Author: Eric Gilbert

The variable sunshine raised the peak temperature to 18.5C at 16.03 before thickening cloud stopped any further rise. In fact light rain and drizzle was observed just north of Marlborough but dry all day. The UV level rose to 7.9 at 13.26 being in the ‘Very High’ category and was the highest since 18th July 2023. However,it is almost mid-summer and midday is 13.30 so strong sunshine at that time should be expected in that category. The past night was milder with a low of 9.1C at 05.48 early Saturday. Both the maximum and minimum were below average with -2.1C and -1.1C respectively.

Saturday brought light rain and drizzle observed starting at 07.20 that amounted to 0.2mm. Another weather front is crossing the area so a cloudy morning but hopes of a brighter afternoon.

A maximum of 18.8C on Thursday made it the warmest day since the 3rd but still 1.8C below my 40-year average. The wind from the west was moderate thus it felt much warmer than recently when in the sun. Clearer skies overnight saw the thermometer once again drop well below average with a low of 5.3C at 03.50 early Friday being 4.9C below the average. Both the maximum and minimum were up 2C on the previous day.

Friday brought a very sunny morning as the ridge of high pressure along the English Chance saw the pressure rise again and bring another mainly dry day. The pressure reading at 08.00 was 1020.0mb, the highest for four days.

The recent drier air, minimal rainfall and hours of sunshine has seen the rate of evaporation from the ground and plant life increase with the equivalent loss of rainfall recently over 3mm a day and at its peak on Sunday with an equivalent loss of 4.84mm.

The maximum of 16.8C at 16.54 on Wednesday was the coolest day this month thanks to the pool of Arctic air being brought across the UK, this peak was 3.8C below my 40-year average. The westerly breeze was brisk with a maximum gust of 18mph. The last night was not as cold as the previous as the thermometer dropped no lower than 7.4C, however, this was 2.8C blow average.

Thursday began dull but with a modest rise in the barometric pressure thanks to a modest ridge of high pressure just to the south, which is likely to produce a dry and bright day.

After a sunny morning the cloud built up in the afternoon with spots of rain shortly after midday but not measurable. The maximum temperatures have been slowly falling day by day with 23.4C, 21.1C and 17,4C respectively on Tuesday that was 3.2C below my 40-year average.

The second cold front arrived during the evening. The rain radar shower an unusually very narrow band of heavy rain, well defined, about two miles wide stretching from Bristol to Cambridge. This brought more consistent rain starting at 20.35 and heavy from 20.45 to 21.00, falling at the rate of 20mm per hour very briefly and totalling 1.8mm.

After the cold front moved away the cloud thinned that allowed the temperature to fall away, very low for June, reaching just 4.7C at 05.04 on Wednesday.

There was brightness and then sunshine around 08.00 on Wednesday but the wind from the west or west-northwest will bring the cooler, Arctic air from a pool to the north of Scotland. The depression is now between Iceland and Norway and still dominating our weather.

Monday was the last of the relatively warm days this week with a maximum of 21.1C at 15.49 being 0.5C above my 40-year average. The cloudy night meant a mild night thanks to the cloud providing a duvet to minimum loss of warmth into the atmosphere.The minimum of 11.7C was logged at 05.08 early Tuesday being 1.5C above the average.

Tuesday began bright but total cloud cover blocked any sunshine although there was initially some brightness. The temperature had risen to 13.6C at 08.00. The barometric pressure has seen another 10mb fall since Monday as we come under the influence of a deep low between Greenland and Norway. The pressure reading at 08.00 was 1013.8mb, a fall of 16mb since Sunday

During Tuesday afternoon two cold fronts will cross the south of England heralding a significant change in our weather for the next few days. This will see the wind back into a more northerly quadrant and bring a significant drop in temperature as Arctic air arrives from the north. The wind will also increase as the day progresses. The depression is likely to be close to us until the weekend so cooler days and especially nights are with us for a few days.