The BBC is reporting that residents of and visitors to Scotland are asking “where has summer gone,” as cold weather lingers across the country, accompanied by early July snow in the Scottish Highlands.
“Fine weather was in short supply in June in Scotland, and the start of July has seen little improvement,” reports the BBC. “The Met Office says the average mean temperature for June was 12.9C, which was 0.4C below the long-term meteorological average.”
“It was even consistently cold enough early in June for precipitation to fall as snow on our highest mountains at some point during the day, for a run of eight consecutive days,” BBC Scotland weather forecaster Calum MacColl said.
A Polar airstream dipping over Scotland is responsible for the extended cold spell.
Not everyone in Scotland is complaining about the cold. Ski centers in Scotland are pleased with the still falling snow, according to Snow-Forecast.
“After weeks of increasingly cold and stormy weather since the summer solstice, blamed on the jet stream, Scottish ski centres have reported snowfall on high slopes this morning,” Snow-Forecast says. “WinterHighland’s webcam captured the fresh snow at Glencoe this morning, and snow flurries were also forecast for high peaks across the Highlands, including on the slopes if Cairngorm above Aviemore.”