Weather log West Wales & Midlands January 2019

Jan 2019

Key:

WW = West Wales
Lwn = Llanwnnen
AG = Aldermans Green, Coventry
LL = Long Lawford
CL = Church Lawford
CC = Capel Curig
MH = Milford Haven
Mids = Midlands
CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire
COL = Climatological Observers Link
PWS = Personal weather station

Quite cold early month with unusually high pressure:

Wed 2nd highest pressure for some years nationwide, here at Llanwnnen the weather station reported 1045mbar, its highest pressure since commencing in Summer 2012. Bablake, Coventry 1045mbar also which was the highest since 1992..also a cold day, thankfully quite sunny WW at least! Maxima Libanus, Powys 2.1c, Llanwnnen 3.6c, Shawbury 3.2c, Coventry 4.8c, Nottingham 5.1c, Mona 7.2c

Thu 3rd cold again maxima Libanus +0.7c, Tirabad 1.7c, various Midlands 3.1c, Lwn 3.2c, Aberporth 3.4c Valley 6.6c...

Fri 4th clear allowed hard frost especially Wales (Llanwnnen -7.2c, Tirabad -7c, Pershore -6c, Nottingham -0.1c, Valley 4.7c). Some places barely above freezing with the calm high pressure inversion..maxima Llysdinam & Tirabad 0.7c, Astwood Bank 0.8c, Lwn 1.0c, Pershore 1.7c, Hereford 4.5c, Valley 6.3c

Mostly mild second week, a very dry start to January, mid month totals (to 15th):

Aberdaron 1.4mm

Trawsgoed 9.2mm

Llanwnnen 12.5mm

CL 2.0mm

Bablake 0.8mm

Pershore 0.4mm

Change to colder weather mid month:

Thu 17th wintry showers in places, sprinkling coverings in Coventry, some other parts of Midlands, Snowdonia and Brecon Beacons. Plenty of sunshine especially Midlands, WW clouded over (Wellesbourne 7.1 hrs, Lwn est 5 hrs)
 
Fri 18th wintry showers in places again especially Welsh hills and N Midlands where it settled in places (max generally 3 to 7c)

Tue 22nd wintry showers quite widespread. coverings in places, Llanwnnen had 4cm slushy covering in the morning that quickly melted..

Wed 23rd Midlands sunny, Bablake 7.3 hrs was sunniest January day since 2011 (7.8 hrs); Wellesbourne 7.2 hrs. Wintry showers in places giving some slight accumulations

Fri 25th mild/ very mild interlude, maxima Pershore 13.1c, Mumbles 12.7c, Lwn 10.2c, Nottingham 10.3c, Aberporth 9.8c

Sun 27th back to cold weather to end the month; gales up to 70mph for some Welsh coasts today (Lwn c 50 mph), wintry showers in places..

Tue 29th rain turned to sleet or snow in many places pm giving generally slight accumulations, with more appreciable depths to some hilly areas of Wales; slushy sprinkles to Llanwnnen, Coventry and Rugby for example..

Thu 31st hard frost widely, Coventry min -6.3c since 2010 (-7.0c) here at Lwn min -6.9c only the lowest reading since last October!  Other minima Tirabad -9.3c, Pershore -8.2c, CITC -8.0c.  Sleet and snow affected parts of the regions, in the main amounts negligible. Freezing fog persisted parts of N Midlands where temperatures stayed below zero (maxima Tirabad & Watnall -0.3c, Lwn 1.3c,  Wellesbourne 2.2c, Milford Haven 4.2c)

Nature notes:

Quite a bit of Gorse in flower still much of the month.

Quite a few Daff spikes by mid month, some 'mini' versions in bloom (early variety?).

First Snowdrops out well Fish & Anchor mid month (always the first here on a steep SW facing bank).

Great Tits increasingly heard to 'Teacher' as the month progresses.

Fair few Daisy in flower on lawns and fields throughtout the month, the odd Dandelion.
Hazel catkins out.

Fri 25th Blackbird singing after dusk Morrision, Carmarthen

Many Snowdrop in bloom month end


January 2019 summary

Dry with temperatures close to average; rather dull

Rainfall totals

Valley 38.0mm (50%)
CC 149.2mm (51%)
Aberdaron 41.4mm (50%)
Trawsgoed 84.8mm (70%)
Aberporth 54.2mm (65%)
Llanwnnen 95.4mm (67%)
MH c 75mm
Mumbles c 110mm 

Nottingham 29.0mm
Shawbury 34.2mm (61%)
Coleshill c 26mm
Coventry, Bablake 30.8mm (52%)
CL 30.8mm (55%)
Pershore 20.0mm (38%)
Hereford c 23mm
Shobdon 28.8mm (37%)



PWS


Llangeitho 86.4mm
Talsarn, Abermeurig Bont 69.1mm
Llanelli 72.1mm


Longford 30mm
Bulkington 17.8mm
Dunchurch 26.9mm
Crick 23.1mm
Daventry c 28mm
Radford Semele 30.7mm
Shirley 25.9mm
Edgbaston 27.2mm
Harborne 35.3mm
Alvechurch 37.3mm
Malvern 26.7mm








Sunshine totals

Valley 34.8 hrs (60%)
Aberdaron 39.3 hrs
Aberporth 31.9 hrs (52%)
Lwn 32 hrs (74%)

Nottingham 58.2 hrs
Shawbury 36.3 hrs
Coventry, Bablake 54.6 hrs (87%)

Weather log December 2018

Weather log December 2018


Key:

WW = West Wales
Lwn = Llanwnnen
AG = Aldermans Green, Coventry
LL = Long Lawford
CL = Church Lawford
CC = Capel Curig
MH = Milford Haven
Mids = Midlands
CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire
COL = Climatological Observers Link
PWS = Personal weather station



Mild start to the month:

Wed 7th rainy much of Wales, Whitechurch 30.2mm wettest in UK,

Thu 6th very mild night generally, minima Pembrey 10.8c, Coleshill 10.2c, Llanwnnen 9.6c, Shawbury 6.5c. Maxima Hereford 14.0c, Trawsgoed 13.0c, Lwn 11.9c, Aberdaron 11.3c

Short cold snap towards mid month:

Fri 14th widespread frost, sharp locally (min Pershore -4.5c, Nottingham -1.1c, Tirabad -3.2c, Lwn -2.1c, MH 4.1c); maximaTirabad 1.7c, Lwn 3.7c, Pershore 4.0c, MH 6.8c

Soon back to milder unsettled pre Christmas. Wales is having a very dull month:

Thu 20th Aberporth just 6.6 hours sunshine so far (Lwn 11 hrs, Valley 13.5 hrs, Nottingham 36.2 hrs)

Sat 22nd a welcome dry bright day...est sun Lwn 3.5 hrs, Aberporth 3.8 hrs

Mild or very mild, benign Christmas and end of year, a little rain or drizzle; Wales very dull; Lwn no sun after 22nd:

Christmas Day, minima close to 0c Midlands rising to 7-9c, WW no frost and maxima 9-11c generally..

Sat 29th Pershore max 13.4c, Bablake 12.8c, Mona & Valley 11.9c, Lwn 10.7c, Pembrey 10.5c



December summary

Very mild and rather wet; very dull WW, sunshine around average Midlands

Rainfall totals:

Valley 109.4mm (121%)
CC 326.8mm (106%)
Aberdaron 142.6mm (173%)
Trawsgoed 149.8mm (111%)
Aberporth 123.6mm (129%)
Llanwnnen 180.7mm (125%)
MH 141.8mm
Pembrey 144.6mm (125%)
Mumbles 120.0mm (109%)


Nottingham 80.8mm (131%)
Shawbury 70.8mm (114%)
Coleshill 80.8mm (126%)
Coventry, Bablake School 80.8mm (131%)
CL 88.4mm (148%)
Pershore 62.0mm (116%)
Hereford 75.8mm (112%)
Shobdon 94.2mm (112%)

PWS

Llangeitho 115.1mm
Talsarn, Abermeurig Bont 118.1mm
Llanelli 122.7mm
Lawrenny, Pembs 129.8mm

Coventry, Walsgrave 102.6mm
Easenhall, Rugby 71.6mm
Dunchurch 60.5mm
Crick 71.4mm
Daventry c 67mm
Radford Semele, L/Spa 78.7mm
Shirley, Solihull 95.2mm
Edgbaston, Bham 84.1mm
Alvechurch 110.7mm


Sunshine totals:

Valley 19.8 hrs (41%)
Aberporth 11.3 hrs (22%)
Lwn est 15 hrs (40%)

Nottingham 42.2 hrs
Shawbury 43.2 hrs (101%)
Coventry 57.5 hrs
Shobdon 32.3 hrs



Nature notes:

Mistle Thrush singing weakly second week AG, Coventry

Tue 11th Song Thrush singing quite well Rugby dusk

Patches of gorse in bloom through November and December.

End of month: Great Tits heard to call Coventry; first few Primrose in bloom; first Daff spikes Lwn (usual spot); Bluebell spikes and Celandine foiliage back garden





2018 summary

A mild and rather sunny year generally; rather dry much of Midlands, WW around average to quite dry..


Rainfall totals 2018:

Llanwnnen 1395.7mm (105%)

Coventry, Bablake School 661.6mm (96%)
Long Lawford 584.1mm (91%) using CL data Nov and Dec
Church Lawford 563.1mm (some data missing)

Sunshine

Llanwnnen 1422 hrs (105%)

Coventry 1708.2 hrs (111%)

November 2018 weather blog

November 2018

Key:

WW = West Wales
Lwn = Llanwnnen
LL = Long Lawford
CL = Church Lawford
CC = Capel Curig
MH = Milford Haven
Mids = Midlands
CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire
COL = Climatological Observers Link
PWS = Personal weather station


Rather cool start turned mild and more unsettled:

Tue 6th Scolton Park, Pembs 20.6mm wettest in UK from frontal rain

Mild unsettled to mid month:

Thu 15th mild to very mild; sunny much of WW, Midlands sunny intervals.. (Trawsgoed 17.3c, CC 15.5c, Lwn, Mona & Pershore15.1c, MH 13.8c, Shobdon 12.9c). Aberporth officially sunniest in UK with 7.2 hrs, while at nearby Llanwnnen the estimate 7.5 hrs.

Fri 16th very mild again and bright, minima high (Pembrey 12.1c, Persore 12.0c, Lwn 11.4c, CL 11.1c), maxima Lwn 15.6c, Mona 15.4c, Trawsgoed 15.2c, Aberporth 15.1c, Hereford 13.7c, Nottingham & Shawbury 12.9c, Aberdaron 12.8c)

Short cold snap:

Tue 20th cold with some showers, a little sleet or snow for some high ground such as Brecon Beacons (max Tirabad 4.7c, Lwn 6.4c, Valley 8.3c, CITE 5.1c, Nottingham 5.2c, Pershore 6.6c)

Wed 21st cold/ rather cold, many areas dry, a few showers, wintry in places (max CC 3.7c, Lwn & Aberdaron 5.5c, MH 7.4c, Shobdon 4.2c, Market Bosworth 4.3c, Pershore 7.0c, Wellesbourne 7.3c)

Thu 22nd widespread frost, quite hard locally (minima Shawbury -3.7c, CL -3.1, Hereford -0.3c, Tirabad -0.7c, Lwn +0.7c, Aberdaron & MH 4.7c). Another cold day but dry and WW sunny (Valley 7 hrs, Lwn est 6.5 hrs, Shobdon 5.6 hrs) but cloudy/ misty Midlands away from Herefordshire and where very cold in places (maxima Shawbury 3.7c, Hereford 4.7c, CC 4.0c, Lwn 5.4c, Valley 7.8c)

Mild, windy unsettled end to the month, plentiful rain Wales:

Tue 27th Scolton CP, Pembs 31.8mm = wettest in UK (frontal rain); Llanwnnen 17mm (these 2100), Bablake, Coventry 15.4mm, CL 5.0mm (these 0900 28th Nov)

Wed 28th very mild and windy, severe gales parts of WW..gusts 87mph CC and over 70 mph for exposed coasts (Lwn 58mph). Maxima Shawbury 15.5c, Trawsgoed 15.4c, Lwn 13.6c, Aberdaron 13.2c.


