Category: Commentary

Although the sunshine recorder logged 5 minutes less sunshine on Friday than Thursday the thermometer edged a little higher with a maximum of 24.3C. This was 10.2C above the 36-year average and the warmest day this month and also since September.

The sky was not clear blue as the high, thin cloud existed all day that reduced the UV level slightly to 5.0, just in the ‘High’ category and limited the high solar to the lowest peak this month.

Last night the thermometer dipped a little lower than the previous night with a minimum 6.1C at 07.05 on Saturday morning. The sun was obscured until 07.00 on Saturday due to a thick bank of cloud on the eastern horizon. As soon as the sun emerged from behind the cloud the temperature began to rise with a reading of 9.2C at 08.00.

We have only had one wet day this month when 2.3mm of rainfall was recorded. The warm sun and drying wind has meant that in recent days the rate of evaporation from ground sources and plant life has exceeded 3mm daily. The loss of equivalent rainfall through evaporation this month now totals 26mm.

The thermometer soared to a peak of 24.2C at 15.49 on Thursday, which was the warmest day this month and the warmest day since 21st September. The wind was light from the southeast initially but later veering into the south, with a peak gust of 14mph.

It was the sunniest day since 13th September with 10.23 glorious hours. The sun and UV level were not quite as strong or high as previous days due to thin high cloud.

A very mild night followed with the thermometer not dropping below 8.3C being 4.3C above the average.

Friday saw a fiery, red globe ease above the eastern horizon at sunrise with the promise of another sunny day as the barometric pressure remains high. The thermometer read 10.1C at 08.00 making it the warmest morning this month.

Update on Friday at 19.10: temperature eased upwards just a little to peak at 24.3C being 4.2C above average.

Wednesday saw the thermometer soar to a maximum 21.9C, which was 7.8C above the average and the warmest day since 21st September. The very light winds, gusting to a peak po 13mph, came from the north east. The sunshine recorder logged 8.2 hours of sunshine with the UV level firmly in the ‘High’ category.

A mild night followed with a minimum of 5.7C at 06.36 Thursday morning.

The sun glowed red as it rose above the horizon through a misty atmosphere, lifting the temperature to 8.4C at 08.00 with the promise of much more sun during the day.

Update on Thursday at 19.00: thermometer soared to a peak of 24.2C at 15.49, which was a significant 10.1C above the average.

With almost 9 hours of sunshine on Tuesday, and the breeze coming from the south-east, the temperature recovered to reach 18.5C, which was 4.4C above average and up 3C on the Monday peak. However, for much of the day there was thin high cloud that limited the UV level, back to ‘Moderate’ and mid -afternoon more cloud eased in from the south.

The cloud cover overnight provided a duvet so that the thermometer did not drop below 5.8C being 1.8C above the April 36-year average so no frost as on the previous night

Cloud cover was continuous on Wednesday morning so no welcome sunshine although the wind had dropped out entirely and the temperature lifted to 8.2C

Update on Wednesday at 17.50: thermometer soars to 21.9C, which makes it the warmest day in seven months.

With less sunshine, totalling 8.6 hours, and the wind having veered into the west, Monday was a cooler day with a maximum of 15.4C. However, this was still 1.3C above the average and with lighter winds, maximum gust of 16mph, it did not feel very different from Sunday, temperature wise.

Another dry day with the UV level still just in the ‘High’ category.

Overnight the sky was clear and from early evening the thermometer began to fall steadily to reach a minimum of -0.1C on Tuesday morning at 06.36. The low temperature produced a ground and air frost, if briefly, before the sun got to work and lifted the temperature back above zero.

There was variable sunken after dawn that lifted the temperature to 3.8C at 08.00

The barometric pressure has been rising for the past twenty-four hours to reach a high for April with a reading of 1029.2mb at 08.00. This high pressure bodes well for the next day or two with lighter winds and more sunny days.