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graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 631       For     JULY    2008
        COOL AND VERY WET AT FIRST; WARM OCCASIONALLY THUNDERY LAST TEN DAYS
Text Box: A cyclonic type held sway until the 11th, followed by ten days of mainly northwesterly winds. From the 22nd onwards brief anticyclonic, southeasterly and cyclonic episodes followed each other in quick succession. Mean monthly pressure was below normal over all parts of the British Isles, anomalies ranging from -1.5mbar in Shetland to -7mbar in southwest Ireland, and the anomalous flow over the UK was south to southeasterly. The 1st was a sunny and warm day in central and eastern districts with 27.3°C reached at Heathrow airport and 15.6h of bright sunshine at Buxton (Norfolk), but western and northern Britain were rather windy with outbreaks of rain. It turned cooler generally from the 2nd onwards and the next few days brought scattered heavy showers and local thunder. A deep depression tracked slowly northeast across England and Wales between the 5th and 7th, giving widespread rain, heavy in places, and there were further thunderstorms especially in southern districts. The wind gusted to 52kn at Scilly on the 5th, and afternoon highs were generally between 14 and 18°C. A further depression followed a similar track between the 9th and 11th; on the 9th alone 40mm of rain fell at Lochranza (Isle of Arran), while Okehampton (Devon) recorded 150mm between the 1st and 11th. It was remained exceptionally cool especially in northern and eastern districts and the day’s maximum on the 11th at Fylingdales (North Yorks) was just 11.2°C. In the wake of that depression a cool northwesterly flow developed, and most places had scattered showers and sunny intervals by day although it was cold at night with local ground frost; early on the 13th the temperature dropped to 0.8°C at Katesbridge (Co Down). The wind backed briefly into the southwest on the 15th which was much warmer as a consequence - 26.4°C at Coningsby (Lincs) - but the northwesterlies resumed the next day and the weather again became cool and showery between the 16th and 21st.
Text Box: On the 19th the afternoon maximum at Loch Glascarnoch (Wester Ross) was 11.0°C. Between the 3rd and 20th inclusive, Kirkwall (Orkney) recorded just 23.5h of sunshine - an average of just 1h20m per day. The last ten days of the month were very warm and often humid, and from the during the last five or six days there were scattered showers and thunderstorms. Afternoon temperatures throughout this periods were typically between 23 and 28°C, even in inland parts of northern Scotland; highest readings at standard sites (that is, not including rooftop stations) included 29.1°C at Cranwell (Lincs) on the 25th, 29.7°C at Kew Gardens (London) on the 27th, 29.5°C at Heathrow and Northolt (both London) on the 28th, and 29.5°C again on the 31st at Holbeach (Lincs). Nights were uncomfortably warm at times, and the minimum overnight temperature on the 22nd/23rd at St James’s Park (London) was 18.2°C. Thundery activity was most widespread during the afternoon and evening of the 28th when 59mm of rain fell in a storm at Pershore (Worcs), and again later on the 31st when 52mm fell at Boulmer (Northumberland). Mean monthly temperature was between 0 and 1 degC above the average for the standard reference period 1971-2000 in most parts of the UK, the warm weather towards the end more than offsetting the persistently cool weather of the first three weeks. In the last ten years July was cooler on four occasions: 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2007. Although not as wet as last July, rainfall was above the long-term average in all regions except East Anglia, and exceeded twice the normal in southwest England and south Wales. At Princetown (Devon) the monthly total was 290mm. Thanks to long bright periods during the last ten days, sunshine totals slightly exceeded the norm in East Anglia, the Midlands, southern England and the Channel Islands; Manston (Kent) reported 261h, Jersey airport 260h, and Eastbourne (Sussex) 238h.
                                                                                                                                               
                       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   21.6   +0.2   13.2   +0.3   28.3   28   08.8   13   00   00   01   11.8   01   166   090   1910   321   1911   109   1913   21   21.1   09     054   115   1910   193   1924   05   1921   04   00   00  
  Thorney Island   21.0   -1.2   13.3   +0.0   25.7   28   07.9   04   00   00   01   14.9   23   222   098   1958   336   2006   153   1978   20   12.6   08     053   123   1941   122   1945   06   1949   01   00   00  
  *Wattisham   21.4   +0.4   12.1   +0.4   28.4   27   05.4   13   00   00   05   14.2   01   201   105   1968   295   1976   131   1978   17   15.2   09     046   107   1960   101   1987   05   1977   03   00   00  
  *Wittering   21.6   +1.1   12.1   +0.1   28.2   25   08.1   04   00   00   02   13.5   21   189   100   1955   283   2006   115   1965   15   10.4   09     039   089   1955   153   2004   06   1977   02   00   00  
                                                                       
