Climates change all the time. Subtropical and mid-latitude climates are strongly effected by the upper jet stream, a strong and high altitude wind that blow from a westerly direction in both hemispheres. "El Nino", a change in the Trade winds and Pacific currents, occurs every few years and affects the weather and climates over a large part of the world. Climates are always changing, at present we are living in an "interglacial period" an interval between the end of one ice age and the start of another. During our life time we will witness many weather patterns which are short lived. In the British Isles the weather is fickle and changeable due to the fact that we are a very small country compared with others. Britain often becomes the battle field as winds from different directions bring contrasting air masses, which produces all kinds of weather.

Next Week......Jet Streams and Rossby WavesAnswer to last week's question: George HadleyThis week's question: The Jet Stream is:A/ A strong blowing wind at low altitudeB/ A strong blowing wind at high altitudeGlossary:

Albedo: The reflectiveness of a surface. Albedo values are written either as a percentage (90%) or a decimal (0.9).Weather for coming week Monday 14th January-Friday 18th JanuaryLow pressure from off the stormy mild Atlantic bring spells of heavy rain or showers on squally strong winds at times. Winds 40-55 mph with some of the rain. A few short lived drier, brighter intervals of short duration between. Milder than usual although colder mid week...risk of slight ground frost Wednesday Night.Maximum temperature 8-11c 46-52f.Minimum temperature 2-7c 36-45f.Last Week's Observations (Monday-Sunday)Highest day temperature...........11.3c 52f on Tuesday 8th January.Lowest night temperature.........minus 0.3c 32f Early Saturday Morning 12th January.Wettest day.............................33.4 mm on Friday 11th January.