Rain at last but age-old patterns are moving fast
Butterflies and bees crept beneath leaves and waited out the first showers some have ever seen; slugs and snails, meanwhile, sallied forth into a freshly welcoming world. Froglets and toadlets, new-minted, used the welcoming wetness of the long grass to disperse from ponds and were hunted by grass snakes, their sinuous bodies shining in the rain.
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Rail passengers told not to travel north of Newcastle on Monday
Rail passengers are being urged not to travel north of Newcastle on Monday as Storm Floris bears down on the amber wind warning issued by the Met Office lasts from 10:00 BST on Monday through to 22:00 for most of Scotland. It warns of danger to life and damage to buildings and trees due to storm conditions is which runs on the East Coast Main Line with stops in Darlington and Durham, said travel disruption was expected, while Avanti West Coast, which runs through Cumbria, has advised people not to travel north of Preston. TransPennine Express has also cancelled Monday services between Carlisle and Glasgow Central and Edinburgh in both directions, as well as services between Newcastle and firm said tickets dated for Monday could be used to travel on Tuesday or a refund could be said tickets dated for Monday would now be valid for between Sunday and West Coast, which stops at Oxenholme, Penrith and Carlisle, said Monday tickets for travel north of Preston would be accepted between Sunday and Floris is the sixth named storm of the 2024-25 season, and the first since is also a yellow warning across northern England, north Wales and Northern Ireland from 06:00 BST on Monday through to midnight. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
What's the difference between summer and winter storms?
With summer in full swing and lots of fun things happening outdoors – like camping trips, park picnics and beach days – bad weather can sometimes get in the way. This week will see some unseasonal weather, with strong winds and heavy rain as Storm Floris rolls in. A storm like Floris would not be that unusual during the autumn or winter months but could have greater impacts during what actually makes a summer storm different from a winter one? Are August storms in the UK rare? Whether it's a sunny July or chilly December, storms usually start the same way – with something called low pressure. This is a type of weather system that brings clouds, rain, and wind. So storms can happen in any storms in August are not that year, Storm Lilian struck the UK on 23 August, just before the bank holiday weekend, closing stages at the Leeds music festival and cancelling flights at Heathrow Airport. Are summer storms worse? Even though winds are usually stronger in winter, summer storms can sometimes cause more Met Office - who monitor the UK's weather - may decide to issue a weather warning based on the potential impact of a storm rather than the strength of the storm itself. Speaking to Newsround, Ben Rich from BBC Weather explained that "in the summer, when more people are travelling and more events are going on outdoors, that will be taken into account when deciding whether to issue a warning – and whether that warning will be yellow, amber or red. "A storm that would cause only a little disruption in winter could cause much bigger problems in the summer months." Why winds are a bigger problem when trees have leaves Branches are more likely to break off, and trees are more likely to fall down in summer storms than in winter because in summer, trees are full of big, leafy branches. "The leaves on the tree offer more resistance to the wind, and so – a bit like a sail on a boat – the wind will blow against the tree and may cause damage," says Ben from BBC Weather, explaining how a tree will be pushed around more when it's in full leaf. In colder months, trees have fewer leaves, and wind can pass through bare branches more easily. How is Storm Floris different to thunderstorms we see in summer? Thunderstorms and sudden heavy rain are common in air holds more moisture, and as that warm air rises, carrying lots of water vapour with it, it cools down quickly – and that's when all that moisture turns into clouds and rain. If it rises fast enough, it can build big thunderclouds, called cumulonimbus clouds can cause heavy downpours, lightning, thunder, and even hail – sometimes all in a very short amount of Met Office says that this kind of storm is called convective weather, and it happens more often in the summer months because the ground gets hotter. But unlike Storm Floris, thunderstorms are much smaller and tend to happen over much smaller areas and aren't big enough to be named. "While warm weather causes thunderstorms in smaller, localised areas, Storm Floris is a much larger storm," says Ben from BBC Weather. "It is formed by an area of low pressure which is developing over the Atlantic because of a powerful jet stream – the flow of air high in the atmosphere – which is providing the energy for this spell of windy weather. "Some thunder and lightning is possible – but heavy rain and strong winds will be the main impacts."
