Weather log August 2023

 Weather log August 2023

Key:

WW = West Wales

Lwn = Llanwnnen

AG = Aldermans Green, Coventry

CL = Church Lawford

LL = Long Lawford

ROW = Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

CC = Capel Curig, Snowdonia

MH = Milford Haven

Carms = Carmarthenshire

Pembs = Pembrokeshire

Mids = Midlands

CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire

COL = Climatological Observers Link

PWS = Personal weather station

MO = Met Office

NRW = National Resources Wales

EA = Environment Agency

est = estimated

inc = including

cf= compared with

A rather cool and unsettled start to August:

Wed 2nd showery, thunder parts of the SW Midlands pm.

Fri 4th Swyddffynnon, Ceredigion max 15.7c coolest place in Wales, generally 17 - 19c (Llanwnnen 16.9c, Coventry 18.8c and Pershore closer to average max 20.8c).

Sat 5th named storm Antoni brought gales to SW Wales & SW England today which warranted an amber warning from the Met Office, however not especially windy here at Lwn just 30 miles from the amber zone, estimated gusts not much above 30mph, and in fact even exposed parts only had 40 to 50mph (MH & Pembrey Sands max gusts 48mph); unsettled showers or longer spells of rain and cool (much of the Midlands very cool at 13 to 15c) with only coasts of S Wales near average; maxima Pennerley, beneath the Shropshire Stiperstones a November- like 11.2c, Market Bosworth 12.9c, Nottingham 13.4c, Coventry 13.5c, CC 14.5c, Pershore 15.6c, Lwn 16.7c, ROW 17.8c, Mumbles 19.7c. 

Sun 6th scattered showers, fine afternoon WW; thunder for the Gloucester area afternoon.

Wed 9th first day above 22c for a month here at Lwn, illustrating the lack of warmth as well as it being a dull and wet 'High Summer'.  It has been a dull start to August here although rainfall near average. Decent sunny spells Midlands but a lot of cloud WW. Other maxima Hereford 25.0c, Trawsgoed 24.5c, CITE 24.3c, Coventry 23.9c, Lwn 23.1c, Nottingham 22.5c, Aberporth 21.3c, Aberdaron 17.5c.

Thu 10th warmer still in most places, hot in a few, with more sunshine for WW; maxima Wellesbourne (Warks) 28.4c = warmest place in UK (BBC weather referred to this as and showed a photo of nearby Charlecote Park). Other max Gogerddan 28.3c, Nottingham 27.3c, Coventry 27.2c, Market Bosworth 26.2c, Trawsgoed 26.1c, Lwn 25.6c, Shobdon 25.5c, Aberdaron 20.3c.

Mon 14th rainfall for the first 12 days of August modest but the total almost doubled by 26.1mm here at Lwn for the 13th (to 0900 today) from periods of rain from the evening lasting to this morning. 1 or 2 inches for much of WW; other totals Mona 46mm, Pembrey Sands 34mm, Trawsgoed 18mm, Shobdon 10.6mm, Coventry 6.0mm, Coleshill 3.0mm.

First half of August has been rather dull with temperatures around average and rainfall average to quite wet. Parts of the Midlands have had a rather dry first half while parts of WW are already up to the whole August average. Little sunshine improvement on July here at Lwn with just a third of the monthly average to date -

Rainfall August 1st to 0900 16th: CL 21.6mm (rather dry), Pershore 23.0mm (rather dry), Coventry 28.0mm (average), Shobdon 39.0mm (rather wet), Llanwnnen 62.6mm (rather wet) and Mona on Anglesey 77.8mm (very wet).

Sunshine 1st to 15th August: Lwn estimated 46 hours (dull), Shobdon 70 hours (average) and Coventry 81 hours (rather dull).

Fri 18th/ Sat 19th named Storm Betty which mainly affected the Irish Sea, gusts to 66mph Capel Curig and a few other places above 60mph. It was a windy overnight for August estimated gusts here 40mph (Trawsgoed highest 39mph).

After the mid month period rather changeable with some rain at times but generally rather warm; Coventry for eg has had a decent spell of late being dry with sunny spells 19th to 25th , while each day 15th - 24th reached a rather warm 22 to 24c.

