Tag: August

August 2011, after a warm start, 28.0°C on the 1^st and the hottest day of the month, proved to be very disappointing. With much cloud and several very wet days the mean temperature was 0.5°C below the long-term average (maximum was -1.4°C). A record was set on the 18^th when the maximum temperature was a miserable 12.5°C, the coldest August day I have recorded since the station started in 1984. There were only 13 totally dry days and the total rainfall of 79.5mm was 126% of the long-term average. There were two notable very wet days with 16.2mm and 13.6mm on the 18^th and 26^th respectively.

The summer of 2011 was also disappointing. The mean temperature was 0.7°C below the long-term average and the total rainfall of 192mm was 108% of the long-term average.

August did not continue the summery weather experienced in the two previous months. Both the mean maximum and minimum temperatures were below the long-term average, -0.6°C and –0.2°C respectively. However, we did receive much welcome rainfall, especially if a gardener. The total rainfall was 107.7mm, which is 175% of the long-term average. There were notable heavy falls on the 22^nd and 25^th with 41.7mm and 23mm respectively. The total of 41.7mm was the second highest daily rainfall recorded here; the record is 45.4mm in May 2007. The month ended with fine weather and clear nights that resulted in low temperatures, which on the 31^st fell to a low of 3.9°C. This is not a record as the thermometer fell to 1.8°C on 25th August 1993.

The summer of 2010 produced a mean temperature that was 0.4°C above the long-term average. After the two very dry months of June and July the substantial August rainfall meant that the mean for the summer was just 1mm below the long-term average.

August was not the anticipated summer month. It started with a very wet and humid period until the 6^th, this day being the wettest with a total of 37.7mm; a record amount for an August day since my records began. There was a drier interlude from the 14^th to 20^th with temperatures near the average, the 19^th being the exception when the thermometer soared to 27.1°C, the warmest of the month. The remainder of August was very changeable. The mean temperature was 0.4°C above the long-term average, principally due to the cloudy nights retaining some of the daytime warmth (+1.1°C) whereas the lack of sunshine meant the average maxima was below the long-term average (-0.7°C.). The total rainfall was 79.1mm, which is 130% of the long-term average.

The total rainfall for the summer was 233mm, which is 132% of the long-term average. The mean temperature for the summer was 0.3°C above the long-term average. Analyzing the statistics I find that the mean maximum was -0.3°C due to the variable weather but the mean minimum was +0.8°C because of the increased cloud cover. The mean temperature for this season has seen a gradual increase since my records began in 1984, except for the cold summers of 1993 and 1996. The average in the 1980’s was around 9.4°C but has risen to almost 10.4°C this year.

With the installation of an advanced weather station I now have much more information and analysis of that data. Consequently the layout of the ‘Current Statistics’ and ‘Daily Statistics’ pages has been revised to include the additional information on UV values, Solar Radiation, Humidity and hours of Sunshine.