Summer is Playing Tricks on us

The warm, dry and sunny spring ended suddenly with the offical start of summer. Some parts of Western Scotland had the driest and warmest spring in years with high temperatures already in May (picture right, sunset on Islay). Due to the drought some distilleries on Islay had to stop production. In the last weeks though cooler and wetter weather has set in and today BBC published an article on their website about a road closure and severe weather warnings. A quote from BBC Scotland:

Police confirmed the A7 at Auchenrivock south of Langholm would remain shut for some time as much of the country was hit by torrential downpours. A further landslip also partially closed a stretch of the same road north of the Dumfries and Galloway town. Severe weather warnings were issued for parts of Scotland, with the south appearing to be the worst hit. Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary has put in lengthy diversions due to the problems on the A7 - the main route from Langholm to the Borders and Cumbria.

Police have also urged motorists to be extra careful on all roads and to be wary of standing water which is also affecting the route. People usually expect July to be hot and sunny but this could be exceptional weather conditions for this time of year. BBC weather forecaster Gail McGrane warned that up to 50mm of rain could fall, particularly in parts of the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. The Met Office said it expected above or near average rainfall for the rest of the summer and said it would be cloudier and cooler than previous summers. This is despite this year seeing the warmest May ever recorded in Scotland and 2008 being on target to be one of the 10 warmest years. In Edinburgh, 23mm of rain fell between 2100 BST on Wednesday and 0900 BST on Thursday - more than a third of the city's average rainfall for July.