Category: Commentary

Sunday was another day that started misty but by midday the sky was begin to clear and 6.3 hours of sunshine followed with the UV level into the ‘Very High’ level.

With the strong sunshine the thermometer rose to a peak of 22.6C, being 2.6C above the 34-year average and up 2C on the Saturday maximum.

It was another dry day with evaporation from ground sources and plant life giving the equivalent loss of rainfall of 28mm when actual rainfall in June has only been 2mm.

A slightly cooler night followed under mainly clear skies allowing the thermometer fo fall away to a minimum of 10.7C, still just above average.

On Monday morning the lower temperature and lack of wind in the early hours allowed fog to form with visibility down to 200m at 06.00. This began to thin around 7am with the sun breaking though at 07.47 that lifted the temperature at 08.00 to 14.1C.

Monday update at 17.30: 2nd warmest day in June with a maximum of 24.3C at 16.47, being 4.2C above the 34-year June average. UV Very High again.

Signs of the blocking ‘High’ sliding away, which indicates a change, later in the week, from the settled weather of recent days.

After a cool, misty start on Saturday the afternoon brightened up with 3 hours of strong sunshine and the UV level back up to the ‘Very High’ level. As a result the maximum temperature eased up on Friday’s maximum to a peak of 20.7 mid-afternoon at 14.39, just above average.

Subsequently, a weak weather front edged up from the south with thickening cloud so that at 17.10 there were heavy spots of rain and again at 18.05 but not sufficient to measure.

Late evening the sky began to clear and weak sunshine broke through.

Another mild night followed when the thermometer reached a minimum of 11.2C just before 4am being 1.2C above the 34-year average.

Sunday arrived with misty conditions but by the time readings were taken at 08.00, the cloud had lifted just a little, the thermometer had recovered to 13.7C but no sunshine,

Sunday update at 18.30: UV soars to ‘Very High’ level in afternoon as temperature rises to 22.6C at 17.27,which was 2.6C above the 34-year average.

Friday brought us another rather gloomy day under the influence of much cloud, again brought to us from the North Sea by the continuing northeasterly winds, the strength of which was much lower yesterday, a peak of just 11mph.

However, the 9 minutes of sunshine late in the day did raise the temperature to a maximum of 19.3C, which was just below average.

With so much cloud on Friday it was not surprising that the UV level had fallen again, down to the ‘Moderate’ level and the lowest this month as was the solar energy.

Saturday has dawned bright with broken ad cloud and welcome bursts of sunshine after a mild night with a minimum of 12.1C being 2C above average.

Saturday update at 18.20: light, very brief shower at 17.10 and again at 18.05.

Thursday brought us little sunshine, just 10 minutes, due to the persistent thick cloud that also limited UV to the ‘Moderate’ level. The cloud limited the temperature to a maximum of 17.4C which was 2.5C below average.

During the afternoon there were periodic light showers that produced 1.4mm of rainfall, the first rain this month.

The thick, low could continued overnight making it a mild night with a minimum of 12.4C being 2.5C above average.

Friday started dry but heavy drizzle started just before 7am with the cloud base now covering the Marlborough Downs. Precipitation for the past twenty-four hours was 1.8mm

The contrast between Tuesday and Wednesday was quite marked. The maxima of both days respectively was 17.1C and 21.7C and sunshine hours of 1.64 and 13.08 hours.

Wednesday returned daytime temperatures above the average by 1C, which was a welcome 5C higher than the peak on Tuesday. Although not quite wall to wall sunshine it was a very sunny day. The UV level edged up to the ‘Very High’ level.

The northeasterly wind, as a result of being squeezed between high pressure to the north and low pressure over the continent was, although fresh, a little less strong with a peak of 17mph.

A mild night followed with the thermometer not falling below 11.7C being 2C above average and 4C higher than the minimum on Tuesday.

Wednesday arrived with thick cloud and at 08.00, when readings were taken, the influence of the nearby depression over the continent was seen as a brief, very light shower occurred.

Thursday update at 13.00: light rain has been falling for the past 20 minutes.