The Psychology of Weather (The Psychology of Everything)

Product Information

September can be quite an exciting month for the weather: we can hope for a very pleasant warm spell (sometimes hot, but rarely with the searing intensity of summer); there is always the excitement of the chance of the first frost (or at least the first ground frost); we can still hope for violent thunderstorms; and the chance of gales increases, particularly in the second half of the month. The east of the country tends to be slightly drier than in the summer months (having fewer thunderstorms), whereas the west tends to be slightly wetter (having a higher frequency of cyclonic weather systems). The average amount of sunshine in September varies from just under three hours a day in NW Scotland to almost six hours along the SE coast. Anticyclones are only more likely in May. Our thoughts start to turn from the heat of summer to the cold of winter - and some months give us both (see 1919). Unsettled and cold for the first 8 days. It was then anticyclonic between the 9th and 18th, with some warm and sunny days. A deep low caused severe gales on the 23rd with a gust of 85 mph at Hullavington and Ringway. It was very wet in NW Scotland. A mixed month. It started unsettled and cool, but turned warmer from the 5th with easterly winds, before turning cooler again. Then Easter (late this year 19 - 22 April) was very warm. The hottest day of the year so far (since February of course) was Saturday 20, when Gosport (Hants.) reached 25.5C. Scotland (23.4C, Edinburgh), Wales (23.2, Hawarden), and Northern Ireland (21.0C, Helen's Bay, Co, Down) had a record-breakingly warm Easter Sunday. Easter Monday was even warmer, with 24.2C at Kinlochewe, 23.6 at Cardiff, and 21.7C at Armagh; it reached 24.6C at Heathrow. The final week was unsettled and stormy in places. Overall it was warmer than average, particularly in NW Scotland. It was dry overall, with 71% of average, particularly in the southeast. It was slightly sunnier than average (114%). The higest temperature of the month was 25.8C at Treknow (Cornwall) on the 19th, and the lowest -6.8C at Braemar on the 10th. 58.2 mm of rain fell at Buxton on the 27-28th.

The coronation of Henry V on 9 April was marked by a great snowstorm across the country, causing, according to the Welsh chonicler Adam of Usk "much loss of life". People were unsure whether it was a good or bad omen. He wrote a famous article called Promises, Promises in which he argued that cognitive neuropsychologists have increasingly deviated from the original goals and methods of the subject. [4] The Psychology of Language [ edit ] The record was set for the warmest April 1 this century: 22.6C in Cambridgeshire, at Wryde. On the whole though, the month was cold and unsettled, with rain and thundery spells. Indeed there was heavy snow in the SE on the 6-7th. On the 24th the maximum was 22C; on the 26th it was only 7C. It was a very wet month in southern England, but relatively dry in parts of the east. Trevor Harley is emeritus chair of Cognitive Psychology. [1] His primary research is in the psychology of language and consciousness. From 2003 until 2016 he was Head and Dean of the School of Psychology at the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom. He is author of several books, including "The Psychology of Language", currently in its fourth edition, published by Psychology Press, "Talking the talk", a book about the psychology of language ( psycholinguistics) aimed at a more general audience, "The Science of Consciousness", a general text on consciousness, and "The Psychology of Weather", about how weather affects behaviour. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society. The British Isles are one of the most interesting places in the world in which to live for exciting weather. The weather is particularly unpredictable here. The Gulf Stream keeps us much warmer than we should be for our latitude (look at places at similar latitude on the east coast of America, for example). We live in the battleground where maritime and continental weather often fight. I'm at my happiest when the continental weather wins: that's when we see the extremes of summer heat and winter cold.Generally warm, sunny, and dry. Unsettled at the very beginning, it soon became warm. Although there was a cold and snowy at end, it was still 10.1C overall. It became exceptionally warm in the third week, with 27.2C recorded at Camden and Peterborough on the 16th, the third highest April maximum of the century; 26C was reached on two consecutive dates, 16th and 17th, in Croydon. There was then an air frost and light fall of snow in the SE on the 29th. There was a gust of 100 mph at Cardiff in a gale on the 1st, when the pressure was also very low for April. Overall the month was wet, but was very close to the long-term average temperature. Cromer reached 25C on the 29th. Dry in England but wet in Scotland. 37 mm of rain though fell in 20 minutes in a thunderstorm at Canterbury on the 11th. A fine month. It was 27C in London and Norfolk on the 25th - in some places it was the warmest day of the year.

While we're on top tens, here's Jonathan Webb's of TORRO top 30. He's given me his top fifteen widespread events and his top fifteen convective (more local thunderstorms). Mostly anticyclonic with frequenty easterly winds. It was the sunniest April on record (151% of average). Overall it was warmer than average (fifth warmest since 1884) and very dry (40% of rainfall). Most of the rain in many places came in the last few days of the month. Highest temperature of the month was 26.0C at Treknow (Cornwll) on the 10th, and the lowest -6.9C at Braemar on the 19th. 38.4 mm of rain fell at Portsea (Hampshire) on the 17-18th. Wet and warm. With 86 mm it was 35% above average rainfall. Particularly heavy rain around the 3rd, 17-18th, and last 5 days, with some severe thunderstorms. However, there were some dry, fine spells in between the rain. Warm second week: 20.7C in London on the 16th, and a warm, fine spell towards the end, with 23C in London on the 24th. An unusually deep depression crossed the country on the 18th. It was particularly wet in the east, and very dull in the north, where it was the dullest April in Leuchars since 1961, and the dullest on record at Kinloss.

Where warmth brings out the worst in people

The first ten days or so were unsettled; the rest of the month was cold and quite sunny. There was a notable heavy snowfall in the north on the 29-30th. The month was 0.9C beneath the CET average; it was also wetter on average (112%), particularly in the east. It was slightly sunnier than average. The highest temperature of the month was 20.3C at Porthmadog in Gwent on the 21st, and the lowest -5.6C at Kinbrace in Sutherland on the 28th. The greatest snow depth was 9 cm at Crombie Country Park in good old Angus on the 29th. Cold with northerly winds for the first three weeks, then milder after the 24th. Dry in SE England and SW Scotland.