Sunday saw a drop of 10.1C as compared to the Saturday peak with a maximum of 21.7C, which was still 1.5C above average. As the high pressure declined the wind veered from the south into the west, a cooler direction off the Atlantic.
This change in direction also meant a clearer air. The UV level was at the top end of very high and the solar radiation maximum of 1239/w/m2 was the highest for June.
Sunday was another dry day, only 13 in June compared to the average of 17 dry days.
A much more comfortable and cooler night followed with the thermometer falling away to a minimum of 12.9C at 04.52 Monday morning.
There was a very sunny start to Monday but very quickly variable could drifted in from the west.
June 2019 Review
June was a disappointing summer month, wetter than average and below average solar energy, all due to a depression that was reluctant to depart our shores as it slowly revolved anticlockwise around the UK for many days.
The month started well with two days of above average maxima, 25.6C and 22.3C on the 1st and 2nd but thereafter it went downhill with 18 consecutive days of below average maxima. Not until the 22nd did some warmth return, as an anticyclone eased in from the west, but only briefly, when the temperatures began to rise well above average with a maximum of 31.8C on the 29th. This peak was 11.6C above average and the warmest June day since 2017 (32.2C), all thanks to a blast of hot air from the Sahara Desert.
On the downside the thermometer only rose to 11.4C on the 11th, almost 9C below average with the previous very cool night down to 4.5C (-5.6C).
Although we had an average number of wet days, (rainfall equal to or greater than 1mm) the precipitation was 133% of the 35-year average or plus 17.6mm. The main contributor to the monthly total was a very wet day on the 10th when 25.1mm of rainfall was recorded making it the wettest day since May 2018 when 31.9mm fell.
The amount of equivalent rainfall lost to the atmosphere, due to evaporation from ground sources and plant life, amounted to 85.7mm, being 15mm above the rainfall in what was a wet month.
It was not surprising to find the UV level for the month was the lowest since 2012 and solar energy only 91% of the 9-year average.
On the bright side there were no days with fog, hail or frost (2 days in 1991) and we missed the torrential downpours that some areas of the country endured. A city in Mexico on Sunday suffered from a fall of ice pellets 2 metres deep when the normal temperature is around 30C. Marlborough is fortunate in that we have for a long time not suffered from the extremes of weather that other areas of our country have experienced.
