Author: Eric Gilbert

The lighter northerly breeze on Wednesday combined with many hours of sunshine lifted the temperature to 18.0C being 0.9C above the average. The day was dry under the high pressure and the UV level rose to 6.8, which is at the top end of ‘High’.

The anticyclone now stretches from mid-Atlantic to Scandinavia and firmly settled over southern England so Thursday will be another settled day with more sunshine, but probably less than on Wednesday as cloud is forecast to drift across the area in the afternoon.

The overnight minimum of 7.6C, which was logged at 05.12 early Thursday, was 0.8C above average. By 08.00 the sun had been shining strongly for a couple of hours and had lifted the temperature to 15.8C making it the warmest start to a day at that time since 28th October.

The drier weather combined with sunshine and a warmer night has resulted in the soil temperature at a depth of 5cm rise to 13.8C at 08.00, the highest at that time of day since 14th September. This has also given a humidity at 08.00 of 77%, the second lowest this month.

The breeze from the north continued on Tuesday so once again the temperature was depressed by this cooler airstream. The thermometer eventually reached 17.1C but this was only average for May. However, to have another dry day was a bonus and the UV level rated as ‘High’.

The past night was much colder than forecast and in fact was the coldest night since 25th April with a minimum of 2.3C occurring at 05.23 early Wednesday, which was a significant 4.5C below the 39-year average.

Wednesday began as Tuesday with strong sunshine after dawn but high, thin cloud was observed at 08.00. The temperature had recovered to 12.1C at 08.00 making it the second warmest start to a day at that time this month.

The anticyclone has edged closer to the UK, just off the west coast, as a result the barometric pressure has risen again and still is still rising with a reading of 1030.4mb at 08.00, which is the highest pressure since 3rd April.

Although there were several hours of sunshine on Monday the very brisk wind, gusting to 22mph, from the north depressed the temperature. The maximum of 15.7C that occurred late in the afternoon at 16.37, was 1.4C below the May average. However, it was a welcome dry day with the UV level reaching into the ‘High; category for the second day.

The clear sky overnight also calm without any wind meant the thermometer dropped steadily away to reach a low of 2.9C at 05.52 before the sun rose. This minimum was 3.9C below the 39-year average and the coldest night since 27th April.

The start to Tuesday was a glorious beginning with blue sky and strong sunshine in calm conditions before 07.00. By 08.00 a light breeze had sprung up, still from a northerly quadrant, but edging today towards a more westerly component. The anticyclone has edged closer to the UK, its centre just off the west coast of Ireland, will mean a more settled day with sunshine but perhaps cloud springing up as the warmth increases due to the strong sunshine. The thermometer had recovered to 10.4C at 08.00.

Because the high pressure has edged towards the UK the barometric pressure reading at 08.00 was the highest this month with a pressure of 1026.8mb.

After the rain on Sunday night the sunshine and drying wind have meant that the evaporation rate has increased. The last two days have seen the equivalent loss of 3mm or more of rainfall from ground sources and plant life.

The numerous hours of glorious sunshine on Sunday lifted the temperature to 20.7C making it the warmest day since 29th October and 3.6C above the 39-year average. As a result of the sunshine, at times a little muted thanks to thin high cloud, the UV level rose to 6.5 being classed as ‘High’.

Overnight rain amounted to 3.1mm that took the monthly total to 52.7mm, which is 88% of the May average.

The past night has been mild with the thermometer not sinking below 8.3C, which was 1.5C above the average.

Overnight the centre of the Atlantic high repositioned itself a little further south. As a consequence the wind has veered into the north and gathered in strength to become very brisk. A cooler direction again.

Monday early saw the hang back of cloud from the weather front limiting sunshine but just before 08.00 the sun began to clear the cloud and shine strongly.

The wind from the northeast continued all day on Saturday, once again depressing the daytime temperature and limiting the warmth to a maximum of 14.7C being 2.4C below the 39-year average. The low cloud hung around for much of the day and it wasn’t until just after 15.00 that the cloud began to break and much welcome sunshine began to develop. The peak temperature was logged at 17.47.

Saturday was another dry day but the thick cloud for much of the day meant a low UV level of 4.6, rated as ‘Moderate’.

The past three nights have produced similar minima, 8.0C, 8.0C and 7.9C at 06.59 last night respectively.

Sunday revealed a foggy start limiting visibility to 500m only slowly beginning to lift by 08.00. At sometime overnight the wind fell light and the upper air stream began to back into the west, which will continue on Sunday but much lighter than of late.