Weather log November 2016

Daily weather log November 2016

Tue 1st overnight fog in many places. Foggy start in places then rather cloudy with a spit of drizzle in places, late sun NW Wales. For most a much cooler day, 8c cooler than yesterday parts of Midlands but still mild for SW Wales (Pembrey 15.3c, Hereford 11.6c, Market Bosworth max 9.6c)

Wed 2nd widespread ground frost and air frost in places (Swyddfynnon -3.1c, Trawsgoed -1.7c, pershore -0.5c). Sunny spells with sunshine virtually unbroken Midlands. Temperatures average to slightly cool (Pembrey 12.2c, Pershore 11.7c, Coleshill max 9.8c)

Thu 3rd widespread frost this mostly lifted WW by morning as it clouded over. Bright start Midlands then  rather cloudy, a little rain and drizzle pm WW. A rather cool day for most of the Midlands, average to rather cool WW (Pembrey 13.2c, Winterbourne 12.2c,  Shobdon 8.1c)

Fri 4th a little further rain and drizzle WW overnight, extending into parts of the Midlands. A little rain over the Midlands morning, became mostly dry with sunny spells just the odd shower, rather cool to average temps (Mumbles 12.0c, Pershore College 12.5c, Capel Curig 8.4c)

Sat 5th widespread ground frost, more local air frost, showers affecting Wales overnight (Shobdon -1.0c, Llanwnnen -0.4c). Sunny spells and a few showers with hail WW, even some snow for highest hills, with more in the way of showers Snowdonia and the tips of Pembrokeshire. Mostly dry and bright Midlands. Rather cold and breezy (Scolton Country Park 10.6c, Hereford 9.0c, Capel Curig max 6.4c).

Sun 6th showers for some overnight, a stream of showers from the north affected Pembrokeshire where some places had over an inch of rain, some wintry showers over Snowdonia. Widespread overnight frost locally sharp (Llanwnnen -5.1c, Pershore & Swyddfynnon -4.2c). Variable cloud, mostly cloudy and showery Snowdonia, generally sunny intervals with better sunny spells in places. Some showers, most affecting W Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia; rather cold/ cold and quite windy (Pembrey 10.4c, Pershore 8.7c, Coleshill max 6.4c, Milford Haven 21mm)

Mon 7th frost in places (Llanwnnen -3.3c, Trawsgoed -3.0c) still the odd shower overnight. Sunny spells and mainly dry, still some showers affecting parts of WW, chiefly Pembrokeshire. Most places quite cold, sheltered SW Wales closer to normal (Scolton Country Park, Pembs 10.8c, Coton-in-the-Elms, Notts 9.5c, Astwood Bank, Worc 9.3c, Capel Curig 7.2c)

Tue 8th widespread frost, severe at Pershore, excepting parts of WW where there were still some showers keeping going (Pershore min -6.0c and grass min -11c, Tirabad min -3.0c). Bright start Midlands clouded over, cloudy day WW with rain pm this eventually reaching the Midlands too, some snow over the Peak District. Very cold Midlands, mostly cold elsewhere but near average SW Wales (Milford Haven 10.7c, CC 5.2c, Market Bosworth 4.0c, Scolton 24.9mm)

Wed 9th wet night Midlands an inch in places and more than fell during the whole of October for some such as Coventry and Long Lawford (Aberdaron 41mm, Hereford 26.0mm, Long Lawford 17.7mm). Rain cleared E Mids am, cold E Mids, rather mild Marches and S Wales (Pembrey max 11.0c, Hereford 10.8c, Nottingham 5.5c)

From now occasional daily more pertinent notes only:

Sun 13th mostly cloudy and mild WW, sunny periods C & E Midlands where quite mild (Wellesbourne 5.9 hrs, Mumbles 13.2c, Hereford 11.5c)

Mon 14th in spite of a strong ridge of high pressure, some rain or drizzle in many places, especially Ceredigion, 7mm fell here at Llanwnnen, peak rate 34mm/ hr during a brief very heavy downpour this occurring with 1030mbar pressure! (Gogerddan 8.8mm wettest in UK). 17c reached in Aberdeenshire today

Tue 15th very mild night (minima Valley 12.8c, Shawbury 12.4c, Llanwnnen 12.0c)

Thu 17th showery, a squally trough produced an intermittent zone of damaging wind across Mid Wales late morning and then crossing Shropshire and Notts. Gust of 94mph recorded Aberystwyth RNLI station, numerous trees blown down, some roofs blown off and at Clarach Caravan Park caravans were upturned and destroyed. The experts deem this a very unusual and interesting event - see John Masons' excellent report here:
http://www.geologywales.co.uk/storms/nov-2016-downburst-mid-wales.htm

Fri 18th snow over the Peak District gave several inches in  places, a cold day, max generally 5 to 7c.

Sun 20th covering of snow over some high ground especially Brecon Beacons but also Shropshire and Peak District, a rather cold day, max generally 5 to 8c; an inch of rain parts of Midlands (Winterbourne 23mm)

Mon 21st wet day with snow over high ground of Wales; temps ranging from cold WW & the Marches to average much of Midlands. Over an inch of rain quite widely, very locally perhaps 4 inches/ 100mm, as suggested by the radar just west of Carmarthen and over parts of south Shropshire (Church Lawford 10.4c, Mumbles 6.3c, Llanwnnen 3.7c max, Whitechurch, Pembs 53.2mm, Pennerley, Salop 51.0mm)

Fri 25th virtually unbroken sunshine, mild WW after frost (Gogerddan 11.6c, Aberdaron, Llanwnnen 7.5 hrs sun)

Sat 26th a lot of cloud much of  Midlands, unbroken sunshine and excellent visibilty WW also Shropshire, we could faintly see the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland from Constitution Hill, Aberystwyth, 100 miles away, Fairly mild in the sun for WW (Porthmadog 11.4c, Aberporth 7.7 hrs, Llanwnnen 7.5 hrs sun)

Mon 28th unbroken sunshine parts of Midlands (Wellesbourne 7.4 hrs)

Tue 29th low minima and severe frost for many places. Here at Llanwnnen min -8.2c was the lowest reading since 29th December 2014 (-8.4c). Shawbury -6.8c, Capel Curig, Shobdon fell to around -6c. Unbroken sun in many areas (Aberporth 7.8 hrs) as daytime temperatures recovered towards average, although most had a rather cold day (Porthmadog 9.0c, Winterbourne 6.7c, Tirabad max 2.4c).

Wed 30th an even colder night in many places, a harsh frost indeed for November. Exceptionally low November temperatures in places, at Llanwnnen it was the coldest night since December 26th 2010 (-15.9c) and coldest in November since 30/11/10 (-11.0c). Other notable minima: Tirabad -9.7c, Shobdon -7.9c (to 0600). Another very clear sunny day, temperatures rather variable, generally on the cold side but some parts of WW a touch above average (Valley 9.7c, Trawsgoed 9.2c, Pershore 4.1c)



Nature notes

Large flocks of Fieldfare Wolvey, Warks 10th, these then also seen in WW. Wolvey, also a butterfly, probably Red Admiral flew across the field. Large flocks of Starlings also especially by dusk roost.
Fresh blooms of Red and Pink Campion in hedegrows of Ceredigion mid month, still some out towards month end.
25th Surprised to have a Pipistrelle Bat fly over my head dusk near Llanybydder, Carms.
26th Plentiful Gorse flower alongside the coast road to Aberystwyth and also some Constitution Hill, Aberystwyth where some Ox Eye Daisies also in bloom. Nice Starling roosting display at Aberystwyth pier as usual this time of year



November review

Rather cold with variable rainfall and sunshine

Below average temperature-wise.
The Midlands and parts of South Wales had a wet, locally very wet month, much of the rest of WW was on the dry side, some places only half the average, most unusual that Llanwnnen reported the lowest monthly total!
Most places attained average sunshine figures with some having a sunny month

Rainfall totals:

Valley 80.6mm 78%
Capel Curig 193.2mm 66%
Llanwnnen 69.9mm 47%
Aberporth 76.0mm 70%
Milford Haven 122.2mm
Llanelli 90.4mm
Mumbles 130.0mm 116%

Nottingham 76.4mm
Shawbury 78.8mm 129%
Hereford 112.2mm 175%
Coleshill 84.4mm
Coventry 82.4mm 140%
Long Lawford 77.9mm 126%
Church Lawford 75.4mm 125%

and sunshine:

Llanwnnen 93 hours 178%
Aberporth 73.7 hrs 117%

Shawbury 75.7 134%
Coventry 76.2 hrs 109%

Autumn 2016

Dry, quite sunny with near average temperatures

Driest Autumn since 2007 (220mm) just 62% of average.
A benign Autumn lacking storms and flooding (at least in the Lampeter area as the Aberystwyth area saw damaging winds 17th while parts of SW Wales saw bad flooding around 21st). Unusually for this Season at Llanwnnen no day had greater than an inch of rain!
No snow but severe frosts ended November, down to -11.0c 30th which was the lowest reading of any month since December 26th 2010. Marked progression from the Summer conditions of September to Winter by the end of November with a 9c drop in mean temperature at Llanwnnen over the 3 months.
The final week was very sunny accounting for 45% of the monthly total at Llanwnnen.

Autumn rainfall totals:

Llanwnnen 251.4mm 62%
Aberporth 214.8mm

Shawbury 150.2mm
Coventry 142.4mm
Long Lawford 139.1mm
Church Lawford 140.2mm

and sunshine:

Llanwnnen 307 hours 116%
Aberporth 306 hrs

Shawbury 308 hrs
Coventry 291 hrs

Weather log October 2016

Weather log October 2016

Sat 1st spells of rain some very heavy WW overnight with over an inch in places. Outbreaks of rain turned more showery during the day with sunny intervals, some torrential downpours with thunder in places although a few areas escaped largely dry. A cool day almost everywhere, locally very cool (Hereford 15.6c, Mumbles 15.4c, Shawbury max 11.1c, Capel Curig 10.9c, Aberporth 33.2mm).