Nature notes

19th plentiful gorse bloom coast road and Aberystwyth, November mild and sunny so far..


November 2018 summary:

Mild/ rather mild
Rather dry much of Midlands, rather wet much of WW
Generally quite sunny

Rainfall totals:

Valley 139.2mm (135%)
CC 224.0mm (76%)
Aberdaron 187.6mm (162%)
Bwllch-llan 153.0mm
Aberporth 156.0mm (144%)
Llanwnnen 198.3mm (133%)
Pembrey Sands 154.4mm (126%)
Mumbles 119.2mm (106%)

Nottingham 34.8mm
Shawbury 34.8mm (57%)
Coleshill 47.0mm (68%)
Coventry, Bablake school 50.4mm (81%)
Church Lawford 39.2mm (65%)
Note: no Long Lawford data as garden renovations so gauge removed
Pershore 39.8mm (70%)
Hereford 67.8mm (106%)


PWS

Llangeitho 141mm
Abermeurig Bont, Talsarn 128mm
Llanelli 120.1mm
Lawrenny, Pembs 180.3mm

Longford, Coventry 36.1mm
Bulkington 34.5mm
Dunchurch 32.5mm
Crick 33.5mm
Radford Semele, Leamington Spa 44.2mm
Daventry c 40mm
Shirley, Solihull 66.3mm
Alvechurch 58.7mm
Harborne, Bham 71.9mm
Edgbaston, Bham 43.7mm

Sunshine totals:

Valley 69.1 hrs (119%)
Aberdaron 66.8 hrs
Llanwnnen 71 hrs estimated (134%)
Aberporth 81.8 hrs (133%)

Nottingham 52 hrs
Shawbury 50.2 hrs
Coventry, Bablake school 63.7 hrs (81%)
Shobdon 50.8 hrs

Weather log October 2018

Weather log October 2018

Key

WW = West Wales
Lwn = Llanwnnen
LL = Long Lawford
CL = Church Lawford
CC = Capel Curig
MH = Milford Haven
Mids = Midlands 
COL = Climatological Observers Link
PWS = Personal weather station

Fairly dry start to the month:

Sat 6th very cool rain at times Midlands, many places max below 10c; WW and Marches rain cleared early to sunny spells (max CL 9.2c, Shawbury 11.2c, CC 10.0c, Llanwnnen 12.4c, Pembrey 14.0c)..

Sun 7th widespread frost (Llanwnnen -2.8c, Swyddfynnon -1.9c, Pershore -1.6c, CL 0c)

Tue 9th Wellesbourne 10.1 hours sunniest in UK, Wellesbourne 20.6c max, Midlands having a warm day

Wed 10th unseasonable warmth and near unbroken sunshine: Pershore max 24.2c, Mona 24.0c, Trawsgoed 22.8c, Lwn 22.2c, Milford Haven 19.0c. Here at Llanwnnen it was the highest reading so far into October (cf though 26.4c 01/10/11 and 19.9c 01/11/15).  At Bablake max 23.2c was the latest 23c since 1892 (cf 22.8c 13/10/1990)

Thu 11th warm night, minima Valley 15.8c, Pershore 14.9c, Lwn 13.3c, Nottingham 12.1c; Pembrey 36mm wettest in UK.

Fri 12th very wet much of Wales, radar suggested over 200mm for some high ground such as Brecon Beacons. Libanus, Powys 138.6mm wettest in UK, with approx 67mm for the 24 hours to midnight at Lwn. Gales also for Wales, 63mph gust Lwn was strongest recorded here (srb 2013).

Sat 13th minima above 19c parts of SE and almost a UK October record night, Coventry and CL min about 17c. More very wet weather as fronts lingered WW with extensive flooding: 24 hour totals to 0900 Libanus 167.2mm (190.4mm in 48 hours), Tredegar 102.6mm and Tirabad 85.2mm (all in Powys). Friday 12th was easily the wettest day on record here at Llanwnnen with a total c. 80.6mm (beating 55.5mm 16th July 2009). 24 hour totals to 2100 Capel Curig 80mm, Trawsgoed 59mm, Pembrey 50mm. Severe flooding reported across SW Wales, such as Lampeter and Carmarthen. In stark contrast a warm bright day for much of the Midlands after some early rain, max 22 to 24c (Donna Nook, Lincs max 26.5c, Wellesbourne 23.4c, Coventry and Rugby c 23c)

Sun 14th many parts of SW Wales ended up with over 100mm in the past two days, and radar suggested over 400mm for some hills such as Brecon Beacons. At Llanwnnen a staggering 3 days total of 150.8mm for the 72 hours to 0900, with 126mm or 5 inches of this falling between 0300 12th and 1400 13th or within a 36 hour period. Thankfully the floods and receded for our drive home from Coventry and the day ended up dry and bright in Wales! Midlands saw some wet weather as Wales cleared up, with 20mm or so in places..(LL 17.3mm)

