Author: Eric Gilbert

The wind from the northwest persisted all day but very light with a peak gust of only 7mph. This was the calmest since 10th July also 7mph peak. The calm conditions were due to the high pressure expanding over the UK but still centred off the southern tip of Ireland.

The temperatures were below average by day and night due to the cool air stream with the thermometer peaking at 17.6C, which was 1.3C below average and in the early ours of Monday (06.37) a low of 5.7C, being 3.6C below the 38-year average.

Tuesday brought sunshine after dawn that lifted the temperature to 8.3C by 08.00. The barometric pressure is at its highest all month also since 10th August with a pressure of 1026.9mb at 08.00.

The sunshine during Sunday afternoon lifted the temperature to 18.0C being 0.9C below the average. However,it was another dry day with the peak UV level at 4.2 being at the top end of Moderate. The brisk breeze that continued from the North meant it felt cool out of the sun. Another cool night followed with the thermometer sinking to 6.9C at 06.09 on Monday, which was 2.4C below the average due to the cool air stream.

Monday arrived dull with total cloud cover and no brightness. The barometric pressure continues high and in fact at 08.00 read 1025.1mb, the highest this month.

The monthly rainfall total is 42.1mm being 63% o the 38-year average while daily evaporation continues with the loss of equivalent rainfall of over 2mm a day.

Saturday gave us the sunniest day this month, after Friday, that saw the thermometer ease upwards a degree to peak at 17.4C. This high was 1.5C below the 38-year average due to the continuing northerly breeze.

The barometric pressure rose to its highest this month on Saturday with a reading of 1024.7mb.

Clear skies overnight gave us another cool night, not quite so cold as the previous night, as there was no grass frost in evidence due to a minimum of 4.3C at 07.16 on Sunday.

Sunday saw the arrival of the sun delayed by an hour or so after dawn due to a cloud bank in the eastern sky. However, just after 7.45 the sun began to rise above the cloud cover and lifted the thermometer to 5.2C. Pressure remains high although more cloud is likely.

The cool northerly breeze on Friday was much stronger gusting to 23mph that meant a cooler day with the maximum of 16.7C being 2.2C below the average. However, with clear skies overnight the temperature plummeted to reach a low of 1.5C at 05.03 our Saturday morning. Early risers would have noticed that the grass was white at dawn as the temperature was low enough to produce a ground frost.

The sun shone strongly as soon as it rose above the horizon and lifted the temperature to 4.4C at 08.00. The high pressure has sunk southwards, just off the southern coast of Ireland, so closer to southern England and as a result the fine weather will continue with lighter winds but still from the northerly quadrant. The barometric pressure at 08.00 read 1024.4mb being the highest this month.

The ground temperature has also fallen away, not surprisingly, with a temperature of 7.1C at 08.00 and at a depth of 5cm, the lowest since 30th April (5.1C).

For the first time this month both the maximum of 17.5C and the minimum of 7.1C were below average with -1.4C and -2.3C respectively. The low occurred at 01.18 early Friday and thereafter rose a little.

It was the eighth dry day this month with the UV level just rising into the ‘High’ category.

Clearing skies gave us the very cool night but by 08.00 the sun had been shining quite strongly shortly since dawn and lifted the thermometer to 9.2C.

The low pressure to the east over Finland and the high just off the northwest coast of Scotland will continue to bring a stream of cool air from the north or northnorth-west. The high has edged closer with a reading of 1018.2mb at 08.00, up 5mb since this time on Thursday.

The ground temperature at a depth of 5cm read 10.0C at 08.00. This was the lowest ground temperature at that depth and time since 30th April (7.1C).