back
graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 607       For     JULY    2006
                HOTTEST AND SUNNIEST ON RECORD.  SEVERAL THUNDERY EPISODES
Text Box: Mean monthly sea-level pressure was above normal over practically the whole of continental Europe, but near to or below normal over much of the North Atlantic. The main anomaly centres were +7mbar near Stockholm and –7mbar in mid-Atlantic. For its combination of high pressure and frequent southerly winds over the UK July 2006 has no parallel during the instrumental record. It is hardly surprising that such a month should break so many records. High pressure extended from the Baltic to Scotland until the 4th but a thundery depression moved northwards from France on the 4th/5th. A west to southwesterly airflow affected the British Isles from the 6th-12th although pressure had again become quite high over southern districts by the 10th. It was very warm and increasingly humid during the first six days of the month, the temperature climbing to 30-32°C daily in southern England and the Midlands from the 1st until the 4th, while 27°C was exceeded locally in northeast Scotland on the 6th. Thunderstorms broke out in western, northern and central areas on the 2nd, and serious flooding was reported from Todmorden and Hebden Bridge (both in West Yorks), and there were also severe storms in southern and midland counties of England on the 4th when Luton (Beds) had hail and wind damage and 26mm of rain fell in 20 mins there. Further thunderstorms and heavy rain developed later on the 5th and at first on the 6th, notably in the Midlands and West Country, and 82mm fell in 24h at Yate (Glos). The next few days were somewhat cooler, changeable, and rather windy, although England and Wales again turned warmer and sunnier on the 11th and 12th. A large anticyclone developed over the UK on the 13th, moving little until the 19th when it retreated to Scandinavia, allowing shallow thundery troughs to move in from the south and southwest. High pressure, much weaker this time, returned from the 23rd-26th, and with a deep depression west of Ireland Atlantic fronts finally made eastward progress across the country from the 29th onwards. Low cloud cleared slowly from eastern and central England on the 13th, and from the 14th to the 19th the weather was sunny and increasingly hot practically nationwide.
Text Box: At first this spell was characterised by low humidity, clear air, spectacular visibility, and cool nights (a minimum of 0.4°C at Tulloch Bridge in Lochaber early on the 14th), but it became more humid from the 17th onwards. Hurn (Dorset) logged 147 hours of sunshine in ten days starting on the 11th. Maxima above 30°C were recorded daily from the 16th-27th with the exception of the 23rd, and above 32°C on eight days. On the 19th 36.5°C at Wisley (Surrey) established a new July record for the UK for a standard site, while Kinlochewe (Wester Ross) logged 31.1°C which is probably a record for so far north in the UK; the next hottest day was the 25th with 34.1°C at Charlwood (Surrey). Exceptionally high night-time minima included 23.2°C at Guernsey airport and 22.1°C at St Catherine’s Point (Isle of Wight) overnight 18th/19th. There was a good deal of thundery activity from the 19th-27th, with some severe storms accompanied locally by large hail and powerful squalls, notably on the 22nd, 26th and 27th. On the 22nd 75mm fell at Charlbury (Oxon), on the 26th there was 68mm at Bassingbourne (Cambs), 41mm of it in one hour, and on the 27th 55mm fell in two hours at Molesey (Surrey). By contrast, Valley (Anglesey) had no measurable rain from the 9th-28th inclusive. There was heavy frontal rain in many northern and western districts during the last four days of July, including a fall of 40mm on the 31st at Shap (Cumbria), but in eastern districts rainfall amounts were comparatively small and although temperatures declined somewhat, they remained well above average. July 2006 was the warmest calendar month on record over a large part of the UK, the exceptions being much of southwest England, the south Midlands, south and west Wales, western and northern Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Some places in eastern England exceeded the previous record by more than 1 degC. Sunshine aggregates also set new records in many central and eastern parts of England, and although most places experienced some thundery downpours, monthly totals failed to reach 10mm in parts of Kent, East Anglia, Northumberland and Durham, and locally in the Birmingham area. It should be emphasised, however, that there were warmer and sunnier 30-day periods straddling two calendar months in 1976 and 1995.