Earlier this evening, the last summer sailing left Stornoway, bound for Ullapool. Each year, on Wednesdays and Fridays in July and August, the ferry has three sailings a day. It departs at 6.15, 12.40 and 19.00, to return at 12.15, 18.25 and 00.45. Not once has this schedule been kept. Even this evening, it wasn't until 8pm that the Isle of Lewis left port. As a result, it will not be back much before 2 am tonight. For all intents and purposes, summer is now over. Erm, did we have a summer at all? Reading back through my blogposts, there have only been odd days that it was dry, sunny or warm since the end of June. The last spell of more than one summer's day in a row was during the first week in June.
Still on subjects meteorological, there are presently four tropical cyclones around.
Danielle is a category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic, which may bring strong winds to Bermuda. It will bring high surf to that island, and to the US east coast. I have this feeling that although Danielle will not impact the North American mainland, we in Western Europe are likely to see Danielle as a deep area of low pressure during next week.
Earl is a tropical storm, presently in the middle of the Atlantic, but with the potential to affect the Lesser Antilles. The French government has put the islands of St Martin and St Barthelemy on tropical storm watch. After passing the Leeward Islands, Earl will make its way west northwest.
Frank is a tropical storm, recently downgraded from hurricane status in the Eastern Pacific. This system peaked with winds of 80 knots (90 mph), but apart from heavy rains, has not affected any land. It will dissipate before reaching Baja California.
07W is a newly formed tropical depression in the South China Sea, 400 miles south of Hong Kong. It will slowly strengthen to a tropical storm before making landfall in southern China.
I should add that another tropical cyclone could form in the Atlantic. Its precursor presently lies south of the Cape Verde Islands.
