Log In

Reset Password

Winter gales produce record low temperatures

Gale-force winds whip up towering waves at Penhurst Park on North Shore while Kyh-ron Cann, of the Department of Parks, continues his work (Photograph by Akil Simmons)

A low-pressure system brought record low temperatures to Bermuda this week in addition to winter winds.

The Bermuda Weather Service said that the island faced gusts of more than 57mph this week, while temperatures plummeted to a low of 49.1F (9.5C) on Thursday.

Michelle Pitcher, the director of the BWS, said that while the frigid low made that day the coldest January 9 on record, it fell several degrees short of the coldest day the island has endured.

“The coldest temperature we have on record is 6.3C [43.3F] that was recorded on February 26, 1993,” she explained.

“We are still influenced by the mature low that has been stalled to the distant north. If you look at the surface chart, you can follow the isolines — lines of equal pressure that create the patterns on the chart — that are over Bermuda back to Canada and beyond.

“That is the source of the cold air mass that has been intensifying in our area. The winter ocean temperatures are cooler and therefore do not warm or modify the air mass to any great extent before it reaches Bermuda.

“In the summer, our warmest and most humid conditions arrive with the southwesterly winds, which bring the air mass from the tropics, and the summer ocean temperatures do not do much to cool it off before it reaches Bermuda.”

Ms Pitcher added that while recent winters were “a bit quieter” than usual with fewer gales, this year’s blustery conditions are typical of the season.

The rough conditions have caused ferry cancellations over the course of the week, along with a power outage that temporarily plunged almost 1,700 homes into darkness.

The island was expected to enjoy a reprieve early today before a developing low brings new gales and rain later in the day and into Sunday.

Feeling hot, hot, hot

The World Meteorological Organisation confirmed yesterday that 2024 was the hottest year on record, based on six international data sets.

It added: “The past ten years have all been in the top ten, in an extraordinary streak of record-breaking temperatures.”

The global average surface temperature was 1.55C [34.79F] — with a margin of uncertainty of ± 0.13C [32.23F] — above the 1850-to-1900 average, according to WMO’s consolidated analysis of the six data sets.

“This means that we have likely just experienced the first calendar year with a global mean temperature of more than 1.5C [34.7F] above the 1850 to 1900 average.”

The UN said that the 1.5C marker is significant because it was a key goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement “to try to ensure that global temperature change does not rise more than this above pre-industrial levels, while striving to hold the overall increase to well below 2C [35.6F]”.

António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, noted that the WMO’s assessment made it clear: “Global heating is a cold, hard fact.”

He said: “We have just endured the hottest decade on record, with 2024 topping the list, and likely to be the first calendar year with a global mean temperature of more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

“Individual years pushing past the 1.5-degree limit do not mean the long-term goal is shot. It means we need to fight even harder to get on track.

“Blazing temperatures in 2024 require trailblazing climate action in 2025.

“Specifically, governments must deliver new national climate action plans this year to limit long-term global temperature rise to 1.5C, and support the most vulnerable and deal with devastating climate impacts.

“There’s still time to avoid the worst of climate catastrophe. But leaders must act — now.”

Royal Gazette has implemented platform upgrades, requiring users to utilize their Royal Gazette Account Login to comment on Disqus for enhanced security. To create an account, click here.

You must be Registered or to post comment or to vote.

Published January 11, 2025 at 7:57 am (Updated January 11, 2025 at 7:30 am)

Winter gales produce record low temperatures

Users agree to adhere to our Online User Conduct for commenting and user who violate the Terms of Service will be banned.