Author: Eric Gilbert

A maximum of 21.4C at 15.55 on Wednesday made it the warmest day since the 2nd being 2.3C above my 40-year average. The past night was very similar to the previous night as after clear skies initially the northeasterly breeze brought cloud across after midnight that meant another mild night with the thermometer not sinking below 14.1C at 00.44, which was 5.4C above my long-term average.

Thursday arrived dull from thick, low cloud and the breeze still coming from the northeast.

The high pressure is easing away eastwards and we will begin to come under the influence of low pressure systems developing over the Continent. The barometric pressure reading at 08.00 was 1026.0mb, down 7mb from it peak on the 17th.

Tuesday produced another fine and very sunny day with strong sunshine that saw the thermometer rise just above my 40-year average (+0.3C) with a maximum 19.4C at 15.06. After viewing the ‘super’ moon in a very clear sky during the evening, the brisk northeasterly breeze absorbed moisture from the North Sea producing total cloud cover that drifted across limiting the loss of warmth into the atmosphere so that a minimum of 12.5C was logged in the early hours at 00.07 being 3.9C above my average.

Wednesday arrived with total cloud cover but shortly after 08.00 there were signs that the sun was beginning to thin the cloud with indications of brightness breaking through.

The rate of evaporation from ground sources and plant life for the last two days has meant a loss of equivalent rainfall in excess of 2mm per day with 2.60mm on Tuesday.

The high pressure is still very much in control of our weather and will continue to do so for a few more days with the breeze persisting from a northeast or north-northeasterly direction, at least until the weekend.

The maximum of 19.5C on Monday in the many hours of sunshine was the warmest day since the 8th and 0.4C above my 40-year area after seven consecutive below average maxima. The day was dry, the breeze gusting t 14mph was from the northwest and the UV level Moderate.

Under clear skies overnight the warmth slowly dissipated into the atmosphere with a low of 4.1C at 06.40 early Tuesday, just as the sun was rising. The recent moisture and low temperature produced radiation fog in the River Og valley that had dissipated by 07.15.

The anticyclone is still firmly over the UK with the centre over the North Sea which will continue to feed a breeze from the northeast. The barometric pressure at 08.00 read 1032.7mb, the highest pressure since 2nd February.

With more thin cloud on Sunday than the previous the maximum temperature was down on Saturday peaking at 18.1C at 13.25. Thicker cloud arrived on the weather front in the afternoon that halted any further increase,the peak being 1.0C below my 40-year average. Around 18.30 there was a very brief, light shower of drizzle, not measurable. It was a much milder night with a low of 11.2C logged at 07.20 early Monday.

The sun was weak after sunrise due to thin cloud on the eastern horizon but by 08.00 had risen above that and gained in strength to shine strongly.

The jet stream for the past three days has been looping to the north of the UK thus allowing the warmer air to arrive as the high pressure developed. However, the centre has relocated towards Scandinavia and grown, in area that has meant the air stream change from west to northeast, which will continue for the next few days.

Under the high pressure on Saturday the sun lifted the temperature to 18.8C by 15.36, the highest for a week but just below my 40-year average at -0.3C. Although the breeze from the southwest had picked compared to the previous day it felt so much warmer. The minimum of 5.2C at 06.43 early Sunday, exactly sunrise time for Marlborough, it was the least cool for four days but still 3.5C below my long-term average. It ws a dry day with the UV level at 4.8, the highest fr four days, being at the top end of ‘Moderate’.

Sunday began with the sunshine weakly after sunrise thought thin c;oid pn the eastern horizon bit soon cleared that and began to shine strongly. A weather front will cross our area later in the day bringing more cloud but no rain, which will mean a much warmer night than of late as the cloud will minimise the loss of warmth into the atmosphere. The breeze will veer a few degrees into the west today.

The centre of the anticyclone will slowly drift towards Scandinavia, which will result in the breeze overnight slowly changing direction to come from the northeast for the next few days bringing more dry and sunny weather and still around average maxima.