The heat continued to build on Wednesday, peaking at 27.8C late in the afternoon at 17.08, being a significant 5.1C above my long-term average. This is the first day that the temperature has equalled or exceeded the Heatwave threshold temperature, which is likely to be confirmed on Saturday after three consecutive days exceeding the threshold, although the next five days will also be above 27C. The past night has been very mild with the thermometer falling to 13.7C at 05.23, just after sunrise in Marlborough at 05.02, being 1.8C above average.
The sun shone strongly just after sunrise that had lifted the temperature to 21.8C by 08.00 making it the warmest start to a day at that time since 25th June 2023. The anticyclone continues to build with a pressure reading of 1024.2mb at 08.00.
The centre of the high pressure is easing eastwards, currently over the southern Celtic Sea, that will see the breeze continue from the northwest today and be very light. However, as it continues that migration, in the early hours of Friday the direction of the breeze will change significantly to come from the southeast on Friday allowing the heat to continue to build.
There is a Buck Moon tonight at 21.37, when the moon will sit unusually low in the sky. Historically, July’s full moon is called the Buck Moon because it aligns with the time of year when the antlers of male deer, or bucks, are quickly growing, named by Indigenous North American Algonquin people.