During the course of Saturday three minor, but distinct weather fronts crossed our area that brought cloudy conditions by 09.45 and continued into the early afternoon. Precipitation amounts were minimal, twice there were just spots of rain, at 11.05 and 12.55, with a very brief shower at 13.40 amounting to just 0.3mm. The thermometer then began to rise as the clouds thinned and cleared reaching a peak of 29.7C late in the afternoon at 17.52 being a significant 9.1C above my long-term average. It has been another mild night with a minimum of 14.6C logged at 05.24 after the sunrise in Marlborough at 04.50. The low was 4.4C above average.
Sunday brought blue sky to greet the new day that enabled the sun to lift the temperature to 19.4C by 08.00 although as the day progresses cloud is expected to bubble up so the prospect of a day with sunny intervals ahead.
We have now experienced twelve consecutive days with maxima above average, many significantly above, likewise we have had eleven consecutive nights with minima well above average.
The significant change in our weather pattern is now underway. Gone are the very hot and dry days as the recent, dominant high-pressure eases away to the east over Greece and Turkey whilst allowing the depression to the northwest, near Iceland, to begin influencing our weather. This change has seen the wind veer from the recent southeasterly direction to come from a south-westerly quadrant bring in an Atlantic air stream, cooler and more moist. Whilst the battle continues the wind will increase today due to the increased pressure gradient between the two weather systems. The barometric pressure has dropped 14mb since its high last Monday with a reading of 1015.2mb at 08.00 on Sunday.
The projected Jet Steam track is for it to stream across the UK rather than to the north. Last week it had allowed hot air to arrive from the Continent, the change will see the arrival of cooler and more moist air with temperatures closer to normal.
Puffins: Puffins nest in burrows, typically dug into grassy slopes on cliffs or near the coast, the image is an example. These burrows, often about three feet deep, are lined with grass, feathers and other soft materials.