The second series of RMetS Meteorological Masterclasses, co-hosted by the University of Reading, took place virtually during February and March 2021. The theme of ‘anticipating floods, droughts and heatwaves’ was developed during three separate sessions, with illustrated talks and Q&A sessions led by expert scientists. The purpose of the series was to provide developmental training for professionals

Editorial – 75th anniversary issue This month we celebrate 75 years of Weather! In this special birthday issue, we present several papers relating to the history of meteorology and associated topics. Initially, Prof. Anne Lawrence‐Mathers of the University of Reading reminds us of the surprising and almost uncanny medieval origin of the modern weather forecast, whilst Carla Mateus describes the search

Memories of the journal Memory 1 ‐ My grandfather was involved in the creation of Weather Martin Poulter (age 58) My grandfather, Robert Martin Poulter OBE, helped to create Weather magazine. He worked at the Met Office from 1914, serving in World War I as a Meteorological Observer with the Royal Engineers and in World War II as a Meteorological Officer with the RAF. He became a Fellow of the Royal

The Secret World of Weather: How to Read Signs in Every Cloud, Breeze, Hill, Street, Plant, Animal and Dewdrop Gooley, Tristan, Sceptre 2021 Hardback £20.00 375 pp. ISBN 978‐1‐52‐933955‐0 Many previous authors have attempted to describe the natural world for the lay person in an uncomplicated manner – this book does exactly that, focusing on microclimates, ‘the weather we actually experience’. It contains

Figure 1 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint On 2 March 2021 the UK was under the influence of a large anticyclone centred over the North Sea. A gentle east to southeasterly flow affected much of the country, which advected a large sheet of stratus cloud across many central and eastern parts. This cloud sheet was shallow – this image from NASA's AQUA satellite shows the effect of ranges of hills, such

This was a rather featureless month. A mix of anticyclonic and westerly weather types resulted overall in a westerly pressure gradient with mean sealevel pressure anomalies of 5–7hPa above normal. Mean monthly temperatures were of the order of 1 degC above normal, and sunshine totals varied around the normal. It was a dry month over much of eastern and southern Britain with rainfall anomalies typically

Figure 1 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Mammatus associated with a thunderstorm over the slopes of Mount Etna near the town of Taormina, Sicily. Taken at about 1600h on 11 September 2014. (© Geoff Jenkins.) Figure 2 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint A supercell storm just outside Clovis, New Mexico, with a wonderful display of mammatus clouds as it dissipated against the setting sun on 29 May 2015 (©

Mrs Maureen Sweeney played a small but no less significant role in the success of D‐Day (6 June 1944), as it was her meteorological observations that directly contributed firstly to the weather forecast that postponed it, and then later her observations that identified a window of opportunity for the Allied Forces. It is quite a fascinating and remarkable story to tell. Figure 1 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint

Welcome to your May edition of Society News, which celebrates the 75th anniversary of Weather this month. Figure 1 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Figure 2 Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Weather is the Society's house journal and we are proud that it continues to go from strength to strength, thanks to your support. We hope you enjoy reading some of the great memories our long‐standing members have

Completely glaciated Cumulus mediocris during an unstable westerly with slight ridging over the southern UK. Taken on 12 February 2018 from a light aircraft at about 600m altitude approaching Dawlish Devon with the Exe Estuary beyond. (@ Ian Simpson.)

Sunrise at Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands. Downwind of the mountain range some of the cloud has lenticular/undulatus features while the lowest cloud has a rotor‐like appearance. Taken at 0852h on 9 June 2020. (© Melyssa Wright.)

The reflection at dawn of a large Cumulus congestus, and also virga associated with a dissipating cumulus at Elounda, Crete on 1 October 2018. (© Frank Le Blancq.)

On 16 December 2020 we virtually celebrated 100 years of meteorology at Imperial. Curiously the world was in its fourth wave of the Spanish Flu when Sir Napier Shaw was appointed as the first Professor of Meteorology in 1920. Later Imperial College created the first Meteorology Department in the UK. Prof. Joanna Haigh, CBE, FRS (Imperial) started proceedings by taking us back to the origin of scientific

Even now, the South Devon micro‐climate supports citrus cultivation; with a warming climate would this become commercially viable?