Friday 22nd August.
After a very cool day on Wednesday, Thursday was a little warmer with a maximum of 20.4C, logged at 16.37, thanks to the late afternoon sunshine, however this was still below average at -1.7C.
An area of clear sky over southern England meant much warmth dissipated into the atmosphere overnight that saw the thermometer drop very low with a minimum of 4.5C logged at 06.09 early Friday. This low was a significant 6.7C below my long-term average, which made it the coldest night since 22nd May, not helped by the airstream from the north initially, a cool direction.
Although sunrise in Marlborough was at 06.03 an arm of cloud extended to the east of Marlborough that denied any sunshine, although a little brightness was observed. As a result the thermometer only rose to 7.1C by 08.00 making it the coolest start to a new day at that time since 6th May. The radar showed a large bank of cloud to the north of our area that was steadily moving south so that by 07.15 broken cloud had arrived with no likelihood of sunshine to boost the temperature until later in the morning.
The area of high pressure has narrowed or elongated, extending further south, as a result this relocation will see the breeze come from the west-northwest today, a less cool direction and thankfully be much lighter. The centre of the anticyclone is just to the west of the country that has seen the barometric pressure rise to 1023.0mb at 08.00, the highest for five days that will mean a dry day ahead and likely for the weekend.
The forecast charts show the remains of ex-hurricane Erin heading towards the north of the UK by Monday with a very deep centre of pressure, forecast to be as low as 965mb, which will result in stormy conditions over Scotland and very breezy further south, however, amounts of precipitation for my very dry garden are uncertain.
Another interesting comment from the Met Office on recent dramatic weather headlines. “UK weather: Exactly when Britain will be hotter than Ibiza with major 31C heat blast forecast,” claims another headline. The Met Office comment “The forecast suggests a mobile Atlantic pattern with intermittent rain and showers. While temperatures may rise above average briefly, the overall outlook remains near average. The reduced likelihood of heatwaves means that while some areas may experience warmth, it’s unlikely to rival Mediterranean conditions across the board.” Interesting contrast!
