reached 104mph. Forty people have been evacuated from their homes due to damage.
Outside of the UK, 1.2 million households have been left without power in France and a red weather warning is in place in Spain.
Ciarán comes two weeks after Storm Babet, which came in from the Atlantic and was accompanied with heavy rain and winds. It caused intense flooding in Northern Ireland and the UK.
While there are fears this new storm could last for three days, Meteo France weather service has just downgraded its alerts for strong winds in Mache, Finistere and Cotes d’Armor from red to orange.
Dutch Airline KLM also cancelled flights going to and from Amsterdam. International trains from Amsterdam to Paris were also halted.
The Met Office noted that the storm came off the back of “what was provisionally the joint-sixth wettest October on record for the UK”.
The weather experts noted there’s evidence to suggest the intensity and frequency of windstorms in British winter could be increasing due to climate change – although the data is inconsistent.
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It added: “Storm Ciarán is a fairly normal Autumn storm for the UK, and due to the natural year-to-year variability in strong winds and windstorm numbers, significant trends have not been detected in observations over the recent climate.”
Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) water safety manager Ross Macleod warned: “This rough weather could make visiting our coasts around southern England and Wales treacherous and bring very dangerous sea conditions.”
Here’s a look at some of the most jaw-dropping clips circulating on social media capturing the storm:
And, although it was (alarmingly) the hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever recorded, according to the World Meteorological Organisation, the UK was overcast and grey for much of August.
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So why has it suddenly all changed?
Well, it comes down to a weather phenomenon called an omega block.
This is a weather block which is shaped much like the Greek letter of omega (Ω).
Weather front usually bring rain from west to east across the UK, propelled by the jet stream, the strong winds high above the Earth.
However, a block (like an omega) can disrupt this.
As the Met Office explained: “This just means that a big area of high pressure is remaining almost stationary over the same area for a long time.
“The high pressure can stop weather fronts moving past it, so that they skirt around the edges, or stay where they are for an extended period.”
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At the moment, high pressure just to the east of the UK and centred over Scandinavia means hot and humid air from the south can sweep in and hover over the country.
Higher pressure means warmer and more settled conditions normally.
But, the block means there’s more unsettled weather on either side of the UK.
At the moment, there’s a tropical storm looming in the North Atlantic and storms in Europe, which has pushed the jet stream down – causing the omega shape.
Blocks can also create a heat dome, where high pressure stops it hot air from escaping, meaning it sinks, warming the ground, and in turn heating up the environment.
simarik via Getty Images
Overheated little child is sitting in front of electric fan trying to cool down.
The block could linger for an indefinite amount of time
Weather blocks can hang about for anywhere between a few days to a few months. Once they’re established, they’re pretty hard to move.
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The Met Office noted: “Exceptionally they can persist for months around mid-summer, like in 1976, or mid-winter, like in 1963.”
The UK is no stranger to having a warm September, although it’s only gone above 30C a few times. So far this year, the highest temperature is 32.2C – and forecasters expect it stay above 20C at night in many areas.
But thundery downpours will move in from the west on Wednesday, according to Sky News.
Why we might be experiencing more of these in the years to come
Sky weather producer Kirsty McCabe told SkyNews that blocked weather patterns “seem to be happening more frequently in recent decades, and that could be linked to the effects of climate change on the jet stream.”
She added that the jet stream which flows over the UK may be changing because there’s less of a temperature contrast between the Earth’s equator and the Arctic.
The jet stream is driven by temperature difference. If the stream flow breaks, an area “can become separated and almost break off, taking low pressure with it and weakening its west to east movement’, the Met Office said.
Tens of thousands were without power in Southern California on Sunday night after Tropical Storm Hilary brought damaging winds and the threat of “life-threatening flooding” to the region, prompting warnings across the state and as far north as Oregon and Idaho.
The centre of the storm made landfall in Southern California near Palm Springs on Sunday night after passing through Mexico. Emergency officials urged residents across the state to stay indoors and off flooded roads, and schools in Los Angeles and San Diego cancelled classes on Monday.
“THIS IS LIFE THREATENING FLOODING!!!!!!” the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service wrote on Sunday night. The agency declared a flash flood warning for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties into early Monday morning.
“You do not want to be out driving around, trying to cross flooded roads on vehicle or on foot,” Michael Brennan, the director of the National Hurricane Center, said during a news briefing, per The Associated Press. “Rainfall flooding has been the biggest killer in tropical storms and hurricanes in the United States in the past 10 years, and you don’t want to become a statistic.”
Maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph, but weather officials expected the storm to weaken into a post-tropical cyclone by early Monday. Large parts of California and Nevada were expected to see 3 to 6 inches of rain, with some areas experiencing up to 10 inches in total.
The intensity of the storm and the fact that a hurricane was heading toward California at all has already sparked concerns from climate scientists who have long warned such events will only become more frequent and more severe as climate change continues. It’s too soon to say if Hilary was made more severe by our warmer world, but researchers released a shocking report in 2020 that found climate change is already making hurricanes stronger.
Just as we were beginning to enjoy spring’s sudden warmer temperatures, it looks like they’re about to be pulled out from under us.
The Met Office has issued an update about March’s weather here in the UK and there’s an ‘increasing probability’ of a cold snap arriving soon.
It’s all thanks to a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) in which the Arctic’s high-altitude air warms up and pushes a ferocious mass of low-level polar air towards the UK.
From March 2 to 16 (right in time for Mother’s Day on March 17), the Met Office predicts: “Temperatures will likely be around or slightly above average for the whole period, with perhaps colder conditions relative to average more likely later in the period. There remains a small but increasing probability of much colder weather developing as we move further into March.”
Oh good – just as we were ready to pack away our winter layers for another year.
In a blog post the forecaster added that “the latest forecasts are showing that a major SSW is now likely to take place” but added that “it is important to remember that the occurrence of an SSW does not always equate to a ‘Beast from the East’ type scenario.”
Either way, things are about to get chilly in March – pass the thermals.
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