Another month with two distinct halves, the first being unseasonably cold and the latter produced both maxima and minima above the average for May. There were three nights with air frost, which burnt the early tender foliage of both vegetables and flowers, with a minimum of -1.4°C on the 12th. These were the latest spring air frosts since 2003. Fortunately, from the 17th as the pressure rose, so did the temperatures resulting in many warm days in the third week with a maximum of 27.8°C on the 24th, the warmest May day I have recorded. Overall the mean temperature was the lowest for May since 1996 at 0.45°C below the long-term average. The rainfall, totaling 32.7mm, was just 55% of the long-term average, the bulk of which fell on the 1st (15.1mm).
It was the coldest spring since 2001 being 0.1°C below the long-term average. The total rainfall for spring 2010 was also low, with a total of 130mm it was only 72% of the long-term average.