Prolonged mostly dry bright spell; mostly average to rather warm by day but some night frosts:

Sun 2nd clear spells and cool overnight leading to thick fog in places and  local grass frost Mid Wales & W Midlands (Tirabad air min 0.7c, Pershore & Tirabad grass min -1c). Dry sunny day, unbroken sunshine for some, average to rather warm temps (Trawsgoed 18.1c, Northampton 18.0c, Shobdon 10.6 hrs)

Mon 3rd clear cool night,  grass frost locally inland Wales but widespread Midlands with some fog (Shobdon min 0.6c, Pershore grass min -3c). Dry with sunny periods, unbroken sunshine parts of the Midlands; generally rather warm for early October although a keen SE breeze (Porthmadog 18.6c, Pershore 17.5c)

Tue 4th clear periods but more of a breeze keeping temperatures up, only Hereford reporting a ground frost. Another dry day with sunny spells much of the Midlands, more cloud for WW and SW Midlands though but with sunny intervals. Generally rather warm again but breezy (Pershore College19.2c, Pembrey & Valley 18.5c)

Wed 5th mild breezy night. Dry and mostly sunny, a stronger east to SE wind tempered things further east; still quite warm over WW, nearer average East Midlands (Valley 19.1c, Pershore College 18.0c, Nottingham 15.6c)

Thu 6th very local grass frost overnight. Sunny spells everywhere and fairly sunny coastal WW, a cooler day but still above average in most places (Coton-in-the-Elms 16.9c, Trawsgoed 15.7c)

Fri 7th mostly cloudy with light showers in places, chiefly N Mids, generally around average but the Midlands tending to be rather cool (Whitechuch 16.4c, Nottingham 14.4c, Hereford 13.5c).

Sat 8th rather cloudy a few sunny intervals, few showers Midlands, average to rather warm (Whitechurch 17.5c, Coton-in-the-Elms 16.4c)

Sun 9th Sunny spells, mostly dry, a few light showers East Midlands, around average, locally mild (Porthmadog 16.8c, Pershore 15.9c, Nottingham 13.2c)

Mon 10th widespread ground frost, the Season's first air frost at Llanwnnen (min -2.1c). Sunny spells, cloudier afternoon, a few showers again over the East Midlands, Rather cool to average temps (Milford Haven 15.4c, Coton-in-the-Elms & Newport, Salop 14.5c, Capel Curig max 11.8c)

Tue 11th widespread ground frost with localised air frost pockets. Sunny day WW, sunny intervals Midlands, dry virtually everywhere. Around average temps, locally mild (Coton-in-the-Elms & Whitechurch 16.4c)

Wed 12th localised ground frost. Sunny spells and mostly dry WW, sunny intervals and a few showers Midlands, average to mild temperatures (Llanwnnen & Pembrey 16.6c, Newport, Salop 16.2c, Nottingham 13.2c)

Thu 13th very local ground frost, some showers N Midlands overnight. Sunny spells WW, some sunny intervals Midlands, a few showers Midlands and N Wales.  Average, locally rather mild WW, generally cool Midlands (Porthmadog 15.6c, Pershore College 13.3c, Market Bosworth 11.4c)

Fri 14th local frost WW, too much cloud for this Midlands (Llanwnnen -0.2c, Pembrey 1.9c). Mostly dry by day with sunny intervals, average to mild (Porthmadog 16.1c, Northampton 14.3c, Aberdaron 12.3c)

Changeable with some rain and heavy showers especially Wales; generally average to quite mild:

Sat 15th Showery rain in places WW overnight some of this reaching Midlands. Some sunny spells, with some rain for parts of the Midlands by evening. Average to mild (Wellesbourne 17.1c, Trawsgoed 15.1c, Aberporth 13.2c))

Sun 16th Some rain and wind for a time late night into the morning clearing to sunny intervals and showers, chiefly over WW where they became heavy and prolonged in places. Mostly dry afternoon Midlands. Average to mild again (Pershore College 17.3c, Mumbles 16.0c, Capel Curig 12.9c)

Mon 17th Sunny intervals and showers, mostly affecting WW where some were again heavy and prolonged but with much of the Midlands escaping with a generally dry day. Cooler and breezy although still quite mild in places (Newport, Salop 16.2c, Pembrey 15.5c, Llanwnnen 12.9c)

Tue 18th some showery rain night. Cooler still, rather windy but mainly dry with sunny spells once any early showery bursts of rain cleared to the east. Cool to average (Pershore 13.9c, Mumbles 13.7c, Capel Curig 10.3c)

Mostly dry and bright again, some frost and fog, around average by day:

Wed 19th very localised ground frost seemed restricted to Worcestershire. Mostly dry with sunny intervals, average to rather mild temperatures (Pershore 16.0c, Mumbles 14.3c, Aberporth 12.2c)

Thu 20th local ground frost and fog overnight. Sunny intervals and a few showers, mainly East Midlands, some areas rather cloudy. Temperatures close to average, locally mild however (Scolton Country Park, Pembs 16.0c, Pershore 15.6c, Capel Curig 12.0c)

Fri 21st local frost and fog, dense in places (Llanwnnen min -0.6c, Tirabad +0.4c, Pershore 1.4c). Any fog cleared to sunny intervals, much of SW Wales and SW Midlands quite sunny. Temps rather cool much of Midlands otherwise average to rather mild (Trawsgoed 15.3c, Pershore 15.1c, Coleshill max 12.0c)

Sat 22nd widespread ground frost and locally an air frost (Llanwnnen -1.3c, Tirabad -0.8c, Shobdon -0.4c). Lovely sunny day WW, cloud and some sunny intervals Midlands along with just a few well scattered light showers. Temperatures average to rather cool but locally rather mild WW (Whitechurch 14.9c, Shawbury 13.3c, Aberporth 8.7hrs)

Briefly more unsettled with rain in places and cooler:

Sun 23rd ground frost widespread across Mid Wales and the West Midlands. Sunny intervals WW, rather cloudy much of Midlands some places catching a light shower. Average to cool temps (Pembrey & Pershore College 13.3c, Capel Curig max 9.0c)

Mon 24th mostly cloudy with a little rain or drizzle in places, chiefly SW Wales and SW Midlands later, average to cool (Valley 12.7c, Wellesbourne 12.4c, Tirabad max 9c)

Tue 25th some rain overnight, chiefly SW Wales and SW Midlands, a milder night than of late. Mostly cloudy but a few sunny intervals and mostly dry, temps variable from rather cool Marches to rather mild much of WW (Milford Haven 15.9c, Nottingham 13.2c, Shobdon max 11.0c)

Mostly dry and mild end to month:

Wed 26th a little rain in places overnight, most stayed dry though. Dry with sunny spells, mild or very mild (Hereford 17.0c, Milford Haven 16.8c, Aberdaron 14.1c)

Thu 27th mostly dry and mild, rather cloudy but some sunny intervals in most places (Hereford 16.4c, Trawsgoed 16.0c, Capel Curig 13.0c)

Fri 28th very mild night with everywhere above 10c (min Pembrey 13.7c, Hereford 13.1c). Mostly cloudy bur sunny intervals for some areas; mild or very mild (Nottingham 17.0c, Hereford 16.9c, Milford Haven 16.0c)

Sat 29th very mild night (Valley 12.8c, Coventry 12.4c). Mild, cloudy with little wind; drizzle in places inspite of the intense anticyclone over the UK (Coleshill 14.8c, Milford Haven 14.7c, Shobdon 12.8c)

Sun 30th another very mild night (Mumbles min 12.6c, Pershore 11.9c). Another mainly cloudy mild day with the odd brighter interval (Pershore 15.3c, Pembrey 15.0c, Nottingham max 11.9c)

Mon 31st fog in places overnight, slow to clear in the morning. Very mild/ warm with sunny periods, remarkably warm for the very end of October Ceredigion, the warmest Halloween on record for Wales as Trawsgoed reached 22.2c. Much cooler where fog slow to clear as Herefordshire (Llanwnnen 19.4c, Winterbourne, B'ham 19.2c, Aberporth 19.0c, Coleshill 18.1c, Hereford max 11.2c)


October 2016 summary

Very dry and generally quite sunny; average temperatures

Looks like it was the driest October for England & Wales since 1978. Just 16.0mm fell at Coventry compared with 6.0mm in Oct 1978. there have only been 9 drier October's in the past 146 in the city.
Driest since 2007 (45mm) here at Llanwnnen, a 12 day dry spell first half of month at Llanwnnen.
Anticyclonic month, mean pressure 1022mbar - the map for October 2007 in the Climatological Observer's Link bulletin shows pressure average over 1023mbar that month.
We went firmly into Autumn after the warm September, at least we were spared the more typical rain and winds! Many places were somewhat sunnier than average, a few parts of the Midlands slightly below. Here at Llanwnnen there were a fair few frosts albeit only slight (total 5 air frost, min -2.1c). Few places elsewhere saw more than a few ground frosts though throughout the month.
The final day was remarkably warm over WW with 22.2c recorded at Trawsgoed, this similar to the reading there 1st November 2015.

October rainfall totals:

Llanwnnen 51.0mm (36%)
Aberporth 40.6mm
Pembrey 33.2mm
Mumbles 39.8mm

Long Lawford 17.3mm (31%)
Church Lawford 18.8mm
Coventry, Bablake School 16.0mm (24%)
Coleshill 19.8mm
Pershore 19.2mm
Shawbury 22.8mm
Hereford 22.2mm


Sunshine

Llanwnnen 121 hours estimated (137%)
Aberporth 129 hrs (125%)

Coventry, Bablake School 100.0 hrs (95%)
Shawbury 103 hrs (114%)


Nature notes

The mostly fine October saw some butterflies still about, especially Red Admiral during the first fortnight. Cold nights seem to have put paid to these after mid month.
First few Fieldfare and Redwing observed at Hawkesbury, Coventry 12th, these are Winter visiting Thrushes here to escape the cold of Russia and Scandinavia. Large mixed flock of these Thrushes seen near Llanwnnen 21st.
Two raven observed Alderman's Green, Coventry, don't recall seeing them in that area before.
Plenty of flowers in bloom throughout October along hedgerows and in gardens. Red Campion putting on a fine Autumn bloom, also few Foxglove, these very short compared with Summer growth having taken advantage of late Summer verge and hedge cutting. Various other not known wildflower in bloom also.
Holly berries turned red this month.

