Wednesday 3rd June
The bursts of sunshine on Tuesday resulted in the UV level again very high and a peak solar radiation of 1120W/m2, but we are close to mid-summer. The temperature rose to a maximum of 19.6C at 14.31, being 1.1C below my long-term average for June, whist a light shower was observed just before 17.00 that produced only 0.2mm of precipitation. A cloudy night produced a minimum of 11.0C at 05.39, being 0.8C above average.
Wednesday arrived with total cloud cover and the breeze strengthening. The weather radar showed a large clump of thicker cloud over Marlborough at 08.00, but no precipitation. However, substantial rain, falling over Somerset and Devon at that time, will probably arrive mid-morning.
Another depression has arrived from the Atlantic with its centre closing in on northwest Scotland. This is the cause of the forecast rain from two separate weather fronts. The isobars, lines of equal barometric pressure, are quite tight, that signifies stronger winds due to a significant pressure gradient as the air rushes from the low pressure to the high pressure ow over eastern Europe.
This week I attach frog spawn images in advancing stages of development.
The UK could see a warmer-than-average summer with the potential for more heatwaves, according to latest forecasts.
The Met Office released its three-month summer outlook on 1 June – the first day of meteorological summer – citing higher-than-normal chances of hotter weather during the month.
And for the whole summer – which runs through to the end of August – the outlook suggests “an increased chance of heatwaves and heat-related impacts”.
It comes after a late spring heatwave saw temperature records shattered across the UK.
A new all-time May record of 35.1C was set in Kew Gardens, London, replacing the previous record of 32.8C from 1944.
Yellow and amber heat health alerts were also issued for the first time this year.
Now, long-range forecasts from the Met Office and MeteoGroup suggest the summer ahead will bring the risk of additional heatwaves.
A “few notable high temperature spikes” are also possible according to MeteoGroup.
They also go on to say that “above-average temperatures” are expected for each of the months of June, July and August, and “significant bursts” of heat are expected in the UK, and across Europe.
But, according to the Met Office, the higher than average temperatures forecast comes as having a hotter summer is now twice as likely than the reference averaging period of 1991-2020, consistent with our warming climate.