By Diane Fay, teacher, Rainham School for Girls, Kent, UK


We live in the South East of England, in the north of the county of Kent, close to the North Sea and to the English Channel. Our climate is the reverse of continental, it is maritime, because we are very much influenced by the sea - being an island on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Our prevailing winds generally blow across the Atlantic bringing warmer moist air to our shores.

In winter the warmer seas keep our land temperatures a little warmer than they would be - and in summer the cooler sea keeps our summer temperatures on land a little cooler than they would be - if we were located on a larger continent inland. As a result our temperatures range is much less than yours - during the course of a typical day and between summer and winter.

We are getting a lot of rain at present and it is saturating the soil and rocks around some rivers causing local flooding in England. Average monthly temperatures are about 8C - slightly warmer than in other years. At night temperatures have been dropping to 0C with slight frosts - while during the day temperatures have been reaching 11C. We can expect to get snow when air from the continent blows from the north-east (your direction) towards us. Unlike in Siberia - just a small depth of snow can disrupt our routines considerably. Summer is back with us again this week with temperatures of 17C, although the outlook for this weekend is unsettled weather again!

If it rains, the grass won't get cut AGAIN!