Weather log September 2016

September 2016 daily log

Unsettled start with around average temperatures:

Thu 1st mist and fog locally around dawn soon cleared to spells of hazy sunshine, quite sunny parts of the Midlands. WW clouded over afternoon with some rain in places evening, this patchy rain also affecting parts the Midlands. Average to rather warm temps (Wellesbourne 22.7c, Pershore 22.0c, Llanwnnen, Mumbles & Trawsgoed 19.9c, Capel Curig16.3c, Shobdon 10.6 hrs)

Fri 2nd occasional rain over Wales and northern Midlands overnight, mostly dry south Mids, a rather warm sticky night (Pembrey Sands min 16.1c). Rather cloudy with a little rain or drizzle in places chiefy Midlands but many places having a dry day. with a few sunny intervals.  Better sunny spells as is often the case on Anglesey (Valley 7.5 hrs sunniest in UK). Temps around average (Pershore College 21.5c, various parts of Midlands 21c, Llanwnnen 19.9c, various WW 19c).

Sat 3rd bright start Midlands then cloudy with spells of rain, some heavy in all areas, WW especially had a wet morning. Some very heavy rain affected S Wales teatime with a few claps of thunder over S Pembrokeshire. Generally rather cool and quite windy . Highs mostly 17 - 19c, Shawbury 19.5c, Trawsgoed 19.4c) Over an inch of rain parts of WW (Pembrey Sands 34mm).

Sun 4th a little rain or drizzle in places overnight. Mostly cloudy, some brighter intervals, spits of drizzle chiefly affected WW, better sunny intervals East Midlands  Temps rather cool to average (Pershore College 20.3, Milford Haven 18.9c, Aberporth 16.1c).

Mon 5th some rain in many places overnight, this heavy at times parts of Wales and SW Midlands. Mostly cloudy, spits of drizzle in places, hill fog for WW. A humid day, rather warm generally, locally warm given sunny intervals in the lee of high ground such as Shropshire and parts of the Cardigan Bay coast, cooler for some exposed misty coasts such as Llyn Peninsular (Newport, Salop 24.0c, Aberporth 22.2c, Aberdaron max 16.7c)

Mostly dry and warm with sunny spells:

Tue 6th very warm night, breaking the September record in places no doubt, here at Llanwnnen the low of 16.7c equalled the highest minimum set 11/09/2011 (Shawbury min 18.8c, Trawsgoed 18.4c). Another warm and humid day, rather cloudy, a few sunny intervals, especially Midlands (Coleshill 25.6c, Trawsgoed 23.5c, Aberdaron 17.5c)

Wed 7th Warm night Midlands and parts of Wales (Nottingham min 18.1c, Mona 17.4c). Sunny spells, rather cloudy at times Midlands though. Warm or very warm (Llanwnnen 26.3c, Gogerddan 25.9c, Sutton Bonington 24.8c)

Thu 8th Some rain Wales overnight, few spots NW Midlands too. Cooler/ less warm fresher day, sunny intervals, a few showers for WW (Church Lawford 21.7c, Trawsgoed 19.2c)

Unsettled and cooler:

Fri 9th Rather cloudy, sunny intervals and a few showers, especially for WW. Windy, gales for exposed places WW.  Rain some heavy for WW evening. Quite warm Midlands (Wellesbourne 22.9c, Mumbles 19.8c, Aberdaron 17.3c)

Sat 10th Rain spread east to Midlands overnight, heavy in places. Warm night Midlands, being significantly warmer in the early hours than it was afternoon (e.g. Church Lawford 18.3c 0200 and only 14.3c 1400). Cloudy day with occasional rain or drizzle Midlands, mostly dry with sunny spells WW (Milford Haven 19.0c, Hereford 17.4c, Aberporth 15.9c)

Sun 11th Cool night, close to a grass frost very locally (min Llanwnnen 2.7c, Shobdon & Swyddffynnon 5.1c), also local mist and fog patches. Dry with sunny spells, and quite sunny much of Midlands and coastal Wales. Average to rather warm temps (Pershore College 20.3c, Mumbles 19.0c, Aberdaron 16.9c, Wellesbourne, Nottingham 10.4 hours sun)

Warm to hot spell mid month:

Mon 12th very mild night much of Wales in particular (Mumbles 16.4c min). Warm, humid but quite windy day, drizzle affecting WW at times where it was largely cloudy with some heavier bursts Pembrokeshire; mostly dry with sunny intervals Midlands (Pershore College 24.6c, Trawsgoed 23.0c, Aberdaron 18.9c)

Tue 13th mild to warm night (Mumbles & Pembrey min 17.5c, Nottingham 14.6c). WW some rain for a time, heavy in places, then brightening but with further showers, heavy in places. Western and northern coasts of WW remained mostly cloudy and much cooler. Hill and likely sea fog at times for Wales too, especially evening. Heavy downpours and thunderstorms affected the West Midands afternoon giving over an inch in some spots, for much of the Midlands though dry and hot with sunny periods (Northampton 30.3c, Nottingham 29.2c, Llanwnnen 22.7c, Pembrey 22.6c, Aberdaron max 15.8c). Gravesend, Kent reached 34.4c today - the hottest in the UK during September since 1911 and the highest reading recorded so late in the year!

Wed 14th mist and fog in places overnight, generally a very mild night. Very warm even hot with sunny periods, another day that late Season temperature records were broken. Llanwnnen reached 26.9c, this the warmest September day SRB 2006, the previous high being 25.6c 29/9/11, it went up further that Autumn to 26.4c 1st October! Interestingly today's temperature has not been bettered here even in August (highest being the same 10/8/12) an indication of the run of rather poor August's over the past decade. Other notable highs today were Porthmadog 28.3c, Church Lawford 27.6c, Trawsgoed 27.2c, Aberdaron 25.1c, all stations getting above 23c.

Thu 15th mist and fog quite widespread overnight, this slow to clear many areas, some places it stuck until after midday. Spells of hazy sunshine most places, WW average to warm, much of the Midlands very warm (Coton-in-the-Elms 26.4c, Astwood Bank 25.7c, Mumbles 23.4c, Valley 16.9c). 

Cooler/ less warm but often dry:

Fri 16th thundery showers affected parts of the Midlands late in the night, very mild night Midlands in particular (CL min 15.6c). Further showery rain over the Midlands Friday morning, not clearing the East until early afternoon. For much of the W Midlands and Wales mostly dry with sunny spells, much cooler and fresher with winds from the NW (Pershore 20.4c, Pembrey 17.8c, Aberporth max 15.7c, Northampton 20.6mm)

Sat 17th a little light rain and drizzle over the East Midlands overnight elsewhere most places dry. Dry and bright with sunny spells, quite sunny Marches, in contrast East Midlands remained cloudy. Temps rather cool to average generally but decidedly cool for the overcast E Midlands (Hereford 20.1c, Pembrey 18.9c, Aberporth & CL 15.5c, Northampton max 14.9c)

Sun 18th fog in places overnight which was cooler (Trawscoed 4.4c, Shobdon 5.7c). Generally dry and bright with sunny spells Midlands. Average to rather warm (Coleshill 20.7c, Mumbles 19.8c)

Mon 19th Some rain Wales overnight reached W Mids by dawn. Any drizzle cleared WW am, much of the Midlands had a dull day with spells of rain and drizzle. Wales and later Marches brightened. Mostly cool, especially E Mids (Porthmadog 18.4c, Hereford 17.4c, Coleshill 15.2c, Aberdaron 14.8c)

Tue 20th Cloud and sunny intervals, generally a dry day, temps around average, some spots quite warm (Coton-in-the-Elms 20.1c, Astwood Bank 19.6c, Church Lawford 18.8c, Llanwnnen 18.7c, Aberporth max 15.3c)

Wed 21st Cloud and some sunny intervals, a few showers. Around average temps, warm locally Midlands, rather cool parts of WW (Pershore College 21.0c, Trawsgoed 18.3c, Aberdaron 15.3c)

Thu 22nd Dry after a little early rain, sunny spells, cool to average (Pershore College 19.2c, Mumbles 17.4c, Capel Curig 14.1c)

Fri 23rd Mostly dry with sunny spells, the odd shower, average to rather warm (Pershore College 19.3c, Mumbles 19c, Aberdaron 16.2c)

Sat 24th Mostly cloudy, early sunny intervals Midlands, rather windy and rather warm/ warm (Wellesbourne 21.9c, Trawsgoed 20.7c)

Unsettled end to month

Sun 25th Sunny spells and showers, cool to average (Pershore College 19.3c, Valley 16.5c, Capel Curig 13.9c)

Mon 26th Generally  cool with spells of rain which cleared pm (Valley 16.6c, Pershore 16.3c, Nottingham 14.0c, Porthmadog 24.2mm)

Tue 27th Cloud and some drizzle especially WW, sunny intervals later. Average to warm (Hereford 21.6c, Llanwnnen  19.1c, Aberdaron 16.5c)

Wed 28th warm to very warm with spells of hazy sunshine Midlands, mostly cloudy with a little drizzle WW where average to rather warm temps (Northampton 23.8c, Trawsgoed 18.7c)

Thu 29th rain overnight especially WW, warm night Midlands (Pershore min 15.4c). Sunny spells and a few showers, temperatures around average, locally fairly warm (Pershore 19.3c, Pembrey 17.1c, Capel Curig 13.7c)

Fri 30th showers in places, especially parts of Wales where they were heavy and prolonged, much of Midlands dry with sunny periods. Rather cool to average temps (Hereford 17.6c, Mumbles 16.3c, Capel Curig 13.4c)


September summary

Warm but  quite dull; rather wet WW, rather dry Midlands

The Midlands had one of the warmest Septembers on record, the warmest in the Central England Temperature series being 2006, 2016 being 4th warmest in the past 350 years. Warm but not as warm for Wales, here at Llanwnnen it was the warmest since 2011, while Sept 2014 saw higher mean maxima (20.0c against 18.8c this year). 

It was a rather dull month virtually everywhere, only a few spots attaining average September sunshine levels. 

Rainfall-wise, much of WW on the wet side, conversely most of the Midlands somewhat drier than average

Rainfall totals:

Capel Curig 208.8mm 100%
Valley 88.2mm 123%
Llanwnnen 130.5mm 115%
Aberporth 98.2mm 139%
Pembrey Sands 143.6mm 184%
Llanelli 139.7mm

Nottingham 35.6mm
Shawbury 48.6mm 85%
Coleshill 52.4mm 85%
Long Lawford 43.9mm 79%
Church Lawford 46.2mm
Coventry, Bablake School 44.0mm 74%

and Sunshine:


Valley 129 hours 98%
Llanwnnen 93 hrs 75%
Aberporth 103.4 hrs 73%

Nottingham 122.6 hours
Shawbury 129.2 hrs 110%
Coventry 115 hrs 84%


Nature notes

Spent 5 days in Coventry early in the month, not one House Martin or Swallow sighting, came back they were still quite plentiful mid month about Ceredigion, especially the latter. 

