Weather log July 2021
Key:
WW = West Wales
Lwn = Llanwnnen
AG = Aldermans Green, Coventry
CL = Church LawfordROW = Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire
CC = Capel Curig, Snowdonia
MH = Milford Haven
Mids = Midlands
CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire
COL = Climatological Observers Link
PWS = Personal weather station
Sat 3rd after a generally dry, bright start to the month it soon turned more unsettled, scattered showers with local thunder as at Coventry and Rugby, radar suggested an inch for Brinklow ( cf CL 7.6mm, Coventry 1.2mm).
Sun 4th marginally the warmest night of the year to date here at Lwn, min 13.5c, nothing especially warm as yet; other minima Pershore 15.5c, Pembrey 15.4c, Trawsgoed 14.7c, CL 14.1c, Aberdaron 13.5c, Shobdon 11.8c. Further thundery showers affected the Midlands in particular, thunder heard again at Coventry & Rugby..several PWS in SW Coventry & Kenilworth had over an inch today, with the radar suggesting 2 inches fell at a few spots in the Midlands (Coventry 15.4mm, Pershore 15.2mm, Lwn 12.8mm, Trawsgoed 12.6mm, CL 11.4mm, Shobdon 3.4mm, Aberdaron 0.4mm).
Wed 7th another showery day, thunder in places Midlands where an inch of rain locally; CITE 24.4mm, Pershore 19mm, CL 8mm, Trawsgoed 0.8mm, Coventry 0.2mm, many places though escaped such as Hereford & Pembrey Sands 0.0mm.
Drier towards mid month with some pleasant sunny intervals and warmth at times, then mid month a heatwave commenced that was to last for a week:
Fri 16th very warm/ hot and sunny, max CITE 28.7c, Pershore 28.5c, Coleshill & Coventry 27.3c, MH 25.2c, Llanwnnen 25.0c, Shawbury 24.8c, Aberporth 19.4c.
Sat 17th even hotter for many...Llanwnnen max 28.7c just after noon, other max CITE 30.3c, Nottingham 29.7c, ROW 29.5c, Coventry 29.0c, Shawbury 27.4c,Trawsgoed 26.8c, Aberdaron 24.8c, Mumbles 22.4c.
Sun 18th warm night for coasts and urban areas, more refreshing in the countryside inland, minima Mumbles 18.8c, Aberporth 17.5c, Nottingham 16.4c, Coventry 16.3c, Shobdon 12.2c, CC 11.2c, Llanwnnen 10.9c; hot or very hot and sunny, quite a few places exceeding 30c including Lwn 30.8c...this is now the sixth successive year that has exceeded 30c here and quite likely an almost unprecedented run (compared with 6 years 2007-2012 a period that barely managed 28c). Other maxima Pershore 30.9c, CITE, CL & Coventry 30.3c, Trawsgoed 28.8c, MH 27.2c, Aberporth 25.5c.
Mon 19th again hot and sunny, locally very hot, maxima above 30c for much of the Midlands and all locations reached 25c or higher; Pershore 31.0c, Hereford 30.8c, CITE 30c, Llanwnnen 30.2c, Coventry 29.6c, Trawsgoed 29.1c, Shawbury 28.7c, MH 27.8c, Mona 25.1c.
Tue 20th repeat, although with some severe thunderstorms with large hail scattered across the E Mids pm, a PWS at Kibworth, Leic, recording 98mm in an hour early in the evening with large hail that damaged cars; maxima ROW 31.0c, Pershore 30.8c, CITE 30.5c, Coventry 30.1c, CL 29.9c, Lwn 29.1c, Trawsgoed 27.7c, Shawbury 27.4c, Aberporth 23.5c.
Wed 21st here in inland Wales we have blessed by relatively cool nights to ameliorate the unpleasant heat of the day, minima since the spell started at the weekend have been between 9 and 11c and amongst the lowest minima for England & Wales, this compares with many coasts and towns that have had lows of 13 to 19c. Again a hot day maxima ROW 30.5c, CITE 29.7c, Llanwnnen 29.6c, CL 28.3c, Valley 27.7c, Nottingham 27.1c, Aberporth 23.3c.
Thu 22nd notably high minima for some coastal locations, minima Mumbles 19.5c, Aberdaron 18.3c, Pershore 15.2c, Shobdon 12.7c, CC 12.1c, Llanwnnen 10.9c; even hotter for west Wales today, here at Lwn max 31.0c the highest reading since June 25th 2020; other maxima Gogerddan, Ceredigion 31.2c - hottest in UK, ROW 31.1c, Trawsgoed 30.9c, CITE 30.8c, Pershore 30.6c, CL, Hereford & Shobdon all 30.0c, Aberdaron 29.0c, Aberporth 27.4c, Mumbles 26.0c; a few isolated thunderstorms developed during the afternoon, one passed close by to the south of Llanwnnen, there was constant thunder for almost an hour late afternoon but only a spot of rain, however just 2 or 3 miles to the south and west there was a deluge, the radar suggested 50mm fell in places. I drove into the affected area as the storm was clearing, there was only minor flooding although everywhere was sodden, notably the narrow lanes west and NW of Llanybydder were debris strewn with some sizeable branches up to 6 inches across and 15 feet long brought down across the lanes. Locals described to me 'rain so bad you could nt see' and 'winds like a hurricane' - it is likely that a microburst occurred with a sudden powerful downdraught, given the rapid storm development, that combined with the cloudburst was too forceful for these tree limbs (many of which were diseased Ash).
