Author: Eric Gilbert

With limited sunshine and more cloudy conditions on Friday, with rain at 13.20, the maximum of 18.6C at 16.09 was 0.5C below my 40-year average. We have had another mild night thanks to the thick cloud cover acting as a duvet minimising loss of warmth into the atmosphere that gave a minimum of 14.2C at 01.04 being 5.5C above my average.

A thunderstorm arrived at 05.15 early Saturday with frequent flashes of lighting and thunder from 05.16 with the rain stopping just before 07.30. The rainfall from the combined storms amounted to 17.4mm that took the September rainfall total to 76.4mm being 121% of my 40-year average or plus 13.4mm.

The depression over the Continent has seen the barometric pressure drop another 4mb with a reading of 1018.1mb at 08.00.

The maximum of 22.3C on Thursday at 15.50 made it the second warmest day this month after 25.5C on the 1st. The peak was 3.2C above my 40-year average. The wind persisted from the northeast all day and night and brisk with a maximum gust of 21mph. It was another very mild night, thanks to the thick cloud that once again drifted across from the east, with a minimum of 13.7C at 01.26 that marked the arrival of the cloud and was 5.0C above my long-term average.

Friday’s start was a repeat of previous days with the new day opening under total cloud cover and the wind persisting from the northeast.

The equivalent loss of rainfall due to evaporation from ground sources and plant life now stands at a total of 31.4mm for September against the rainfall total of 59.0mm.

The barometric pressure continues to ebb away with a reading of 10224mb at 08.00, as the recent high pressure eases away and we come under the influence of a depression to the south. At 08.15 there was no indication of precipitation on the rain radar but thunderstorms are forecast to break out after midday, that can quickly bubble up and be severe.

A maximum of 21.4C at 15.55 on Wednesday made it the warmest day since the 2nd being 2.3C above my 40-year average. The past night was very similar to the previous night as after clear skies initially the northeasterly breeze brought cloud across after midnight that meant another mild night with the thermometer not sinking below 14.1C at 00.44, which was 5.4C above my long-term average.

Thursday arrived dull from thick, low cloud and the breeze still coming from the northeast.

The high pressure is easing away eastwards and we will begin to come under the influence of low pressure systems developing over the Continent. The barometric pressure reading at 08.00 was 1026.0mb, down 7mb from it peak on the 17th.

Tuesday produced another fine and very sunny day with strong sunshine that saw the thermometer rise just above my 40-year average (+0.3C) with a maximum 19.4C at 15.06. After viewing the ‘super’ moon in a very clear sky during the evening, the brisk northeasterly breeze absorbed moisture from the North Sea producing total cloud cover that drifted across limiting the loss of warmth into the atmosphere so that a minimum of 12.5C was logged in the early hours at 00.07 being 3.9C above my average.

Wednesday arrived with total cloud cover but shortly after 08.00 there were signs that the sun was beginning to thin the cloud with indications of brightness breaking through.

The rate of evaporation from ground sources and plant life for the last two days has meant a loss of equivalent rainfall in excess of 2mm per day with 2.60mm on Tuesday.

The high pressure is still very much in control of our weather and will continue to do so for a few more days with the breeze persisting from a northeast or north-northeasterly direction, at least until the weekend.

The maximum of 19.5C on Monday in the many hours of sunshine was the warmest day since the 8th and 0.4C above my 40-year area after seven consecutive below average maxima. The day was dry, the breeze gusting t 14mph was from the northwest and the UV level Moderate.

Under clear skies overnight the warmth slowly dissipated into the atmosphere with a low of 4.1C at 06.40 early Tuesday, just as the sun was rising. The recent moisture and low temperature produced radiation fog in the River Og valley that had dissipated by 07.15.

The anticyclone is still firmly over the UK with the centre over the North Sea which will continue to feed a breeze from the northeast. The barometric pressure at 08.00 read 1032.7mb, the highest pressure since 2nd February.