A few Chiffchaff heard back in song in the Coventry area as well as around Llanwnnen early in the month, they often give little (albeit more subdued) bursts even as late as the beginning of October ahead or during their passage back to Africa. 

A 'Yaffle' heard at Alderman's Green, Coventry early in the month, a bird rarely if ever seen in West Wales (answers on a postcard please!). One then spotted near Coombe Park, Warks late month.

A few House Martin over Coventry toward month end, also a few Swallow sighted to late month they may well be migrating at this stage. No further Hirundines spotted back home after the 26th.

Weather log August 2016

Changeable start with some rain but also some rather warm sunny intervals (especially Midlands):

Mon 1st dull and very cool with spells of rain WW, very wet much of SW Wales where some places had two inches. Anglesey mostly dry and nearer average. Midlands dry until late on with nearer average temps away from a cool SW Mids (Tirabad max 14.6c, Llanwnnen 14.9c, Valley 17.7c, Nottingham 19.4c, Church Lawford 19.2c, Mumbles 52.0mm, Pembrey 47.4mm, Milford Haven 38.6mm, Mona 0.4mm)

Tue 2nd cloudy and humid with bits and pieces of rain and drizzle, temps around average away from NW Wales which was still cool (Pershore College 22.7c, Trawsgoed 19.9c, Llanwnnen 19.3c Aberdaron 15.7c)

Wed 3rd warm night especially Midlands (min Pershore 17.0c, Church Lawford min 16.9c, Pembrey 16.6c). Quite a windy day with sunny intervals and a few showers, temps close to average (Church Lawford 22.2c, Pershore College 22.1c, Pembrey 18.9c)

Thu 4th sunny intervals and scattered showers, these very heavy in places, Long Lawford caught 14.1mm, most of which in just one hour late afternoon, nearby Church Lawford just 1.2mm. Temps again near average (Wellesbourne 22.3c, Pembrey 19.7c)

Fri 5th mostly dry with sunny spells and a few well scattered showers, fairly sunny day parts of Midlands; majority stayed dry. Temps around average so generally feeling quite warm (Hereford 23.7c, Llanwnnen 21.1c).

Sat 6th rather warm and humid with some sun WW for a time but  drizzle in places later; Midlands dry, warm and mostly sunny (Hereford 25.5c, CL 25.3c, Trawsgoed 22.0c, Aberporth 21.8c, Wellesbourne 13.5 hrs)

Sun 7th warm night especially so Midlands (CL min 18.4c, Pembrey 16.5c, Wellesbourne 13.5c hrs). Quite windy a windy day: sunny intervals WW after some early drizzle in places, temps near average to rather cool; Midlands another rather sunny and rather warm day if quite windy (CL 23.6c, Llanwnnen 20.3c)

Cooler towards mid month, often dry but some rain or showers:

Mon 8th mostly dry with sunny spells, just a few isolated showers affecting less than 10% of places. Anglesey having quite a sunny day. A cooler day generally with the NW breeze (Hereford 21.4c, Milford Haven 19.3c, Aberporth 16.1c, Valley 9.8 hrs)

Tue 9th cool night (Shobdon min 5.0c, Tirabad 5.2c). Mostly dry with sunny spells again, some showers mostly over North Wales/ North Midlands. Cool or rather cool and breezy (Pershore 20.6c, Nottingham 17.3c, Capel Curig 14.0c)

Wed 10th rather cloudy and cool with a little light rain or drizzle WW, the south coast saw a few sunny intervals and near average temps; Midlands mostly dry with a few sunny intervals but below average temps (Sutton Bonington & Wellesbourne 20.0c, Mumbles 19.2c, Aberdaron 14.4c)

Thu 11th some rain or drizzle parts of N Wales and  Mids overnight. Rather cloudy with a few sunny intervals by day which was generally dry, temps variable from cool to fairly warm locally (Shawbury 22.7c, Llanwnnen 19.8c, Trawsgoed 16.4c)

Fri 12th warm sunny periods for much of the Midlands, only the Marches seeing more in the way of cloud pm, in contrast mostly cloudy for much of WW (Anglesey decent sunny spells though) which kept temps generally below average. Some rain for NW Wales late in the day (Wellesbourne 25.6c, CL 24.8c, Mumbles 18.9c, Capel Curig 15.4c, Wellesbourne 11.9 hrs)

Sat 13th mild to warm  with night some rain in places, chiefly NW Wales (Hereford min 16.8c, Mumbles & Pembrey 16.3c). Mostly dry with sunny intervals, temps around or rather below average (Pershore College 23.5c, Pembrey 20.2c, Aberporth 17.0c)

Sun 14th a lot of cloud and a few sunny intervals. Fairly warm in best of any sun but generally below average temps, little wind (Pershore 21.7c, Milford Haven 20.1c, Aberporth 16.9c, Capel Curig 16.8c)

Short warm/ very warm spell with sunny periods mid month:

Mon 15th cool night (Shobdon 5.5c, Capel Curig 5.5c). Warm sunny day, locally very warm (Llanwnnen 25.9c, Coton-in-the-Elms 25.1c, Coleshill 25.0c,Trawsgoed 24.4c, Valley 13.7 hrs)

Tue 16th warm or very warm with virtually unbroken sunshine (Llanwnnen 26.7c, Porthmadog 26.0c, Trawsgoed 25.0c, Aberporth 24.9c, Hereford 24.8c, Nottingham & Shobdon 13.5 hrs)

Wed 17th warm or very warm with sunny periods, WW though became rather cloudy (Pershore 25.8c, Llanwnnen 23.3c, Valley 23.0c)

Thu 18th warm or very warm and humid; rather cloudy much of WW, sunny spells Midlands (Pershore College 25.9c, Trawsgoed 23.8c, Aberporth 19.9c)

Unsettled with rain at times for a while:

Fri 19th occasional rain or showers, heavy in places, brightened to sunny intervals later, cooler than of late especially so East Midlands; rather windy WW pm (Hereford 21.0c, Mumblers 20.3c, Nottingham 16.8c)

Sat 20th showers or longer spells of rain, very heavy over parts of Wales in particular, Snowdonia may well have had over 100mm according to the radar accumulation feature. Strong winds with storm force gusts for exposed parts of Wales (Aberdaron 62mph). Generally rather cool with a lot of cloud (Newport, Salop 20.9c, Valley 18.3c, Tirabad max 14.6c, Capel Curig 58.0mm)

Sun 21st sunny intervals at first but rain and drizzle spread east, some heavy over parts of Mid and North Wales but with little for much of the Midlands. WW rather cool, Midlands close to average (Coleshill 21.7c, Llanwnnen 18.8c, Capel Curig 15.9c)

Mon 22nd warm night with some rain or drizzle in many areas (Hereford, Pembrey & Trawsgoed min 17.1c). This mornings radar suggests up to 100mm in the hills just north of Barmouth past 24 hours. Cloudy with occasional rain and drizzle WW, Midlands mainly cloudy but mostly dry just the odd spit. Humid, supressed maxima WW Wales, warm Midlands where there were a few sunny intervals (Coleshill 24.3c, Trawsgoed 19.4c, various Welsh stations max 17.1c, Capel Curig 44mm)

Briefly very warm/ hot with plentiful sunshine:

Tue 23rd dry with plenty of sunshine, warm to very warm for WW, but a hot day over the Midlands (Wellesbourne 30.0c, Pershore 29.6c, Llanwnnen & Trawsgoed 26.3c)

Wed 24th variable cloud, sunny spells for most, and fairly sunny parts of East Midlands and NW Wales, while Herefordshire had a rather cloudy day. Very warm for the Midlands away from the Marches, WW broadly about average, but rather warm south coast. A little rain in places for Central and East Midlands late afternoon into the evening (Northampton 28.3c, CL 27.4c, Mumbles 22.8c, Aberporth 17.2c).

Mixed but generally rather warm and bright end to the month:

Thu 25th further rain crossed the Midlands overnight. Mostly cloudy day with some showery rain breaking out especially pm, some area stayed dry however. Temperatures generally about average, rather cool NW Midlands where it was a damp day, rather warm locally elsewhere (Northampton 22.7c, Llanwnnen 21.1c, Shawbury 18.1c, Aberdaron 17.4c)

Fri 26th rain cleared Midlands early hours to a much cooler night out west (Llanwnnen 6.9c, Shobdon 9.1c). Dry with sunny periods, average to rather warm, sunshine virtually unbroken over the East and South Midlands as well as Anglesey (Pershore College 23.4c, Llanwnnen 21.6c, Capel Curig 16.7c, Wellesbourne 11.6 hrs).

Sat 27th clear cool night away from exposed coasts and the SE Midlands where it clouded over (Llanwnnen 3.7c, Tirabad 3.8c, Shobdon 4.9c). Rather cloudy, the odd sunny interval, average to rather warm temps, better sunny spells for NW Wales though (Porthmadog 23.7c,Llanwnnen 22.7c, Wellesbourne 23.1c). Only the odd shower over WW, for the Midlands however, plenty of thunderstorms and torrential dowpours during the afternoon, localised flooding in places, there was large hail in places too. Officially Church Lawford wettest in the UK with 31.8mm, all of which fell in less than 3 hours, from private stations 33.8mm at nearby Long Lawford and 39.1mm near Stratford-upon-Avon, some places inc Birmingham escaped with very little rain. Thunder was continuous for over an hour at Long Lawford mid afternoon

Rainfall accumulations from radar Sat 27th Aug 2016

22000 lightning strikes Sat 27th Aug 2016

Sun 28th mild to warm night with a few showers about, although NW Wales saw prolonged heavy and thundery showers (Capel Curig 33mm). Sunny intervals and a few showers, locally heavy in places, average to warm temps (Shobdon 24.1c, Llanwnnen 22.7c, Aberdaron 17.2c, Hereford 16mm)

Mon 29th after a foggy start in places (like Llanwnnen) a fine Bank Holiday, dry with warm sunny spells, indeed for many a mostly sunny day (Pershore 23.8c, Llanwnnen 22.2c, Milford Haven 21.2c, Shawbury 11.9 hrs)

Tue 30th WW cloudy to sunny spells, Midlands had a mostly sunny day, warm away from exposed coasts where it remained mostly cloudy (Wellesbourne 24.8c, Trawsgoed 22.4c, Capel Cyrig 16.5c)

Wed 31st cloudy for a time as a weak front passed though, this giving a little rain and drizzle to WW at first, sunny spells at some stage everywhere. Average to rather warm temps (Pershore 23.8c, Llanwnnen 20.4c)



Nature notes

Last Swifts seen mid month, my latest observation being a pair over Coventry dusk of the 14th, I spotted some above Llanwnnen a few days previously then none since my return 20th though.

