Weather log May 2023
Key:
Big improvement on Spring at the start of the month WW in particular) although still some rain at times:
Tue 2nd West Wales one of warmest areas today, maxima Lwn 19.3c, Gogerddan, near Aberystwyth 18.6c, Trawsgoed 18.4c, ROW 17.2c, Hereford 16.5c, Aberporth, CC & CITE 16.3c, Aberdaron 15.4c, CL & Coventry 14.4c, Nottingham 13.9c.
Wed 3rd WW warm again, max Lwn & Porthmadog 19.6c (latter officially warmest in UK), Pembrey Sands & Valley 18.8c, Aberporth 18.2c, ROW 17.2c, Hereford & Pershore 15.9c, CITE 15.8c, Aberdaron 15.4c, CL & Coventry 14.2c.
Fri 5th showery, these became thundery with hail in places especially Midlands, fewer WW afternoon where rather warm if breezy; thunder shower tracked over Coventry mid afternoon with hail reported from Bedworth.
Sun 7th warmest day of the year to date much of Midlands with 20c in quite a few places; maxima Astwood Bank, Worc 20.5c, Coleshill & Coventry 20.3c, Nottingham & Pershore 20.1c, Lwn 18.6c, Shobdon 18.4c, MH 17.3c, Aberdaron 13.8c.
Mon 8th Scolton Park, Pembs 28mm wettest in UK, generally though not an especially wet day.
Tue 9th thundery showers were widespread across Midlands and SE Wales giving over 2 inches locally in a few hours. Distant thunder heard from Llanwnnen mid afternoon from Cumulonimbus between Carmarthen and Brechfa some 12 miles south of here although we dodged the rain; both Coventry and Rugby also had thunder and heavy downpours, while Braunston, Northants (EA gauge) caught 14mm in one hour mid afternoon.
Wed 10th scattered showers, thunder for some inc Nuneaton (this not heard from Coventry). Corley EA gauge caught 17mm in 2 hours late afternoon.
Thu 11th scattering of showers and thunderstorms; thunder heard from the forestry as close as 5 miles later afternoon (may well have been audible from home at 10 miles distant). These storms over the Brechfa forest gave 2 inches in places judging by the radar, in contrast Llanwnnen stayed dry and bright.
Fri 12th warm and sunny WW, Marches sunny intervals and quite warm, much of the Midlands mainly cloudy and rather cool; maxima Cardiff 20.4c (warmest in UK), Pembrey Sands 20.1c, Lwn 19.7c, Trawsgoed 19.6c, Newport (Salop) 18.5c, Shobdon 18.4c, Aberporth 14.5c, CITE 14.4c, Nottingham 13.1c, CL 13.0c.
Sat 13th very warm and sunny much of WW & Marches, much cloud again Midlands but late sun; Lwn max 22.7c, Porthmadog 21.0c, CC & Trawsgoed 20.1c, Shobdon 19.1c, Nottingham 15.5c, Mumbles 14.4c, CL 13.7c; Lwn estimated 14 hours near unbroken sunshine, elsewhere sunny spots 12 or 13 hours.
Sun 14th warm sunny spells Midlands, clouded over and cooled down WW; max Coleshill & Market Bosworth (Leic) 21.0c, Pershore 20.8c, Coventry 20.7c, Shawbury 18.5c, Lwn 17.2c, Trawsgoed 15.7c, Aberporth, MH & Mona 14.3c, Aberdaron 12.0c.
May to mid month has seen rather variable rainfall distribution ranging from dry in places to rather wet in others; temperatures so far average to rather warm with generally below average sunshine (a few places close to average such as Lwn).
May rainfall totals to 0900 16th:
CC 29.8mm, Trawsgoed 19.8mm, Lwn 19.3mm (dry), MH 34.6mm; Nottingham 38.8mm, Shawbury 16.4mm, Coventry 32.4mm (average), Hereford 38.2mm.
A prolonged dry spell ensued in many areas from mid month:
Wed 17th local grass frosts, min Lwn +0.2c which was 2c below that of the official UK cold spot overnight (Tirabad, Powys +2.2c); other lows Pershore 2.4c, Trawsgoed 3.9c, Pembrey Sands 4.0c, CITE 5.2c, Coventry & Nottingham 7.6c, Mumbles 9.4c. Rather warm by day generally 17 to 19c.
