One of the most common things that tourists comment on when visiting England is the weather...more specifically, the rain!

It is true that most English people own an umbrella and our English weather idioms are connected with bad weather; 'a storm in a tea cup', 'save it for a rainy day', 'it's raining cats and dogs' and 'feeling under the weather'. However, thanks to the sea surrounding this small island the weather never reaches the coldest temperatures experienced by inland continental Europe in Winter. The Gulf Stream flows across the Atlantic from Mexico keeping Britain warm in winter.

The climate across England can vary greatly from place to place. The north-east experiences the coldest temperatures, whereas in Torquay - the English Riviera - the climate is similar to Istanbul. The worst of English weather ranges from heavy rain and hail storms, to thunder, lightning and even tornadoes. Although English tornadoes are never on the same scale as American ones, we do in fact have more tornadoes per year than any other country.

The stamp below was issued as part of a set of four called The Weather in March 2001.

Illustration

1st class stamp from The Weather issue