It might not have been completely dry recently, but there has been a lot of quiet weather around. Many of us have enjoyed some dry days and even (although I shouldn’t say this too loudly) some sunshine.
The reason for our settled weather is the positioning of an area of high pressure known as the Azores High. This has been extending across us over the past week or so and is expected to stick around for the next few days at least.
What is the Azores High?
The Azores High is a semi-permanent area of high pressure which, as its name suggests, is situated near the Azores.
During the summer months, as the sun tracks north, the area of high pressure also shifts northwards and intensifies. The exact size and shape varies each year, but often it builds across France and Germany, and into the southern parts of the UK.
Its position can have a major effect on the weather in the UK, particularly if the area of high pressure remains over the same area for a long time. This is because active weather systems, bringing wet and windy weather, are forced around it, to its north.
If the Azores High stays to the south of us, we can have a period of prolonged wet weather – a soggy summer.
If it extends over us, then we can have endless blue skies. This will lead to a scorching summer, but with little rain and heatwaves.
Is the Azores High changing?
According to a 2022 study in Nature Geoscience, the number of ‘extremely large’ Azores Highs that are developing in winter is increasing. An extremely large Azores High will extend over the Mediterranean, so there we’re seeing more dry weather, and the wet and windy weather is being guided across the UK, so things here are getting wetter.
The study suggests that the trend will continue, and rainfall over Spain and Portugal will continue to drop. According to the study, this makes the agriculture of the region some of the most vulnerable in Europe.
What's to come?
For now, the Azores High looks set to play a part in our weather over the next few days at least, and into the weekend.
This means that even though a few weather systems will try their luck at bringing rain to Britain and Ireland, they’ll generally be a bit weak and feeble and our quieter spell of weather should continue.