Author: Eric Gilbert

Monday saw the thermometer soar to 30.3C making it the hottest day since 21st June 2017 and 8C above the 34-year average.

The total hours of strong sunshine was the highest for a week with 11.25 hours.

There followed a much cooler night with a minimum of 12.3C, just above average.

By 08.00 on Tuesday the thermometer had already risen to 19.5C under the effect of one hour of intermittent strong sunshine.

The Meteorological Office class a day as dry if any precipitation is less than 1mm. Since 30th May we have had 49 dry days out of the 54 period.

June rainfall of 5.3mm BUT evaporation equivalent to 110mm of rainfall
July rainfall of 4.9mm BUT evaporation equivalent to 95mm of rainfall

Update at 17.20: maximum lower today at 27.7C, being 2.6C down on Monday’s peak due to variable cloud and reduced hours of strong sunshine. However, the peak today was still 5.4C above the 34-year July average.

Sunday saw the thermometer soar back up to 29.3C, being 7C above the 34-year July average and 3C above the peak on Saturday. This was the result of much blue sky and the resultant sunshine totalling 7.36 hours and Very High UV levels.

The change in wind direction also played a part, yesterday coming from the south west, a warmer direction than previously, which also increased the humidity level.

A mild night followed with the thermometer not falling below 15.7C, which was 4C above the average and the warmest night since 19th July 2017.

Monday arrived with thick fog limiting visibility to 200m that slowly began to evaporate so that by 08.00, when readings were taken, had improved to over 1,500m and a temperature that had risen to 18.2C.

The rain total for July still stands at 4.9mm when the average is 60.9mm. The other half of the story in this heatwave is that the equivalent of 95mm of rainfall has evaporated into the atmosphere from ground sources and plant life.

Update at 14.40: the thermometer has already passed the maximum set on Sunday with a peak of 29.5C at 14.38.

at 15.36: maximum of 30.3C being hottest day since 21st June 2017 (32.2C).

Saturday saw just a brief glimpse of strong sunshine, only 3 minutes, due to the extensive high cloud cover. However, it was very bright and allowed the thermometer to rise to 26.1C, down a shade on Friday but still almost 4C above the 34-year average for July,

The continuing cloud cover meant that there was not much radiation of warmth back into the atmosphere overnight so the thermometer did not fall as low as some previous nights with a minimum of 14.6C.

Sunday dawned with broken and cloud and by the time readings were taken at 08.00, there were glimpses of the sun, that allowed the thermometer to rise to 18.6C at that time.

Rainfall: 1st June to 19th July – Marlborough: 9.9mm
– UK: 50.8mm
– England: 21.4mm

Update at 16.05: maximum temperature of 29.3C reached at 15.55, which was the hottest day since 9th July. Not surprisingly UV was Very High at 8.5 and humidity low at 41%.

July:

Rainfall: 1st June to 19th July – Marlborough: 4.6mm when average is 60.9mm
– UK: 50.8mm
– England: 21.4mm
Evaporation: 88mm
Mean maximum temperature: 5C above average

Friday was a much cloudier day with only 39 minutes of strong sunshine although much brightness, which pushed the temperature to a maximum of 26.8C being 4.5C above average, at 16.52.

Cloud arriving in the afternoon preceded a weather front that brought a brief shower amounting to only 0.3mm

A mild night followed with an above minimum of 12.7C.

Saturday arrived with a cloudy morning and misty conditions due to the extra moisture in the atmosphere from the very brief shower Friday evening.

With so little variation in barometric pressure during July, so far, the result has been many days with little wind. The maximum gust on Thursday was just 9mph all day with many hours when the anemometer was becalmed. At the beginning of the month there were two days with maximum gusts of 23 and 22 mph but since that time maximum gusts were in the low teens.

Thursday saw the thermometer begin to rise again, over the two previous days, with a peak of 25.9C at 14.11. But the day was predominantly cloudy with just 1.37 hours of strong sunshine although there were 13.0 hours of global sunshine.

A milder night followed with a minimum of 12.9C, the warmest night for ten days and 1.2C above the July average.

Friday arrived with broken cloud and brief glimpses of sunshine in the breaks, allowing the thermometer to rise to 16.9C at 08.00