Lots of Cabbage or Large White Butterfly late month, other spp. inc Peacock, Red Admiral, Large Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood but not as prolific

Plenty of Dragonfly observed throughout the month, very few wasps other than the thriving colony at my Aunts in Coventry!



August 2016 summary: Changeable but rather warm

Midlands and Anglesey sunshine around average, but for much of WW, particularly inland locations, it was the third dull month of a very dull Summer!  Most places below to average rainfall, locally wet. It was though a reasonably warm Summer month somewhat making amends for the poor July.

Some rainfall totals:

Llanwnnen 65.1mm 60%
Trawsgoed c. 74mm 85%
Mumbles c. 85mm 101%
Llanelli 92mm
Pembrey Sands 87.4mm 97%
Capel Curig 210mm plus
Valley 60.2mm


Long Lawford 86.0mm 125%
Church Lawford c. 72mm 116%
Coventry, Bablake School 45.4mm 64%
Coleshill 47.2mm
Nottingham 68.2mm
Shawbury 42.8mm
Hereford 44.6mm 94%
Pershore 49.4mm
Little Rissington c. 33mm 58%

and sunshine:

Llanwnnen 120 hours (73%) estimated from webcam capture
Valley 167.7 hours 100%

Coventry, Bablake School 180 hours
Shawbury 175.2 hours 109%


Summer 2016 summary:  quite warm; sunshine below average with WW disappointingly dull; rainfall variable from quite dry to wet

Both June and August saw slightly above average temperatures making this a rather warm Summer. Sunshine below average virtually everywhere this Summer. Rainfall was variable even between places quite close to each other, some places having a dry Summer others a wet one. this illustrated by the 74% of average at Llanwnnen cf 137% at Trawsgoed less than 20 miles away, Snowdonia even wetter.


Rainfall totals:

Llanwnnen 204.6mm 74%
Pembrey Sands 271.0mm 113%
Trawsgoed c. 339mm 137%
Capel Curig 633mm 138%

Long Lawford 170.4mm 97%
Church Lawford c. 168mm 95%
Coventry, Bablake School 162.8mm 84%
Nottingham 248mm 135%
Coleshill 167mm
Hereford 108.2mm 79%
Little Rissington c. 125mm 74%

and sunshine:

Llanwnnen 353 hours 70%
Valley 524 hours 87%

Coventry 493 hours
Shawbury 456 hours

Weather log July 2016

Cool but often dry start to the month:

Fri 1st sunny intervals and a few showers,  cool and breezy. Thunder occurred near Montgomery (east of Offa's Dyke) and over parts of the North Midlands (chiefly around Derby and Nottingham (Pershore 19.6c, Llanwnnen 17.1c)

Sat 2nd rather cool, sunny intervals and a few showers, many places essentially dry. Parts of  Glos, Northants and the far North Midlands had thunder with the showers (Pershore 19.7c, Llanwnnen 18.1c, Aberdaron 15.2c)

Sun 3rd dry with sunny spells, temperatures up close to average away from western coasts which is reasonably warm. Cardigan Bay and the Marches had a sunny day, Aberporth had 15.1 hours bright sunshine compared with an estmated 6.5 hours here 10 miles inland (Hereford 22.4c warmest in UK, Llanwnnen 18.9c, Aberdaron 15.5c)

Mon 4th surprisingly cool night, close to grass frost Mid Wales and the Marches, the Llanwnnen air min being 2.2c, I did n't expect it so cool and so did n't put a sensor on the lawn, but a grass frost was quite likely! Coldest place officially was Tirabad, near Llandovery, min 2.8c, while Shobdon (Herefordshire) fell to 0c on the grass. Last year some places did have a July ground frost, on the 31st the air min was just +0.7c here at Llanwnnen with ground frost witnessed. Bright morning Midlands but jones WW with cloud pm with a little rain or drizzle over WW and later North Mids. Temps near or below average which is 18 -22c now at this the warmest time of year (Pershore College 21.1c, Aberporth 19.5c)

Tue 5th WW little rain overnight, mainly dry Midlands. Dry with sunny spells, most places rather cool but felt pleasant in the sun, South Mids near normal (Pershore 20.8c, Swyddfynnon 14.9c)

Wed 6th cool night (Llanwnnen 3.7c, Tirabad 4.5c). Generally dry with sunny intervals, near or below average temps  (Coventry 21.0c, Llanwnnen 19.8c, Capel Curig 15.4c)

Unsettled but generally warmer and quite humid for a time:

Thu 7th generally cloudy, light rain and drizzle at times, particularly WW with some heavy over Snowdonia (Capel Curig 28mm), parts of Midlands mostly dry with a few sunny intervals. Cool WW, nearer normal Midlands and quite humid (Little Rissington 20.9c, Aberporth 17.4c, Aberdaron max 14.7c)

Fri 8th rain at times overnight, only small amounts much of the Midlands, rather warm night (Pershore 15.5c, Pembrey 15.2c min). Dry day with some sunny intervals, temps near normal but a few spots fairly warm (Pershore 23.2c, Llanwnnen 21.4c, Trawsgoed 18.8c)

Sat 9th rather a warm humid night with some rain, especially over NW Wales and North Mids (min Pershore 16.0c, Mumbles 15.6c). Some heavy rain for Mid and North Wales and the Midlands morning, mostly dry and rather warm afternoon Mids, still cloudy with a little rain or drizzle WW and further rain here evening. Snowdonia saw high rainfall totals today, radar suggesting over 4 inches locally (Wellesbourne 23.6c, Trawsgoed 19.8c, Aberdaron 15.0c, Capel Curig 67mm wettest in UK)

Sun 10th warm night a little rain in places. Warmest night so far this year here at Llanwnnen, min 14.9c (Pershore 17.1c, Trawsgoed, Pembrey & Mumbles 15.7c). Mostly cloudy WW with occasional rain or showers, heavy in places, some showers for Midlands but many places stayed dry with sunny intervals. Temps close to average, wetter parts of WW cool though, parts of the Midlands rather warm and bright (Wellesbourne 22.8c, Trawsgoed 19.9c, Capel Curig 15.4c)

Mon 11th another very mild night (Nottingham 15.1c, Pembrey 15.0c) with occasional rain or drizzle, mostly WW, with Snowdonia having more heavy rain (Capel Curig 42mm 12 hours). Any lingering rain cleared morning leaving just the odd shower, much cloud but some sunny intervals. Cool to average temps (Pershore Collesge 21.9c, Capel Curig 14.8c, Pennerley, Salop max 13.9c)

Cool down, some rain Wales, Midlands often dry:

Tue 12th showers in places overnight, longer spells of rain, some heavy parts of North Wales into Shropshire. Rather cloudy, a few sunny intervals,  showers becoming restricted to the Midlands during the day, as ever with showers some places stayed dry all day. Cool or very cool (Hereford 18.9c, Mumbles 18.0c, Capel Curig & Coleshill max 14.9c, Pennerley 12.9c). It was the coolest day of the July to date here at Llanwnnen (max 15.7c)

Wed 13th cooler night (Shawbury & Shobdon 6.1c, Llanwnnen 6.3c). Sunny intervals and a few showers, temps still generally below average, especially close to Cardigan Bay with the NW breeze off the sea (Pershore 19.6c, Pembrey 18.3c, Swyddfynnon 15.3c, Pennerley 15.2c)

Thu 14th few showers overnight in places, a dry day with sunny spells, most places rather cool, decidedly so again for Cardigan Bay, while some sheltered areas scraped average (Pershore 21.7c, Pembrey 18.8c, Aberporth 15.3c)

Fri 15th mostly cloudy with a little rain or drizzle, this chiefly affecting WW, some heavier bursts over NW Wales for a time. Although we were in a rather warm humid airmass the cloud and moisture supressed temps and for much of WW another cool day, except where brief sunny intervals occurred as at Aberporth (Pershore College 22.1c, Aberporth 18.6c, Aberdaron 15.7c, Portmadog 16.4mm)


Sat 16th warm night (Notttingham min 17.2c, Trawsgoed 16.7c, Aberdaron 13.6c). Cloudy and generally cool day WW with some rain and drizzle, Midlands warm with some sunny intervals but drizzle in places evening (Coleshill 24.5c, Aberporth 18.8c, Aberdaron 14.9c)

Warmed up with brief hot interlude, plenty of sunshine:

Sun 17th warm night, less so N Wales & N Mids; a little rain or drizzle in places, an area of heavier inland from Aberysywyth (Coleshill min 17.0c, Mumbles 16.0c, Llanwnnen 15.8c was the warmest night so far this Summer, Trawsgoed 16mm rain overnight). Rather warm and humid day for many, best of the sunshine Midlands and Anglesey, with parts of WW still cool and  rather cloudy (Wellesbourne 26.7c, Llanwnnen 23.6c, Trawsgoed 20.6c, Aberdaron max 14.8c, Shawbury 13.3 hrs)

Mon 18th very warm, locally hot, and humid with sunny periods (Llanwnnen 28.3c, Hereford 28.0c, Trawsgoed 25.5c, Valley 19.3c)

Tue 19th a sudden heatwave for a day! Widely very hot, some places having the hottest day for 10 years. Here at Llanwnnen it reached 32.6c the second highest temperature recorded here and coincidentally the hottest day for exactly a decade (33.6c 19th July 2006)! Numerous places even on the coast exceeded 30c today, highest of all in our regions being Pershore 33.4c, while St Helier was hottest in the British Isles at 35.2c (Porthmadog 32.4c, Valley 32.2c, Gogerddan 31.8c, Trawsgoed 31.7c, Hereford 32.7c, Coventry 31.8c)