Fri 25th very cool night in places, Lwn min 4.0c (colder than any official UK station); other minima Shobdon 5.5c, Pembrey Sands 6.0c, Trawsgoed 8.0c, Nottingham 9.4c, Mumbles 12.5c; showers in places, thunder parts of Midlands late afternoon into evening.

Sat 26th WW affected by many showers today, more scattered these Midlands; here at Lwn showers were very heavy and prolonged at times making for the wettest day of the month to date, 32mm up to midnight and 27.2mm measured at 0900 for the preceding 24 hours; thunder for a few parts of the Midlands; Swyddffynnon (Ceredigion) 29.0mm wettest place in the UK, other totals Trawsgoed 12.6mm, CL 0.0mm.

Sun 27th max 15.9c, coolest day of the month here at Lwn, other maxima CC 14.0c, Nottingham 16.7c, Mumbles 17.7c, Coventry 18.4c, Pershore 20.1c.

Remainder of the month rather cool and dull WW in particular.

Nature notes:

Tue 1st 2 Swift from garden afternoon (these turned out the last sightings this Summer). First evening with no Swifts as far as I could tell.

Wed 2nd Aberduar chapel, Llanybydder no Swifts seen this evening but only there 15 minutes; evidence on the ground beneath the soffit, a broken egg shell and some but not much droppings.

Forestry: No Nightjars heard on a rather dull damp evening/ dusk.

Sat 5th no Swifts past 3 days means the bulk have left us (quite early as usually see some decent numbers in early August).

Mid month: large flock of Sparrows inhabiting the garden hedgerows, when opening the back door they create a whooshing sound and there appears to be 40 or 50 birds the most ever seen in the garden. Many of them seem to have had 2 broods this year and some may well have managed 3 as chicks heard still in late July.

Tue 15th snatch of Chiffchaff song this afternoon garden.

Wed 16th Aberaeron Kingfisher seen for a few seconds along the river near the park.

Fri 18th Alltyblaca very brief snatch of Chiffchaff.

Much fewer Swallows and Martins after mid month suggesting they are migrating or at least feeding elsewhere?

Sat 26th Chiffchaff calling very briefly during sun after much rain this afternoon.

Sun 27th good numbers of hirundines back today, 20+ H Martin and 10 Swallow over the gardens.

Wed 30th Newquay good colony of H Martins, with 6 nests, several still active on one house in Ivy Lane, Marine Terrace; 30 to 40 birds feeding above the town during the evening. Earlier we saw 3 or 4 Dolphins visible at times for a 20 minute period at 200 metres as viewed from above the Sea food factory.

August 2023 summary

Mediocre at best, rather poor month West Wales

WW dull, rainfall average to wet; near average temperatures.

Midlands quite warm, rather dull; dry to average rainfall.

Here at Lwn very dull, as with July under 100 hours sunshine estimated.

At Coventry rather dry, sunshine a little below average (but double the Llanwnnen total)

Rainfall totals August 2023

Capel Curig, Snowdonia c 210mm (rather wet)

Mona, Anglesey 112.4mm (rather wet)

Aberdaron, Llyn Peninsular c 115mm (wet)

Trawsgoed, Ceredigion c 80mm (average)

Aberporth, near Llangrannog c 55mm (rather dry)

Llanwnnen 137.9mm (126%)

Pembrey Sands, Carms c 140mm (wet)

Milford Haven, Pembs c 85mm (average)

Mumbles, near Swansea c 80mm (average)

Nottingham c 65mm (average)

Shawbury, Salop c 50mm (rather dry)

Coleshill c 40mm (dry)

Coventry, Bablake School 42.0mm (67%)

CL, Warks 36.4mm (59%)

Pershore, Worc 44.8mm (73%)

Shobdon, Herefordshire 59.6mm (93%)

National Resources Wales (NRW) rain gauges August 2023

Llyn Cefni, Ynys Mon 142.0mm (wet)

Bethesda Quarry (Gwynedd) 172.8mm (wet)

Cwm Dyli (Snowdonia) 252.6mm (average)

Corris (near Machynlleth) 194.4mm (average)

Bow Street (near Aberystwyth) 91.0mm (average)

