Tuesday 29th.
Monday saw the sun return with temperatures returning above average by day with a maximum of 24.3C late in the afternoon at 17.17, being +1.6C. The day was dry with the UV level peaking at a value of 7.0 at 13.47, in burst of strong sunshine, which was just into the ‘Very High’ category. The evening gave us a clear sky but after midnight cloud drifted in from the west on a weak weather front that had sneaked in around the northern edge of the anticyclone. Very light rain from the weather front started just after 05.30, that was minimal, with just 0.4mm recorded by 08.00.
Tuesday after dawn revealed the total, thick cloud cover that brought the very light precipitation, which had ceased by 07.00. There has been a significant change in wind direction overnight that will see it come from the south west until later today when it reverts back to northwest.
The July rainfall now stands at 21.2mm, which is just 35% of my 41-year average or minus 38.6mm from the average. July rainfall has seen as little as 10.1mm in 1999 and 127.2mm in the wet July of 2007. The many hours of strong sunshine with so little rainfall has meant much moisture has been lost through evaporation, which averages almost 4mm per day this month. In fact, the equivalent loss of rainfall through evaporation from ground sources and plant life this month now totals 103.1mm.
The barometric pressure has varied little over the past two days, the northern edge has receded a little allowing the cloud to drift around its north eastern periphery so no great quantity, which will mean sunshine and showers over the next few days with near average temperatures. The barometric pressure reading at 08.00 was 1020.5mb, down just a millibar since yesterday.
Compton Acres consists of five themed sub-gardens: an Italian garden, a rock and water garden, a heather garden, a Japanese garden and a less formal woodland garden called the “Wooded Valley”. The picture is of an Emperor dragonfly at Compton Gardens.