Thu 18th Shobdon max 21.3c warmest in UK, much of Midlands max 19 - 21c, with 16 - 18c WW (Lwn though 19.5c).
Fri 19th scattered showers Midlands, some thundery, Pershore max 20.1c warmest on UK, in contrast cool NW breeze Cardigan Bay with Aberporth max 13.1c.
Sat 20th generally warm and sunny (12 to 14 hours), Porthmadog 21.5c (warmest in UK), Lwn 21.0c, Trawsgoed 20.7c, ROW 20.3c, Pershore 19.5c, Coleshill & Nottingham 18.3c, Aberporth 14.5c (sea breeze).
Sun 21st another mostly sunny and warm day after local grass frosts: Porthmadog 23.3c again warmest in UK (also Wales warmest day of 2023 to date), other ROW 21.3c, Lwn & Pembrey Sands 21.2c, CITE 21.0c, Shawbury 20.4c, MH & Trawsgoed 20.2c, Nottingham 19.5c, CL 18.9c, Aberporth 15.7c. Sunshine 10 to 14 hours most places (Shobdon 14.1 hrs, Lwn est 13.5 hours, Aberporth 10 hours, Valley 7.4 hrs).
Mon 22nd warm and sunny Midlands, nearer average WW, though cool Cardigan Bay coasts; max CITE 22.3c, Pershore 22.2c, Coventry 20.9c, Mumbles 20.3c, Shawbury 18.3c, CC & Lwn 16.7c, Aberporth 13.4c.
Tue 23rd very local touches of grass frost, min Swyddffynnon (Ceredigion) 1.8c, Lwn 2.2c, Pershore 5.9c, Coventry 9.5c. Generally another warm, sunny day, 15 hours unbroken bright sun here at Lwn.
More of the same into the last week of Meteorological Spring, often fine, warm and sunny:
Fri 26th sunny and warm, Max Lwn 23.4c (surprised as felt more like 21c), CITE 21.7c, Newport (Salop) 21.0c, MH & Shobdon 20.4c, Trawsgoed 20.1c, Coventry 18.7c, Aberporth 15.5c.
Sat 27th widespread grass frosts inland, as at Lwn (air min 1.3c); other min Shobdon 2.9c, CL 3.3c, Coventry 5.4c (grass min -0.5c), Nottingham 6.2c; in contrast a mild night for many coasts (Mumbles min 11.7c). Widely above 20c and sunny, max Porthmadog 23.0c, Lwn 22.8c, Newport (Salop) 22.7c, Trawsgoed 21.8c, CITE 21.6c, Coventry 21.4c, CL 20.1c, Mumbles 18.1c; Shawbury 14.9 hours bright sunshine, Lwn est 14.5 hours, Aberporth 14.3c, Nottingham 13.8c, Valley 12.0c.
Contrasts for the last few days of May 2023, with North Sea cloud affecting much of the Midlands keeping it cool by day, whereas WW was warm and often sunny still:
Tue 30th Wales & Marches sunny and warm (locally very warm), much of Midlands however cloudy and cool; max Porthmadog 25.1c (warmest in UK), Lwn 24.4c, Trawsgoed 21.6c, MH & Pembrey Sands 19.4c, ROW 19.3c, Shobdon 18.7c, Aberporth 17.5c, CITE 16.2c, Coventry 14.1c.
Wed 31st a similar day but most of the Midlands cloudy and parts of WW had cloud in the morning; max Porthmadog 23.3c, Lwn 21.0c, Pembrey Sands 19.5c, Hereford 16.3c, Aberporth 16.2c, CITE, Coleshill & Coventry 13.5c, Nottingham 12.5c.
Nature notes
Early month: Holly flowering, Apple blossoming, garden Bluebells (in sunny parts) peaking; quite a few White butterflies and a few Orange Tips.
Tue 2nd Tregaron Bog on a lovely warm afternoon; Redstart and Treecreeper at close quarters near the car park, plenty of singing WW & CC (saw a couple of WW), few Sedge Warbler heard, Reed Bunting, 2 Heron, Tree Pipits, Skylark; a couple of Common Lizards sunbathing atop posts holding the boardwalk on its sunny side (these pointed out to us by people, not sure we would have noticed them otherwise). No Cuckoo heard, some people had heard one distantly today, while others had heard one here last week. Lovely drive back to Lampeter along the 'back way' lanes via Llanddewi Brefi, Llanfair Clydogau and Cellan. Few Bluebells out as yet along these lanes but profuse Stitchwort, while some Daffs still fresh and ongoing (note there are more Bluebells out in Lampeter/ Llanwnnen areas).
