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graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 618       For     JUNE    2007
   MOSTLY DRY TILL THE 11TH, THEN FREQUENT RAIN, HEAVY AND PROLONGED AT TIMES
Text Box: A sluggish easterly flow covered the UK until the 12th, but the rest of the month was relentlessly cyclonic. Pressure remained relatively high to the north of Scotland throughout, and as a consequence this was the most ‘easterly’ June over the UK in 134 years of records. The UK’s weather was controlled by a blocking anticyclone which was located over Scandinavia until the 4th, to the north of Scotland from the 4th-10th, and near Iceland from the 11th-13th; throughout this period a light east to north-easterly flow covered the British Isles. Atlantic fronts brought prolonged rain to much of Scotland and Northern Ireland on the 2nd/3rd, otherwise all regions were generally dry until the 11th although there were scattered thunderstorms on the 7th with local flooding in Fife and Angus. Throughout this period North Sea coasts were plagued by mist and low cloud, and onshore winds kept daytime temperatures below normal; meanwhile, most southern, central and western districts were predominately warm and sunny with afternoon temperatures typically between 22 and 25°C, and the month’s highest reading of 27.2°C was obtained at Prestatyn on the north Welsh coast on the 11th. There were some cold nights in Scotland around mid-month, and Kinbrace (Sutherland) logged the month’s lowest minimum of -2.5°C overnight 13th/14th. The contrast between east and west during this period was well illustrated by the sunshine aggregates for 2nd-12th of 6 hours at Aberdeen and 120 hours at Tiree. A prolonged fall of pressure during the second week heralded the north-eastward progress of a complex depression across the country between the 14th and 17th. The remainder of the month was relentlessly cyclonic with further active depressions slowly crossing the UK on the 20th-22nd and 24th-25th; a further deep depression approached from the southwest on the 30th. From the 12th onwards most parts of the country had some rain, little or much, on every single day; the exception was northern Scotland which remained largely dry throughout. A prolonged downpour affected southern Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England, and parts of Wales, the Midlands and East Anglia between the 12th and 15th, resulting in serious flooding notably in Birmingham, the towns and cities of West and South Yorkshire, Text Box: and in counties Antrim and Down; 113mm of rain fell atEdgbaston (Birmingham) in 48h on the 14th/15th, 123mm in 60h at Wilsden (West Yorks) and 123mm in 84h at Helens Bay (Co Down). Most districts had showers and local thunderstorms between the 16th and 20th, but on the 21st a brief intrusion of very warm and humid air lifted temperatures to 26°C in the London area before thunderstorms broke out widely during the afternoon and evening. Flooding was severe but short-lived in Shropshire and Herefordshire. A further bout of prolonged and heavy rain was associated with a deepening depression which crossed central districts on the 24th/25th, and once again northern England, the Midlands and Wales were worst hit with dramatic and long-lasting floods in the Sheffield, Doncaster and Hull districts, and also in the floodplains of the rivers Severn and Trent. Fylingdales (North Yorks) recorded 112mm of rain in 48h. The next four days brought showers and sunny intervals, but renewed rain spread across the whole country on the 30th. Mean maximum temperature was 1.0-1.5 degC below the long-term average in parts of northern and eastern Scotland and northeast England, but all other regions were 0.5-1.5 degC warmer than average. Average night-time temperature was 1.5-2.0degC above average in all parts of the UK. Averaged nationally, it was not the wettest June on record although many places in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Midlands established new local records. Averaged over England and Wales, the month’s provisional total of 140mm was slightly more than twice the long-term average, and the highest since 1860. It was not a wet month quite everywhere: the extreme north of Scotland was exceptionally dry, and Shetland and Orkney collected just 10-20mm. In spite of several sunny days during the first half of June, monthly sunshine aggregates fell short of the average practically nationwide, although Tiree (245 hours) in the Inner Hebrides exceeded the local average by 20 per cent. Averaged nationally, it was the dullest June since 1998, but along the east coast from Norfolk to Orkney the shortfall was unprecedented. Lowest monthly totals were 65 hours at Gogarbank (Edinburgh) and 76 hours at Leuchars (Fife), well under half the respective local averages. Aberdeen airport’s total of 80 hours was some way short of last December’s 88 hours.