Summer side effects
Heatwave blamed for earth tremors and snake
alert!
Scots are enjoying some long-lost sunshine this week as
temperatures soar to their highest of the year so far.
Altnaharra was the country's hottest spot yesterday with a high
of 27.3°C.
Our parks, gardens and beaches are full of sun-worshippers
playing, splashing, or just soaking up the warmth. For many it is a
relief after the wettest April ever.
The Scottish record for May temperatures is 29°C. That was
measured in Edinburgh in 1992. There is a chance that record will
be broken soon as the good weather is set to continue into next
week.
But the hot weather is also causing some problems.
People living on the Scottish coast south of Aberdeen felt
ground tremors and thought they were experiencing mini-earthquakes
on Tuesday.
It turned out that the weather was probably to blame.
The shudders were caused by RAF aircraft flying faster than the
speed of sound and creating sonic booms. Usually, these would not
be felt by people on the ground but sound travels further when it
is hot.
And walkers have been warned to take extra care to avoid
snakes!
Adders, Scotland's only poisonous snakes, are more likely to
come out when it is warm.
"Do go out and enjoy the countryside," a wildlife expert said,
"But if you are going somewhere with large areas of open space,
just think about what you're doing and most importantly of all, if
you come across an adder, or indeed any snake or reptile, give it
the respect it deserves as a wild animal and leave it alone."
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Summer side effects
'I'm not being funny, but Kemnay just had an
earthquake,' ... or did it?
Scotland may be enjoying the rare spell of hot weather, but the
balmy temperatures had an unexpected side-effect when they were
blamed for causing alarm among people living along part of the
Scottish coastline.
Police received a number of calls late on Tuesday night after
reports of tremors on the coast south of Aberdeen. Many people also
logged on to the British Geological Survey (BGS) website to see if
the possible mini-earthquakes had been confirmed.
However, it later emerged the shudders were more likely to have
been caused by sonic booms from RAF aircraft flying faster than the
speed of sound.
The RAF yesterday said it was "quite likely" its jets were
behind the disturbance, even though they would have been miles out
at sea.
It is thought the current high temperatures and high pressure
meant the flying exercises caused the activity felt in Torry,
Portlethen, Stonehaven, Inverbervie, Gourdon and St Cyrus.
A spokesman from the Ministry of Defence said:
"We follow regulations that mean we have to be at least 10 miles
away from the coast when operating these manoeuvres.
"Reports of tremors can be quite common though, especially
during the summer when there's high pressure. This is because sound
travels further when it's hot."
The BGS said more than 20 people had completed questionnaires on
its website, but all the data had been checked and there was no
evidence of earthquake activity.
Grampian Police received a series of calls between 8.45pm and
11.15pm on Tuesday. A spokeswoman said: "We have received a number
of reports from members of the public after feeling tremors during
the evening. There were no reports of injuries or damage."
But those who had felt the tremors were worried and took to
social networking sites to share their concerns.
Messages about possible earthquakes flooded in to Twitter and
Facebook.
Liam Thom wrote on Facebook: "I'm not being funny, but Kemnay
just had an earthquake. I genuinely felt two tremors - then the
internet went down."
MoD spokesman, Wing Commander Martin Tinworth, said supersonic
flights were being made all the time by RAF jets.
"But at the moment we are in the middle of an anticyclone and
sound carries further," he added.
When an aircraft approaches the speed of sound at 768 miles per
hour air can't move out of the way quickly enough, so a shock wave
ripples out. It can be heard as a bang, rumbling or tremors on the
ground.
The shock wave moves with the aircraft like the wake of a ship,
so its effects can be felt over a large area of land.
Click here to try our summer side effects
quiz.
Lesson ideas and
suggestions
Join the Daily What News Facebook group
Click here to watch a recording of
our most recent Daily What Newsround on Glow TV, featuring a
special guest from the Scottish SPCA (Glow login
required).
Join us for our next programme on Friday 8 June at
11am!