Wed 20th: Exceptionally warm night particularly for the Midlands where manty places remained above 20c. Coventry minimum 21.1c (70f) had its warmest night in a record stretching back to 1892, while the Llanwnnen min 17.5c was the warmest night in the 11 years we have lived here (17.2c 18th Aug 2012). Other notable minima, Coleshill & Pershore 21.3c,Trawsgoed 18.0c. Much of WW had a thunderstorm or at least saw lightning during the night, Gwynedd and Anglesey particularly affected with frequent lightning and torrential downpours (Aberdaron 21mm, 15.4mm of which in the hour to 0500 GMT). Storms cleared N Wales early in the day, much cooler but still generally warm with some sunny spells WW, still hot with sunny periods Midlands, a few showers and thunderstorms late afternoon here (Wellesbourne 30.3c, Coleshill & Pershore 29.9c, Llanwnnen 26.2c, Trawsgoed 21.9c)

Thu 21st cloud and sunny intervals, a few showers, although a more general area of light rain affected the south and east Midlands evening. Temps average to rather warm (CL 23.7c, Llanwnnen 20.8c, RAF Mona 20.2c)

Fri 22nd mostly dry, sunny intervals, alot of cloud though WW. A few showers, many places stayed dry and it was generally warm and very warm parts of the Midlands where there were better sunny periods (Winterbourne, B'ham 26.5c, Llanwnnen 23.9c, Mumbles & Trawsgoed 21.6c)

Sat 23rd dry with some sunny intervals WW, quite a sunny day much of the Midlands . Average temps, locally rather warm WW; warm to very warm Midlands (Northampton 27.2c, Church Lawford 26.8c, Llanwnnen 22.4c, Aberdaron 17.3c, Wellesbourne 11.7 hrs)

More unsettled, some rain or showers, especially Wales; temps dropped to around average Midlands, and often rather cool WW

Sun 24th bright start Midlands but a rather cloudy day with a some rain and drizzle especially WW and very little if any much of Midlands. Temps close to average only NW Wales having a cool day (Wellesbourne 22.9c, Church Lawford & Nottingham 22.3c, Llanwnnen 20.2c, Aberporth 19.4c)

Mon 25th rather cloudy again, bits and pieces of rain or drizzle over Wales, but most of the Midlands essentially dry again with sunny intervals. Temps near or rather below average (Pershore College 22.4c, Llanwnnen 19.4c, Capel Curig 15.9c)

Tue 26th cloudy with a little rain and drizzle WW, a few sunny intervals Midlands and mostly dry here again. Only slightly below average temperatures Midlands, cool for most of WW (Pershore College 21.7c, Llanwnnen & Pembrey 18.4c, Capel Curig 15.9c)

Wed 27th rather warm with rain at times in many areas overnight, some places though mostly dry (Pembrey & Pershore min 16.4c, overnight rain Trawsgoed 13mm, Shobdon 0mm).  Any patchy rain and drizzle cleared by lunchtime to sunny intervals, Midlands a rather warm humid day in contrast to a rather cool and fresher WW (away from south coast) with a NW breeze (Hereford 23.7c, Mumbles 20.4c, Aberporth 16.6c, Gogerddan 15.8mm)

Thu 28th occasional rain WW morning spread east to Midlands where it was mostly light and patchy afternoon although a few places caught a heavy shower or thunderstorm later as well as some sunny intervals. One storm tracked through Warwick and Leamington Spa giving 16mm in just 20 minutes at teatime (Facebook reports), the radar suggesting it gave over an inch as it progressed into Northants. Temps around average and so felt reasonably warm in any sun (Pershore 23.4c, Llanwnnen 21.3c, Aberporth 20.3c)

Fri 29th rather cloudy and quite cool most of WW with a few light showers, Cardigan Bay especially cool while proved the exception Anglesey with decent sunny spells. Sunny intervals and aome showers Midlands where temperatures were average to warm (Pershore College 24.4c, Church Lawford 23.5c, Milford Haven 18.7c, Aberdaron 16.2c. Swyddfynnon 15.9c max, Valley 9 hrs sun)

Sat 30th a cool night for Mid Wales and the Marches (Shobdon & Tirabad 6.6c, Llanwnnen 7.5c). Early local fog patches (inc Llanwnnen) cleared to sunny spells, just the odd isolated shower, most places having a dry day. Temperatures ranging from rather cool to average (Pershore 21.6c, Milford Haven 20.4c, Aberporth 17.0c)

Sun 31st cool night (Llanwnnen 5.7c, Pembrey 6.2c, Shobdon 6.7c). Cloud and sunny intervals most places dry. Temps around average so feeling warm in the sunshine (Hereford 22.4c, Pembrey 19.8c, Llanwnnen 19.6c, Aberporth 16.6c)

July summary

Headline: generally rather dry with temperatures around average; dull WW, near average sun Midlands

The first half of July was decidedly dull and cool, in fact the month ended up a very dull one for WW but closer to average for the Midlands. Only 2 days were truly sunny here at Llanwnnen all month (with at least 10 hours of a possible 15) and the total sunshine amounted just over half the July average.

Warmed up considerably second half with a brief hot spell, although the Midlands remained very warm for the best part of a week. Many places had the hottest day for a decade on the 19th as temperatures topped 32c in places.

Most places below average rain-wise, although NW Wales wet, locally very wet, parts of the Midlands on the other hand had a very dry month. A peculiarity of the month here at Llanwnnen was that although the total was only % of average it fell on 21 days usually in small amounts and so the grass was often too wet to cut even though much of a day may have been dry, the lack of sunshine not permitting the usual Summer evapotranspiration rate.

Some rainfall totals:

Valley 62.6mm 115%

Capel Curig 245.8mm 171%

Trawsgoed c. 95mm

Llanwnnen 52.9mm 52%

Aberporth c. 50mm

Pembrey Sands 38.4mm 52%

Nottingham 41.2mm 

Coleshill 15.4mm 31%

Coventry, Bablake School 17.0mm 29%

Long Lawford 18.2mm 33%

Church Lawford 18.6mm 31%

Hereford 3.4mm 8%

Little Rissinghton c. 17mm

and sunshine:

Valley 149.1 hrs 85%

Llanwnnen 106 hrs 59%

Shawbury 154.5 hrs 93%

Nottingham 170.1 hrs

Coventry, Bablake School 182.1 hrs 91%

June 2016 addendum

Halesowen, West Midlands, a station in the Climatological Observer's Link (COL) bulletin for June 2016 had 221.6mm total rainfall 364% of the average! This even more than at Harbourne, B'ham which as noted in the June blog had 188mm. 

Nature notes

Mid month: bird song as is typical as we progress through Summer had died down considerably early in July, just a smattering of Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Song Thrush and Blackbird remain to utter somewhat half-heartidly and briefly. Much concern over the Swift breeding success this dismal Summer, there were 4 or 5 nests with chicks audible at the Llanwnnen colony late June, struggling to hear any now, presuming most if not all may have met their fate with adults unable to procure sufficient insects given the predominance of cool, dull, breezy and damp conditions. There were plentiful screaming adults most of June, however they have been only infrequently observed during the past fortnight or so and in smaller numbers suggesting they have had a failed breeding season. This I find upsetting and unfortunate as this my favourite bird is on the decline as it battles our all too often poor Summers along with insufficient suitable nesting sites as our revamped and modern buildings are tightly sealed against them, along with whatever misfortunes they encounter during migration or wintering in Africa. Good news is that more and more people now provide Swift boxes (often with cameras to enjoy the antics) which Swifts eventually will take too given audio encouragement and can enjoy learning more about these marvellous mysterious 'Devil birds' !

Swift postscript: Good news: The hot spell just after mid month saw fantastic frenzied Swift activity, and I could hear chicks on 4 of the nests so nowhere near a disaster! Up to 14 screaming Swifts observed on the very hot evening of the 19th.

Mon 19th returned to the slopes of Mynydd Pencarreg in the hope of hearing Nightjars as in June but no luck, however there was a wonderful Grasshopper Warbler serenading the Full Moon as it was getting dark after 2130 and only 50 metres off the lane.

Tue 20th: Thought the heat had zapped the Hydrangea as when I arrived home in the evening all the blue flowers had wilted, however I gave it a good drink and in the morning it was right as rain!

Weather log June 2016

Weather log June 2016

Sharply contrasting fortunes west to east early in June:

Wed 1st warm and fairly sunny WW, in sharp contrast much of the Midlands very cool and cloudy with a little rain in places (Trawsgoed 22.3c, Coventry 12.4c, Nottingham 12.1c)

Thu 2nd again much of the Midlands cool and cloudy, Wales and the Marches rather warm and sunny! Much of WW virtually unbroken bright sunshine - perfect Summer weather (Porthmadog 22.2c, Llanwnnen 21.1c, Nottingham 12.5c, Valley & Llanwnnen 15.5 hrs sun)

Fri 3rd cool night with very localised grass frost (Shawbury min 3.3c, grass min -1c). Sunny once more Wales and most of the West Midlands and locally it was warm, in contrast yet again the East Midlands cool and overcast (Porthmadog 22.8c, Newport, Salop 21.3c, Church Lawford 14.7c, Valley 15.5 hrs sun)

A warm rather humid airmass then spread across England & Wales so easing the poor conditions over the Midlands:

Sat 4th mild night over the Midlands where some stayed above 13c. Rather warm and humid, much cloudier for Wales but at last a few glimpses of sun for the East Midlands ( Newport, Salop 22.2c, Valley 22.0c)

Sun 5th sunny spells eventually everywhere, warm or very warm, the odd isolated showers over WW later (Porthmadog 27.8c, Newport, Salop 23.7c)

Mon 6th very warm with sunny spells, the Midlands mostly sunny.  WW cloudier pm with many places catching showers or thunderstorms later, and there were also isolated late evening showers and thunderstorms over Worcestershire and Shropshire (Porthmadog 27.6c, Llanwnnen 26.5c, Newport, Salop 25.8c)

Tue 7th very mild night much of Wales some not below 15c (Valley min 15.8c). Cloudy with late sunshine WW and cooler, warm with sunny spells Midlands with thunderstorms in places pm here. Rugby and Northants experienced localised flooding during the evening (Coventry 25.4c, Aberdaron 15.9c)