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
England vs India 5th Test live: score, updates from day 4
There is light rain falling and the ball is getting a bit greasy making life very hard for the spinners. The target now 100 for England with seven wickets in hand. Root and Brook look very calm and Jadeja is moving his field. He's brought mid-on up and Siraj gets a big ironic cheer for a bit of clean fielding out in the deep. The ball slips out of Jadeja's hand and Root hits it one-handed for four. Ninety-five to win now. Root and Brook very happy to milk the spinners, no need to do anything overly aggressive. This is a real test of Gill's captaincy — what does he do? He probably needs to bring his fielders up or these two will just milk away with only 109 needed to win now. The crowd are on their feet again, this time for the 150 partnership from just 164 balls. India look demoralised. Accuweather, which is the cricket journalist's weather app of choice (and no I am not on commission) says that rain will arrive in 20 minutes but won't last long. It is very gloomy here, but no one in the crowd is putting their pullovers or anoraks on. Ravindra Jadeja has come on to bowl and Root immediately takes him on for an aggressive boundary. Root is such a good player of spin and this is a high-risk strategy for India, but the seamers are tired so they've not got loads of choice. That's drinks. The partnership is now worth 133 and England are going along at 4½ an over; they need just another 135 runs. India are looking flat and out of ideas in the field. Fifty for Joe Root from 81 balls. That's his 67th Test fifty in 158 matches. India have asked to have the ball changed but it's gone through the gauge so we're carrying on with this one. Twelve runs off the 48th over bowled by Deep and England now need just over 150 to win. It's got very, very gloomy at The Oval but it's dry. The boffins at CricViz are telling us that there has been less swing today than the previous three days. That's the 100 partnership from 108 balls. The atmosphere at The Oval is raucous and will get louder and louder with every run. That's 200 up for England and they get a standing ovation for it. No one has stayed on the concourse after lunch, they all want to be in their seats for this. If England manage this, it will be a much more significant run chase than the ones at Headingley earlier this series or against India at Edgbaston in 2022. Both of those victories came on considerably flatter pitches and in much better batting conditions. Washington Sundar is coming into the attack from the Vauxhall End; he has been such a good asset to India this series with both bat and ball — a very handy replacement for the retired Ashwin. The pitch has done nothing for the spinners all match but Sundar gets a bit of drift. By the way… England have moved to 8/11 odds-on favourites to win the match on some of the betting markets. England are half way to their total and Finchy, the trumpeter, leads the crowd in a rendition of Livin' on a prayer. Whoaaaa we're halfway there etc. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Harry Brook's fifty is a rapid one, coming off just 39 balls. It's his 14th Test fifty in 30 matches. There's a lovely contrast between the way these two are playing. Root is being Root and Brook is being Brook — 'you do you' is England's mantra. The runs required for England is now below 200 with Harry Brook starting the afternoon session where he left off. Eleven scored off the first over after lunch. Everyone is fed and watered, The Oval DJ has stopped playing Oasis songs, and it will be Harry Brook who takes strike to Prasidh. This is a longer session with tea scheduled for 3.55pm. If England carry on at four an over they'll have this won with several overs to spare today; there are 73 overs left in the day. That is lunch and both sides will be OK with how the morning session went. England have added 114 runs and India have taken two wickets. India have bowled very well for the most part, hitting the perfect lengths to get the ball moving and England need another 210 to win. Akash Deep has the ball drilled straight back into his shin by Brook. He's in some pain but carrying on. Looked like it hurt a lot though. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Brook has decided that he's playing in one-day mode. It's high-risk stuff, although he's just played a lovely back-foot drive that was very classical in nature. I think Brook is my favourite England player to watch; you never quite know what you're going to get, but it's usually great fun. Brook has taken Prasidh for 16 runs off that over. England have scored over 100 runs so far in the session. Oh no — the India fans go mad because they think Brook has been caught by Siraj on the boundary, but the India bowler at fine leg steps over the rope and it's gone for six. Huge slice of luck for Brook. