Author: Eric Gilbert

July was a month that brought summer weather at last as it was 1.8C above the long-term average; the maximum was +2.9C and the minimum +0.6C. It was the third warmest July I have recorded and the warmest (18.6C) since 2006 (19.97C) and 1989 (18.91C). A maximum of 31.7C on the 22nd was the highest since 2006 when the record for July of 35.9C, was set on the 19th. There were 19 consecutive days without rain, the longest dry spell since April 2007. During this period the evaporation from plants and the ground amounted to over 85mm of water vapour returned to the atmosphere, many days each in excess of 5mm. The total figure for evapotranspiration was 118.7mm, which meant a deficit over precipitation of almost 55mm even though rainfall was above average.
The rainfall total of 63.8mm was 106% of the long-term average and principally due to heavy rain on three days of 18.2mm,17.6mm and 17.1mm on the 27th, 29th and 22nd respectively. July rainfall, although slightly above average, was so much drier than the recent years of 2009 (113mm) and 2007 (127mm). As the anticyclone drifted away during the last week or so, humidity rose as very warm southerly winds brought thunderstorms on the 22nd, 23rd and 29th.
As a result of the persistent anticyclone, solar energy was 125% of the average for recent years and there were many days with high levels of UV that on the 31st produced an extreme value for late July of 10.0 when the average was 7.7.
Early morning fog was noted on two days during the month along with two very misty mornings.

June was the sixth successive month with a mean temperature below the long-term average at -0.7C. There were several very cool nights with a low of 3.5C on the 3rd, being the coldest, but a few warm days. A maximum of 25.2C on the 19th was the lowest maximum since 2002. Looking back over the records I note that June 2013 was the coldest June since 1994.
It was the driest June since 2006 with a total rainfall of just 34.0mm, being 59% of the long-term average.
Sunshine total for the month was close to the average although the solar energy total was the highest since 2006.
There were three notable days when UV levels were extremely high during June, with a maximum of 10.4 meds on the 28th.

May
May was a very cold month being 1.4C below the long-term average and the coldest since 1996. There were three notably poor days for a spring month. On the 14th the thermometer struggled to reach a maximum of 9.6C (average is 17C) also it was the wettest day with 15.7mm of rainfall. On the 24th a maximum of 10.1C was reached but this was accompanied by gale force winds gusting to 36mph making it feel very cold. Finally in the 28th there was continuous rain throughout the daytime. The total rainfall was 62.7mmm being 108% of the long-term average. The total hours of sunshine was 96% compared to the average of recent years.
Spring
The mean temperature was 2.1C below the long-term average making it the second coldest spring that I have recorded as 1984 was marginally colder. Rainfall for the three months totalled 191mm which is 109% of the long-term average.

April 2013 continued the wintry theme without any early sign of spring, initially. For the first seven days maxima were in single figures with sharp overnight air frosts and a minimum of -5.1C on the 7th. As the persistent northeasterly winds gave way to those from a more southerly direction, temperatures by day and night began to recover. The increased cloud cover brought substantial rainfall amounts from 10th to 13th with a maximum of 14.6mm on the 10th.

Not surprisingly, the mean temperature was 1.1C below the long-term average with a maximum of 18.9C on the 23rd. It was the fifth coldest April over the last thirty years and reminiscent of mean monthly figures for the late 1980’s. Air frost occurred on 10 nights, the highest number since 1997, when the average is just 6 occurrences in April.

The rainfall total of 48.6mm was 80% of the long-term average. It is interesting to note that the total for 2012, of 145.8mm, was three times the quantity recorded in 2013 and in direct contrast to just 5.4mm in 2011.

Snow flurries were seen on the 4th and hail on  the 26th and 27th. Fog occurred on two mornings and early mist on two other occasions.

An unusually raised level of UV radiation was recorded on three days, namely 22nd, 23rd and 25th. The usual level for April is classed as ‘moderate’ but the peak recorded figures were rated as ‘high’ that mostly occur on a few days in May.

It was a remarkable month for the persistence of winds from a northeasterly (17days) or easterly (9days) direction and the strength of it over many days. This was due to a persistent blocking high pressure over Scandinavia. There were five days with gusts above 30mph and a maximum of 42mph on the 11th. Due to the strong winds and low temperatures, wind chill was a major factor during many days. There were several days with a windchill factor of -4C, dropping to -6C on the 24th and a very low of -8C on the 11th. It was the coldest March I have recorded with a mean of 3.6C below the long-term average but this masks the fact that the daytime mean temperature was 4.4C below the long-term average. There were a record number of days with air frost, 19 in total (the previous record was 17 in 1995), with the most severe on the morning of the 31st when the thermometer dropped to-6.6C, which was the lowest for the whole winter of 2012/2013. It was not a record for March as we experienced a low of -8.4C in 1985 and 2004.
The total rainfall was 79.7mm, which is 139% of the long-term average with 25.2mm falling on the 15th. However, there were a total of 16 days without precipitation and with the very dry northeasterly winds the humidity levels often dropped low by day and night with a minimum of just 44% on the 14th at 3.00pm.
With so many cloudy days it is not surprising that the sunshine total was 85% of the average over the last few years and solar energy just 73%.
We experienced fog on two days, thunder on one and snow occurred on six days.