Although Friday brought more hours of shine the wind had backed into the north east and strengthened producing a maximum of 16.9C. This was degree or so below recent days but still 6.4C above the average.
For the first time since 7th October the UV level rose to Moderate with a value of 3.5.
A brief air frost occurred in the early hours of Saturday with a minimum of -0.1C for an hour but by 08.00 the strong sunshine had lifted the temperature to 7.8C.
With the anticyclone still over or near the UK the fine, dry and sunny weather continues. The thermometer rose to 18.1C, just bleep the Wednesday peak but still 7.6C above the 38-year average.
As on previous nights the clear skies meant the thermometer dropped just below freezing, at 05.15 on Friday, for less than two hours around dawn with a minimum of -0.3C at 06.22 Friday.
By 08.00 on Friday the sun, having been shining brightly since sunrise, lifted the temperature to 4.8C. The centre of the high pressure is forecast to ease eastwards from over the UK to the North Sea. This will still maintain the dry and sunny weather and light winds.
The loss of equivalent rainfall through evaporation from the ground and plant life has been in excess of 2mm daily for the past three days. The monthly rainfall total stands at 42.8mm but evaporation has seen the loss of 30mm of equivalent rainfall.
The gentle air flow from the southeast and many wall to wall of very warm sunshine saw the thermometer rise to 18.9C on Wednesday. This was the warmest day since 7th October and a significant 8.4C above the 38-year average.
No surprises to see the thermometer drop below zero overnight, with a minimum of -0.4C at 05.21 on Thursday. Due to clear skies any residual warmth from Wednesday radiated into the atmosphere without a duvet of cloud.
Thursday saw string sunshine as the sun rose above the horizon that lifted the temperature to 0C at 06.4 and 4.7C at 08.00
The thermometer soared to a peak of 17.8C on Tuesday at 14.31 being a significant 7.3C above the 38-year average. This made it the warmest day since 19th October.
We have now had six consecutive dry days. The warm air and many hours of sunshine yesterday meant an equivalent loss of rainfall of 2.29mm due to evaporation from ground sources and plant life, the greatest daily loss since 8th September.
The UV level of 2.9 was at the top end of ‘Low’ being the highest since 7th October.
With clearing skies overnight it was not surprising to see the thermometer steadily dropping during the evening reaching a minimum of -0.1 at 05.45 on Wednesday producing a ground frost and a brief air frost.
Wednesday arrived with glorious sunshine again that lifted the temperature to 5.9C at 08.00.
A large area of high pressure, centred over eastern Europe, is maintaining the dry and fine weather with the breeze continuing to come from the southeast.
Monday saw the thermometer recover and rise to 16.1C, which was a significant 5.6C above the 38-year average and the warmest day since 21st October.
It was another dry day, the 14th this month with the monthly rainfall 72% of the average and more dry days in the forecast.
The past night has been mild with a minimum of 5.1C at 04.47 before rising to 8.8C at 08.00 on Tuesday that started with cloudy conditions but just after 08.00 the sunshine became more continuous.