Sunday was the last day of the heatwave that saw the thermometer, late in the afternoon at 17.30, rise to 29.5C being 6.8C above average. Officially the heatwave lasted for five days when the threshold temperature for Wiltshire of 27C was exceeded. Cloud was observed beginning to ease in from the west just before 18.30 that muted the evening sunshine, however, it had the reverse affect overnight in minimising the loss of heat into the atmosphere, hence a very mild night with a minimum of 16.3C logged at 05.45 being 4.4C above average.
Monday early revealed variable light cloud that limited the sunshine. The wind had veered into the southwest heralding the arrival of an Atlantic influence. The temperature at 08.00 was 19.5C, the coolest start to a new day at that time since Wednesday last week.
We are now under temporary influence of a depression, centred just off the north coast of Northern Ireland, that has started to spread weather fronts across the UK last night, hence the cloudier, cooler conditions with higher humidity. The humidity at 08.00 was 75%, the highest for a week. The jet stream is currently racing across the Atlantic and running right across the country hence the wind will be stronger and from a westerly quadrant for the rest of this week, which will mean lower maxima than the past week.
The extreme heat and intense sunshine this past week has seen the leaves of many vegetables and flowers, even if watered copiously, show clear signs of burning and shrivelling up, especially at the edges, as the rate of transpiration couldn’t keep up with the intake of moisture. I have just about emptied my five large water buts, with a capacity of almost 1500 litres, that were partially replenished with the light rain a week ago.
The butterfly is a Green-veined white enjoying a visit to lavender, which has been very poplar with both butterflies and bees this past two weeks.