August 2013
August started with a very hot day that peaked at 30.2C, the fifth hottest day that I have recorded. The record of 35.2C was set on 3rd August 1990. There were only four days in the month that did not exceed 20C. The mean temperature was 0.5C above the long-term average, almost identical to 2012 and the warmest since 2004.
It was a relatively dry month with a total of only 43.6mm that is 67% of the long-term average and the driest since 2005. This is in contrast to the massive total of 108.8mm last year. The wettest August was in 1992 with 139.5mm and the driest occurred in 1995 with a mere 5.3mm. Evapotranspiration amounted to the equivalent of 76.9mm of moisture, which is 33.3mm greater than the rainfall total.
There were 308 hours of bright sunshine, which is 20% above the average for recent years. Solar power was 5% above the average for the last few years.
Summer 2013
This was the warmest summer season, with a mean of 16.6C, since the record set in 2006 (17.9C) and was 0.6C above the long-term average.
Summer 2013 was also noted for the relatively low rainfall total of 141.4mm being 77% of the long-term average, It was the driest since 2003. The record for the highest rainfall of 328mm was set last year and the driest in 1995 when only 53mm of rainfall was noted for the whole summer.
