In Pictures: 2021 – from storms to searing sun and back again
Pa
·1-min read
Huge waves crash against the lighthouse in Seaham Harbour, County Durham, during Storm Arwen (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)
The weather has taken the UK on a wild ride in 2021, from flooding and snow in January to baking temperatures in the summer and a fierce storm in December.
Storm Christoph kicked off the year with a bang, as homes were flooded amid heavy downpours and some areas were blanketed in snow.
The streets of Lymm in Cheshire were flooded after overnight heavy rain (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)
Further north in Northumberland, the storm brought heavy snow (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)
There was more snow later in the month as the Met Office said it was the coldest January across the UK in 10 years.
People walk in the snow near Knaresborough Viaduct in North Yorkshire (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)
Kayachia Widdas and her dog Ozzy look at a snow plough in Bowes, County Durham, as heavy snow falls (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)
The UK recorded its coldest night of the winter on February 9 but it did not stop young and old alike from enjoying some fun in the snow.
The Crompton family have a snowball fight at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)
But the arrival of British Summer Time saw the weather shift, coinciding with a relaxation of coronavirus lockdown measures in England
Spring weather Mar 30th 2021 (PA Wire)
Spring weather Mar 30th 2021 (PA Wire)
But the further loosening of restrictions in May was less inviting weather-wise, with rain and wind hitting parts of the UK.
People buffeted by the wind while crossing the Millennium Bridge, London (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Wire)
A very wet seafront in Southsea, Hampshire (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)
However by July, things had really heated up as Northern Ireland recorded its highest ever temperature of 31.2C in Ballywatticock, in County Down and with people packing UK beaches.
Bournemouth beach in Dorset was packed (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)
Sunbathers make the most of the mini heatwave in New Brighton, Wirral (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)
The UK also enjoyed a warm start to September as pupils headed back to school.
Hathersage swimming pool in the Hope Valley, Peak District (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)
A woman soaks up the sun on the South Bank, London (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Wire)
After a mild and quiet autumn, Storm Arwen created major disruption in the north of England and Scotland.
The Met Office said wind speeds hit 98mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland
Huge waves crash the against the sea wall and Roker Lighthouse in Sunderland on Saturday morning (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)
The clubhouse roof lies on the pitch at Chester le Street Town FC in County Durham (Tom Wilkinson/PA) (PA Wire)
A house is covered in snow on the A53 close to Buxton (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)
Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting
A routine beer delivery turned dangerous when a truck carrying hundreds of cases of Bud Light overturned on the freeway on the 10th of August. Luckily, nobody was injured, but crews, sealed off the area, which was covered in beercans.
An alleged member of the IS terror cell known as "The Beatles" appeared before a British court on Thursday charged with trying to smuggle 20,000 euros to Syria.
Police in England have warned residents not to leave dogs in hot cars after an officer had to smash a car window to get to a shih tzu in distress in Nottingham on Monday, August 8.Body camera footage shows police coming to the dog’s aid on the 81-degree day, and rushing the animal to the vet.“The small black shih tzu was barking and panting inside a locked car,” Nottinghamshire Police said in a statement. "The windows were left slightly open but it was not enough to prevent the dog collapsing.“Thankfully, police arrived just in time to save his life,” the department said. “They smashed the car’s window, gave him water and rushed him to a local vet in the back of a police car.”The dog’s body temperature reached 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit (39.1 Celsius) but the canine was “making a good recovery,” police said.A heat-health alert due to high temperatures was extended for another week on Friday. Credit: Nottinghamshire Police via Storyful
During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday the Severance director shared that he recently took his 20-year-old daughter Olivia, whom he shares with wife Christine Taylor, for lessons in New York City. Reflecting on driving around the busy city, Ben noted that he and Olivia found it calming to listen to Taylor's songs. "What really helped her was if we just played her favourite artist on the iPhone, and we just played Taylor Swift. I was a fan, but I think now I'm a total Swiftie."
