Windrush Weather

Category: Commentary

  • Coldest night in two weeks

    Initially on Sunday the wind was light and we enjoyed sunshine amounting to 3.7 hours when the thermometer steadily rose to its maximum of 18.0C at 09.57. By mid-morning the cloud began to build and by 11.00 the cloud cover was complete. From this time the thermometer began to slowly drop away for the next 18 hours to reach a minimum of 2.6C at 05.42 on Monday morning. This low was 4.4C below the 36-year average and made it the coldest morning since 18th April.

    The wind chill produced by the strong northeasterly wind, was significant during Sunday afternoon and during the night. At 16.00 the thermometer read 7.7C but wind chill meant if felt more like 3C. The wind chill early on Monday morning when the thermometer was at its lowest meant it felt more like -0.2C.

    The wind speed slowly built up during Sunday morning as the high pressure to the northwest of Scotland intensified. At the same time the cold front began to sink southwards over this area bringing the cloud and much colder weather. Light drizzle was noted at 17.10 but only briefly. The wind frequently gusted over 30mph after midday with a maximum gust of 35mph at 16.16.

    Overnight the wind subsided a little but never dropped out entirely before beginning to increase after dawn on Monday with a gust of 30mph at 08.11.

    Monday morning after dawn saw broken cloud driven along on the string winds, still from the northeast, allowing short brief bursts of strong sunshine to break through. A temperature of 6.0C at 08.00 was the lowest since 18th April.

  • Humidity drops as land dries out

    As the dry spell and sunshine continues the land is drying so the humidity each morning at 08.00 is reducing with 88%, 84% and 75% respectively on the last three mornings. Another 4mm of equivalent rainfall was lost on Saturday as we enjoyed another 11 hours of strong sunshine and light winds mainly from the east, maximum gust being 15mph.

    The thermometer by day rose to 23.2C, fractionally below the Friday peak but still 6.1C above average. The clearer skies overnight allowed the temperature to drop to 6.1C at 05.27, which was 0.9C below average.

    Sunday arrived with high cloud moderating the sunshine however the temperature recovered quickly to read 15.1C at 08.00.

  • Warmth increases with warmest start to the day in seven months

    Friday, under the influence of 10.7 hours of strong sunshine, the thermometer soared to a peak of 23.4C, which was 6.3C above the average. The wind was very light with the strongest gust of just 10mph and mostly from the south before late afternoon veering into the Northwest.

    We have now enjoyed five continuous days without rain, which totals 7.5mm for May. However, evaporation from the ground and plant life is now equivalent to the loss of over 4mm of rainfall daily with the total for May now 27mm.

    The overnight minimum of 7.4C was almost identical to the previous night being 0.4C above the average.

    Saturday arrived with strong sunshine through thin, high cloud so the the sky was not quite as blue as on Friday. The thermometer rose quickly after dawn with a reading of 14.8C at 08.00 making it the warmest start to the day at 08.00 since 29th September.

  • Warmest morning in six months

    The thermometer rose 5.7C above the average on Thursday as the sun beat down and the wind slowly veered from the northeast into the south, a much warmer direction. The total hours of sunshine were slightly down on the Wednesday peak with 10.2 hours as cumulonimbus clouds occasionally obscured the sun for brief periods.

    In the strong sunshine the UV level rose higherwith a reading of 6.4, which is at the top end of the ‘High’ category and the highest since 3rd September.

    A much warmer night followed with the thermometer not sinking below 7.5C, which was 0.5 above the average.

    Friday saw thin cloud limiting the strength of the sunshine after dawn. Even so the thermometer had risen to 11.4C at 08.00 making it the warmest start to the day since 1st November.

  • Daytime warmth increases but another cool night

    The wall to wall sunshine on Wednesday saw the thermometer rise above average with a peak of 18.3C (+1.2C) making it the warmest day of the month. We enjoyed almost 12 hours of strong sunshine and the UV level again rated as ‘High’.

    The wind continued from a northeasterly direction but lighter than previous days that prevented the thermometer rising higher.

    With a clear sky overnight it was not surprising to find the thermometer fell away steadily to reach a minimum of 4.7C just after dawn on Thursday being 2.2C below the 36-year average.

    Bright sunshine greeted the arrival of Thursday, if a little misty, to start the day. The strong sunshine had lifted the temperature to 10.3C by 08.00.