00:00It appears that there are more storms than ever before in the UK.
00:04The most recent storm season was the most active since 2015, when naming began.
00:10But what is that? What causes seasons to be more or less stormy?
00:15And, most importantly, what can we all do to keep ourselves safe when a storm hits?
00:20Well, I spoke to the experts to find out.
00:24There are lots of key factors when you look at how stormy a season can be.
00:28Part of it is natural variability.
00:31There's a certain amount of randomness inherent in the system.
00:35But there are some contributing factors that you can clearly identify.
00:38One being the extraordinarily high sea surface temperatures that we saw across the Atlantic during that season.
00:44That adds extra moisture and energy to produce stronger storms.
00:50But another key factor, of course, is the position and the strength of the jet stream.
00:55This is a fast-blown current of air that sits five to eight miles above us in the sky.
01:01And it acts as a conveyor belt for storms across the Atlantic.
01:05And during the 23 to 24 storm season, the jet stream was particularly strong.
01:10But it was also aimed directly towards the UK for a lot of the time during that season.
01:15So it picked up a lot of low-pressure systems and hurled them straight towards the UK.
01:20From the 2022 season to 2023 season, we went from only two named storms to 12, you know.
01:26Is the jet stream part of the contribution towards that sort of extreme year-to-year swing?
01:32Or is it something else?
01:33The jet stream is the most important player when it comes to looking at seasonal variability.
01:38And certainly when you look at the difference in the jet stream strength and its position from 22, 23 to 23, 24, the differences are stark.
01:4722, 23, the jet stream was much weaker and it was typically to the north of the UK, allowing higher pressure often over the UK rather than low pressure.
01:56Then the following season, the jet stream was much more powerful and it was aimed directly towards the UK.
02:01So this season-to-season variability in the strength and the position of the jet stream is one of the key factors when looking at how stormy a season can be.
02:10The UK as a whole is getting wetter as a result of climate change.
02:14A warmer atmosphere around the globe can hold more moisture and we are seeing a 16% increase.
02:22We have seen a 16% increase in the last decade in terms of the UK's rainfall.
02:27And much of that increase has occurred during the winter, especially across western parts of the UK.
02:35So winters are getting wetter and a lot of that increase in rainfall is occurring during stormy periods.
02:42From the public safety perspective, you know, what's the single most important message that, you know, you want people to understand going into future storm seasons?
02:49When storms hit, the weather can be very hazardous, particularly on mountaintops or around the coast and when travelling.
02:59So the key message is to pay attention to the forecasts and the warnings.
03:05Avoid those areas that are likely to be particularly hazardous, such as coasts or going up a hill or a mountain
03:11and heading out and, you know, driving a car and so on when roads can be badly affected.
03:17So the key message is to pay attention to the forecasts and the warnings, step-to-date with travel updates.
03:23And, you know, if at all possible, just stay indoors and wait out for the storm.
03:29And, you know, if at all possible, just stay indoors, step-to-date with travel updates, step-to-date with travel updates.
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