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. The world No1 and No3 ranked batsmen in the world at the crease and Brook has just taken Deep for a four and six in consecutive balls. You can't take your eyes off this. Another glorious drive by Root through the covers for four and that brings the runs required below 250. There's a long, long way to go still. England are going along at 3.8 an over. When England chased down 378 against India at Edgbaston in 2022 they were 107 for three before Root and Bairstow put on an amazing partnership to win the game. Could we see something similar from Root and Brook today? And now Pope is given out leg-before. He's been completely undone by a full-length ball that nipped back into him. He's reviewed, but it's a very good scrambled-seam ball by Siraj. AND IT IS OUT — it was a review more in hope than anything else; the ball kept low and it is hitting. Pope goes for 27 off 34 balls. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Pope hits back-to-back boundaries off Krishna to take England past 100. There were 14 runs from that Prasidh over, all hit by Pope, much to the delight of the Surrey faithful in the ground. The sun has come out and the floodlights are off. Snooker player Jimmy White is here in the committee room with his grandson Ralphie Albert, who plays in Surrey's academy and for England under-19s. The wicket of Duckett sends England's odds to win from 6/5 to 15/8. The floodlights are on and it's very gloomy. There is some rain coming from the west, but it won't hit until after 3.00pm, if it hits at all. Prasidh Krishna strikes in his first over as Duckett plays a shot outside off and it gets the edge. It was on fifth-stump line and went straight to KL Rahul at first slip. Big, big pressure on Joe Root now who is the most likely to navigate these tricky conditions and post a big score. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. Fifty for Ben Duckett. He's been pretty consistent throughout the series and that is his 16th Test fifty. The England opener in a serious battle with Siraj and it's great fun to watch. Duckett is England's leading runscorer for the series with 462 at an average of 57.75, but Joe Root is not far behind with 432 at an average of 72. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. At the risk of a massive jinx, Pope looks a lot less skittish at the start of his innings here than he has on a lot of previous occasions. This is a less good over from Siraj, with the ball straying a bit down leg. It feels like there is a wicket coming; Duckett is living dangerously. He's been beaten a couple of times and Mohammed Siraj is giving him an absolute working over. Ollie Pope's batting average in the fourth innings of Tests is just 16.15; he has only passed 25 once. This is a huge day for the stand-in England captain. There's a strong breeze going across the ground, there is quite a lot of cloud overhead and there's still a bit of life in this pitch so this will be very difficult for England. Akash Deep is bowling to Ben Duckett; the India seamer has claimed his wicket three times already in this series. Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope are on their way out to the middle followed by the India team who have had a long team huddle. We have another extended day today — 98 overs and we can play until 7.00pm. It will be another full house here today and actually, day five is also sold out in case this trickles into tomorrow. If it doesn't, anyone with day five tickets will get a full refund. This series feels like it deserves a thrilling ending; it's been so absorbing and dramatic. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. CricViz's PitchViz data shows the surface has been getting progressively easier to bat on throughout this Test at The Oval. With clear skies overhead and the pitch seemingly flattening out, England might fancy their chances of chasing down 324 more runs today. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. A very good morning from The Oval for what could be the last day of the Test summer. The weather is lovely at the moment; it's warm and sunny but the forecast says there might be some showers this afternoon. India are of course the favourites and need to take eight wickets, although possibly nine because Chris Woakes will, in the scenario the England only need a small number of runs to win, go out to the middle with a bat in his hand and just try and stay at the non-strikers end. In a series that has had just about everything it feels like that might be the perfect ending, but that's a long way off. England need another 324 to win. Join me throughout the day for updates on and off the pitch.