Boris Johnson has doubled down on his insistence that it is for his successor to "make significant fiscal decisions" after talks with energy bosses ended with no new measures to ease the cost of living crisis. But Labour accused the government of showing a lack of urgency and of being "missing in action".
In a remote working world, emails have become the norm. However, some common email sign-offs and greetings can come across as passive aggressive. Euronews spoke to an expert and looked into some of the phrases that can cause upset and discovered some neutral alternatives.
With Scotland recording the biggest increase in home working of all the UK regions during the first quarter of this year, one recruitment expert is warning of a growing divide between the “haves” and “have-nots” of hybrid employment.
A Wizz Air plane was captured landing eye-poppingly close to a crowd of spectators standing along a beach near Greece’s quirky Skiathos Airport on August 5, viral video shows.Footage filmed by pilot Demetrios Gregoriou shows the spectacular moment when the large aircraft, flying in from Naples, spooked tourists watching the low landing steps from the runway.In one moment, the aircraft is seen flying a few feet from a photographer’s head seconds before it lands.According to reports, the runway at Skiathos Airport is just 1,628 meters long, meaning pilots need to approach the landing much lower than at other airports. According to Euronews, the airport attracts planespotters “hoping to get closeup pictures of aircraft as they approach over the beach. It has become a go-to destination for those looking to get as close as possible to these jets as they land.” Credit: Demetrios Gregoriou via Storyful
Ten people, including two children, were killed when a man went on a shooting rampage through the quiet streets of the western Montenegro city of Cetinje. The gunman used a hunting rifle to first shoot the two children, aged eight and 11, and their mother, who lived as tenants in his house. Montenegrin police chief Zoran Brdjanin said the attacker was a 34-year-old man identified only by his initials, VB.
People forced to leave their homes following an explosion which killed a four-year-old girl have claimed the gas provider “has blood on their hands”. Sahara Salman died and two people remain in hospital after the blast, which happened in Thornton Heath, south London, shortly after 7am on Monday. At a community meeting last night in Mitcham, residents said that at least 18 calls were made from Galpin’s Road, where the blast took place, to gas firm SGN about the smell of gas in the days and weeks leading up to the explosion.
A 39-year-old man has been charged following incidents on the Isle of Skye and Wester Ross on Wednesday (10 August), which left one man dead and three injured.John MacKinnon, 47, was killed after a gun was fired at a property in Teangue yesterday morning.A 32-year-old woman had earlier been injured in an incident about eight miles away in Tarskavaig.In Dornie on the Highland mainland, a gun was also fired, injuring a man and woman, both aged 63.
An Australian fishing boat sailing in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory, spotted a large container of unknown origin floating in the water on August 4.In footage recorded by Bruce Davey, the container can be seen bobbing up and down in the water. “Holy shiver me timbers,” he can be heard saying at one point, as the crew grabs a closer look.Northern Territory Infrastructure, Planning, and Logistics issued a marine navigation warning on Facebook on August 5, urging nearby vessels to “proceed with caution” around the “large floating container”.The area is a “hotspot for debris,” according to a spokesperson for the Australian Marine Conservation Society.Davey and the crew of his ship, named Wildcard, spotted the object as they were fishing for mackerel off Groote Eylandt, in the Northern Territory. A member dived into the water for a closer inspection. However, Davey said they were unable to open a hatch on the object.In the video, a female member of the crew can be heard saying that they were lucky “it wasn’t nighttime, we would have smashed into it.”The container, estimated to be of “about five meters by three meters by four meters” by Davey, was too large for the fishing boat to tow to safety.A Northern Territory Marine Safety statement noted though that the Wildcard crew had placed a marker buoy on the container to improve visibility for mariners.Storyful contacted Northern Territory Marine Safety for an update on the container, but no further comment was available at the time of writing. Credit: Bruce Davey via Storyful
Yahoo News
