Month: July 2020

Monday brought 12 hours of strong sunshine under the influence of the anticyclone to the west of the UK, as the barometric pressure increased. The brisk north westerly breeze, a cool direction but clear, meant a warm day, not hot, as the maximum of 20.8C was 2C below average.

It was another dry day, the tenth this month, with the UV level rising to Very High between 12.00 and 14.30.

With a clear sky overnight the expected significant drop in temperature occurred as warmth from the ground radiated into the atmosphere with no cloud blanket. The thermometer dropped to 6.0C at 05.37 being 4.9C below average.

Tuesday dawned with continuous sunshine in a predominantly clear sky.

The anticyclone is now firmly in control with the pressure having risen for the past twenty-four hours. The wind on Sunday spent much of the day varying between northeast and north. As a result the temperature was a little depressed with a maximum of 20.3C being 2.5C below average. The morning was cloudy as the hang back of cloud from the rain band eased away to the east. However, sunshine appeared in the afternoon amounting to 8.3 hours.

There followed a very cool night, the coolest in July under clear skies, with a minimum of 5.8C. This was equal coolest in July with the low on the 11th, which was 6C below the average.

Monday saw sunshine again after dawn that lifted the temperature to 13.1C at 08.00 although the wind was still coming from the north.

Saturday brought us another fine day, after a cloudy start, with 7.2 hours of sunshine and a maximum of 23.2C being 0.4C above average. Late afternoon encroaching cloud from a weather front was observed limiting the sunshine.

Overnight the thermometer fell to 12.4C, just 0.7C above average. However, just after midnight the rain band arrived, courtesy of a cold front, that produced 6.8mm of rainfall making it the wettest twenty-four hours in July. This brought the monthly total to 25mm but evaporation is now equivalent to 47mm of rainfall.

The hang back of cloud from the weather front dominated the sky on Sunday morning as the rain band eased away to the east. However, the cold front left us in a very different air mass with the wind currently coming from the north east making it the coolest start to the day since 6th July with a temperature of 12.6C at 08.00.

Friday brought us 9.8 hours of sunshine and the wind, having backed into the west, a slightly warmer direction, meant that the thermometer rose to 24.2C being 1.4C above the average and the warmest day in July.

It was another dry day with Very High UV around midday.

A mild night followed with a of minimum 13.8C, also above the average (+1.9C).

The start to Saturday was mainly cloudy with the odd glimpse of sunshine.

The barometric pressure indicated that the pressure rose slowly on Thursday from the anticyclone centred in the Atlantic a few hundred miles to the west of the Bay of Biscay. From that position it brought a north westerly air mass full of moisture absorbed whilst travelling over a vast the sea area.

By mid-morning the cloud was thinning and by midday sunshine was beginning to break through resulting in 6.7 hours of strong sunshine. By late afternoon the sun was intense lifting the thermometer to a maximum of 23.8C being 1C above the average and the UV level Very High. That peak was 6.3C up on the miserable, damp Wednesday and made it the warmest day since 26th June.

A mild night followed with the thermometer not sinking below 12.6C being 0.5C above the average.

Friday dawned with thick fog limiting visibility to 200m. By 07.30 the fog was thinning noticeably so that by 07.50 there was just low cloud and some brightness in the sky.