Pontrhydfendigaid (near Tregaron, Ceredigion) 118.2mm (rather wet)

Penuwch (Ceredigion) 95.8mm (average)

Rhos Ymryson (near Gorscoch and 5 miles NW of Lwn) 154.8mm (rather wet)

Cellan (2 miles NE of Lampeter) 133.0mm (rather wet)

Pencader (Carms) 146.4mm (rather wet)

Abergorllech (Brechfa Forest, Carms) 167.0mm (rather wet)

Rhydargaeau (Carms) 152.8mm (rather wet)

Garnswllt (near Ammanford, Carms) 131.0mm (average)

Felinfoel (near Llanelli, Carms) 141.0mm (wet)

Ferwig (near Cardigan) 61.2mm (rather dry)

Maenclochog (near Preselis, Pembs) 143.6mm (average)

Tenby (Pembs) 100.4mm (rather wet)

Bolton Hill (near Haverfordwest, Pembs) 93.0mm (average)

COL stations rainfall August 2023

Llansadwrn 134.4mm (149%)

Ludlow, Salop 58.3mm (87%)

Alvechurch, Worc 51.7mm (70%)

Warstock, Brum 60.1mm (85%)

Cosby, Leic 26.0mm (40%)

Hinckley 41.4mm

Towcester, Northants 39.4mm (62%)

Sunshine totals August 2023

Llanwnnen estimated  86 hrs (52%)

Coventry, Bablake School 167.8 hrs (96%)

Shobdon, Herefordshire 124.3 hrs (rather dull)

COL stations sun August 2023:

Ludlow 110.8 hrs

Alvechurch 161.2 hrs

Cosby 168.0 hrs

Towcester 160.4 hrs

Summer 2023 summary

Rather warm.

Dull WW & Marches, near average sun Midlands

Rainfall variable from rather dry to wet

June very warm, dry and sunny.

July dull and wet; average temperatures.

August average to rather warm temperatures and generally dull; rainfall varying from rather dry to wet.

Mean Summer temperature 15.9c here at Lwn and so the second warmest Summer here (after 16.2c 2018). This was down to the exceptionally warm June and that July and August were then not cool months in spite of perhaps being perceived otherwise!

Likewise due to how dry and sunny Summer started it did not end up too far from average generally in spite of the washout July. Certainly from  late June though hot weather was at a premium, nothing above 80f here at Lwn after June 16th.

Rainfall totals Summer 2023

Capel Curig, Snowdonia c 605mm (rather wet)

Aberdaron, Llyn Peninsular c 265mm (wet)

Trawsgoed, Ceredigion c 285mm (rather wet)

Aberporth, near Llangrannog c 160mm (rather dry)

Llanwnnen 331.0mm (119%) - note double that of Aberporth on the coast

Pembrey Sands, Carms c 295mm (rather wet)

Milford Haven, Pembs c 220mm (average)

Nottingham c 255mm (wet)

Shawbury, Salop c 200mm (rather wet)

Coleshill c 175mm (average)

Coventry, Bablake School 206.0mm (114%)

CL, Warks 201.0mm (113%)

Pershore, Worc 193.6mm (rather wet)

Shobdon, Herefordshire 185.6mm (average) 

Sunshine totals Summer 2023

Llanwnnen estimated 413 hours (82%)

Coventry 565 hours (100%)

Shobdon 439.5 hrs (dull)

Weather log July 2023

 Weather log July 2023

Key:

WW = West Wales

Lwn = Llanwnnen

AG = Aldermans Green, Coventry

CL = Church Lawford

LL = Long Lawford

ROW = Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

CC = Capel Curig, Snowdonia

MH = Milford Haven

Carms = Carmarthenshire

Pembs = Pembrokeshire

Mids = Midlands

CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire

COL = Climatological Observers Link

PWS = Personal weather station

NRW = National Resources Wales

est = estimated

inc = including

cf= compared with

srb = since records began

Quite unsettled early in the month and rather cool:

Mon 3rd cool and showery, local thunder Midlands.

