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graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 595       For     JULY    2005
                 COOL AND UNSETTLED EARLY AND LATE;  HOT SPELL MID-MONTH
Text Box: The month divided neatly into four contrasting sections; a cyclonic/westerly first week, a strongly anticyclonic second week, a mainly northwesterly third week, and a cyclonic/northerly last ten days. Taking the month as a whole, pressure was 2mbar above normal over the Norwegian Sea and 3mbar below over Benelux, resulting in a weak northeasterly anomalous flow over the UK. The weather remained changeable until the 7th, and a vigorous depression, 980mbar off NW Scotland on the 3rd, brought gales to exposed locations with gusts to 60kn. All areas had some rain - heaviest in eastern England where Cromer (Norfolk) had 54mm on the 3rd/4th, and Loftus (N.Yorks) 54mm on the 5th/6th. There was also a paucity of sunshine: Wattisham (Suffolk) recorded a weekly total of just 16.4h. It became very cool for a few days with a maximum of 10.9°C at Thorncliff (Staffs) on the 4th and a minimum of 2.2°C at Loch Glascarnoch (Wester Ross) on the 7th. Pressure rose steadily over the next few days and a large anticyclone settled over the UK from the 9th-14th. Much of northern Britain became very warm and sunny from the 8th, southern regions joined in a few days later although parts of East Anglia and Kent remained cool and cloudy until the 12th. The temperature approached or reached 30°C daily from the 10th-14th; in Scotland and Northern Ireland the 11th was the hottest day, and the high of 30.3°C at Aberfeldy (Perthshire) was higher than anything there in the August 2003 heatwave and therefore probably the highest in the district since 1976. Over England and Wales it was hottest on the 13th and 14th with 30.9°C at Heathrow airport on the latter date the highest recorded under standard conditions. By this time, however, westerly winds had brought cooler and cloudier weather to Scotland. Weak cold fronts crossed the UK on the 15th followed by a more active front on the 18th, finally introducing a cooler and cloudier northwesterly flow to much of the Text Box: UK. It was briefly sunny and hot again on the 17th with 29.4°C at Charlwood (Surrey), but thereafter most parts of the UK were cloudy with temperatures close to or slightly below the seasonal norm although the English Channel coast stayed fine and rather warm. Amounts of rain, however, were very small, and much of southern, central and eastern England had no measurable rain from the 6th or 7th until the 23rd, and at Topcliffe (N.Yorks) the dry spell extended to 20 days. Two depressions crossed southern Britain during the latter part of the month bringing widespread heavy rain and some thunderstorms; 50mm fell at Hereford on the 23rd/24th, and 73mm at Milford Haven on the 27th/28th. A tornado caused 20 injuries and extensive property damage in southwest Birmingham on the afternoon of the 28th, and another caused some damage in Peterborough the same day. The last ten days of July were remarkably cloudy and cool in Scotland and northern England with maxima typically between 12 and 15°C throughout. A high of 10.9°C was logged at Boltshope Park (Durham) on the 27th and at Salsburgh (Lanarkshire) on the 29th, while Kirkwall (Orkney) registered only 19 hours of sunshine from the 16th-31st, and Woodford (Gtr Manchester) just 18 hours from the 18th-31st. Thanks to the cloud-cover, overnight minima were not particularly low, except on the 31st when Braemar (Aberdeenshire) logged 0.6°C. Both mean maxima and mean minima were within a degree of the 1971-2000 average in all parts of the UK. Thanks to the very wet last week, rainfall totals were above normal over England and Wales excepting the northwest, and exceeded twice the long-term mean in Pembrokeshire and along the east coast from Norfolk to Northumberland. Northern Ireland and much of Scotland had a dry month with less than a quarter of the normal amount locally in southwest Scotland and around Perth. Sunshine aggregates ranged from 30 per cent below normal at some sites in northern Scotland and East Anglia to 10 per cent above on the Hampshire coast.
                                                                                                                                         
                       TEMPERATURE                                SUNSHINE                             RAINFALL        
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                          Highest and lowest totals                     Highest and lowest totals        
                                              on record for month    
Maximum fall in 24 hrs (beginning 09 h)
                    on record for month    
Days with snow or sleet
 
Days with fog (Vis <220 yards at 09 h)
 
                                                                                         
     
Difference from average
   
Difference from average
 
Highest maximum
   
Lowest minimum
   
No. of days with grass minimum below 0ºC
   
Days of no sunshine
 
Maximum duration
       
First year of record
         
Days of no rainfall (0.1 mm or less)
         
First year of record
         
Days with thunder
     
       PLACE  
Mean Maximum
   
Mean minimum
             
No. of air frosts
       
Total for month
                   
Total for month
                   
                               
% of average
                   
% of average
                 
                                                                     
                                   
Highest
   
Lowest
 
Year
             
Highest
   
Lowest
 
Year
       
             
Date
   
Date
         
Date
         
Year
         
Date
         
Year
           
                                                                     
      ºC       ºC       ºC       ºC             Hrs       Hrs         Hrs       Hrs       mm       mm         mm     mm          
                                                                                                                                         
