1. On August 8, 2000, a shower of fresh (dead) sprats rained down on Great Yarmouth in Norfolk after a thunderstorm. The explanation? A small tornado out at sea, known as a waterspout, which trawls up water near the surface. When the tornado reaches land it begins to lose energy and its contents are scattered.

2. Pilots are trained to avoid the dangers of hailstones by flying around rather than beneath storm clouds.

3. There are around 3,000 British weather proverbs and many are hundreds of years old. Seaweed, pine cones, and watching animals and plants, as well as the sky, can also give us a good idea of what is happening weatherwise.

4. The Weather Centre, based in London's BBC Television Centre, produces around 100 forecasts every weekday, totalling 22 hours a week, as well as additional broadcasts over the weekend, for its national and international channels. 

5. The Met Office was founded in 1854 to provide information on the weather and marine currents to the marine community. Its new headquarters in Exeter were opened in 2004.

6. In 1988, Sunderland band Tribe of Toffs had a hit with a catchy song entitled John Kettley Is A Weatherman, which reached number 21. Altogether now...

John Kettley is a weatherman
A weatherman, a weatherman
John Kettley is a weatherman
And so is Michael Fish

7. Kettley also had the honour of being voted Housewives' Favourite Meteorologist in 1987, two years after joining the BBC Weather team.

8. The BBC's online Painting The Weather exhibition drew together striking weather-inspired works from collections nationwide - and chosen by the National Gallery and BBC Four. More than 100 paintings by 80 artists are featured - and you can hear weatherman Bill Giles' thoughts on selected works.

9. The Beeb's 23 broadcast meteorologists also present bulletins for the British Forces Broadcasting Services and the Heathrow Express high-speed train service.

10. Among the Met Office collection are weather records of Scott's Antarctic expedition from 1911 and daily weather reports for the UK from January 1, 1869, to the present day.