Richard Dixon

But not the majority of his career on English wickets (and are English wickets flat compared to the rest of the world?) - he's played more away than home. But the picture still isn't pretty.

God it's bleak. We're not even halfway through wartime, either.

Zak Crawley now has the lowest batting average in Test history for anyone opening the innings who's played more than 50 matches. I appreciate there's no like-for-like replacement out there, but hasn't this probably run its course now? #AskGeorge

YouTube video by Met Office - UK Weather 21/11/2025 – Implications for the UK? – Met Office weather forecast UK

Explaining a potentially difficult concept to an audience is quite an art and @aidanmcgivern.bsky.social is very good at it. Some of the @metoffice.gov.uk content on slightly more deep dive topics is really top notch. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KweN...

Probably for the 2nd time this winter already I've thought "an extra 2-3 degrees lower and this would have been fun"... sod's law it'll be roaring westerlies by January.

Based on the first day, rather than "May the best team win?" is this Ashes going to be more "May the least worst team not lose"? #AskGeorge

Dewpoints probably not low enough further East. Woken by two extremely close lightning strikes around 6am in Deal, though. Hail / graupel and maybe sleet at a generous push.

Can you do that after (if?) we've got Head out, please?

I have RI up my sleeve... coming very soon.

Thanks for commenting on this - I hope Reask get a bit more attention, bunch of smart guys creating models that facilitate counterfactual analysis. Yes it's a model, but it's another useful data point.

There's so much more that could be done on this yes. I'm totally sold on the idea that storms staying longer as HU means more at landfall - but still less sold on more at landfall because of genesis - and yes the more frequent recent Ninas is an obvious point. Will go back with Reask on it.

A bit of discussion whether the percentage of storms making landfall as hurricanes is static or not using counterfactual analysis. Thanks to a) modelling experts Reask and b) AI without which I wouldn't be able to produce pretty-looking graphs like this one.

oakreinsurance.com/news/hurrica...

#heatpumpgrotto

I mean you could at least have the decency to throw a bit of sleet into the mix but with a dewpoint of 4c that ain't happening. #uksnow CT14 0/10

It would be extra helpful if your map had some towns on it as you zoom in and out. Stamen Toner is quite a good map base for this.

Brrrrrrrrrr-exit

When I'm not making graphs in an attempt to look clever, I'm eating noodle soups. Here's the Blue Pelican in Deal, Kent which is knocking out a ridiculously good ramen on Sundays now and is arguably the best restaurant in Kent in my heavily biased opinion. Back to weather and catastrophes tomorrow.

(EC ensembles)

Bit of support from the ensembles (this is Canterbury so a little inland)

Well done to the MetDesk team for their wxcharts.com update, excellent stuff.

Another stand-out season for me - the amount of time spent by hurricane tracks over extra-warm sea probably the 5th highest year since the 1950s, behind the "big" years of 2023, 2024, 2010 and 2005. We just got lucky with the landfalls again...

Not just 500 miles, 505 miles. Did someone get a ruler out?
#delusionalexactitude

Of course.

Such a telling graph on relative frequency of record highs/low: a fitting riposte to the "look it's cold - so much for global warming" crew.

I think they've had 12 aircraft (the current count) since 2000.

The US insured losses will end up zero, but still some interesting things to emerge from 2025 hurricane season. Around 35% of NHC analyses as a hurricane were Cat 4 or 5. Am sure present-day numbers are partly influenced by more recon flights, but it's still food for thought.

Looking for a PhD in climate science?

Great opportunity to help modernise one of the iconic climate time series - Central England Temperature.

Led by @timosbornclim.bsky.social, with myself and Met Office collaborators: www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...

And looking at climatologically - for London at least - we're reaching the sort of values that we reached at the end of the year in the 1980s by mid-July in the 2020s...

Wondered how warm it was this year from a "cumulative excess temperature above 20c" standpoint. Turns out 3rd warmest in London since 1970. Left: how uncannily close 2025 and 1976 traces are! Right: UK-wide: a lot of E/SE Eng was ranked top 3 year for this value, most of Eng & Wales top 10 ranked.

I've not looked yet but I wonder in the wash-up in the mean whether...