  *Hampstead   22.0   +0.6   13.2   +0.3   30.0   14   09.3   05   00   00   01   12.8   10   163   095   1910   321   1911   109   1913   16   15   24   050   088   1910   193   1924   05   1921   00   00   00  
  Thorney Island   21.9   -0.3   14.3   +1.0   27.4   11   10.9   05   00   00   02   15.0   16   247   106   1958   322   1959   153   1978   20   18   24   055   124   1941   122   1945   06   1949   00   00   00  
  *Coltishall   19.8   -1.1   13.0   +0.9   28.5   14   10.7   05   00   00   03   13.4   17   112   059   1979   302   1995   104   2000   16   28   04   102   216   1964   167   1968   05   1982   01   00   00  
  *Wittering   20.9   +0.4   12.4   +0.4   29.2   14   09.1   16   00   00   05   14.5   10   170   091   1955   265   1955   115   1965   19   28   24   054   116   1955   129   1973   06   1977   01   00   00  
                                                                     
  Lyneham   21.1   +0.2   12.6   +0.5   28.0   14   08.2   05   00   00   03   15.3   10   206   096   1952   288   1971   129   1965   18   16   04   058   131   1945   125   1950   04   1955   01   00   00  
  Ross-on-Wye   22.1   +1.0   12.9   +0.5   29.0   10   09.0   08   00   00   00   14.3   17   221   119   1915   305   1990   095   1944   18   29   24   060   132   1859   197   1872   06   1935   01   00   00  
  *St Athan   20.0   -0.1   14.0   +1.4   26.9   11   10.3   16   00   00   02   14.0   17   185   087   1954   319   1955   131   1965   14   17   23   065   106   1954   168   1965   13   1977   00   00   00  
  St Mawgan   19.5   +0.6   14.3   +1.2   27.3   11   09.3   17   00   00   02   15.0   10   201   095   1945   317   1955   111   1954   15   19   27   071   124   1944   143   1988   01   1955   00   00   00  
                                                                     
  *Edgbaston   20.7   +0.1   13.3   +1.0   28.7   14   09.4   05   00   00   00   12.4   12   172   095   1887   285   1990   067   1888   20   37   24   085   155   1887   167   1936   07   1911   02   00   00  
  Valley   18.9   +0.1   13.2   +0.6   26.5   11   09.1   26   00   00   03   15.5   11   207   104   1946   341   1955   115   1986   19   19   27   047   096   1941   114   1957   09   1983   00   00   00  
  *Woodford   20.3   +0.5   12.1   +0.7   28.4   12   06.9   05   00   00   07   12.4   13   122   073   1945   280   1955   102   1954   20   09   05   038   058   1942   187   1973   10   1999   00   00   00  
  *Watnall   20.7   +0.2   12.6   +0.6   28.6   14   08.7   05   00   00   04   12.7   11   138   074   1948   260   1990   087   1965   20   15   27   044   094   1942   148   1973   11   1982   00   00   00  
                                                                     
  Leeming   20.5   +0.2   12.2   +0.5   27.9   10   07.2   08   00   00   04   14.0   11   172   104   1945   262   1955   091   1965   21   39   28   067   153   1947   139   1973   09   1984   01   00   00  
  *Boulmer   17.9   -0.3   11.5   -0.4   25.7   17   08.2   24   00   00   05   14.3   11   156   087   1945   268   1955   105   1957   18   36   28   117   235   1945   118   1988   11   1989   01   00   00  
  Eskdalemuir   18.4   +0.4   09.6   +0.3   28.5   11   04.4   16   00   00   04   14.8   12   146   097   1911   266   1989   075   1931   22   14   28   056   062   1911   269   1988   25   1913   00   00   00  
  *Bishopton   19.5   +0.2   11.3   +0.4   28.4   11   07.0   05   00   00   05   15.3   11   154   090   1921   297   1989   086   1931   18   04   18   021   035   1921   147   1988   11   1984   00   00   00  
                                                                     
  Leuchars   20.0   +1.1   11.1   +0.2   29.1   12   04.9   31   00   00   03   15.2   11   218   114   1922   262   1955   091   1931   24   10   05   023   041   1922   181   1940   13   1983   00   00   01  
  Dyce   17.8   -0.4   11.4   +1.2   24.5   17   07.8   27   00   00   03   14.8   08   158   096   1941   263   1955   078   1968   13   15   05   045   071   1941   198   1957   13   2003   00   00   00  
  *Stornoway   15.4   -0.6   10.7   +0.2   21.1   11   05.8   05   00   00   04   13.7   11   085   063   1880   227   1917   057   1939   14   21   17   057   092   1943   165   1988   14   1955   00   00   00  
  *Aldergrove   18.8   +0.1   12.1   +0.8   27.6   11   09.4   04   00   00   05   15.4   11   116   082   1927   274   1955   086   1986   19   10   05   044   055   1927   155   1950   12   2000   00   00   00  
                                                                     
                                                                                                                                         
  Stations marked with an asterisk record sunshine electronically; comparisons      
  with earlier records are therefore somewhat speculative. Thorney Island's      
  sunshine figures are from a nearby site.