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graphs      CLIMATE-UK.COM'S  REVIEW  OF  THE  BRITISH  METEOROLOGICAL  SCENE
     MONTHLY  SUMMARY
     No. 654       For     JUNE    2010
                             SUNNY AND MAINLY DRY;  VERY WARM AT TIMES
Text Box: For a third successive month high pressure dominated the weather over the British Isles, although there were changeable spells on the 1st, 5th-14th, and 27th-28th. Mean monthly sea-level pressure was almost uniform over the UK, with anomalies ranging from zero along the English Channel coast to +3.5mbar in northern Scotland. Fronts slipped southeastwards across the UK on the 1st, after which an anticyclone settled over the country for a few days. Low pressure returned from the 5th-9th and again on 13th/14th. The 1st was a cloudy, cool day with outbreaks of rain although western and northern districts improved during the afternoon. The next three days were mostly dry and sunny and it became warm; Norwich airport logged 16.4h bright sunshine on both the 3rd and 4th. The 5th was warm, too, with 28.0°C at Heathrow airport(London), but showers broke out widely during the day and a few of them were heavy and thundery. From the 6th until the 9th all districts were unsettled with outbreaks of rain, heavy in places, although temperatures remained close to or slightly above the seasonal average. Threave Castle (Kirkcudbrightshire) collected 36mm of rain on the 6th, and Cardinham (Cornwall) the same amount on the 7th. A stiff northeasterly wind developed during the 9th and 10th and Warcop (Cumbria) reported a gust of 49kn, the month's highest, but rain was confined to southern England on the 10th where Manston (Kent) recorded 44mm. The next two days were mostly fair, but rain spread southeastwards across most of Britain on the 13th, and there were thunderstorms over the Midlands and Yorkshire later in the day; 50mm of rain fell at Ladybower Reservoir (Derbys). A strong rise of pressure during the 14th let to the establishment of a belt of high pressure aligned SW-NE across the British Isles. Highest pressure shifted to a position west of the UK between the 18th and 20th allowing the intrusion of a cool northerly flow for a few days, but high pressure returned thereafter, although Atlantic fronts made some inroads into chiefly western and northern districts from the 27th onwards.
Text Box: From the 15th till the 17th nearly all parts of the country were dry and mostly sunny - 16.4h of bright sunshine at North Wyke (Devon) on both 16th and 17th - with cold nights and rather warm days. Early on the 17th the temperature fell to 0.2°C at Santon Downham (Norfolk), but that afternoon it reached 25.7°C at Carlisle (Cumbria). A cold front brought showery rain to much of England and Wales on the 18th, with locally heavy falls in the Welsh Marches, and the next two days were the coolest of the month with a brisk northerly airflow. There were further mostly light showers in eastern England on the 19th, and at Fylingdales (N Yorks) the day's maximum was a mere 9.8°C, while early on the 20th the mercury dipped to minus 0.1°C at Carterhouse (Roxburghshire). The last ten days of the month were generally sunny and very warm with afternoon highs typically in the mid-20s, and on the 27th Gravesend/Broadness (Kent) reached 30.9°C and Heathrow 30.6°C. Night-time temperatures were generally moderate, but the temperature fell no lower than 19.2°C at Olympic Park (London) early on the 30th. Most of the UK remained dry, but there was a little rain at times in the north and west of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and scattered showers and thunderstorms developed from the 26th onwards in other regions too. Except in northern Scotland where monthly temperatures were close to the long-term average, mean maxima were typically 1.5-2.5degC above normal, and mean minima 0.5-1.5degC above. Although this was the warmest June, averaged nationally, for just four years, there have been only eight warmer in the last 100 years. It was also the driest June overall since 2006, with percentages of 30-60 in western and northern regions, and 60-90 in the east and south. With the caveat that instrumental changes make comparisons somewhat speculative, this was probably the sunniest, averaged nationally, since June since 1996, and the ninth sunniest in the last 100 years, with as much as 312h of bright sunshine at both Jersey and Guernsey airports. However, most of northern Scotland reported a generally cloudy month.
                                                                                                                                             
