Author: Eric Gilbert

The peak temperature on Sunday reached 18.7C, this was average for September but a clear sky overnight saw the thermometer drop steadily to just 5.2C at 03.57 this morning. This low was 4C below average and the coldest night since May 23rd.

There were 9 hours of sunshine on Sunday and the UV level reached into the ‘high’ category. No rain fell but 3mm of equivalent rainfall was lost through evaporation.

The sun was evident at dawn and at 08.00 was shining strongly having lifted the temperature to 12.3C.

August 2019 Review
After a dry start to the month rain set in from the 6th with several very wet days. Daily totals of 14.6mm, 10.4mm and 28.1mm were recorded on the 8th, 14th and 16th respectively. There were just 14 dry days.

The total rainfall for August was 81.8mm, which was 14.9mm above average and the wettest August since 2015. The contrasting months since this station was set up in 1984 were 139.5mm in 1992 and just 5.3mm in 1995.

To offset the rainfall, the equivalent loss of rainfall through evaporation from ground sources and plant life totalled 82.3mm, just exceeding the rainfall being 9mm above the 11-year average.

The mean temperature for August was 0.8C above the 35-year average with notably hot days toward the end of the month. During the four days from the 24th to the 27th each exceeded 28C (82F) with a peak of 30.7C (87F) on the 25th.

Solar energy was 102% of the 11-year average.

Summer 2019 Review
The three months of meteorological summer, June to August, gave a mean temperature 0.7C above the 35-year average.

Rainfall was 203.1mm, which was the wettest since 2012 and 23mm above the 35-year average. The wettest summer was in 2012 with 328mm contrasted by just 53mm in 1995.

Saturday: maximum of 20.9C being exactly average
minimum of 9.1C being 2.4C below average
sunshine of 7.2 hours

August: rainfall of 81.6mm just overtaken by evaporation of 82.3mm

Sunday began the first day of meteorological autumn with hazy sunshine initially but by 08.00 the cloud bank had eased eastwards and the sun became strong

Hurricane Dorian currently has an extremely low barometric pressure of 934mb. The lowest I have recorded since 1984 was in March 2008 with 962.5mb, stormy but far removed from the effects of Dorian.

Update on Sunday at 15.10: wind now backed from south west into north west so Polar Maritime air arriving – cooler but clearer air.

Friday gave us mores sunshine, more warmth and another dry day. There were 9 hours of sunshine and the UV level still in the ‘high’ category.

The peak daytime temperature was 22.8C being 2C above average followed by a mild night with a minimum of 12.9C, which was 1.4C above average.

Saturday dawned with hazy sunshine. Variable cloud is increasing from the west in advance of a weak weather front.

The equivalent rainfall lost through evaporation from ground sources and plant life now totals 80.01mm, which almost exactly equates to the total precipitation for August that currently stands at 80.8mm with the possibility of showers after midday.

Thursday gave us a better morning with much sunshine, 7 hours, but just after midday the cloud began to build obscuring the sun for much of the remainder of the day.

It was a dry day. With the August rainfall total now standing at 80.8mm, the equivalent rainfall lost through evaporation has almost equalled that total with 77mm.

The thermometer peak on Thursday at 20.6C was 0.2C below average, however, the opposite was true of the minimum overnight as due to cloud cover we had a mild night with a low of 12.3C (+0.8C).

Friday saw brief, hazy sunshine at dawn but thick cloud shortly afterwards blocked all sunshine. However, with the barometric pressure easing upwards again, there is hope for a dry day with broken sunshine later.

The sunshine on Wednesday was limited to the morning amounting to just 5.5 hours as cloud built up during the afternoon, with occasional light showers and in the late afternoon, drizzle. The total precipitation for the day was just 1mm.

It was a much cooler day with the maximum of 22.2C being 1.3C above average and 6C down on the Tuesday peak. The past night was very cool with the thermometer sinking to 7.8C, which was 3.7C below average and 7C below the previous mild night.

In the early hours radiation fog formed on the River Og valley, due to the low temperature, that at dawn was thick. However, under the influence of almost continuous sunshine this had evaporated by 07.00.

Thursday is under the influence of a temporary, limited ridge of high pressure with the barometric reading 1018.7mb at 08.00 so the shower activity should be limited.