Category: Commentary

The high pressure being firmly positioned over the UK on Monday gave us many hours of glorious sunshine, muted a little in the morning due to thin high cloud, that eventually produced a maximum of 22.9C at 16.21, being a significant 8.8C above my long-term average. The peak made it the warmest day this month also going back through the records the warmest day since 1st September when a peak of 25.5C was logged. The soil is slowly warming up and holding more warmth overnight so the minimum of 3.9C, logged at 15.55 early Tuesday was 0.2C above average.

The soil temperature at a depth of 5cm logged at 08.00, has seen an increase over the past three days with 9.3C, 12.0C and 12.6C respectively.

No mist or fog was formed overnight as the air is now much drier and overnight less cold. The humidity at 08.00 for the last four days was logged at 90.7%, 83.6%, 79.3% and 74.4% respectively. The air stream will vary between east and southeast today and continue light under the dome of high pressure.

Only five days this month has any precipitation been recorded. The total rainfall for April will be just 11.7mm, with no prospect of any rainfall over the last two days of April, being only 20% of my 41-year record or minus 45.9mm. Set against the dry month has been the loss of equivalent rainfall through evaporation from ground sources and plant life, now totalling a considerable 73mm.

The anticyclone will be dominating our weather until the end of the week when by Friday a change in the pattern of weather is likely to occur.

I continue my walk through West Woods, just outside Marlborough, enjoying the wonderful spread of bluebells under the fresh, light green leaves of the beech trees.

The glorious sunshine on Sunday saw the thermometer rise steadily to reach a maximum of 20.6C at 16.46. This peak was the second highest this month after 21.6C on the 11th and 12th, being a significant 6.5C above my long-term average. The UV level rose into the ‘High’ category from 11.13 to 14.25. The clear sky overnight once again meant a chilly night with a low 3.5C logged at 05.34 early Monday before the sun rose at 05.45 for Marlborough, this being 0.2C below average.

Monday began with strong sunshine after dawn, slightly limited by thin high cloud, that boosted the temperature to reach 11.5C at 08.00, making it the warmest start to a day at that time since 1st December when 11.5C was also logged.

The warmer day on Sunday and not quite so cold past night resulted in a soil temperature of 12.0C at a depth of 5cm, logged at 08.00, the highest all month and only set to rise further this week with higher maxima and minima.

The large area of high pressure is firmly in control of our weather for this week with many more hours of strong sunshine, high UV levels and rising temperatures. The wind will continue light for much of the week, backing from southeast today to east tomorrow until possibly Friday, when it could change to a westerly as the high pressure gives way. The barometric pressure has built a little higher with a reading of 1027.2mb at 08.00, the highest since the 10th (1032.6mb), when we had the last fine, dry and warm period.

Images this week were taken in the extensive bluebell area at West Woods near Marlborough.

Saturday was the first of the improving weather days, even though the day was predominantly cloudy and dull. The wind was far less strong, making it feel less cold, the temperature rose above average with a maximum of 16.8C, logged at 13.33, being +2.7C that made it the warmest day since the 19th. Light rain spots were observed at 16.30 and again shortly afterwards as the cloud thickened and became very dark and lower, but the precipitation was not measurable, just individual rain drops on horizontal surfaces.

The sky began to clear late evening that allowed warmth to disperse into the atmosphere. As a result the thermometer fell steadily downwards with a minimum of 3.0C logged at 06.18 early Sunday before the sun rose and began to reverse the trend. This low was 0.7C below my long-term average that made it the coolest night since the 17th.

We welcomed sunshine after sunrise that began to steadily disperse the mist that had formed in the early hours, as a result by 08.00 the thermometer had risen to 9.6C making it the warmest start to a day at that time since the 21st. The air stream today will come from a southwesterly direction and be light.

The area of high pressure has extended and built over the past twenty-four hours with a barometric pressure reading of 1026.1mb at 08.00, up 4mb since yesterday. The anticyclone currently covers a large area from Scandinavia down to Iberia. It will dominate our weather for the coming week but slowly relocate over the Continent, as a result the air stream, from Monday onwards, will come from an easterly quadrant but thankfully will be light. As a result the thermometer is going to climb well above average as we enjoy many hours of strong sunshine.

The images all week will be from West Woods, just outside Marlborough.

Friday was a pleasant day, after a mainly cloudy morning and increasing variable cloud in the afternoon, that saw the thermometer rise to a peak of 15.8C late in the afternoon at 16.29 being 1.7C above my long-term average. Total cloud cover overnight gave us a relatively mild night that saw the thermometer not drop below 6.3C, logged at 02.53, being 2.6C above average. Not only was it the nineteenth dry day but the breeze was very light, the maximum air movement was just 9mph, couldn’t call it a gust of wind.

Saturday revealed misty conditions after dawn under a thick cover of cloud, visibility around 1,000m. The air stream was very light, the anemometer hardly moving, and appears to continue from the southeast but with little movement of air not a positive comment.

At the moment we are between two high-pressure systems, one to the southwest and the other to the northeast, over Scandinavia. As the day progresses it is forecast for the two anticyclones to merge and the wind direction to be variable, perhaps backing into the northwest late afternoon, however, it will continue very light. There is a large band of cloud running south to north just to the west of our area that will continue to limit any sunshine today but the high pressure will likely keep any rain bands to the west, other than perhaps the odd shower, but unlikely.

The larger area of high pressure from Sunday onwards will see much more sunshine and a rise in temperatures, especially from Monday for much of the coming week.

The images for the coming week were taken on a walk through West Woods, just to the west of Marlborough.

The northeasterly, cool breeze persisted on Thursday that limited the rise in temperature combined, with reduced sunshine. The peak temperature of 14.8C was logged at 16.55 following strong, variable afternoon sunshine being 0.7C above my long-term average. The thermometer began to fall steadily after 20.00, reaching a low of 3.6C at 04.42, just below average for late April.

Friday after dawn revealed fog that had formed in the early hours. Looking at the minute by minute trace of data the humidity began to climb just after 03.00 so I suspect that is when the fog began to form. The visibility at 06.30 was down to 200m but by 07.00 there was visible improvement with the range extended to around 1,000m by 08.00. The temperature had also seen an improvement having climbed to 7.7C by 08.00. The air stream today will be from the south east, a slightly warmer direction than previous days, before backing into the east again tomorrow and then the significant change when it will come from a southwesterly quadrant on Monday.

The ridge of high-pressure will shortly combine with an anticyclone just off the Iberian coast that will bring us the fine weather next week, but that is not before a weather front tries to make progress across the country on Saturday bringing cloud and possibly some light rain.

The forecast rise in warmth and sunshine is still looking positive, with a significant improvement from Sunday with temperatures rising significantly as the week progresses, probably up to Friday.

The sequence of images for the next few days will be of the extensive range of Bluebells in West Woods, near Marlborough