                       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   21.9   +2.9   11.2   +1.3   29.6   27   06.1   20   00   00   00   12.3   03   201   121   1910   284   1957   121   1923   21   08.1   01   028   051   1910   136   1971   03   1925   00   00   00  
  Thorney Island   20.6   +1.1   11.1   +0.6   24.4   28   07.0   20   00   00   00   15.5   03   289   142   1958   311   1975   138   1990   21   18.8   10   053   134   1941   111   1971   06   1976   00   00   00  
  *Wattisham   20.6   +2.0   10.4   +1.5   28.3   27   06.3   15   00   00   02   15.9   03   217   119   1968   283   1989   141   1987   19   06.2   05   023   042   1964   125   1980   07   1976   00   00   00  
  *Wittering   20.4   +2.3   10.6   +0.8   27.5   27   05.0   02   00   00   02   15.2   16   216   114   1955   284   1976   096   1987   19   17.6   08   047   089   1955   153   1982   03   1962   01   00   00  
                                                                     
  Lyneham   20.8   +2.3   10.2   +0.9   26.3   26   05.0   20   00   00   02   14.9   16   278   146   1952   306   1957   113   1997   21   09.1   07   025   040   1945   145   1971   03   1962   00   00   00  
  Ross-on-Wye   22.1   +3.3   10.6   +0.8   27.1   26   05.6   20   00   00   02   14.6   17   253   142   1915   318   1925   117   1990   23   10.0   06   036   068   1859   165   1982   00   1925   01   00   00  
  *St Athan   19.6   +1.9   11.5   +1.5   24.7   04   07.7   02   00   00   00   15.0   25   262   132   1954   323   1957   140   1972   22   12.2   07   018   029   1954   151   1954   05   1975   00   00   00  
  Culdrose   18.9   +2.3   11.2   +1.1   22.0   18   07.8   16   00   00   00   15.0   03   305   150   1961   310   1975   133   1997   22   12.0   07   016   028   1961   130   1997   08   1962   00   00   00  
                                                                     
  *Edgbaston   20.8   +2.7   11.7   +2.2   26.5   26   07.9   15   00   00   02   13.8   16   213   143   1887   283   1957   095   1923   21   12.4   09   056   081   1887   183   2007   04   1942   01   00   00  
  *Valley   18.2   +1.6   11.2   +1.1   22.4   03   07.0   02   00   00   01   15.3   15   252   126   1946   305   1975   134   1987   20   11.6   28   030   053   1941   112   1998   01   1942   00   00   00  
  *Woodford   20.8   +2.8   09.5   +0.7   27.2   26   02.3   15   02   00   02   15.6   22   214   125   1945   285   1957   103   1987   19   10.0   07   036   054   1942   174   1987   12   1942   00   00   00  
  *Watnall   20.7   +2.6   10.7   +0.9   26.7   27   05.9   16   00   00   04   14.9   16   195   103   1948   261   1960   103   1987   20   16.6   13   050   095   1942   175   2007   08   1975   02   00   00  
                                                                     
  *Leeming   19.9   +1.9   09.5   +0.5   25.6   27   02.4   15   01   00   06   15.7   22   209   129   1945   298   1957   092   1987   20   10.6   28   048   106   1947   178   2007   09   1976   02   00   00  
  *Boulmer   16.9   +1.1   10.1   +1.7   24.2   22   05.7   15   00   00   06   15.3   22   168   104   1945   261   1957   082   2007   24   08.8   28   020   038   1945   146   1997   09   1976   01   00   00  
  *Eskdalemuir   18.7   +2.4   08.0   +1.2   24.7   05   01.5   20   02   00   02   13.1   03   140   092   1911   276   1957   082   1912   22   18.8   07   033   033   1911   260   1931   13   1992   01   00   00  
  *Bishopton   20.5   +2.9   10.0   +1.4   23.7   17   05.5   19   00   00   01   15.9   19   203   118   1921   279   1995   089   1966   21   13.8   07   039   064   1921   131   2002   10   1988   00   00   00  
                                                                     
  *Leuchars   18.5   +1.9   09.6   +1.3   25.2   22   03.1   15   03   00   03   15.2   22   188   106   1922   264   1949   075   2007   21   07.8   08   021   044   1922   138   2007   07   1940   00   00   00  
  *Dyce   16.8   +0.8   09.7   +1.9   23.5   23   04.5   15   01   00   05   10.7   28   109   067   1941   245   1970   079   2007   17   09.8   08   023   040   1941   146   1997   14   1982   00   00   00  
  *Stornoway   15.9   +1.6   10.0   +1.9   19.4   29   05.2   15   01   00   03   14.8   08   131   080   1880   278   1970   072   1984   11   05.2   12   028   040   1943   112   1994   15   1982   00   00   00  
  *Aldergrove   19.4   +2.2   10.6   +1.6   23.1   21   06.0   15   00   00   01   14.8   19   179   108   1927   287   1957   103   1980   20   14.0   30   047   066   1927   129   1980   11   1941   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.