Category: Commentary

Friday morning started as a pleasant summer’s day with bright but not strong sunshine that raised the temperature to 18.6C at 14.32, which was almost 6C below the July average. At this time the effects of the rain band associated with the low pressure system arrived with drizzle and light rain just after 3pm then intensified as the afternoon and evening progressed.

Over seven hours of rainfall, very heavy around 8pm, produced a daily total of 23.5mm, second wettest day this month, that brings the total for July to 57.3mm that is just 6mm short of the long-term average for July.

It was the coolest night since 5th July with a minimum of 10.1C at 04.32, which is 1.5C below the long-term average.

This morning has seen intermittent strong sunshine early on that after 08.00 was very limited due to increasing cloud.

After the dismal day on Wednesday, the lull between low pressure systems gave us 4.66 hours of string sunshine on thursday although the brisk westerly wind, gusting to 22mph, meant that the temperatures were depressed giving a maximum of 19.3C, which was 3C below the average and identical to the previous day.

A light shower of drizzle meant an additional 0.3mm of precipitation bringing the monthly total to 33.8mm, still only 57% of the long-term average.

Another very mild night followed giving a minimum of 13.1C, down slightly on the previous minimum but still 1.5C above the long-term average.

Friday has dawned with overcast skies and occasional light drizzle with the thermometer having risen to 14.9C at 08.00. The approaching deep area of low pressure is already being felt as the clouds thicken and the wind rises.

Yesterday:
Maximum of 19.3C, down 7C on previous day and 3C below average
UV down from 7.7 to 1.9, which was at the ‘Low’ level
Evaporation down to 0.94mm after averaging greater than 4mm on previous days.
Solar energy lowest for three weeks.
Sunshine – none

Wednesday contrasted remarkably from previous days. With thick cloud all day no sunshine was recorded and as a consequence the maximum was reached very early in the day at 10.12 with a reading of 19.3C. The temperature slowly fell away after this time and began to drop quickly after 6pm.

This morning the temperature took another tumble just after 6am as the barometric pressure began to rise and as a consequence the wind moved into the north west.

A shower occurred just before 3am and further precipitation was logged around 4.30am, totalling 2.3mm

The 5.1 hours of strong sunshine on Tuesday boosted the thermometer even higher then Monday to a maximum of 26.3C at 15.40 being exactly 4C above the long-term average. The UV also climbed higher with a reading of 7.7, again at the ‘Very High’ level.

The warm and moist air from the ‘Spanish Plume’ of continental air, combined with much cloud meant a very warm night with a minimum of 16.7C, which was 5C above the long-term average and the warmest night since 22nd August 2016.

So often this period of hot, humid air ends with a bang and early this morning that is exactly what happened. The first rumbles of thunder disturbed me just after 02.30 and with the last detected about 04.30.

The huge storm that swept in from the south early yesterday evening veered to the east, as so often happens, without a drop of rain to record in Marlborough. The storm in the early hours of this morning did provide some rain, 4.6mm to be exact, but once again we missed the heaviest rainfall. The total rainfall for July now stands at 31.2mm, which is 52% of the long-term average.

The thermometer rose relentlessly yesterday with a maximum of 24.9C at 17.04, which was 2.4C above the July average. We enjoyed 6.5 hours of strong sunshine but the very high UV level of 10.0 on the previous day was much lower at 6.9, this at the top end of ‘High’.

It was another day without rain and moisture evaporating at a rate in excess of 4mm a day. With the equivalent of 58mm of rainfall now lost the total rainfall for July is only 26.6mm

It was a very warm night with the thermometer slowly descending to a minimum of 15.0C at 06.44, this was 4.4C above the July average.

This morning started with thick cloud but by the time these readings were taken at 08.00 the sun had started to break through raising the temperature to 17.3C.