Wed 3rd 'southern' forestry early evening, a pair of Cuckoo flew almost overhead with the male calling as we were descending to join the main track on the way back. Whitethroat heard, quite a few WW, snatch of Wood Warbler.
Thu 4th Lampeter mid afternoon; Peregrine Falcon above the Co-op for a good minute, no stoops.
Tue 9th Lampeter Uni, rookery still active (usually gone quite by May); heard a Sedge Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and several Willow Warbler; plenty of Swallows which have many nest sites around the campus.
House Sparrows note: they have at least one nest ongoing in the Church hall (which has a significant Swift colony); they are again using the Swift boxes at the University (outer, sunny side of the quadrangle); also they seem to be using the Swift boxes put on the new office block opposite the cricket pitch for the past few years. Unlike Swifts which seem to take many years to suss out boxes or completely fail to notice them Sparrows are in occupancy within weeks of installation! I use the Sparrows chirping which gives away their nest holes and thus potential future Swift sites.
Thu 11th Forestry Cuckoo calling for first 15 minutes there from various locations within a few hundred metres, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs, Skylark heard.
Mid month: dozens of bees gathering Holly pollen; Beech trees suddenly into full leaf (more or less bare just a fortnight ago); Horse Chestnut 'candelabras'; May (Hawthorn) blossom coming out since start of month; garden Bluebells on the way out excepting in shady areas while the countryside ones now peaking. Oaks mostly into full leafage, as are most tree species bar Ash which is just starting to leaf following flowering.
Tue 16th Lampeter Uni, first Laburnum in its yellow splendour; Sedge Warbler singing again same area by the river between former hockey pitch and Co-op; 2 Swift made a few screaming circuits of the inner quad. Still not seen more than 4 together so far this year.
Thu 18th an early start to the grass pollen season had me sneezing this afternoon (not had it before the last week of May before)! 5 screaming Swift this evening over the church, most so far.
Sat 20th Redstart heard Neuadd lane at the track junction, also several Willow Warbler & Chiffchaff.
Wed 24th Forestry (southern) evening: several Tree Pipit (I think?) singing as hovering down, also Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs singing quite well. Laburnums starting to come out.
Llanybydder: Rhydybont chapel 2 Swift seen here as drove past; Aberduar church half dozen screaming Swifts; old train station again half dozen screaming Swift a good display and entry seen to hole 3 foot under roof line; several Sparrow using some of the countless holes in the former dilapidated Mill/Warehouse; Noctule Bat as drove home.
Thu 25th Aberystwyth (Morrisons) dusk just 2 Swift here (no others heard or seen in the town this evening). Also first Foxglove of the Spring out.
Fri 26th Longwood, near Lampeter: warm and sunny afternoon, plenty of Chiffchaff singing (dozen or so), around 6 Willow Warble heard in good voice, also Blackcaps; Tree Pipit observed singing well from tree top.
Sat 27th First Foxglove out here in Lwn.
Sun 28th Pendine Sands 15 - 20 Sand Martin inspecting the Dune edge, there were a few holes in the sand here, but no entries observed.
Mon 28th Plenty of House Martin & Swallows at Pendine, also a few dusk Swifts; plenty of buildings that seem to be suitable for Sparrows & Swifts here.
Month end: still no large groups of Swifts seen; plentiful House Martin & Swallow. most Bluebells over hereabouts; all trees now in full leaf. Much hay-making has been completed in the last week, unusual as they don't usually get it done until well into June. Quite a bit of Hawthorn blossom still, an excellent showing this year.
May 2023 summary
Dry or very dry, rather warm and quite sunny
WW dry or very dry and sunny.
Midlands dry, locally very dry; average sunshine to quite sunny.
