Author: Eric Gilbert

A high of 20.1C at 15.45 on Saturday was yet again below average for July at -2.8C, feeling cool at times in the northwesterly air stream that backed into the west later in the day. It ws the coolest night for a week as the thermometer feel steadily away to a low of 8.4C at 0540 on Sunday, which was 3.5C below my 40-year average.

Brilliant sunken greeted the new day on Sunday with radiation fog in the River Og valley but not over the downs. This mist dispersed by 06.45 under the strong sun that hd lifted the temperature to 15.8C by 08.00.

This will be the last dry day, fifth consecutive. The anticyclone has been filling and easing away whilst a depression is forecast to form off the western approaches bringing rain on Monday. The barometric pressure had fallen to 1012.7mb by 08.00 the lowest for four days.

Yet again both the maximum of 18.8C and the overnight minimum of 9.6C were below my 40-year average with -2.9C and -2.3C respectively. The brisk wind from the northeast for much of the day depressed temperatures. However, it was the third consecutive dry day with the UV level reaching the High level.

Saturday revealed a cloudy sky but thankfully thin and high and allowing a little brightness to come through.

The anticyclone to the west is beginning to fade and move away so no prolonged periods of sunshine with Saturday predominantly cloudy with perhaps more sunshine on Sunday and mainly dry. The barometric pressure has dropped a modest 3mb since Thursday. The wind overnight has backed from the very cool northeasterly direction to come from the northwest today, a slightly warmer direction, but the depression off the cast of Denmark is still feeding the air from Norway.

Although in the sunshine on Thursday it felt warm out of the breeze the thermometer only reached 21.9C, it was still below average at -0.9C. The minimum of 12.3C was above average thanks to the chide cover again, which was +0.4C.

Friday revealed another cloudy, dull start to the day. A frontal system has been slowly moving southwestwards overnight, after the wind veered into the northeast, a cool direction, around 22.00 on Thursday night. The cool air is being brought from Scandinavia today, so not a warm day ahead. The rain band is fragmented but by 08.00 had reached the Swindon area so a cloudy, cool, likely damp morning ahead. The wind is forecast to back into the north later today.

Although there was warm sunshine on Wednesday it didn’t push the thermometer above my 40-year average with a peak of 21.6C at 14.20 being 1.2C below the average. However, it was a dry day and in the sunshine the UV level rose into the Very High category. The past night was a little cooler than the previous two nights with a minimum of 11.1C, which was 0.8C below the average.

Thursday dawned with welcome strong sunshine that lifted the temperature to 15.8C by 08.00.

The old depression is very slowly easing away over Scandinavia with the anticyclone in the Atlantic showing a modest rise in the barometric pressure over the UK with a reading of 1018.1mb at 08.00, the highest pressure since the 2nd. This should give us a better day, predominantly dry with variable sunshine. The breeze will continue from the west.

Over much of this month the Jet Stream has been to the south of the UK acting as a conveyor belt for the depressions coming in from the Atlantic leaving us on the cooler north side. The forecast does not show any significant change in its position for next week.

A high of just 18.4C, high humidity and the UV level in the ‘Low’ category on Tuesday was more like an autumn day than summer. The peak was 4.4C below my 40-year average with the minimum of 14.4C at 04.11 early Wednesday 2.5C above the average. The mild night was due again to thick, low cloud cover minimising any loss of warmth into the atmosphere. The drift of south-southwest breeze also kept the temperature higher. Another night with a minimal diurnal range, this time of just 4C.

The light rain that began just before 13.00 amounted to 0.7mm.

The start to Wednesday revealed another dull morning, however, the cloud is higher and not as thick as on Tuesday. The depression has eased away to the northeast, now centred over northeast Scotland, so beginning to lose its influence.

An anticyclone in mid-atlantic is showing signs of producing a ridge of high pressure over the UK as the depression moves away. As a result, Wednesday is likely to be drier with the wind veering into the west but strengthening.