Category: Commentary

The thermometer rose relentlessly yesterday with a maximum of 24.9C at 17.04, which was 2.4C above the July average. We enjoyed 6.5 hours of strong sunshine but the very high UV level of 10.0 on the previous day was much lower at 6.9, this at the top end of ‘High’.

It was another day without rain and moisture evaporating at a rate in excess of 4mm a day. With the equivalent of 58mm of rainfall now lost the total rainfall for July is only 26.6mm

It was a very warm night with the thermometer slowly descending to a minimum of 15.0C at 06.44, this was 4.4C above the July average.

This morning started with thick cloud but by the time these readings were taken at 08.00 the sun had started to break through raising the temperature to 17.3C.

The sunshine yesterday meant a day when the thermometer rose above the average, the first time for a week, with a maximum of 24.2C, which is 2C above the average for July.

The most notable feature yesterday was the UV level that soared to a level of 10.0, which is at the very top end of ‘Very High’ and bordering the ‘Extreme’ level. This was the second strongest UV this year after the peak of 10.4 on 24th June.

Just before midnight the wind direction veered from the west into the north.

The barometric pressure has been rising for several hours and at 08.00 was reading 1024.5mb, the highest pressure since 24th June.

The overnight minimum was 10.9C, a much cooler night than recently, being almost 1C below the average.

Dawn arrived with an almost clear sky and strong sunshine with over 2 hours before 08.00 that raised the temperature to 16.7C at that time.

What a gloomy day Saturday was? There was thick cloud for almost all the day and brief drizzle mid-morning amounting to 0.1mm. Early evening the sun briefly broke through with strong sunshine for just over 10 minutes.

With no sunshine it was not surprising that the maximum was depressed with a peak of 20.6C, which was 2C below the July average.

Overnight the thick cloud kept the temperature up giving an exceptionally mild night when the thermometer did not drop below 16.8C.

Brief sunshine just before the readings were taken at 08.00 meant that the temperature had risen again to 17.9C

Friday gave us 2.3 hours of strong sunshine at which time the UV level soared higher again to the top end of ‘Very High’. The maximum of 20.2C at 13.49 was the lowest for four days and 2C below the average.

It was another day without rainfall, the total of 26.5mm is 44% of the average for July.

A mild night followed with a minimum of 13.4C. almost 2C above the average.

A warm front crossing this area has brought thick cloud overnight with no prospect of sunshine today as it slowly moves down across the country.

Although there was limited strong sunshine yesterday, 0.3 hours, the thermometer edged a little higher than on Wednesday with a maximum of 21.7C but still just below the July average. The peak UV occurred just after midday with a reading of 7.9, still in the ‘Very High’ category.

It was the tenth dry day this month. The many hours of rain on Tuesday brought the total for July to 26.5mm but the evaporation from ground sources and plant life is now the equivalent of 46mm of rainfall.

There followed another mild night with the thermometer falling to a low of 13.2C at an unusually early point this morning, 03.15.

This morning dawned with occasional glimpses of the sun through the broken cloud and the temperature at 08.00 having risen to 15.3C.

The butterflies that have been appearing on the three sliders over the last couple of weeks have been the theme of the Marlborough in Bloom competition for 2017 with judging yesterday, 13th July.