Weather Watching

Available for 6 days

Good morning. I am proud to be part of the team that produces our local magazine, which publishes news and stories from the fifty square miles covered by our twelve churches in West Dorset. It has some popular regular features, like Hedgehog Corner, which journals the life and times of a couple of these much loved creatures living in the contributor’s back garden. However, unsurprisingly, the most talked about regular feature is Weather Watch. Which every month produces a table of readings gathered from a mini weather station in one of our villages, that compares this year’s weather with readings from the previous two years. It’s highly localised and it’s fascinating. Having lived through the various weather events laid out in the table it helps us as readers to make sense of what sometimes feels very unpredictable and changeable weather day to day. Mostly because of the micro climate of the Marshwood Vale and the prevailing South Westerlies blowing across the Channel. Understanding the weather is essential as we live in a rural coastal community where farming, hospitality and fishing are the main industries all of which are highly dependent on the right type of weather at the right time. So oftentimes, I find myself praying for the weather. But today I want to pray for all those who work in weather watching, meteorologists, scientists and weather presenters, satellite engineers and technicians and especially for all those amateur weather watchers, recording the weather in their own local communities, come rain or shine. May you know God in the heavens as you study the skies and be blessed in your work. Amen