Tuesday, July 06, 2010

It's strange, this West of Scotland Weather


Since I was a little lad, tramping over the Rannoch moor from Glen Nevis Youth hostel or climbing the Cioch in the Skye Cuillins, it has never, ever been drier than in the past few months. 1929 was the last time it was so sunny for this long. Sunny, warm, Scotland? Pah! No one would believe it, well not with gales lashing outside as they did last week.

JULY, THE THUNDERSTORM MONTH, BUT NOT HERE.
July is usually wet, everywhere, not only in Scotland. It is thunderstorms that do the damage. But there are far more thunderstorms in the East of Scotland than there are in the West. If you have brontophobia, a fear of thunder, then the best place for you is on the Islands off our West Coast of Scotland. The bombs go off in warm air, and that is more to the east. The warm air detonates the cold air coming in.

So be thankful for these gusts of rain and wind we are getting. Not only do the gardens need it, not to say the water supplies, but it also helps to push the thunderstorms over to Fife. Poor them. Tough. 

Be sorry for Mull. Many of the water supplies there are private, and all are suffering. It usually just drains off the hill streams straight into the houses. But not last month. One hotel owner has had to go to Oban to buy bottled water. And tankers carrying 80,000 gallons of water have been sent to Tobermory.

Scotland is a strange place for weather, truly.

John

Pretty cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands
Cottage holidays Scotland in the Autumn, Winter, Spring
B&Bs and hotels in the West of Scotland
Travellers in the highlands of Scotland
Holiday cottages on the web
Glencoe photographs
Appin, Scotland
Walks around Glencoe
Hill walks in Lochaber
Ben Nevis one day?
Munroes around here




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