  Lyneham   20.3   -0.6   11.9   -0.2   26.6   28   08.2   21   00   00   02   13.3   26   205   096   1952   314   2006   129   1965   20   17.8   09     061   141   1945   149   2007   04   1955   04   00   00  
  Ross-on-Wye   21.3   +0.2   12.6   +0.2   28.2   28   07.2   04   00   00   02   13.3   21   191   102   1915   311   2006   095   1944   21   12.8   05     069   157   1859   197   1872   06   1935   03   00   00  
  *St Athan   19.3   -0.7   13.2   +0.7   26.1   28   08.5   04   00   00   02   14.0   27   155   072   1954   319   1955   131   1965   21   28.4   09     157   265   1954   168   1965   13   1977   01   00   00  
  St Mawgan   17.7   -1.1   13.2   +0.2   24.1   24   10.2   04   00   00   04   14.4   21   182   085   1945   317   1955   111   1954   20   22.8   08     129   236   1944   143   1988   01   1955   01   00   00  
                                                                       
  *Edgbaston   20.7   -0.6   12.7   -0.2   27.5   28   08.6   04   00   00   01   14.3   26   163   090   1887   285   1990   067   1888   17   35.4   28     108   278   1887   183   2007   07   1911   05   00   00  
  *Valley   18.6   -0.1   13.5   +1.0   27.0   24   10.3   12   00   00   01   14.5   27   161   080   1946   341   1955   115   1986   15   16.2   28     070   150   1941   114   1957   09   1983   01   00   00  
  *Woodford   20.0   +0.3   12.3   +1.0   26.8   25   07.9   21   00   00   03   12.7   21   144   085   1945   280   2006   102   1954   14   19.6   11     108   170   1942   187   1973   10   1999   05   00   00  
  *Watnall   20.9   +0.4   12.0   +0.0   27.3   25   08.6   22   00   00   04   13.3   26   149   079   1948   273   2006   087   1965   16   10.2   03     061   138   1942   148   1973   11   1982   04   00   00  
                                                                       
  *Leeming   20.7   +0.4   11.6   -0.1   26.9   27   07.5   21   00   00   02   13.2   21   169   101   1945   276   2006   091   1965   13   35.4   31     107   253   1947   139   1973   09   1984   03   00   00  
  *Boulmer   17.9   -0.2   11.5   -0.3   24.2   22   08.0   20   00   00   03   09.5   01   119   067   1945   268   1955   105   1957   11   52.2   31     * 126   264   1945   118   1988   07   2006   00   00   00  
  *Eskdalemuir   18.7   +0.8   10.7   +1.5   24.3   28   04.9   21   01   00   00   11.8   21   110   073   1911   266   1989   075   1931   13   33.4   31     149   169   1911   269   1988   25   1913   01   00   00  
  *Bishopton   19.3   +0.2   12.2   +1.5   25.0   28   07.7   21   00   00   03   09.8   20   117   068   1921   297   1989   086   1931   12   24.0   09     094   164   1921   147   1988   11   1984   01   00   00  
                                                                       
  *Leuchars   18.4   -0.4   11.7   +0.9   24.5   22   06.5   21   00   00   02   13.1   21   107   056   1922   262   1955   091   1931   12   30.8   10     106   195   1922   181   1940   13   1983   00   00   00  
  *Dyce   18.0   -0.1   11.8   +1.7   25.3   22   08.8   13   00   00   02   12.3   23   127   077   1941   263   1955   078   1968   09   12.2   31     057   095   1941   198   1957   13   2003   00   00   00  
  *Stornoway   16.8   +1.0   11.3   +1.0   24.0   25   05.9   21   01   00   04   13.1   27   137   101   1880   227   1917   057   1939   05   18.4   01     062   104   1943   165   1988   14   1955   00   00   00  
  *Aldergrove   18.6   +0.0   12.1   +1.0   22.8   28   06.2   21   00   00   01   13.1   27   105   073   1927   274   1955   086   1986   15   19.6   03     087   113   1927   155   1950   12   2000   01   00   00  
                                                                       
                                                                                                                                               
  Stations marked with an asterisk record sunshine electronically; comparisons      
  with earlier records are therefore somewhat speculative. Thorney Island's     * New high record  
  sunshine figures are from a nearby site.