Wed 8th very mild night Midlands (Nottingham min 14.9c). Most of WW dry, bright and warm, warm too Midlands but showers and thunderstorms in places once more, notably the Birmingham and the Black Country around teatime with disruption and damage caused by torrential rain and flooding with perhaps over 2 inches falling locally in less than two hours (Pershore 26.3c warmest in UK, Llanwnnen 23.4c, Winterbourne 32.6mm wettest in UK)

Thu 9th warm with spells of hazy sunshine, some heavy showers over Mid and North Wales and Shropshire (Llanwnnen 25.2c, Newport, Salop 24.5c, Trawsgoed 24.3c)

Fri 10th one of the warmest nights so far this year (min Mumbles 15.6c, Shawbury 15.2c, I classify above 15c as a warm Summer night!). Rather warm, mostly cloudy some rain later WW, sunny spells Midland. Thunderstorms broke out across the North Midlands in particular afternoon with localised flooding, almost an inch in less than 2 hours at Market Bosworth early evening (Pershore 24.1c, Llanwnnen 21.8c, Trawsgoed 21.2c, Market Bosworth, Leic 24.6mm)

Sat 11th still temperatures up to average even quite warm in places, rather cloudy with some sunny intervals, showers broke out and were especially heavy over the west and north Midlands (Llanwnnen 21.7c, Hereford 21.2c)

Sun 12th some rain or showers, with thunder for parts of Midlands late afternoon into evening, inc Coventry and Rugby areas, near normal temperatures (Hereford 22.2c, Llanwnnen 20.2c, Milford Haven 19.3c, Pershore 20mm daytime rainfall)

It has been the warmest start to June for a number of years, here at Llanwnnen no June has been warmer than this one in the 11 year year record but it may well cool down somewhat come month end. Mean temperature to June 12th 16.3c, previous warmest whole June 2007 (15.4c). However a cooler unsettled convective interlude then occurred mid- month:

Mon 13th cooler and mostly cloudy with some rain or showers, once more with localised very heavy downpours (Pershore 19.3c, Aberdaron 14.2c, Gogerddan 22.0mm)

Tue 14th generally rather cloudy and showery, some longer spells of rain, some prolonged torrential downpours and thunderstorms for parts of North Wales and the Midlands, the Birmingham area hit by flooding for the second time in a week a very few places escaped with a mostly dry day though. There were alos funnel clouds over various places including Rugby. Temperatures varied from decidedly cool around Cardigan bay to a rather warm feeling average for parts of the Midlands (Coton-in-the-Elms 20.4c, Aberporth max 13.4c, Market Bosworth 43mm, Porthmadog 33mm, Coleshill 32.6mm)

Wed 15th further showers or longer spells of rain, torrential with thunder in places once more. Parts of Birmingham may well have had 100mm/4 inches in the 24 hours to this morning as suggested by rainfall radar, with a PWS at Hodge Hill measuring just over 100mm, some places escaped generally dry and even bright however. More funnel clouds recorded todayTemperatures rather cool where cloudy and showery, around average if bright (Church Lawford 19.3c, Llanwnnen 18.9c, Porthmadog 40.6mm, Winterbourne 39.2mm, Pembrey 32mm by day, Valley 14.2 hrs sun)

Thu 16th another active day with widespread heavy showers and thunderstorms, and again some funnel clouds reported and photographed, however more places did remain essentially dry especially coastal WW and especially Pembrokeshire. Flooding in places again with some very large rainfall amounts locally, parts of Birmingham and the Black Country badly hit yet again. A PWS at Harbourne, Bham recorded 76mm today, bringing the June total thus far there to a staggering 155mm already compared with a modest 33mm at Long Lawford and a mere 12.4mm at RAF Mona! It felt pleasantly warm in any sunny breaks although most places were below the June average (Porthmadog 20.1c, Pershore 19.5c, Aberporth 15.0c, Winterbourne, Bham 50.4mm)

Rainfall distribution 24 hours to 1200 Fri 17th June 2016

Fri 17th generally a much drier day although still some few thundery showers about, especially the SW Midlands and around Swansea. Rather cool with a north breeze although some places still well up to average (Pershore 21.2c, Aberporth 14.3c, Mumbles Head 28mm)

Sat 18th dry but rather cloudy some sunny intervals, especially further west, many West Welsh coasts seeing decent sunny spells. Rather cool to near average (Hereford 20.3c, Pembrey 18.2c, Aberporth 14.5c, Valley 9 hrs)

Sun 19th mostly dull, fronts with spells of rain or drizzle spread east to all areas pm, rather cool and breezy (Wellesbourne 19.2c, Trawsgoed 17.9c, Aberdaron 14.1c, Capel Curig 39mm)

Mon 20th quite a warm night (Shawbury 15.8c, Trawsgoed 15.3c) with spells of rain affecting most ny dawn. Rain soon cleared WW but not the East Midlands until midday, sunny intervals and a few showers following. Maxima around average, although the SW Midlands was rather warm (Pershore College 22.6c, Pembrey 19.1c)

Tue 21st dry with sunny intervals eventually, Anglesey sunniest place in the UK, temps near or a little below normal (Hereford & Pershore 20.6c, Llanwnnen 18.7c, Valley 10.2 hrs)

Wed 22nd a little rain or drizzle in places, West Wales cleared to sunny spells, with Anglesey again sunniest in UK; temps around average, a few spots rather warm though (Astwood Bank 21.9c, Llanwnnen 21.3c, Valley 14.1 hrs)

Thu 23rd Midlands in mild air overnight, cooler air across Wales (Coleshill min 15.4c, Llanwnnen 7.1c). Contrasting fortunes, with WW dry with sunny spells while the Midlands was mostly cloudy with a little rain for parts of the East Mids. Anglesey blessed with another sunny day (Valley 14 hrs), Temps near or a little above average (Shobdon 22.5c, Llanwnnen 19.8c, Mumbles 19.5c, Aberdaron 16.0c)

Fri 24th sunny intervals and scattered showers, heavy in places, but many places stayed dry, near normal temps (Church Lawford 21.3c, Llanwnnen 19.2c)

A very poor end to the month ensued in contrast to the fine warm weather early in June:

Sat 25th showery and rather cool, WW drier pm, thunder for parts of Midlands inc Coventrty and Rugby, a funnel cloud being photographed over Coventry afternoon (Pershore 20.0c, Pembrey 18.9c, Aberporth max 15.5c, Swyddfynnon 18.8mm)

Sun 26th cool cloudy and rather wet Wales, light rain and drizzle spreading to most of the Midlands by evening, temps nearer average for much of the Midlands (Pershore 19.8c, Valley 14.3c)

Mon 27th dry and bright but rather below average temps (Pershore 20.2c, Pembrey 18.7c, Capel Curig max 14.8c)

Tue 28th cool, even very cool, breezy with rain at times, local thunder SW Wales teatime (Pershore College 18.7c, Aberdaron max 13.6c, Pembrey 21mm - 14.8mm of which 18-1900 during thunderstorm)

Wed 29th further spells of rain, especially WW during the morning, some very heavy downpours here, the rain lighter and more intermittent over most of the more southern Midlands Rain cleared later to just a few showers, but over an inch of rain fell onto some of the Welsh hills. Another  cool/ very cool and breezy day (Newport, Salop 18.5c, Little Rissington max 14.4c, Tirabad, near Llandovery 31mm)

Thu 30th  occasional rain, chiefly for Wales, very little for much of the Midlands. Cool/ very cool WW, nearer normal temps Midlands  ( Wellesbourne 19.8c, Capel Curig 13.6c)


June 2016 review: fine start but deteriorated; fairly warm overall but generally dull and wet.

Rather a warm June, around 1c above average, this due though to the mildness of predominantly cloudy nights, with daytime warmth at a premium after the first 10 days and there was a distinct lack of that mythical 'Glorious June' heat! For example Llannwnen only one day got above 20c after June 12th!
All areas had a wet month, some only marginally above average, while some had well over twice the June average.
Sunshine: dull especially so the Midlands, only a few coastal spots of WW attaining average levels. The duller parts of the Midlands barely had 100 hours, little over half the average sunshine, compared with just over 200 hours at Valley, Anglesey.

Some June rainfall totals:

Capel Curig 176.6mm 132%
Trwasgoed c. 170mm
Llanwnnen 86.6mm 127%
Aberporth 75.6mm 129%
Pembrey 115.2mm 152%
Llanelle PWS 102.6mm
Mumbles 130.8mm 205%

Nottingham 139.0mm 220%
Shawbury 118.8mm 223%
Harbourne, B'ham PWS 188mm
Coleshill 105.0mm 167%
Coventry, Bablake School 100.4mm 148%
Long Lawford 66.2mm (adjusted) 128%
Church Lawford 76.9mm 143%
Hereford 60.2mm 133%
Little Rissington 74.6mm 142%

and sunshine:

Valley 205.3 hrs 114%
Llanwnnen 127 hours 78%

Nottingham 113 hours
Shawbury 126.2 hrs 81%
Coventry 130.6 hrs


Nature notes

Thu 2nd first Foxgloves in flower at Laugharne then Fri 3rd noticed  a few in flower while cycling in the Lampeter area. First Whitethroat heard about this time then by the 10th they could be heard singing widely so perhaps were late arriving this Spring.

Mid month luxuriant lush growth after the warm dry start to June and subsequent rains. Foxglove out profusely, few Butterflies as yet this Summer though. Still the odd Bluebell in flower in the countryside higher up. Nice show of Laburnam next to produce its supposedly deadly poisonous seeds!

Fri 17th Grasshopper Warblers heard Mynydd Pencarreg slopes, also Nightjars seen in display flight and heard churring after dusk same area

Late June: Song Thrushes singing as late as 2220 when its getting quite dark. Swifts seen flying and feeding until this time too, and in addition this is when the Owls start hooting and calling. Poor weather last few days of June hardly any Swifts seen, hopefully the young in the nests are getting enough food and warmth. Some Foxglove have completely seeded with no flowers left on stem, most though still have flowers appearing towards stem tops still.

Weather log May 2016

May 2016 weather log

May started quite chilly with widespread ground frost some nights and localised slight air frosts (Shobdon -0.7c 4th for instance). It warmed appreciably by the end of the first week to give us an early taste of Summer!

