Extreme Weather in UK (from 4th form revision booklet)

what is extreme weather?

when weather event = significantly different from average/usual weather pattern, especially severe + unseasonal

name 4 weather hazards experience by the UK

• flooding

• droughts + heatwaves

• extremes of cold weather

• storm events

outline flooding as a weather hazards experienced by the UK (4 bullet points + 4 impacts)

• heavy rain/storm waves

• torrential rainstorms/thunderstorms → flash flooding

• several rivers burst their banks in autumn 2019

• impacts:

  • crops ruined

  • damage to homes +businesses

  • death (drown)

  • recovery expensive

outline droughts + heatwaves as a weather hazards experienced by the UK (3 bullet points + 4 impacts)

• long periods with little/no rainfall

• in UK drought defined as 15 or more consecutive days with less than 0.2mm of rain on any one day (2019 summer)

• impacts:

  • roads can melt

  • reservoirs run low, reducing water supplies

  • elderly vulnerable to heat exhaustion (could lead to death)

  • tourism may benefit

outline extremes of cold weather as a weather hazards experienced by the UK (2 bullet points + 3 impacts)

• cold conditions take over if usual depressions (low pressure systems) not passing over UK (winter 2014-15)

• impact:

  • crops fail + cattle may not survive at -10°C

  • businesses + schools shut

  • roads + railways + airlines shut

outline storm events as a weather hazards experienced by the UK (2 bullet points + 3 impacts)

• depressions (low pressure systems) bring heavy rain + strong winds to UK (Scotland 2018)

• impacts:

  • power supplies down

  • trees uprooted causing further damage

  • flood + wind damage businesses + properties

what is the extreme weather UK case study?

The Beast of the East (2018)

what are the causes of the Beast from the East incident? (3 bullet points)

• change in jet stream slows down - allows cold air from Russia

• picks up moisture from North Sea

• pacific waves sent to Arctic = sudden atmospheric warming

what are the social impacts of the Beast from the East incident? (4 bullet points)

• travel delays

• A303 = people spent night in car

• sledging

• thousands of schools closed

what are the economic impacts of the Beast from the East incident? (2 bullet points)

• travel disruption → can’t get to work

• planes grounded/cancelled

what are the environmental impacts of the Beast from the East incident? (2 bullet points)

• coastlines issued with flood warnings

• gusts of 60-70mph in parts of Northern England + Wales

how management strategies reduce risk of the Beast from the East incident? (3 bullet points)

• army called out when Storm Emma - saved lives

• met office red warning - less killed

• gritting roads - economic - people go to work

how is temperature evidence that UK’s weather is becoming more extreme? (5 bullet points)

• Dec 2010 coldest on record for 100 years, warmest April = 2011

• highest temp (38.7°C) = July 2019

• hottest day in Feb ever recorded = 21.2°C (2019)

• lowest temp (-27°C) = Scotland 1995

• coldest March on record = 2018 → beast from the east

how is rainfall evidence that UK’s weather is becoming more extreme? (4 bullet points)

• highest 2 day record of rainfall (405mm) → 2015

• highest 3 day and 4 day rainfall = 2009

• highest monthly total rainfall (1396.4mm) → 2015

• serious flooding is more frequent in winter (e.g. Cumbria 2015)

in terms of the UK’s extreme weather, what is likely to happen in the future? (3 bullet points)

• precipitation expected to become even more seasonal

• rivers expected to flood more frequently in Winter

• air temp expected to increase, causing more drought

in what way might climate change be responsible of UK’s extreme weather

• climate change = warming planet

• Atlantic Ocean increasing in temp which explains UK’s changing rainfall pattern

• rain-bearing depression gain energy + moisture bc warmer ocean

• frequency of rain-bearing storms increased with climate change since 1980s