11 Jun 2011
“Rain Along the South Coast”
We often see the weather man on the TV saying ‘”. . . and some prolonged rain showers in the south of England, especially along the coast “, which makes many businesses that rely on tourism very unhappy. Why?
Most Islands have their own micro-climate, different from the any nearby land mass, and the Isle of Wight is no exception. It’s one of the sunniest places in England because a significant amount of the cloud and rain that visits the mainland – just a mile or so across the Solent – never reaches the Island.
This is a regular view from the Island looking north towards Southampton and the New Forest.
While we on the Island bask in the sunshine, the New Forest and Hampshire are getting a bucket load of rain.
Of course this also works against us, especially when the Island has had little rain for the past two months while just across the water they have more than they need.
So the next time the weather man says “rain showers along the south coast”, he should probably add “apart from the Isle of Wight, where it will most likely be sunny and dry throughout the day”.
This picture was taken from Afton Down, a 5 minute walk from the Studio Apartment, across the fields in the foreground.