Sun 21st back to a mostly dry week: today bright and warm much of Midlands; cooler, cloudier, some drizzle WW (Pershore 19.0c, Coleshill & Shobdon 18.3c, Shawbury 15.9c, Mumbles 15.7c, Lwn 13.8c, Aberdaron 13.1c)

Cool/ cold end to month with notable frosts:

Fri 26th very cool and showery, some wintry showers high ground; plentiful rain and hail showers WW; central and east Mids mostly dry (max Tirabad 7.6c,  Coleshill 8.9c, Lwn 9.3c, Pembrey 10.8c, Pershore 11.1c)

Sat 27th wintry showers in places, parts of W Midlands in particular seeing snow showers early in the day..very cold day for October, particularly Midlands where some places did not exceed 5c, Bablake high 5.2c suggests it was the coldest October day since 1950 (5.0c) Other max Coleshill & Tirabad 5.3c, Shobdon 6.7c, Lwn 7.6c, Milford Haven & Pembrey 8.8c, Porthmadog 9.3c

Mon 29th widespread frost was sharp in places, here at Llanwnnen min -6.1c was the coldest on record for October (beating -5.6c 25/10/10). Other minima Pershore -4.9c,  CC -4.7c, Trawsgoed -4c. Another very cool/ cold late October day in spite of plentiful sunshine, maxima Tirabad 5.4c, Lwn 6.7c, Pershore 8.6c, Pembrey 9.2c, Porthmadog 9.9c; Wellesbourne 8.8 hrs sun; Aberporth 8.6 hrs, Lwn est 8.5 hrs)

Tue 30th another widespread frost, this severe over much of Wales, Llanwnnen min -8.0c smashing yesterdays record. Other minima Tirabad -7.3c, Trawsgoed -5.3c, Newport, Salop & Pembrey -3.9c, Shawbury -3.7c, Mumbles +1.2c, Nottingham 1.5c (Midlands clouded over). Derek Brockway said min -8c at St Harmon was the lowest in October in Wales for 21 years; checked in COL Presteign had -8.1c 29/10/97. Checking further online the St Harmon site stated in fact was min -8.6c which is lower than in 1997. Also a PWS Davis Vantage Pro near New Radnor had min -8.7c, Another lovely sunny day..

Wed 31st another widespread, in places sharp frost (min Shobdon -5.6c, Llanwnnen -4.9c, Aberdaron & MH 6.0c). A milder day.. generally 11 to 13c (MH 12.7c, Pershore 12.6c, Lwn 12.4c, Mona 10.0c). Thundery downpours over Wales during the evening in contrast!  Fair bit of lightning aand a rumble of thunder here at Llanwnnen..

Nature notes:

Fieldfare and Redwing arrived mid month

Decent late blooms of Red Campion this month (since late September?) particularly where hedgebanks had an Autumn trim.

Late month Starling flocks numbering 100-200 low flying above my head over Llanwnnen fields


October 2018 summary:

Average to quite cool temperatures: SW Wales average to rather wet excepting dry Swansea area; NW Wales and Midlands generally rather dry; sunshine near to rather above average


Rainfall totals:

Capel Curig 197.4mm (66%)
Valley 99.0mm (98%)
Aberdaron 96.8mm (91%)
Trawsgoed 138.0mm (95%)
Aberporth 132.8mm (119%)
Llanwnnen 203.2mm (142%) note: 75% in just 3 days 11th to 13th 
Milford Haven 92.4mm
Mumbles, Swansea 67.6mm (55%)

Nottingham 39.4mm 
Coventry, Bablake 41.2mm (59%)
Long Lawford 42.5mm (75%)
Church Lawford c 43mm
Shawbury, Salop 51.2mm (75%)
Shobdon, Herefordshire 66.6mm (76%)
Hereford 55.8mm (71%)


PWS:

Bont Godolfan, Powys (near Machylleth) 47.8mm

Llangeitho 154.7mm
Abermeurig Bont, Talsarn 144.8mm
Llanelli 72.9mm
Lawrenny, Pembs 68.6mm

Longford, Coventry 39.1mm
Bulkington 36.1mm
Dunchurch 35.1mm
Crick, Northants 44.2mm
Daventry 38.6mm
Radford Semele 52.1mm
Shirley, Solihull 47.8mm
Alvechurch 48.3mm
Harborne, Brum 42.4mm
Edgebaston, Brum 48.8mm
Malvern Wells 59.4mm


Sunshine totals Oct 2018:

Llanwnnen estimated from webcam captures 99 hours (111%)

Valley 96.3 hrs (96%)
Aberdaron 104.5 hrs 
Aberporth 97.9 hrs (95%)

Nottingham 111.0 hrs 
Coventry, Bablake school 128.1 hrs
Shawbury, Salop 98.1 hrs (108%)
Shobdon 115.4 hrs 

Weather log September 2018

Weather log September 2018

Warm start to September soon cooled off especially WW, still noit a lot of rain early in the month:

Sun 9th Capel Curig 24.0mm wettest in UK..

Tue 11th very mild/ warm night (minima Pershore 16.6c, Mumbles 16.4c, Lwn 14.1c, Ashawbury 13.0c, Capel Curig [CC] 11.2c)

Relatively dry start to September, with parts of the Midlands very dry til past mid month (Long Lawford only 8.0mm to 18th. Midlands also warm past week (up to 24c) whereas WW below 20c. Wales turned appreciably wetter mid month with Midlands wet too from 19th:

Thu 20th copious rainfall Wales and Marches..here at Llanwnnen (Lwn) it was the wettest September day on record as about 37mm had fallen since the morning reading and c 48mm in the 24 hours to midnight (previous 29.7mm 23/09/07) and wettest day this year (beating 35.7mm March 14th).

Other rainfall amounts (24 hrs to midnight): wettest Tirabad 74.0mm, CC 63.4mm, Shawbury 52mm, Pembrey 46mm, Mumbles 45mm, Hereford 43mm, and selected Trawsgoed 32mm, Aberporth 31mm, Church Lawford [CL] 18mm

Thu 20th the wettest September day at Llanwnnen with 46.6mm, 100mm for some hills (24 hour totals to 2245)

Fri 21st Lwn 24 hour total 46.6mm the third wettest day recorded (after 47.3mm 14/05/13 and 55.5mm 16/07/09). Showery day, hail and thunder in a few places such as Lwn morning thunder

18th - 21st saw strong to gale winds at times bringing down quite a few trees with gusts above 60mph to exposed Wales (Capel Curig 74mph, Lwn 44mph 19th)..

Sat 22nd very cool for September as well as damp/ wet. Here at Lwn max 10.7c notably low for September being the lowest such reading since 25/09/12 (max 10.5c). Other maxima Tirabad 9.1c, Aberporth 10.7c,  Shobdon 11.0c,  Wellesbourne 12.4c, Porthmadog 13.0c

Settled, often sunny end to September came as a relief in Wales at least:

Mon 24th atmospheric pressure close to September record highs, 1040mbar reached midday Lwn, 1041mbar for more southern Wales..

Tue 25th widesprerad frost, the lowest September readings for anumber of years in places, at Coventry the low of 1.5c was the coldest September night since 1987 (min 0.7c)  while here at Lwn min -1.7c was the second lowest in September (-1.8c 26/09/10). Other minima CC -1.2c, Shobdon -0.7c, Coton-in-the-Elms 1.0c)

Sat 29th another widespread early Season frost, here at Llanwnnen we broke the September record with a low of -1.9c. Other minima (to 0600) Tirabad -1.8c, Shobdon -0.5c, Pembrey -0.2c, Nottingham 4.7c, Mumbles 8.0c). Sunny periods if only rather cool to average (Hereford 17.7c, MH 17.5c, Lwn 16.3c, Aberdaron 14.7c; Wellesbourne 11 hrs sunniest in UK)

Nature notes:

Mid month still seeing some Swallow and Martin occasionally but most of the time absent from our skies. Hardly any sighting by the last few days when most seem to have migrated.

Chiffchaff heard as a subsong a couple of times in last week.

September 2018 summary

Rather cool to average temperatures; Average to wet WW and NW Midlands, with rest of Midlands average to dry; rather dull WW; Midlands an average to quite sunny month

Rainfall amounts:

Capel Curig  c 255mm
Aberdaron c 83mm
Trawsgoed c 121mm
Aberporth c 94mm
Llanwnnen 126.7mm (111%)
Pembrey c 87mm
Milford Haven c 70mm

Nottingham c 57mm
Coleshill c 42mm

Coventry, Bablake school 40.2mm (68%)

Long Lawford 35.2mm (68%)
Pershore c 45mm
Shobdon, Herefordshire 60.6mm

Personal weather stations:

Machynlleth, Powys 160.5mm
Llangeitho 97.5mm
Abermeurig Bont, Talsarn 96mm
Llanelli 75.2mm
Lawrenny, Pembs 65mm

Longford, Coventry 36.6mm
Bulkington 36.6mm
Dunchurch 26.9mm
Crick 32.8mm
Radford Semele, Leamington Spa 36.1mm
Daventry 23.9mm
Shirley, Solihull 47.5mm
Alvechurch 47mm
Harborne, Bham 53.8mm
Edgebaston, Bham 45.2mm

Sunshine:

Valley 123.8 hrs (96%)
Aberport 127.5 hrs (89%)
Llanwnnen estimated 104 hours (83%)

Nottingham 119.9 hrs
Shawbury, Salop 115.8 hrs (98%)
Coventry, Babalake school 146.2 hrs (106%)
Shobdon, Herefordshire 115.5 hrs (99%)

Weather log August 2018

Weather log August 2018

Thu 2nd min 15.6c Llanwnnen (Lwn) warmest night of the year to date (Mumbles & Pembrey 17.3c, Shawbury 15.9c, Hereford 13.0c. Quite hot sunny spells much of Midlands, WW and SW Midlands rather cloudy with a little drizzle but quite warm and humid  (Newport, Salop 27.7c, Coleshill 27.6c, Shobdon 24.0c, Trawsgoed 22.2c, Aberdaron 17.8c)

Fri 3rd again warmest night of the year Lwn min 17.0c (in top 6 of warmest nights recorded here). Also Shobdon 18.0c,  Pembrey 17.8c, Hereford 14.0c, Pershore 13.9c.

Sun 5th Midlands has had a mini heatwave past few days, today hottest so far this month Midlands, and parts of Wales hot with Lwn 27.9c an August record (Wellesbourne 29.6c, Church Lawford {CL} 28.9c, Hereford 28.8c, Nottingham 28.2c, Trawsgoed 27.3c, Valley 21.4c)

Mon 6th quite hot and sunny again much of Midlands (Wellesbourne 28.3c, CL 28.2c, Shobdon 25.8c), more cloud and less warm or average WW (Lwn 25.2c, Trawsgoed 22.3c, Aberdaron 17.8c)

Tue 7th last day of the current heat and sunshine for the Midlands, already cooler and rather cloudy WW with some drizzle (Coleshill 28.3c, Nottingham 28.0c, Pembrey 20.4c, Lwn 18.9c, Aberporth 16.7c)

Wed 8th cooler air to all, still rather warm though Midlands (Hereford 23.0c, CL & Coleshill 22.4c, Pembrey 19.6c, Aberporth 17.0c), heavy showers locally (thunder Brum area), but mainly dry still..

Thu 9th a few well scattered showers with isolated thunder (as Rugby early evening) temperatures average at best to rather cool (Newport, Salop 22.1c, Milford Haven {MH} 19.9c, Lwn 19.8c, Nottingham 19.0c, Aberdaron 16.8c)

Fri 10th cool night for more rural areas with the first touch of grass frost of the Season here at Llanwnnen which seems to have been highly localised (air min 3.3c, grass min -0.5c; also Shobdon 4.2c, Tirabad  6.7c, Mumbles 12.6c). More widespread showers today, especially Midlands, again thunder locally (as Coventry and Rugby mid afternoon; average to cool, but very cool central Midlands (Hereford 20.6c, Pembrey 19.4c, Lwn 18.1c, Aberdaron 16.7c, CL max 15.8c, Shawbury 15.7c).

Sat 11th a very cool August night widely with very localised grass frost. Air min 1.6c at Llanwnnen was the lowest in August since 2010 (1.3c 31/08/10), grass min -1.5c. Other minima Shobdon 3.0c, Capel Curig (CC) 4.1c, Pembrey 5.1c, Nottingham 8.6c, Aberdaron 12.1c..and grass min Shawbury 0c, CC 2c (Pembrey 19mm wettest in UK to 2100)

Sun 12th a good drop of rain overnight in most areas..radar suggests over 2 inches parts of S Wales..(Pembrey Sands 31.8mm 0600, Llanwnnen 24.5mm 0900). Actually 86mm from a station in the Valleys and with several sites above 70mm around Rhondda. In contrast to yesterday rather a warm night (min Pembrey 17.0c, Lwn 16.1c, Shawbury 16.0c, Coleshill & Nottingham 14.9c). Thundery showers affected Marches pm

Wed 15th warm night (Pembrey Sands 17.3c, Hereford 16.0c, Lwn 15.5c, Nottingham 14.0c). Capel Curig 53mm wettest in UK

Fri 17th generally rather cool/ cool (Aberdaron max 14.7c, Pembrey & Mumbles 17.8c, Pershore College 21.5c, Nottingham 18.4c)

Sun 19th Warm night (min Shawbury 17.7c, Hereford, Pembrey & Shobdon 17.0c, Lwn 15.8c, Aberdaron 15.0c). Warm by day Midlands, nearer average WW (Pershore 25.9c, CL 24.1c, Pembrey 20.1c, Lwn 19.9c, Aberdaron & Mona 18.4c)

Thu 23rd very dull of late especially WW, here at Lwn just 6 hours sun past week..yet another  dull August here, fourth successive!

Fri 24th very cool and showery, hail and thunder locally. One of the coolest recorded August days here at Lwn (14.5c 19/08/07) and the coolest day since May 16th (also 14.7c). Other maxima Tirabad 13.0c, CC 14.2c, Trawsgoed 14.8c, Valley 17.0c, Hereford 16.3c, CL 17.7c, Wellesbourne 17.8c

Sun 26th spells of rain, S Wales especially wet, Mumbles 40.2mm wettest in UK (Lwn 13mm, Watnall 17.8mm, Hereford 13.2mm)

Largely cool towards month end as well but mainly dry but warmer and sunnier very end:

Fri 31st local grass frost, here at Llanwnnen min 1.2c was the coldest August night recorded (previous 1.3c 31/08/10)..other minima Tirabad 1.7c, CC 2.4c, Trawsgoed 3.1c, Pembrey 4.1c, Shobdon 2.6c, Mumbles 11.6c)

Nature notes

Thu 2nd still the odd Swift flying over, still one or two nests with chicks audible Lwn hall.
Lawns reverting gradually to green again.

Thu 9th last Swift sighting Aberduar Chapel going seen going in and out at dusk, just the one, so evidence of delayed breeding due to having been blocked out for a week in early June

Tue 21st cut back lawn for first time in over 2 months! Front lawn not yet attended to (now quite long and lush) have nt the heart to disrupt what has became a Grasshopper and other insect safari park.

Sat 25th cut front lawn with minimal Grasshopper collateral (hopefully most hopping clear)

Late Aug good show of secondary blooming Red Campion along some lanes

Lawns lush and green and growing fast month end

August 2018 summary

Temperatures near or a little above average
Rainfall varied from quite dry to rather wet.
Sunshine generally dull; very dull parts of WW, closer to average much of Midlands

August rainfall totals

Valley 37.8mm
Capel Curig 172.8mm
Trawsgoed 121.8mm
Aberporth 63.8mm (93%)
Llanwnnen 93.0mm (86%)
Milford Haven 100.8mm
Mumbles 104.2mm

Shawbury 44.0mm (74%)
Coleshill 50.8mm
Coventry, Bablake School 56.2mm (89%)
Church Lawford 52.7mm (85%)
Long Lawford 46.0mm (67%)
Pershore 64.4mm
Hereford 66.6mm

Personal weather stations:

Machynlleth, Powys 162.8mm
Llangeitho 83.3mm
Abermeurig Bont, Talsarn 62.7mm
Llanelli 74.2mm
Lawrenny, Pembs 107.2mm

Longford, Coventry 58.2mm
Bulkington 46mm
Dunchurch 37.8mm
Crick 52.8mm
Radford Semele 72.4mm
Alvechurch 39.1mm
Harborne, Bham 39.9mm
Edgbaston, Bham 41.4mm
Shirley, Solihull 44.7mm


Sunshine

Valley 131.8 hrs (79%)
Aberdaron 142.6 hrs
Llanwnnen 93 hrs (56%)

Nottingham 157.4 hrs
Coventry 168.9 hrs (91%)
Shobdon (Herefordshire) 136.8 hrs 

Summer 2018 summary

A good Summer for all, and very good much of Midlands, although August was a disappointment especially WW. It has been the fifth warmest Summer on record for the CET (central zone) of England (records back to 1659).
After the heat and drought of much of June and July Summer 2018 finished on a rather dull and damp note.
Parts of the Midlands had an exceptionally dry Summer such as Long Lawford just 37% of average for the three months. Everywhere had a drier than average Summer. For much of the Midlands it was the driest Summer since 1995.
Everywhere had a sunny Summer thanks to June and July. Eevn a very dull August could not bring it down towards average at Llanwnnen.
At Coventry Summer 2018 was equal hottest with 2006 (both mean temp of 18.0c).


Rainfall totals Summer 2018

Llanwnnen 152.1mm (55%)

Coventry, Bablake School 99.2mm (55%)
Church Lawford 73.3mm (41%)
Long Lawford 66.0mm (37%)


Summer 2018 sunshine

Llanwnnen 574 hrs (113%)

Coventry 688.0 hrs (sunniest since 1996, 699.5 hrs)

Weather log July 2018

Weather log July 2018

Lwn Llanwnnen
LL Long Lawford
CL Church Lawford
CC Capel Curig
MH MIlford Haven
CITE Coton-in-the-Elms

Sun 1st warm night much of Wales (Mumbles min 18.9c, Aberdaron 17.1c, Capel Curig 9.6c, Coventry 12.2c, Shobdon 9.3c). Very or hot, clouded over Wales and Marches with showers in places (Porthmadog 31c.., Llanwnnen 29.2c, Gogerddan 29c, Trawsgoed 28.1c, Aberporth 22.2c, Hereford 29.9c, Nottingham 27.5c)

Mon 2nd widely hot and sunny again. Minima Mumbles 19.0c, Hereford & Shawbury 16.5c, Church Lawford (CL) & Coleshill 12.4c. Maxima Llanwnnen (Lwn) 30.9c, Porthmadog 30.7c, Pembrey 29.3c, Gogerddan 29c, Trawsgoed 28.9c, Coton-in-the-Elms {CITE} & Hereford 28.2c, Aberdaron 22.6c)

Tue 3rd warm to hot again, warmth tempered over much of the Midlands by a fresh east wind, but WW had another hot one Porthmadog max 30.1c hottest in UK (Lwn 29.3, Pembrey 28.4c, Gogerddan 28c, Hereford 26.4c, Mona 23.1c, Nottingham 22.6c)

Thu 5th Midlands turn for the heat, dry and sunny again virtually everywhere, a few isolated showers affected Wales and Marches (CITE 31.2c hottest in UK, Pershore 30.8c, Shawbury 26.8c, Mumbles 26.0c, Lwn 25.7c, Aberdaron 18.0c)

Continuation of the very warm/ hot spell into second week of the month:

Maxima Midlands 28 -30c and WW generally 23 -26c , cooler some coasts/ hotter some inland spots e.g.Lwn 28.8c Sat 7th while Aberporth had some mist for a time max 20.2c (CITE 30.0c, Pershore 29.9c)

Sun 8th hot sunny (Pershore 31.2c, CL 30.0c, Lwn 30.3c, Porthmadog 29c, Pembrey 27.9c, Aberporth 22.1c)

Tue 10th heatwave eased but still warm with some sunshine (Lwn 26.1c, MH 24.6c, Newport, Salop 25.9c, Pershore 24.6c, Aberporth 20.0c)

Thu 12th drought broken locally by a scattering of showers over Wales and Marches (Swydffynnon 6.8mm), still pretty warm (generally 21 -25c (CITE 26.5c warmest in UK)

Fri 13th showers and thunderstorms more widespread, especially West Midlands (Hereford 14.0mm), Worcester also had a deluge..

Warm to quite hot still mid month and mostly dry...Sat 14th Wellesbourne 27.5c, Lwn 26.8c, Shobdon 26.1c, Trawsgoed 23.6c, Aberdaron 18.5c and Sun 15th (CL & Pershore 27.6c, Lwn 25.8c, Trawsgoed 25.1c, Aberporth 23.7c, Aberdaron 19.1c; Shawbury & Shobdon 26.8c)

Mon 16th very warm Midlands, turned much cooler after weak cold front WW. Some rain or showers, isolated thunder, most places getting little if any rain (Aberporth 19.6mm, wettest in UK, Lwn 1.7mm). Drought continues Coventry and Rugby in spite of a shower giving a few mm over E Coventry afternoon (Pershore 27.4c, Shobdon 23.3c, Lwn & Trawsgoed 22.2c, Aberdaron max 15.7c)

Thu 19th absolute drought goes on much of Midlands, at Coventry its now 28 days long and Long Lawford 33 days! The past (non calendar) month has seen 320.2 hrs sun at Coventry - the sunniest calendar month there being 284.6 hrs in July 1990. Past few days though less warm. Cool minima much of Wales (Llanwnnen 4.1c, Tirabad 5.5c, Shobdon 9.6c, Mumbles 14.7c, Nottingham 14.8c)..Warming up again though today especially Midlands (Pershore 27.4c, CL & Coventry 27.2c, Lwn 25.0c, Trawsgoed 22.8c, Mona 22.6c, Aberporth 18.4c)

Fri 20th much of Midlands still very warm, cold front introduced cooler air with some rain to Wales, some of this rain affected Midlands later, while parts of East Midlands caught a downpour by evening. Llanwnnen 2.7mm here enough to end/ postpone the original partial drought here as we have now had all of 11.3mm since June 10th (40 days). However with only 8.4mm since June 16th that would mean a new shorter 35 day partial drought is still running. Bablake and LL/ CL had a drop of rain but not measurable so drought continue there (35 days LL). A PWS near Wellingborough, Northants had 28.7mm during the evening, much in one hour (CL 27.5c, Shawbury 22.0c, Lwn 22.6c, MH 22.1c, Aberdaron 15.3c; Valley 9.4mm)

Sun 22nd heat back Midlands, warm for WW (Pershore 29.8c warmest in UK, CITE 28.5c, Lwn 26.1c, Trawsgoed 24.6c)

Mon 23rd hot, plenty of sun Midlands, rather cloudy but warm WW (CITE 31.0c, Coventry 30.5c, CL 30.0c, Hereford 26.8c, Trawsgoed 24.6c, Aberdaron max 17.2c)

Thu 26th Varied temps last night from very cool at some rural inland Wales locations to warm for some coasts (min Lwn 4.4c, Tirabad 5.0c, Mumbles 15.1c, Coventry & Nottingham 14.7c, Shobdon 8.0c). Another heatwave, especially inland Wales and Midlands, very hot much of Midlands, cooler but still warm for most coasts..(Wellesbourne 32.6c, CL 32.3c, Coventry 32.1c, Shobdon 28.9c,  Lwn 29.8c [suspect its reading a couple of degrees over this Summer on hot days due to concrete like baked lawn], Trawsgoed 27.0c, Aberdaron 21.8c). Long Lawford drought now 40 days!.

Fri 27th parts of East Midlands caught a shower or thunderstorm overnight into morning, generally a warm night but locally cool (minima Mumbles 17.7c, Coventry 17.6c, Nottingham 17.5c, Lwn 10.9c, Shobdon 8.0c). Hot again much of Midlands...thunderstorms affected parts of East Midlands 
pm, thunder heard LL; cooler with some rain or showers WW (Nottingham 29.4c, CL 29.3c, Shobdon 28.4c, Aberporth & Trawsgoed 23.2c, Lwn 20.7c, Aberdaron 18.8c)

Sat July 28th end of second instalment of the Lwn partial drought (41 days since June 16th) with a thunderstorm in the early hours and further showers totalling 7.1mm overnight.
End of LL and CL 41 day absolute drought after showers this morning and with the Coventry one ending with showers and longer spells of rain afternoon, at 37 days here it was second only to Summer 1976 which was 39 days long. A much cooler, fresher, windy and unsettled interlude this weekend! Plenty of blustery showers, hail and thunder in places..(Cov both), and longer spells of wet weather too so parts of Wales ended up with over two inches judging by the radar (Wellesbourne 21.8c, Pershore 20.8c, Mumbles 18.4c, Shobdon 18.7c, Aberdaron 16.1c; Mumbles 29.2mm)

Sun 29th  24 hours totals to 0900 Lwn 23.8mm, Bablake 13.2mm, LL 6.2mm (Capel Curig 51.2mm 24 hrs to 2100 wettest in UK)

Nature notes

Bird song greatly diminished by first week of July, just the occasional Thrush, Blackbird, Blackcap and Chiffchaff

Some trees and shrubs being affected by heat/ drought stress, and losing leaves or having them go brown. One of the Apple trees in our garden lost many of its leaves at the start of the month, a severe prune and since then regular watering has let it recover with fresh shoots and leaves by mid month.
Have seen Silver Birch in stress and also an Oak as well as various unknown shrubs such as in the Morrison car park in Carmarthen.

Demise of most Foxgloves early in the month.

Mid July: very few slugs or snails evident since mid June now

Mid July: lawns not cut since mid June!

Wed July 19th one to watch I was told by someone working there that major renovations of Lampeter Old Building due starting this Winter. Sureveyed Swifts there tonight and evidence of at least 17 nests (or at least holes being used by the Swifts) with 25 - 30 screaming above the building..what a loss to the town without this phenomenon in future Summers :(

Grannell river little more than a half width trickle much of its course, in places you could walk across without getting your shoes wet as the depth is below 2 inches at some points, at others with ponding its still perhaps 6 inches deep. Surprised close to month end before the rains came that the streams on the flanks of Mynydd Pencarreg were still though barely in flow (trickle) obviously still water present deep underground.

End of July lawns still not cut since mid June in spite of plenty of rain of late!

Swift chicks still calling from nests Lwn as of 31st, few adult birds around though and no longer screaming as were a week ago.


July 2018 summary

A dry, very warm and sunny month!

Nationally look slike its been the third warmest July on record.

Only a few spots attained average rainfall, most places dry/ very dry in spite of a wet end to the month. The rain at the end of the month broke prolonged dry spell/ droughts in many areas, parts of the Midlands having gone over 40 days without measurable rain! All areas saw well above average temperatures and above average sunshine.

Rainfall totals

Valley 49.6mm (91%)
Aberdaron 47.4mm (84%)
Trawsgoed 42.8mm (51%)
Aberporth 57.8mm (93%)
Llanwnnen 44.8mm (44%)
Milford Haven 69.4mm
Pembrey Sands 37.2mm (50%)
Mumbles 62.4mm (87%)


Nottingham 32.6mm
Shawbury 21.0mm (39%)
Coleshill 25.8mm (53%)
Coventry, Bablake school 35.2mm (60%)
Long Lawford 18.4mm (33%)
Church Lawford 19.2mm (32%)
Pershore 26.6mm (53%)
Hereford 31.2mm (69%)

Personal weather stations:

Bulkington 44.7mm
Coventry, Earlson 43.2mm
Dunchurch 21.3mm
Crick, Northants 15.5mm
Daventry 21.4mm
Banbury 24.4mm
Radford Semele, Leamington Spa 31.5mm
Alvechurch 24.7mm (40%)
Edgbaston, Brum 15.2mm
Harborne, Brum 33.8mm
Stourbridge, Worc 14.2mm

Machynlleth, Powys 53.1mm
Llangeitho 37.8mm
Abermeurig Bont, Talsarn 33.8mm
Llanelli 32.8mm
Lawrenny, Pembs 110.2mm


Sunshine:

Valley 256.5 hrs (147%)
Aberdaron 273.7 hrs
Aberporth 238.9 hrs (126%)
Llanwnnen 222 hours estimated (123%)

Shawbury 248.5 hours
Coventry 265.4 hours