The maximum of 21.8C on Friday at 15.38 was a significant 7.7C above my long-term average that made it the warmest day since 19th September (22.3C). The variable cloud in the morning slowly thinned and eventually broke up with strong sunshine after midday. The persistent wind from the east, with a peak gust of 26mph, made it feel cooler producing a modest wind chill.
The past night gave us a minimum of 4.4C, just 0.7C above the average as variable cloud that had drifted in from the east stopped it falling further.
Variable cloud was observed on Saturday after sunrise that initially limited the sun’s strength but by 07.00 the cloud was being ‘nibbled back to the east coast’, a non-technical term I heard from a meteorologist on the TV. The cloud had drifted in from the cool North Sea, which has a current temperature of just 8C.
The forecast charts indicate that the high pressure will be with us well into next week with again tomorrow the strong easterly air flow. There is quite a pressure gradient between the anticyclone and depression, hence the strong breeze these past days.
I have mentioned this week that the brisk easterly had produced a wind chill. I have discovered, to my surprise, that there is no official definition of wind chill as definitions vary globally, dependent on how it is measured. In the UK,a system called Joint Action Group for Temperature Indices is used to realistically measure wind chill. This calculates wind chill by measuring how much heat is lost from a person’s bare face at a height of 5 feet (human height) using wind speed, temperature and humidity data. The temperature today of 7.1C at 08.22 felt more like 5.7C outside.