Betty–The Storm That Never Was

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/1692492075319628258

In advance of the arrival of #StormBetty several weather warnings have been issued
More details here 👇https://t.co/Izy8M7rXbw#WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/DCbgkj4RuD

— Met Office (@metoffice) August 18, 2023

Following on from the heatwave that never was, the Met Office decided to hype Storm Betty. There was talk of half a month’s rainfall, maybe as much as 80mm:

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/press-office/news/weather-and-climate/2023/storm-betty-named-by-met-eireann

The reality was much more mundane. Ballypatrick in N Ireland saw the most rain, 36mm, and the extremes in England and Scotland were much less than that:

Saturday saw #StormBetty continue to move northwards with a mixture of sunshine and some showers following behind

Here are the extremes for Saturday 19th August 👇 pic.twitter.com/gBTYfsp80l

— Met Office (@metoffice) August 19, 2023

As for winds, they forecast gusts up to 70 mph in exposed places, and 55 mph widely:

https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/1692492075319628258/photo/1

In advance of the arrival of #StormBetty several weather warnings have been issued
More details here 👇https://t.co/Izy8M7rXbw#WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/DCbgkj4RuD

— Met Office (@metoffice) August 18, 2023

Sure enough, they found a handful of extremely exposed sites. Capel Curig, for instance, sits at an altitude of 216m in the middle of Snowdonia:

https://twitter.com/metoffice/status/1692780913619341821/photo/1

It's certainly been a windy night for some of us courtesy of #StormBetty, particularly around the Irish Sea 🌬️

Here's a look at some of the highest wind gusts recorded overnight 👇 pic.twitter.com/slJ7V4Vkcw

— Met Office (@metoffice) August 19, 2023

But down in the real world, the winds were a gentle breeze, even on that west coast of Wales, according to the Beaufort Scale:

But Gentle Breeze Betty does not have quite the same ring to it!