Thu 5th ground frost again in many places but a warm sunny day as some places topped 20c for the first time this year (Llanwnnen & Pershore 20.6c)

Fri 6th in spite of the surrounding warmth Friday again dawned with grass frost locally (Llanwnnen air min +1.3c, Pershore & Shawbury -1c on the grass). A warmer day for many although with the sun weak and hazy (Pershore 21.3c, Llanwnnen 21.2c)

Sat 7th warm and rather humid a scattering of thundery showers, especially West Midlands evening (Wellesbourne 22.0c, Pembrey 21.6c, 17.8mm from thunderstorm Brecon Beacons, Coleshill 16mm)

Sun 8th very warm indeed for early May also huid and most places saw plenty of sunshine, a few spots touching the magic 80f 26.6c (Pershore 26.8c, Llanwnnen 25.7c, Porthmadog 25.4c, Aberporth 24.8c). This was the highest temperature I have recorded here so early in the year since April 2007 when it reached c. 26c, it was also the highest reading during the first half of May, although May 2012 saw an exceptional 28.1c towards month end.

Mon 9th warm night (Mildford 16.1c min, Shawbury 13.9c). Another warm or very warm day with some hazy sunshine, although WW rather cloudy with showery rain and in places thunderstorms later on. First thunderstorm of 2016 affected Llanwnnen early evening with vivid forked lightning (Newport, Salop. 24.8c, Whitechurch 20.2mm)

Warm spell with some rain or showers then lasted to 13th:

Thu 12th warm and fairly sunny for all, very warm much of WW (Porthmadog 24.7c, Llanwnnen 24.6c)

Fri 13th warmth restricted to WW where it was largely sunny, temperaratures across the Midlands down close to the May average. Thunderstorms affected the Carmarthen area late afternoon with almost 2 inches suggested by radar returms (Llanwnnen max 22.9c, Nottingham 14.2c)

Sat 14th cool down but a pleasant rather sunny day eventually with close to or rather below average temps (Pershore 16.0c, Llanwnnen 15.0c, Capel Curig max 11.6c)

Sun 15th widespread ground frost and local air frosts (Llanwnnen -1.5c, Capel Curig +0.1c, Shawbury +0.8c) another fine day, rather cool to average temps

Mon 16th fairly widespread ground frost but another fine dry day and quite warm in places (Pershore 19.4c)

The fine spell then broke down during Tue 17th and Wed 18th with a more unsettled Atlantic regime:

Wed 18th heavy downpours in places (Church Lawford 16.6mm)

Sat 21st very wet in some areas for a time (Tirabad 29mm, Shobdon 26.8mm)

Sun 22nd thunder in a few places inc Rugby area mid afternoon with downpours also for a few but generally dry and bright

Mon 23rd ground frost in some rural locations (Pershore air min 3.0c, Llanwnnen 3.3c with Pershore
& Shawbury -1c on the grass). Thundery showers parts of Midlands but quite isolated, generally a pleasant day of sunny spells

Tue 24th another local grass frost (Llanwnnen air min +1.6c, grass min -1.6c, Capel Curig air min +1.4c). Warm and sunny Wales in particular (Porthmadog 21.0c)

Wed 25th still grass frost in places, but very localised (Shawbury air min 3.1c, grass min -1c, Llanwnnen air min 3.7c, grass -0.4c). Much cloudier and cooler than of late (Capel Curig 9.7c, Church Lawford 10.7c)

Fri 27th scattered thunderstorms across Wales, severe in places, with hail and localised flooding, over 3 inches falling in parts of the western Brecon Beacons . Midlands dry, fine and quite warm as was most of NW Wales (Astwood Bank 19.7c)

Sat 28th rather warm with sunny spells, thunderstorms again broke out across Wales, a few quite severe with localised flooding (inc Lampeter and Pencader). Swyddfynnon near Tregaron, Ceredigion was wettest place in the UK with 31.2mm of which 25.2mm fell in the hour 17-1800 during a thunderstorm (Llanwnnen 21.4c, Pershore 20.0c)

West was best to end the month, warm and sunny for Wales, the Midlands seeing rain and strong winds by 31st..

Sun 31st Porthmadog 22.2c warmest place in UK compared with max 17.1c at Coventry, most places were sunny though

Mon 30th a lovely Bank Holodiay espeically over Wales and the Maeches, more cloud for central and East Midlands along with a strong north wind with nearer average temperatures (Porthandog 22.5c again warmest in UK, Newport, Salop 20.4c, Nottingham 16.9c)

Tue 31st a windy day, reasonably sunny Wales and the Marches but cool and cloudy with some rain for much of the Midlands (Hereford 20.9c, Church Lawford 12.9c)

Nature notes

Tue 3rd first Orange Tip butterfly

Wed 4th arrival of the Llanwnnen Swifts back from Africa (about 7 or 8 of them) - they will only be here 3 months  until about early August. Sedge Warbler singing by the Grannell bridge

Still plentiful Celandine during early May..

Sun 8th Wood Warbler and Cuckoo seen in the Mynydd Pencarreg/ Esgairdawe area this afternoon - the Cuckoo however remained silent!

Mid May Cuckoo heard then observed at close quarters Cors Caron (Tregaron Bog), my first sighting for at least a decade

Month end still plenty of Bluebells in bloom in shaded and upland areas. Some Foxglove about to commence flowering


May 2016 summary

A rather warm month, rainfall variable with many places around or below average, a few places that caught thunderstorms towards month end were rather wetter than average. Sunshine generally around average..


Rainfall totals:

Capel Curig 127.8mm 96%
Llanwnnen 78.3mm 102%
Aberporth 56.6mm 105%
Llanelli 101.3mm

Nottingham 36.2mm 70%
Coleshill 49.8mm 94%
Coventry 39.8mm 71%
Long Lawford 35.4mm 62%
Crick 59.7mm
Little Rissington 66.2mm 103%


Spring 2016 summary

A rather cool Spring due to the cool April, with May a rather warm month especially over WW. Rainfall generally slightly above average and sunshine around average.

Rainfall totals:

Llanwnnen 255.1mm 108%

Coventry 182.2mm 117%

Long Lawford 159.6mm 110%

Weather and nature log April 2016

April 2016:  'April showers' being rather cool and changeable; rainfall and sunshine totals variable

Sat 2nd contrasts, Midlands dry, mild and bright (Wellesbourne 15.8c), WW mostly cloudy and in places wet (Whitechurch 33.8mm).

Sat 9th rather surprised to wake to wet snow falling here at Llanwnnen, snow is though far from unusual in April, and has even fallen as late as early June to low levels in southern UK in 1975 for example

Sun 10th frost in many places (Shobdon -3.0c)

Tue 12th mild for many, quite sunny parts of Wales and Marches (Llanwnnen 15.6c, Hereford 15.5c, Aberporth 9.9 hrs)

Wed 13th rather warm for many, especially Midlands, a few downpours about (Winterbourne 17.2c)

Thu 14th mild with sunny spells, scattering of showers some with hail and thunder; Thunderstorms locally affected Northants, Brum, Worc. & Cotswolds pm (Pembrey 16.4c, Shobdon 15.2c, Pershore College 29.4mm most of which in just a few hours)

Sat 16th sleet and snow in places overnight into the morning, slight accumulations to low levels in a few places with several inches lying over parts of the Cotswolds first thing

Sun 17th widespread frost (Tirabad, Powys min -4.3c, Pershore -2.5c) then a dry rather sunny if chilly day (Pershore managed 13.2c though)

Tue 19th most places became sunny and mild, almost unbroken sunshine North Midlands (Nottingham 12.5 hrs, Astwood Bank 15.6c, Llanwnnen & Milford Haven 14.7c)

Wed 20th frosty start in places (Capel Curig -0.8c) but a rather warm, sunny day, especially West Wales (Porthmadog 19.2c, Pembrey 18.7c). Sunshine was virtually unbroken in most areas (Shawbury 13.5 hrs, Llanwnnen est 13hrs) while relative humidity was very low, approaching record levels over parts of Wales (Pembrey 21%).

Thu 21st quite warm in most places, generally more cloud, but fairly sunny North Midlands and North Wales (Porthmadog 20.3c, Newport, Salop 17.3c)

Tue 26th cool and windy with scattered wintry showers, quite a few places seeing some falling snow, a few having thunder (Pershore 12.2c, Capel Curig 7.4c), many places did not attain 10c.

Wed 27th very cool with wintry showers, again wet snow and thunder in places (Aberporth max 7.5c, Shawbury 7.7c)

Thu 28th frosty night, quite low temps for end of April (Pembrey -3.3c, Llanwnnen -3.2c, Pershore -3.0c). Showery, hail and thunder in places (latter especially Midlands late on)

Sat 30th some places remained dry and bright while others caught downpours with thunder, typical 'April showers'

April summary

Both March and April have now been cooler than last December which is a rare occurrence (remember though how truly remarkably mild was December!).  Rainfall variable from rather dry to decidedly wet, sunshine also quite variable, some places rather dull, some having quite a sunny month

Rainfall totals:

Capel Curig 197.4mm 130%
Llanwnnen 68.6mm 89%
Aberporth 50.8mm 96%

Coventry, Bablake School 62.6mm 130%
Long Lawford 50.0mm 110%
Church Lawford 56.0mm 113%
Hereford 44.8mm 87%
Pershore 69.2mm 145%

Nature notes

Sun 3rd first couple of Swallow this morning. Plenty of Chiffchaff song now. First few wild Bluebell, not sure I have seen so early before, and there are plenty out in our sheltered garden. Stitchwort in flower. Still a few Snowdrop in flower, Daffs are generally on the wane. First Horse Chestnut seen in leaf burst.

Thu 7th first few Willow Warbler Teifi valley, quite a few Sand Martin and Swallow as well

Sat 16th Red Campion in flower, a few Beech in leaf burst, plenty of Willow Warbler now, a few Blackcap singing during past week

Tue 19th first solitary House Martin near Llanwnnen, about 5 more Fri 22nd prospecting a house Capel y Groes also near Llanwnnen

Month end and trees are reluctant to come into leaf, Ash still asleep,  Oak just stirring, some Beech slowly greening over, Horse Chestnut in leaf. Only a few Butterfly seen during April chiefly Small tortoisesell. Still a few Daffs in flower, still some Celandine in flower (both blooms having been observed since December!). Bluebell carpets now impressive.