Category: Commentary

The south-easterly winds gave us a warm sunday with the thermometer rising above the average for the second day with a maximum of 19.9C, being 1.2C above the 33-year average.

Sunshine was much reduced over the previous day but we enjoyed a welcome 2.7 hours.The UV level of ‘Moderate’ was exactly same as the two previous days.

Late afternoon the initial cloud from an advancing weather front was evident with rain beginning to fall just before 1am. The heaviest rainfall occurred just over an hour later followed by light rain and drizzle.

It was a very mild night with a minimum of 14.0C, being 4.7C above the September average.

At 08.00 the rainfall amounted to 8.7mm bringing the total for September to 57.1mm, which is 93% of the September average, this made it the wettest day since 20th August.

This morning is dull and wet with very low cloud sitting across the tops of the Marlboorugh Downs and frequent showers of drizzle.

Saturday was a glorious day with 7.36 hours of strong sunshine that boosted the temperature to a maximum of 19.1C. It was the first day with a maximum above the average since 4th September being +0.4C.

It was only the fifth dry this month.

We have to thank the southerly breeze, resulting from a temporary ridge of high pressure, for this improvement.

A mild night followed with the minimum of 9.3C, exactly equal to the September average.

There was mist at dawn with fog in the River Kennet valley that was readily dispersed as the sunshine strengthened.

Friday
Maximum: 17.4C, up 2.3C on Thursday and just 1.3C below average
UV: returned to ‘Moderate’ level after ‘Low’ on Thursday
Sunshine: 7 hours, up 5 hours on Thursday
Rainfall: 0.2mm, down from 2.5mm the previous day
Minimum: 13.3C, up 11C on Thursday and 4C above the average.
Soil at 5cm: returned to 12.7C after 6.9C on Thursday

After a cloudy day with drizzle and heavier bursts of rain around midday, totalling 2.5mm, the sun eventually broke through late afternoon with 1.8 hours of sunshine.

The overcast day meant a maximum of only 15.1C, being 3.6C below the 33-year average. The UV level, not surprisingly, only staggered into the ‘Low’ live, the lowest since 18th March.

Late afternoon the wind veered from the south into the west that, with clearing skies, meant the thermometer began to drop steadily.

The minimum at 06.29 this morning was 2.2C, producing temporary grass frost and the coolest night since 10th May, being 7.1C below the September average.

This morning there was a little mist at dawn, fog in the River Kennet valley, but strong sunshine shortly afterwards.

Although we only had 2.2 hours of strong sunshine, mainly in the morning, the thermometer rose to 17.9C, still 0.8C below the 33-year average. This was the warmest day since 8th September and all due to the wind backing into the south.

Most of the day was predominantly cloudy with the wind strength picking up late afternoon with a gust of 23mph at 16.48.

A cloudy and mild night was to follow with the thermometer not dropping below 13.3C, which was 4C above the September average.

A light shower, amounting to 0.2mm, fell just before 1am bringing the monthly total to 45.7mm, which is 74% of the 33-year average.

This morning has dawned with thick cloud ahead of the approaching weather front.