The Weather.

The weather is a very popular topic of conversation in Britain. That's because the weather changes a lot. Sixty-five per cent of all the days in Britain are overcast - dull, grey and often cold. The seasons in Britain are fairly clear. Winter lasts from December to February. It's cold and wet buy doesn't often snow. Spring is from March to May. It starts to get a bit warmer and there are more sunny days. The summer months are June, July and August when it can be very hot. Then the autumn - September, October, November - often has foggy, cold, wet days and the leaves fall from the trees. It's not surprising that Britain has got one of the most important weather centres in the world. Two huge supercomputers analyse information from many sources including satellites. This is the first one - published in The Times in 1879. Scientists at the Met Office make weather forecasts for the public and for special purposes - military, shipping, airlines and many others. The computers can predict the tropical storms and hurricanes that cause so much damage around the world. They still go out in their shorts and get wet! But at least it's something to talk about.