Category: Commentary

After a cloudy start on Thursday the sun began to get to work on the cloud that had drifted in on the brisk north east wind so that by 08.00 the sun shone strongly producing 12.7 hours during the rest of the day. The warm, moist air and the sunshine boosted the temperature to a maximum of 23.8C at 16.50, which was 3.6C above the 35-year average. It was not the strongest sunshine that we have experienced this month as very thin, high cloud slightly muted the strength with higher peak solar radiation on several earlier days this month.

The brisk north easterly wind blew strongly all day, slightly easing in the afternoon, but with peak gust of 25mph at 12.03. The wind abated just a little overnight but on Friday morning there was little change with the 10 minute average wind speed down to 8 mph rather than 9 or 10 mph as on Thursday.

Friday began as Thursday with cloud cover brought in on the north easterly breeze but this dispersed by 07.30 so that the minimum of 11.4C had risen to 14.2C at 08.00.

Update on Friday at 16.25: temperature slowly rose to a maximum of 25.3C at 16.12 being 5.1C above average and the third warmest day in June. Previously 25.6C and 26.2C on the 1st and 24th respectively. Very, warm and humid as the wind slowly abated.

After a cloudy and cool start to Wednesday the sun broke through in the afternoon, producing 5.24 hours of sunshine. However, the wind had backed into the north east and increased in strength during the day that tempered the temperature to a maximum of 18.9C, which was 1.3C below average. During the evening there were stronger gusts with a maximum of 28mph at 20.07.

The cloud increased overnight, brought in from the North Sea by the northeasterly wind, still strong, but by 07.30 Thursday morning the cloud was beginning to thin and by 08.00 there was almost continuous sunshine.

The barometric pressure rose again during the last twenty-four hours with a reading of 1028.9mb at 08.00, the highest pressure since 14th May. The wind direction is due to the high pressure currently situated to the north west of the UK and winds circulating around it in a clockwise direction.

Tuesday started with te thick cloud from the back end of the weather front that produced another 0.9mm of rainfall. As the day progressed the cloud thinned and gave occasional bright intervals that meant a slightly above average maximum of 21.2C (1.0C) in the early afternoon. Winds were light and variable but settled into a light breeze from the north east late afternoon.

The thick could persisted overnight providing a duvet to minimise heat loss into the atmosphere so that the minimum of 14.4C at 07.57 this morning, Wednesday, was 4.2C above average.

However, the thick cloud on Wednesday initially produced foggy conditions with visibility down to 1,100m brought in on the brisk north easterly breeze making it feel quite cool in the most air.

The barometric pressure has been rising for the past twenty-four hours with a current reading of 1026.1mb, which is the highest this month as an anticyclone edges in from the North Atlantic.

Update on Wednesday at 16.55: late sunshine lifted temperature to a maximum of 18.9C at 15.53, which was 1.3C below average, after a cold morning under a brisk, cool northeasterly wind.

The flow of warm, moist air combined with strong sunshine in the late afternoon on Monday raised the temperature to a maximum of 26.2C at 17.02, which was exactly 6C above average. It was also the warmest day since 7th August 2018.

It was a dry day with the UV level again in the ‘very high’ category. There was very little wind, a maximum air movement, cannot call it a gust of wind, of just 9mph on one occasion.

A very warm night was to follow when the thermometer did not fall below 16.2C, which was 6.1C above average and the warmest night since 13th October 2018.

Steady rain began to fall this morning, Tuesday, just after 02.00 with, after a short break, a longer spell of steady rain from 04.00 petering out just after 08.00. The rainfall for the past twenty-four hours amounted to 5.5mm bringing the monthly total to 69.8mm, which is 131% of the 35-year average. We have been fortunate that the recent ‘downpours’ have passed to the west and east again.

At 08.00 on Tuesday morning the rain had virtually stopped from the hang back of heavy cloud from the weather front in very still conditions.

A bright start on Sunday produced almost 4 hours of sunshine but shortly after 2pm the cloud, which had been thickening, began to blot out any brightness. Even so, the thermometer reached an above average maximum of 22.1C (+1.9C).

A very mild night was to follow who a minimum of 15.6C, which was 5.5C above average and the warmest night since 11th September.

Monday initially gave a little brightness but by 08.00 the cloud had thickened blotting out any chance of sunshine as another weather front approached from the south. However, at 08.00 the thermometer read 17.9C, which was the warmest at that time since 6th August as mild, humid air began to flood the country.

Update on Monday at 17.45: late afternoon strong sunshine lifted temperature to 26.2C at 17.02, which was exactly 6C above average in very light winds. It was the hottest day since 7th August 2018.