August
As a summer month, August 2014 was a disappointment. There were only eight days when the maximum temperature exceeded the 30-year mean, all at the beginning of the month. Many days in the month were several degrees below the long-term average. The mean was 1.7C below the long-term average so it is not surprising that it was the coldest August since 1993. The maximum day temperature was 25.2C, which was the lowest maximum since 1986.
Rainfall was also noteworthy as there were only eleven dry days and the total rainfall of 101.4mm was 157% of the 30-year average, which is an additional 37mm. It was the eight wettest since 1984 with August 1992 holding the record when the total precipitation was 139.5mm. In contrast, August 1995 was exceedingly dry with just 5.3mm of precipitation.
Summer
The months of June and July produced above average temperatures so although August was cool, the mean for the three summer months was 0.3C above the 30-year average.
The total rainfall for the summer was 186mm, just 4mm above the 30-year average.
The consecutive eight months from January to August have produced a total rainfall of 787mm, which is the highest total since my records began in 1984. It is interesting to note that there are only three years that have totals in excess of 700mm, all recent years, 727mm and 707mm in 2009 and 2008 respectively.
