Category: Commentary

Saturday was a very pleasant day with the peak temperature of 26.3C being 5.2C above the average in a light breeze from the north then north-northeast, maximum gust of 9mph.

The UV level remained High. The ridge of high pressure continued bringing the quiet, dry, warm and settled weather.

The temperature overnight dipped just below average (-0.5C) with a low of 11.2C.

Sunday saw the sun climb above the horizon at dawn lifting the overnight minimum to 13.0C at 08.00. The barometric pressure at that time was 1022.2mb and the humidity reading 94%, the highest for over a week when we had the last rainfall.

The ridge of high pressure that has been with us for a couple of days meant another fine day on Friday with the thermometer rising to 23.7C being 2.6C above the average. The UV level rose to 5.7, which was in the High category after the much lower level on Thursday due to morning cloud. The wind had backed into the west for most of Friday, but very light, with a maximum gust of just 10mph.

It has been another cool night that saw the thermometer sink to a low of 8.8C, which was 2.9C below the average.

Saturday dawned with radiation fog on the River Og valley that initially limited visibility to 250m but under the influence of strong sunshine had evaporated by 07.30. The temperature recovered to 13.9C at 08.00 with the barometric pressure reading of 1019.4mb.

The breeze has been very light for the past few days and Thursday was no exception as a maximum gust of 10mph was recorded at head height. However, the breeze on Thursday was from the north or north-northwest being a much cooler air stream. Therefore, it was not surprising to find the maximum of 19.6C was well down on previous days and 1.5C below the 38-year average.

It was also a mostly cloudy day that brought very limited sunshine by the afternoon and the UV peak of 3.8, being in the Moderate category, was the lowest since 20th June.

Clearer skies overnight and the cooler air stream meant a very cool night with the thermometer dropping steadily away to a minimum 8.7C. This low was 3.0C below the average and the coldest night since the 6th August (5.8C).

Friday brought early morning sunshine that lifted the temperature to 12.8C by 08.00. The soil temperature at a depth of 5cm read 14.8C at that time being the coolest since 3rd July.

The thermometer did not climb quite as high on Wednesday as Tuesday but a maximum of 26.5C was still 5.4C above the 38-year average.

Another dry day with the UV level peaking at High.

Yet another very mild night due to the southerly air stream and complete cloud cover. The thermometer did not drop below 15.1C, which was 3.4C above the average.

Thursday dawned dull and cloudy with a much lower cloud base due to an extensive rain band moving Northeast, just to the east of Marlborough, bringing its extensive cloud but no rain to this area, it was very near, just 10 miles to the east. The humidity at 0800 was 93%.

Just after midnight the wind direction began to veer a little, from the north-northwest or north and light.

The periods of strong sunshine on Tuesday lifted the thermometer to 27.1C making it the warmest day for a week and 6C above the average.

It was another dry day without any measurable precipitation although there was a very light shower of drizzle mid-morning. It was the twentieth dry this month with the UV level just into the Very High category with a peak value of 7.2. The humid air continued from a mostly southwesterly breeze gusting 19mph at its peak,

It has been a very mild night with the thermometer not sinking below 17.6C which was a significant 5.9C above the average for late August.

Wednesday saw a few limited bright intervals before 08.00 but a mostly cloudy sky with the thermometer having risen to 18.7C at that time.