Henning Gloystein PlanetArk 20 Jul 10;
Temperatures across Europe for the coming three months are set to be above average across Europe and especially in the eastern mainland, Weather Services International said on Monday.
"We expect the recent warm, dry weather across the eastern and southern mainland to continue into August, while the UK and Scandinavian temperatures run slightly above to slightly below normal," WSI Chief Meteorologist Todd Crawford said.
"By September, the mainland heat will abate a bit, while Scandinavia experiences increasingly warmer temperatures, relative to normal," he said.
By October, he said, the combination of a very warm Atlantic Ocean and an emerging La Nina event in the tropical Pacific will result in very mild conditions across Scandinavia and the eastern mainland, with below-normal temperatures confined to Iberia.
WSI specializes in long-term weather forecasting for the energy sector and correctly predicted last October that Europe would suffer a very cold start to 2010.
Western Europe has not had a prolonged heat wave since 2006, when high temperatures caused cooling problems for some power plants as use of air conditioners surged.
But market participants said the strong rise of solar and photovoltaic electricity panels in recent years would likely be able to offset a possible drop in nuclear and fossil fuel power generation.
WSI predicts regional temperature anomalies as follows:
AUGUST
Scandinavia - Cooler than normal
UK - Warmer than normal
North Mainland - Warmer than normal
South Mainland - Warmer than normal
SEPTEMBER
Scandinavia - Warmer than normal
UK - Warmer than normal
North Mainland - Warmer than normal
South Mainland - Warmer than normal, except for Southeast
OCTOBER
Scandinavia - Warmer than normal
UK - Warmer than normal
North Mainland - Warmer than normal
South Mainland - Warmer than normal, except for Iberia
(Editing by Sue Thomas)