Rainfall totals May 2023
Capel Curig, Snowdonia c 31mm (very dry)
Mona, Anglesey c 30mm (dry)
Aberdaron, Llyn Peninsular c 29mm (dry)
Trawsgoed, Ceredigion c 20mm (very dry)
Aberporth, near Llangrannog c 20mm (very dry)
Llanwnnen 19.3mm (25%)
Pembrey Sands, Carms c 47mm (rather dry)
Milford Haven, Pembs c 35mm (dry)
Mumbles, near Swansea c 29mm (dry)
Nottingham c 38mm (dry)
Shawbury, Salop c 18mm (very dry)
Coleshill c 36mm (rather dry)
Coventry, Bablake School 33.0mm (59%)
CL, Warks 33.4mm (59%)
Pershore, Worc 31.0mm (57%)
Hereford c 38mm (rather dry)
Shobdon (Herefordshire) 27.6mm (49%)
Environment Agency (EA) gauges Coventry area May 2023:
Corley 48.0mm
Finham 42.6mm
King's Newnham 29.0mm
National Resources Wales (NRW) rain gauges
Llyn Cefni, Ynys Mon 34.2mm (dry)
Bethesda Quarry (Gwynedd) 31.2mm (very dry)
Cwm Dyli (Snowdonia) 65.4mm (very dry)
Corris (near Machynlleth) 47.0mm (very dry)
Bow Street (near Aberystwyth) 25.4mm (very dry)
Pontrhydfendigaid (near Tregaron, Ceredigion) 27.4mm (very dry)
Penuwch (Ceredigion) 20.2mm (very dry)
Rhos Ymryson (near Gorscoch and 5 miles NW of Lwn) 32.0mm (very dry)
Cellan (2 miles NE of Lampeter) 21.2mm (very dry)
Pencader (Carms) 31.2mm (very dry)
Abergorllech (Brechfa Forest, Carms) 51.8mm (dry)
Rhydargaeau (Carms) 53.2mm (dry)
Garnswllt (near Ammanford, Carms) 44.2mm (very dry)
Felinfoel (near Llanelli, Carms) 47.8mm (dry)
Maenclochog (near Preselis, Pembs) 50.4mm (dry)
Tenby (Pembs) 45.0mm (near average)
Bolton Hill (near Haverfordwest, Pembs) 44.0mm (rather dry)
COL stations rainfall
Llansadwrn, Anglesey 18.6mm (27%)
Ludlow, Salop 26.8mm (42%)
Alvechurch, Worc 39.7mm (60%)
Warstock, Brum 35.7mm (55%)
Cosby, Leic 31.1mm (54%)
Towcester, Northants 27.9mm (46%)
Sunshine totals May 2023
Llanwnnen estimated 257 hours (141%)
Coventry, Bablake School 216.2 hrs (110%)
Shobdon, Herefordshire 227.4 hrs (106%)
COL stations sun:
Ludlow 211.8 hours
Alvechurch 183.5 hours
Oadby, Leic 177.1 hrs
Towcester 189.1 hrs
Spring 2023 summary
Many places had a rather wet Spring overall, this due to the very wet March, April being average or rather wet and May dry or very dry. Spring sunshine quite dull to average; after a very dull March, May turned out sunny; temperatures average to rather mild overall.
Rainfall Spring 2023
CC c 509mm (near average)
Aberdaron c 227mm (rather wet)
Trawsgoed c 287mm (rather wet)
Aberporth c 183mm (average)
Llanwnnen 301.4mm (127%)
Pembrey Sands c 272mm (rather wet)
MH c 245mm (rather wet)
Mumbles c 239mm (rather wet)
Nottingham c 212mm (wet)
Shawbury, Salop c 143mm (average)
Coleshill c 197mm (rather wet)
Coventry, Bablake School 221.1mm (143%)
Church Lawford, Warks 181.8mm (120%)
Pershore, Worc 189.4mm (wet)
Hereford c 199mm (wet)
King's Newnham, Warks (EA gauge) 175.2mm
NRW gauges Spring 2023
Bethesda (Gwynedd) 329.0mm
Cwm Dyli (Snowdonia) 714.6mm
Bow Street (Ceredigion) 199.8mm
Rhos Ymryson (Ceredigion) 341.6mm
Cellan (Ceredigion) 287.4mm
Pencader (Carms) 374.6mm
Tenby (Pembs) 303.4mm
Sunshine Spring 2023
Llanwnnen 419 hours (98%)
Coventry 459.1 hours (95%)
Shobdon, Herefordshire 426.1 hours (rather dull)
