2005 was a great year for weather, although the EOTS team were often unable to chase the year's active thunderstorms due to other commitments. The weather for 2006 was going to need something special to follow its preceding year, and one way of doing this would be to provide plenty of thunderstorms. The year did not only exceed expectations - it blew them away! With too many thunderstorms to count, and not to mention some of the heaviest snowfalls in years during March, 2006 will go down as one of the great years of weather for the EOTS team.

This section sums up the year for us, by displaying a photo or two from the most significant weather events we encountered during each month.

January 2006 - A sugar-coating
The year started very mixed, with January seeing a variety of weather types. Conditions alternated between high pressure with local frost, to vigorous south-westerlies bringing in mild but wet conditions. Here in the south-east, rainfall amounts were small, and there was little photogenic weather for much of the month. However, on the night of the 27th, a huge area of high pressure to the north gave an easterly flow across southern England. In this flow, a small cold front brought a brief period of light snow across the south. This left nothing more than damp ground at low levels, but a dusting of snow remained on the highest Downs into the 28th. We visited Leith Hill in Surrey, where the following photographs were taken.

February 2006 - A chilly ending
Three dominant weather-types greeted the UK during February, giving a wide range of conditions. After a cold start to the month, conditions became milder around mid-month, with winds swinging around to the west or south-west. However, an area of high pressure became rooted during the last 10 days, giving north-easterly winds. Whilst giving snow showers in northern and eastern areas, more prolonged snow affected southern England on the 23rd. This was created by a small low running in from the east, and gave a few centimetres on high ground, and just a dusting on low ground. The photograph below has been taken, once again, from Leith Hill. To see a video of the light snowfall in Weybridge, visit our Skycam archive and look for the 23rd February.

March 2006- Double boring snowfalls!
What a month! The quiet of January and February was smashed as March arrived, with three river bores to chase and some remarkable snowfalls across the country. In order of occurrence, our first trip was to see the Severn Bore of March 1st. Lovely weather conditions allowed perfect viewing of this 4* bore (first image). Just two days later, Bren headed to north Wales to see the Dee Bore, but got more than he bargained for. As well as seeing a nice bore on the Dee (second image), he was also caught up in an epic Cheshire Gap snowfall event, which blanketed localities in north-east Wales with 2-3 inches of level snow (third and fourth photos). Next up was a remarkable snowfall event on the night of the 11th. A warm front attempted to move east into cold air, bringing heavy snow for north Wales, north-west England and Scotland. Although not in Wales at the time, the EOTS team were sent images of the 6-7" of level snow which fell (fifth image). For more photos of these snowfall events, please see here. Lastly, there was another impressive Severn Bore at the end of the month, which we went to visit. A flooded river gave an interesting bore which over-topped the banks in places (sixth and seventh photos).

April 2006 - Early taste of summer
The start of April was very unsettled, with active frontal systems giving rain or showers. Conditions became wintry too around mid-month, with snow in places. However, at the end of April an area of high pressure gave fine conditions across the UK. The best of the sunshine was in the west, and the EOTS team were on a camping trip in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. Almost unbroken sunshine for three days gave summer-like conditions for our trip, when the first sun-tan of the year developed! It was a little chilly in the evening's though, especially in a tent. The photos below show scenes of that fine weather.

June 2006 - Summer 'n' storms
The summer became better and better, with plenty of hot sunny days, and plenty of decent thunderstorms. Two noteworthy storm chases included, firstly, the 4th May, when the EOTS team took a trip to Wiltshire to watch approaching storms. Although lightning was sparse, interesting cloud formations made for a great chase, including a possible wall-cloud. See the first and second images for this Wiltshire storm. The next storm chase took us to Lincolnshire on the 12th May, for what turned out to be one of the more memorable storms of 2006. Now known as the Lincolnshire Uberstorm, we witnessed a stunning display of gust-front action, and very frequent and violent cloud to ground lightning. See images three to six for this Lincolnshire thunderstorm, which includes a stack of hay which took a direct lightning strike! For both chases, vist our video section for more. The last image for June shows some of the perfect sunny weather that often goes hand-in-hand with thunderstorm activity. This image was taken by the river Wey near Ripley, Surrey.

August 2006 - Storms, showers and shrooms.
After a record-breaking July in terms of summer heat, August was disappointly cloudy and wet for many areas of the UK. There were still some sunny days, although they were few and far between. The damp and cool conditions were enjoyed by some though, as the early toadstools in north Wales showed (first image). When the sunshine did appear, it was often broken by showers. It was rainbows galore, as the second below image testifies. There were some thunderstorms during the month, but on the 18th, Bren chased a particularly impressive storm through the east Midlands. This squall line gave spectacular gust front scenes, and plenty of road flooding. See the third and fourth images, and also visit our video section for more. The last image in this month was taken at Wisley Gardens in Surrey - just to prove there was some summer to be had during the month!

September 2006 - Gordon and the bore
Unusually high tides were predicted for the UK's coast during the first few days of September, and for us this could only mean one thing - tidal bores. Being a weekend, we decided that the Severn would be too crowded, so headed to see the Dee Bore in north-east Wales on 9th (first image). Weather conditions were fine, so the bore wasn't spectacular, but as the days shortened into autumn, misty mornings with low-lying fog were apparent (second image). The final weather event in September was the arrival of a vigorous area of low pressure, that was created by hurricane Gordon. The hurricane had lost its tropical status only 36hrs before hitting the UK! The EOTS team headed to Cornwall to welcome Gordon during the afternoon and evening of 21st September, and witnessed howling 60mph winds and mountainous seas.

October 2006 - Autumn quietly arrives
The exceptionally warm September continued into October, and autumn-proper was kept at bay. However, the signs of autumn slowly crept in as the month progressed - a month dominated by fairly quiet but pleasant sunny days. Toadstools were prolific in the damp conditions, such as the poisonous Fly Agaric in the first image below. Morning dew was heavy in the damp conditions, lining trees and spider's webs, as seen in the second image. Fog wasn't widespread, but there were a few foggy episodes. One such fog was mid-month, but as shown in the third image over the river Wey, it wasn't particularly thick. This more autumnal, if still very mild, weather allowed trees to finally start their autumn plumage. As seen on the fourth image, the leaves were still green, but many had fallen off, carpeting the floor with orange. The last day of October was breezy. Whilst not hugely windy, it was still enough to push over a tree which uprooted just yards from where we were walking (last image).

November 2006 - Beauty & damage of the warm variety
The theme throughout the whole of November was unseasonably mild conditions, merely extending the year's record warmth across the UK. The month started relatively quietly, and on the 5th November, a stunning sunset was witnessed country-wide. We viewed it in North Wales, as the first image shows. These settled conditions also led to beautifully clear nights, with patches of fog coming and going. The second image below shows a night-time shot in North Wales. The end of November saw dramatic thunderstorms across much of the UK. Lightning frequency and storm intensity was more akin to storms seen in the summer, but with such unusual warmth and moisture in the air, it came as no surprise. One storm in Weybridge on the 26th dumped hail which was large enough to damage the EOTS team vehicle! For more information on this, please visit our chase section.

December 2006 - Finally colder!
After the ridiculously mild autumn, Decemer finally brought something a little more seasonal. In north Wales on December, a north-westerly brought plenty of showers, and these fell as small hail and sleet (see first and second photographs). These were hot on the heels of the very wet weather during the first part of the month, which saw the River Dee in north Wales burst its banks (third image). The third week of December saw high pressure, and the arrival of widespread fog, rime ice and frost.

Will 2007 be a weather year to match that of 2006? Here's hoping......

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