Fri 23rd another warm night in many places, minima Mumbles 19.4c, Aberdaron 18.7c, Pershore 16.5c, Coventry 15.8c, Coleshill 14.1c, CC 12.9c, Llanwnnen 12.7c; heatwave now over for most of the MIdlands, one more hot day for WW, maxima Lwn 29.4c (notable 7 day run above 80f 27c); other maxima Pembrey Sands 28.7c, Valley 27.8c, ROW 27.0c, Hereford 26.1c, Aberporth 24.9c, Coventry 22.4c, CITE 22.1c, Nottingham 19.9c.
More unsettled to end the month, some welcome rain after the recent dry and hot spell:
Mon 26th warm or very warm with a few thunderstorms about (most across S Wales and Herefordshire), it thundered for 2 hours here at Llanwnnen in the afternoon from storms 5 to 10 miles distant, then there was a bit of a storm in the evening with close forks of lightning; maxima Wellesbourne, Warks 27.3c (warmest in UK), Hereford 27.1c, CITE 26.9c, Lwn 26.7c, Llysdinam, Powys 26.0c, Shawbury 25.3c, Trawsgoed 25.1c, Aberporth 19.9c.
Tue 27th scattered showers with thunder in places; Coventry caught a storm that gave 17.6mm in one hour 15-1600bst with the daily total of 24.8mm making it wettest place in the Midlands, some nearby places though had hardly anything; other 24 hour totals (to 0600 28th): Coleshill 9.6mm, Mona 5.8mm, Lwn 0.6mm, Aberporth 0.4mm, CL 0.2mm.
Nature notes
As usual a marked decrease in bird song early in July although still a bit of Song Thrush and Chiffchaff to mid month.
Still a Blackbird sitting on a nest in the hedge mid month.
Ash dieback is very noticeable this Summer and would estimate 90% of trees either have it or dead.
Plentiful Swifts in the village this Summer, often around 15 screaming about, one seen to enter house opposite the hotel.
Wed 14th Aberaeron evening: 3 sightings of a single Swift in the vicinity of the soon to be demolished former hospital (a fine example of a nineteenth century Workhouse). The plans now state that Swift boxes should be installed on the new flats after I alerted them to the presence of breeding Swifts. Driving back dusk Swift chicks audible clearly from the old house by the river where a screaming party was observed in June.
Wed 14th dusk Cribyn: mixed Swallows and Swifts near the bend by the former post office shop, suddenly much frenzy and alarming from the Swallows above the car then a small BOP (Merlin?) seen chasing them and almost caught a Swallow 10 metres in front of the car; pulled up and counted c 10 Swift (still not seen any entry made in this particular village but several buildings suspected of nesting).
Lampeter University has disappointed for Swifts this Summer, only a few birds and a couple of entries seen (usually 10- 20 screaming parties by now). Suspect that the renovations last year may have impacted the internal roof space in some way (pipes, cables, insulation?) so that they are now unsuitable even though access from the outside is still possible; nor have any droppings been seen (usually some just below some of the holes and on windowsills and ground). At least Sparrows have been using a couple of the Swift boxes since April. Swifts in Lampeter now seem more focused above the High St where many buildings have unrendered stonework with holes to the rears, also seen entering one of the yellow apexes here (as seen in recent years).
Sun 18th Lampeter Uni evening, in contrast to our usual afternoon reccies some 30+ Swifts present after this hot 30c day! Constant screaming parties for over an hour, towards sunset and 30 birds were together high above the quadrangle. However only 2 nest sites evidenced, one exit from central chapel pipe, one entry pipe E Inner quad (where also slight staining from hole with a few droppings on ground beneath). Nor could chicks could be heard apart from the latter hole. Also plentiful Swallow and H Martin.
Tue 20th some screaming Swifts in Llanybydder this evening (only up to 10 so many away feeding still?); could not get to the chapels due to the road being closed for culvert works.
Tue 20th forestry no bird song anymore; just about to give up on the NIghtjars as it was starting to get dark when one started up at 2150 some 30 minutes after sunset, it then gave a fine performance for over 10 minutes then more sporadically until we departed 2220, it was quite close and loud within 100m, made several brief flights but did not wing clap.
Wed 21st evening Aberaeron pile of Swift droppings noted below the apex (lean-to roof beneath) of the old house by the river. Up to 6 Swift above the town around sunset also plenty of feeding House Martins and Swallows (many nests of the former in the town),
Fri 23rd chapel Aberduar, Llanybydder, 15 - 20 screaming Swift, dropping stains suggested 6+ nests while piles on sills/ ground at least 5, so looks like they have adapted well to the new soffits installed in 2018.
Summary July 2021
Warm with sunshine around average; much of WW dry away from the south; MIdlands variable rainfall due to localised storms, from slightly below average to wet.
Rainfall totals July 2021
Nottingham c 79mm (136%)
Shawbury 66.2mm (124%)
Coleshill 52.6mm (107%)
Coventry 92.0mm (147%)
CL 62.0mm (104%)
Pershore c 83mm (166%)
Hereford 67.8mm (151%)
Valley 28.0mm (51%)
Aberdaron 44.4mm (79%)
Trawsgoed c 60mm (74%)
Aberporth c 34mm (56%)
Lwn 70.7mm (69%)
MH c 85mm (122%)
Pembrey Sands c 63mm (84%)
Mumbles 91.2mm (127%)
COL/ PWS stations
Cosby, Leic 55.5mm (89%)
Warstock, Brum 65.0mm (98%)
Alvechurch, Worc 62.1mm (90%)
Daventry 40.1mm
Towcester, Northants 78.0mm (144%)
Ludlow, Salop 70.8mm (109%)
Llansadwrn, Anglesey 85mm
Sunshine July 2021
Nottingham 157.7 hours (83%)
Shawbury 187.1 hrs (113%)
Coventry 205.3 hrs (104%)
Aberporth 177.9 hrs (94%)
Lwn est 177 hrs (99%)
