Sunday 21st September
Saturday was the last day for a week when the southwestern air flow bringing warm air from the Azores gave us a fine dry and sunny day that produced a maximum of 18.9C. This high was almost exactly average for September at -0.1C, logged at 13.20 before the cloud increased and the wind picked up gusting to 29mph. The change in the weather brought a light shower starting with drizzle at 15,15 and heavier at 15.30 totalling just 0.4mm. During the day large areas of heavy rain passed to the west and east of our area, that which arrived from the south of Marlborough was more broken and petered out on its northwards track.

The change in our weather was first observed Saturday evening when the wind began to slowly change direction. By 21.15 the wind had veered into the west and as the evening progressed into the north-northwest. This change in wind direction, resulting in a cooler air stream, combined with clearing skies, saw the thermometer drop away to reach a minimum of 6.8C at 05.07, which was 1.9C below average.

There was a glorious start to Sunday with the sun shining brightly after sunrise that had lifted the temperature to 8.4C by 08.00, although this was the second coolest start to a day this month. I observed a bank of clid just to the northwest of Marlvbpprugh that over the past wo hoist has appeared to eb static and not getting any closer.

The recent depression has now migrated further over Scandinavia that has allowed the high pressure, just to the west, to influence our weather and for most of the rest of the week. The anticyclone has been building and edging over the UK, the barometric pressure having rose 6mb since Saturday with a reading of 1016.6mb at 08.00. The high pressure will be with us until Thursday at least that will bring dryer and brighter weather although the down side will be maxima and minima below average due to the air originating somewhere around Iceland before it arrives here on a northerly or northeasterly breeze.

Some of the recent warmth in the ground has begun to dissipate under cooler conditions. The soil temperature at a depth of 5cm read 10.1C at 08.00, which was the lowest since 6th May.

Westonbirt Arboretum forms part of a site which is listed Grade 1 on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest.