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graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 632     For  AUGUST  2008
           DULLEST SINCE 1912;  FREQUENT RAIN;  COOL DAYS AND WARM NIGHTS
Text Box: A cyclonic type persisted from the 1st until the 22nd. A southwesterly type followed for a week, with high pressure over the near continent, but a thundery breakdown arrived on the 31st. Mean sea-level pressure was between 5 and 9mbar below normal over the British Isles, and only the Augusts of 1992 and 1917 were more cyclonic. A northward moving depression brought heavy rain to Scotland and Northern Ireland on the 1st and 2nd, while England and Wales had heavy showers, with thunder and hail locally, and sunny intervals. The showery regime continued for the next few days, although a vigorous disturbance tracking along the Channel brought torrential rain to Jersey where 71mm fell at the airport, and an unofficial 78mm at nearby St Lawrence, mostly within four hours. On the 4th Prestwick (Ayrshire) logged 14.3h of bright sunshine - the month’s highest. On the 6th and 7th, with low pressure in the Southwest Approaches, it became warm and humid in East Anglia and the Southeast with 26.7°C recorded at Broadness (Kent) on the 6th, but it was again cool and wet over much of Scotland and Northern Ireland, although the far north of Scotland escaped the rain. A vigorous Atlantic depression became slow-moving near northwestern Britain over the next few days, delivering heavy rain to most regions with 59mm at Capel Curig (Snowdonia) on the 9th, 101mm at Fair Isle on the 10th, and 51mm at Lough Fea (Co Londonderry) on the 11th. A further depression deepened to 982mbar as it cross the British Isles on the 12th and 13th, bringing widespread rain and strong winds. Lee-on-Solent (Hants) logged a gust of 52kn. On the 15th a weak ridge resulted in a dry and mainly sunny day over much of England and Wales, but it was rather cold at night with minima of 0.7°C at Braemar (Aberdeenshire) early on the 14th and 0.5°C at Altnaharra (Sutherland) on the 15th. The next Atlantic depression became slow-moving over Ireland on the 16th, and torrential rain resulted in extensive flooding and several landslips in Ulster. Text Box: At Portglenone (Co Antrim) 85mm fell, most of it in 18 hours. Yet another depression, at one point below 970mbar over mid-Atlantic, tracked slowly across central Britain on the 18th and 19th with further widespread rain. Capel Curig collected 58mm on the 18th and Salsburgh (Ayrshire) 57mm on the 19th. The wind gusted to 50-52kn on both days at Mumbles (Glamorgan). The next few days were cool and showery with prolonged heavy rain in eastern Scotland on the 20th/21st. On the 21st the temperature climbed no higher than 10.4°C at Loch Glascarnoch (Wester Ross) and 11.3°C at Tain (Easter Ross). Overnight 22nd/23rd Tyndrum (Perthshire) dropped to 1.5°C. From the 24th to the 29th a southwesterly airstream brought persistently cloudy skies to most of the UK, although significant rain was confined to the north and west. Dew-points were high, and overnight minima were widely between 15 and 18°C. The sun broke through on the 30th which was a generally warm day with a high of 26.9°C at Kew Gardens (London). Thunderstorms broke out widely on the 31st; Chalfont St Giles (Bucks) collected 51mm in afternoon storms, while 32.3mm of rain fell in less than 20mins in a torrential downpour at Hampstead (London); a funnel cloud was observed at the same time. Mean temperature was within 1degC of the 1971-2000 norm in all regions, but daytime temperatures were consistently below normal (widely the lowest since 1993), while night-time temperatures were substantially above (the highest since 2004). Averaged nationally it was the wettest August only since 2004, but locally in central Scotland and Northern Ireland new records were established. Sunshine duration was the lowest in almost 130 years of records with the sole exception of August 1912. Eskdalemuir's monthly aggregate of 41h is on the face of it lower than the national August record of 44h in 1912 (also at Eskdalemuir), but the change from Campbell Stokes recorder to electronic sensor means that the two figures are not comparable.
                                                                                                                                             
                       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   20.3   -0.8   13.6   +0.8   25.4   30   08.7   23   00   00   02   08.1   15   * 097   060   1910   282   1995   104   1958   11   35.2   31   096   156   1910   184   1975   02   1995   01   00   00  
  Thorney Island   20.0   -1.7   14.5   +1.2   23.3   02   07.4   15   00   00   01   11.5   15   * 117   054   1958   303   1976   143   1968   10   08.2   09   062   136   1941   141   1960   04   1976   01   00   00  
  *Wattisham   21.1   +0.1   12.9   +1.3   23.9   31   07.3   15   00   00   01   10.9   15   * 122   064   1968   285   1995   131   2006   09   31.2   11   094   202   1960   130   2006   03   2003   03   00   00  
  *Wittering   20.7   +0.3   13.1   +1.1   24.0   30   08.7   15   00   00   01   11.0   15   116   061   1950   258   1995   090   1971   12   21.4   11   065   120   1948   162   2004   03   1983   02   00   00  
                                                                     
