Category: Commentary

After the very wet day on Tuesday the cloud associated wth the low-pressure system slowly moved away in the morning to provide 1.82 hours of strong sunshine that raised the thermometer to a maximum of 20.8C late in the afternoon, which was 1.5C below the July average. The UV level recovered with a reading of 8.8 being was towards the top end of ‘Very High”.

The winds from a northerly direction had abated a little with a maximum gust of 16mph.

It was a mild night with a minimum 2C above the average for July, a minimum of 13.6C occurred at 06.18. There was a brief shower, amounting to 0.1mm, in the early morning.

The butterflies on the three sliders over the last couple of weeks have been in sympathy with the Marlborough in Bloom theme of butterflies with today, 13th July, being the judging day.

What a change!
Coolest day for two weeks with maximum of 18.3C at 14.36, which was 4C below average.Peak was 32.2C on 21st June.
Lowest UV level for two weeks with a reading of 4.8 (Moderate). Peak was 10.4 on 24th June.
Lowest solar energy for two weeks
Wettest day since 27th August 2016 with a total of 26.2mm
Minimum of 12.2C was just above average due to the thick cloud.
Coolest morning at 08.00 with a reading of 12.4C, again coolest for two weeks. Peak was 23.3C on 19th June.
Soil temperature at a depth of 5cm lowest for two weeks with a temperature of 15.2C at 08.00. Peak was 23.6C on 21st June.

Rain showers occurred yesterday morning between 09.00 and 10.30. The real rain began just before 14.30 and was almost continuous until 04.30 this morning with the heaviest rate between 01.00 and 01.15 this morning.

The wind yesterday was predominantly from a southerly direction then early evening backed into the south east and after a lull around midnight backed further into the north as the low pressure system moved across the area and exited into the North Sea.

Yesterday:
Maximum down 3.3C from Sunday at 23.2C (1C above average) being lowest for a week
UV down to 7.4 (still ‘very high’ level) from 7.8 on Sunday

Today (Tuesday):
Minimum down from Monday at 11.9C. The is average for July and lowest for a week.
Temperature at 08.00 was 15.0C being lowest for over a week.
Humidity at 08.00 wa 89%, the lowest for a week.

The early evidence of the major change in our weather was seen last evening as shown in the image above. The westerly winds began streaming in darker clouds heralding a low pressure system, which will bring much needed rain.

Analysis: The data for the first six months of the year show that the January to June average this year was the second highest since records began in 1984. Further analysis produces an interesting fact, and relevant, that the three highest January to June averages have occurred in the past ten years.

N.B. Real rain started to fall at 09.05 on Tuesday, the start of the wettest day for at least a fortnight and much welcomed by gardeners but not tourists.

Yesterday the morning sunshine boosted the temperature to 26.1C at 12.02 but fell back during the afternoon as variable cloud obscured the sun. However, late afternoon the cloud thinned and cleared allowing strong sunshine to raise the temperature to a maximum of 26.5C at 17.57 giving a total of 5.11 hours.

It was a much cooler night with a minimum of 12.4C, still 1C above the average.

This morning dawned with intermittent strong sunshine but the barometric pressure of 1008mb at 08.00 was at its lowest this month indicating a change in the hot, dry weather of recent days. The temperature at 08.00 of 17.1C is almost 5C below the very warm start of yesterday.

Saturday brought another glorious day with many hours of sunshine that boosted the temperature to a maximum of 25.1C at 14.47, 0.4C down on the Friday maximum but almost 3C above the July average.

The UV level was again in the ‘very high’ category, almost the highest this month.

This morning dawned with unbroken strong sunshine that totalled over two hours by 08.00. This boosted the minimum temperature from a low of 14.8C at 05.45 (0.7C cooler than Saturday) to the highest reading of 21.8C at 08.00, the warmest start to the day since 19th June.

It is not surprising that after the very hot and dry weather that the humidity reading at 08.00 was down to 68%, the driest start to the day since 1st July 2015.

Analysing the data for the first six months of the year I find that the January to June average this year was the second highest since records began in 1984. But it is more interesting to note, and relevant, that the three highest January to June averages have occurred in the past ten ears.