They call it the Spanish Plume. And we were supposed to experience it this weekend. Acoording to the Met Office when Blakeney Point seal trips enquired, it is the name for a rather complicated meterological event. As the name suggests it is a plume of very warm air that pushes north from the Spanish plateau and reaches the us on a southerly airflow. Well for the past 2 weeks we have had a steady Nor Easterly blowing which in the lovely Easter sunshine meant that we had some chilly trips as a result of cooler Atlantic air as cold fronts come in from the west. This weekend when these two air masses meet, the very warm ‘plume’ air is forced to rise up over the cooler Atlantic air and as in theory produces thunderstorms. Because these features can cover large areas the storms are often grouped together and can give widespread, heavy rainfall, often accompanied by hail.
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So Mike and I were out on Saturday morning, kitted out in preparation for these weather conditions. There was some highish Altocumulus with some sign of darker clouds to the South. We left on our first trip and then the clouds began to break and blue sky appeared. The layers started to come off as suddenly the wind switched from a Nor Easterly to a Southerly and it was as though someone had turned on a hairdryer. Mike and I were back to T-shirts and the well of the boat suddenly filled with all our passengers’ gear as well!
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Out to the point and the young Grey seal pups that have been playing in the surf right on the tip of the point were back again, and a mixture of Common and Grey seals sunbathing on the beach just around from the Blakeney Point.
Looks like the Terns are starting to nest as the activity around the colony seems less frantic.
As we came back into the harbour, the wind switched again and all of us on Blakeney Point seal trips were piling back on the clothes.
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