Author: Eric Gilbert

The heat intensified on Sunday with a maximum temperature of 27.9C. This high was 7.2C above the 37-year average and the hottest day since August 11th and 12th when the thermometer peaked at 34.1C on both days.

The wind on Sunday was variable between east then south to southwest and back to south.

Sunday night into Monday was again very warm with a minimum of 11.6C being 1.6C above the average.

The sun shone strongly after dawn in Monday triggering the sunshine recorder at 06.10 and raising the thermometer to 21.2C at 08.00. This was the warmest start to a day at that time since 12th August (22.1C). The wind is currently coming from the west-northwest.

The rainfall total for July stands 0.7mm whilst the equivalent rainfall of 45mm has evaporated from the ground and plant life. The soil temperature at a depth of 5cm read 23.7C at 08.00 as the heat by day and warmth by night permeates the ground as it dries out.

During the 11.4 hours of sunshine on Saturday the thermometer soared to 24.5C and stayed there for over two hours. This peak was 4.3C above the 37-year average and the warmest day since 16th September. The UV level again, not surprisingly as it it is almost mid-summer, rose to Very High.

The past night was very mild with a minimum of 11.4C being 1.3C above the average.

On Sunday morning we were greeted with strong sunshine after dawn that lifted the temperature to 19.4C at 08.00, the warmest start to a day since 13th August.

The barometric pressure has continued to rise, currently at 1028.4mb, the highest this month. The wind direction at 08.00 was from then east but forecast to swing into the southwest later in the day as the high pressure relocates from the southern North Sea

Friday saw the thermometer rise well above average again (+3.2C) with a maximum f 23.9C at 15.46 during 6 hours of sunshine. The wind had veered a few degrees to come from the west and a little stronger with a maximum gust of 20mph being the strongest all month.

A cooler night night followed, although still above average (+1.1C) with a minimum of 11.2C at 04.31 on Saturday.

The sun on Saturday took an hour or so to break through the cloud and disperse the misty conditions lifting the temperature to 16.0C at 08.00, the coolest at this time for five days. The wind has backed a few more degrees, after a cold front passed through, and now comes from the northwest giving a much cooler feel to the day.

The influence of the Tropical Maritime Air continued on Thursday, brought on the southwesterly breeze. There was less sunshine in the humid air that produced more cloud but in the 5.8 hours of sunshine the UV level was again very high.

The thermometer soared to 23.4C being 3.2C above average followed by a very warm night with a minimum of 15.9C, which was 5.8C above average and the warmest night since 21st August. A few drops of rain fell mid-afternoon but not sufficient to wet the ground as a shower passed just to the west of Marlborough again.

Friday morning saw a continuation of the southwesterly breeze with only brief glimpses of sunshine in an otherwise totally cloudy sky.

Wednesday saw the change in air mass from the hot, dry Continental Air to Tropical Maritime Air from the Atlantic, which contains more moisture. After a very sunny morning cloud began to increase shortly before 15.00 and limited the sunshine to 9.2 hours when the UV peaked at Very High again. The thermometer rose higher again than the past week with a maximum of 24.6C being 4.4C above average and a degree up on the Tuesday peak.

The past night was very mild with the thermometer not sinking below 14.1C, which was 4.6C above the 37-year average.

Sadly there was no sunshine to greet the new day on Thursday due to complete cloud cover from the Atlantic air mass, which contains more moisture. However, just before 08.30 weak sunshine broke through very briefly.