The Unsung Heroes of D-Day: The RAF Weathermen

Summer Wasn’t Going as Planned

The month of May was a pleasant month on the English Channel, but June was not following suit. To get a little technical, the Azores High, a semi-permanent high-pressure zone in the mid-Atlantic, typically moved north during the summer and south during the winter. But in 1944, it didn’t come as far north as usual.

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Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower is talking with Lt. General Carl D. Spaatz and Lt. General James H. Doolittle during his visit to a bomber station in England, April 21st, 1944. Photo by Underwood Archives / UIG / Shutterstock

When the Azores High dominates the weather, Europe and England’s south coast experience dry warm summer days. But this time, it was steering a series of low-pressure troughs through the North Atlantic and into the English Channel. The first ships headed out from Scotland on May 28th, steaming toward the invasion that had been planned for June 5th.

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