Author: Eric Gilbert

Friday, under the influence of 10.7 hours of strong sunshine, the thermometer soared to a peak of 23.4C, which was 6.3C above the average. The wind was very light with the strongest gust of just 10mph and mostly from the south before late afternoon veering into the Northwest.

We have now enjoyed five continuous days without rain, which totals 7.5mm for May. However, evaporation from the ground and plant life is now equivalent to the loss of over 4mm of rainfall daily with the total for May now 27mm.

The overnight minimum of 7.4C was almost identical to the previous night being 0.4C above the average.

Saturday arrived with strong sunshine through thin, high cloud so the the sky was not quite as blue as on Friday. The thermometer rose quickly after dawn with a reading of 14.8C at 08.00 making it the warmest start to the day at 08.00 since 29th September.

The thermometer rose 5.7C above the average on Thursday as the sun beat down and the wind slowly veered from the northeast into the south, a much warmer direction. The total hours of sunshine were slightly down on the Wednesday peak with 10.2 hours as cumulonimbus clouds occasionally obscured the sun for brief periods.

In the strong sunshine the UV level rose higherwith a reading of 6.4, which is at the top end of the ‘High’ category and the highest since 3rd September.

A much warmer night followed with the thermometer not sinking below 7.5C, which was 0.5 above the average.

Friday saw thin cloud limiting the strength of the sunshine after dawn. Even so the thermometer had risen to 11.4C at 08.00 making it the warmest start to the day since 1st November.

The wall to wall sunshine on Wednesday saw the thermometer rise above average with a peak of 18.3C (+1.2C) making it the warmest day of the month. We enjoyed almost 12 hours of strong sunshine and the UV level again rated as ‘High’.

The wind continued from a northeasterly direction but lighter than previous days that prevented the thermometer rising higher.

With a clear sky overnight it was not surprising to find the thermometer fell away steadily to reach a minimum of 4.7C just after dawn on Thursday being 2.2C below the 36-year average.

Bright sunshine greeted the arrival of Thursday, if a little misty, to start the day. The strong sunshine had lifted the temperature to 10.3C by 08.00.

Thanks to the persistent northeasterly wind, gusting to a peak of 24mph at times and the strongest this month, temperatures both by day and night on Tuesday were below average. The peak of 15.1C was 2.0C below and the minimum of 3.2C, that occurred at 05.11, was 3.8C below. The strong, cool dry wind meant that wind chill was again evident so that in the breeze it felt 2C cooler.

However, out of the wind the 9.3 hours of sunshine on Tuesday felt very pleasant and the UV, though a little less strong than on Monday at 5.3, was still in the ‘High’ category.

The anticyclone has been continuing to build and slipping nearer the North Sea, producing a cracking start to Wednesday with strong sunshine in a clear blue sky after dawn that lifted the temperature to 7.8C at 08.00. There is still a wind chill so that it feels more like 6.5C. The wind persists in coming from the north east bringing a cooler and drier air mass. The humidity at 08.00 was only 86% when at this time of day it is often well above 90%.

The high pressure continues to be centred to the north west of the UK rotating clockwise that combined with a depression to the south west rotating anticlockwise, has brought a cool, north easterly breeze back. Although we had 9.6 hours of sunshine on Monday the cool breeze took the edge off the warmth with a maximum of 16.9C just below the 36-year average.

The wind was brisk in the afternoon gusting to 23mph.

The UV level climbed higher again after the dull day on Sunday with a reading of 6.3, which is at the top end of ‘High’.

A cool night followed with the thermometer falling away to a minimum of 6.6C at 03.16 on Tuesday morning. However, the brisk north easterly breeze, gusting to 21mph, did not relent so that the wind chill meant it felt more like 4.1C at that time.

A depression down to the south west has brought a blanket of cloud over the area so that on Tuesday morning there were just brief glimpses of brightness but no sustained sunshine. The wind has veered a few degrees now steadily coming from the east.