  Lyneham   19.0   -1.4   12.8   +0.9   21.7   30   08.4   23   00   00   01   11.4   14   * 111   056   1952   297   1995   125   1958   11   15.8   12   084   148   1945   136   1951   02   1995   02   00   00  
  Ross-on-Wye   20.4   -0.5   13.6   +1.4   24.5   30   07.2   15   00   00   05   11.0   01   126   070   1915   307   1995   107   1922   10   13.8   18   085   159   1859   202   1878   04   1936   01   00   00  
  *St Athan   18.5   -1.5   14.1   +1.6   22.7   30   09.0   15   00   00   07   09.8   14   * 089   042   1954   325   1995   133   1958   06   19.4   04   157   214   1954   202   1997   22   1955   00   00   00  
  St Mawgan   17.6   -1.4   13.5   +0.3   20.7   30   09.8   15   00   00   05   11.2   22   * 118   055   1945   323   1976   125   1958   05   14.2   11   092   150   1944   189   1958   04   1981   00   00   00  
                                                                     
  *Edgbaston   19.9   -1.0   13.2   +0.4   22.7   30   10.1   13   00   00   00   09.9   14   101   054   1887   282   1995   085   1896   10   13.8   16   094   205   1887   173   1912   06   1940   01   00   00  
  *Valley   17.8   -1.1   14.1   +1.4   20.0   30   10.9   23   00   00   06   12.3   14   * 086   042   1946   291   1976   123   1948   11   16.2   11   084   144   1941   210   1956   05   1959   00   00   00  
  *Woodford   19.4   -0.3   12.7   +1.5   23.5   06   06.6   15   00   00   04   08.4   10   * 079   046   1945   284   1995   089   1948   11   13.2   16   088   126   1942   201   1956   07   1976   01   00   00  
  *Watnall   20.2   -0.2   13.1   +1.1   22.9   06   09.0   15   00   00   02   09.8   15   105   056   1948   261   1995   098   1963   14   19.8   16   069   126   1942   154   2004   04   1995   01   00   00  
                                                                     
  *Leeming   19.7   -0.4   12.5   +1.1   22.1   06   08.4   22   00   00   03   09.4   24   * 086   051   1945   246   1995   086   1954   10   39.0   16   096   126   1945   165   1971   07   1947   01   00   00  
  *Boulmer   18.2   +0.3   12.2   +0.8   21.0   28   09.0   09   00   00   04   07.8   24   * 072   043   1945   273   1995   096   2004   11   23.8   12   115   172   1945   199   1956   03   1947   00   00   00  
  *Eskdalemuir   16.9   -0.7   11.0   +1.9   19.3   05   05.0   23   00   00   08   04.7   04   * 041   028   1911   260   1947   044   1912   03   44.4   06   225   220   1911   345   1985   01   1947   00   00   00  
  *Bishopton   18.3   -0.7   12.0   +1.5   22.3   19   05.5   23   00   00   07   11.2   04   * 068   042   1921   254   1995   085   1942   05   38.4   06   175   251   1921   213   2004   00   1947   00   00   00  
                                                                     
  *Leuchars   18.3   -0.2   11.8   +1.2   20.9   29   05.6   09   00   00   04   09.4   28   * 095   054   1922   242   1995   097   1963   11   37.2   06   159   275   1922   213   2004   07   1955   00   00   00  
  *Dyce   17.7   -0.2   11.6   +1.6   20.5   28   07.6   23   00   00   05   09.4   08   078   049   1941   257   1947   076   1963   10   23.6   18   100   149   1941   162   1962   00   1947   00   00   00  
  *Stornoway   16.5   +0.4   11.8   +1.7   19.9   18   07.7   15   00   00   04   12.4   13   132   088   1880   262   1899   065   2006   13   22.4   02   107   173   1943   203   1982   13   1947   00   00   00  
  *Aldergrove   18.1   -0.3   12.5   +1.6   22.2   09   08.4   23   00   00   06   04.9   24   * 061   041   1927   276   1976   082   1942   05   46.6   16   * 181   281   1927   161   1956   09   1947   00   00   00  
 
                                                                                                                                             
  Stations marked with an asterisk record sunshine electronically; comparisons      
  with earlier records are therefore somewhat speculative. Thorney Island's   * New lowest   * New highest  
  sunshine figures are from a nearby site.