The weather across Britain this week seems to have turned upside down. Southern England is usually warmer than northern Scotland, but at midday on Tuesday the highest temperature was 23.7C at Kinlochewe, Northwest Highlands, and just 13.2C at Manston, Kent. However, this is not peculiar for this time of the year because northwest Scotland and the Western Isles can often be the warmest and sunniest part of the UK in May.
Facing out to the Atlantic, this region often bears the brunt of heavy rain and westerly winds. Yet something odd often happens in spring when the westerly winds slacken off — the rains dry out and the skies turn deep blue. That is thanks to the arrival of anticyclones that can turn conditions so