Fri 7th a brief return of heat, max Pershore 28.4c, Coleshill 27.6c, Nottingham 27.3c, Coventry, Gogerddan & Shawbury 27.1c, CL, Shobdon & Trawsgoed 26.7c, Lwn 25.8c, Aberdaron 22.1c.

Sat 8th warm/ very warm night; at Llanfairfechan (PWS) N Wales the temperature rose from 18c before midnight to 24c at 0400 due to the SE Foehn effect wind off Snowdonia. Here at Lwn a similar though less pronounced effect raised it from 17.5c before midnight to 20.4c around 0400. Minima Coventry & Trawsgoed 19.1c (the low to 0900 had been 20.5c but cooler late morning), Lwn & Nottingham 16.3c, Aberporth 15.2c, Shawbury 13.3c. Some rain in places then widespread downpours and thunderstorms Midlands pm giving over 2 inches in places; Winterbourne (B'ham) 41.4mm wettest place in the UK, also Market Bosworth 31.8mm, CL 15.0mm, Coventry 6.6mm. Other measurements: Alvechurch 43mm and Lichfield 42.2mm most of which in under 2 hours at both EA gauges; PWS near Hinckley 31mm caught  in an hour. Thunder heard from Coventry & Rugby though not overhead.

Sun 9th scattered showers and thunderstorms, occasional rumbles here at Lwn much of which passed by to the east early afternoon; B'ham area caught storms for the second consecutive day; thunder heard from Coventry

Tue 11th showery again, thunder in places (thunder heard Coventry and likely Rugby). Lines or streets of showers affected WW, one such passed just west and north of here over several hours putting down much rain under it but with places just a couple of miles away escaping with little. One such line gave 25mm to Cribyn PWS 3 miles to our north with just a couple of mm here; another gave 40mm to Penuwch in just 3 hours this afternoon and 26.6mm to Swyddffynnon, near Tregaron today to 2100 (officially the wettest places in Wales today). Coventry 18.8mm to 2100 was the wettest spot in the Midlands.

Wed 12th showers in places, thunder more localised (sferics from the Southam or Daventry areas  thunder heard from Rugby).

Fri 14th one of the few truly wet and windy days of this Summer to date courtesy of a deep low to our west; over an inch in places, rain cleared to heavy showers overnight.

Sat 15th 0900 total Lwn 25.4mm the wettest day since January (36.9mm 11th); also 0900 reading Coventry 15.6mm (wettest day of the month to date); 0600 readings: MH 20.2mm, Wellesbourne, Warks 18.6mm, Nottingham 14.4mm, Shawbury 6.6mm, Aberporth 4.8mm. Showery today, thunder in places and windy; prolonged heavy rain over N Wales, 3 or 4 inches today for Snowdonia (Capel Curig 76.6mm to 2100 wettest place in UK).

First half of July: rather unsettled, dull and rather wet generally; temperatures close to average; some places very dull, just 46 hours here at Lwn for the first half month (a similar amount in just 3 days in early June). Some places very wet having already attained their whole July averages.

Rainfall 1st to 0900 16th July:

Mona, Anglesey 50.6mm (rather wet)

Capel Curig 165.4mm (105% whole July average)

Trawsgoed 37.8mm (average)

Llanwnnen 63.8mm (wet)

Pembrey Sands 43.8mm (rather wet)

MH 52.4mm (rather wet)

Mumbles 46.3mm (rather wet)

Coventry 50.8mm (very wet)

CL 46.4mm (wet)

Pershore 52.6mm (just above the whole July average)

Shobdon 47.8mm (wet)

Sunshine July 1st -15th:

Llanwnnen (estimated) 46 hours (should be around 90 hours by now)

Coventry 81.3 hours (rather dull)

Shobdon, Herefordshire 48.7 hrs (very dull)

Rather Autumnal some days just after mid month:

Sun 16th fewer showers, only lightning sferics (and thunder?) being over B'ham midday.

Mon 17th  a line of heavy downpours some with thunder affected just south and east of Aberystwyth around dawn this giving over an inch. Dinas (EA gauge), near Ponterwyd 28.4mm fell overnight, much in 2 hours around dawn. Scattered showers, thunder in places (chiefly N Mids), many places escaping with a mostly dry, bright day.

Tue 18th Met Office station Scolton Park (Pembs) 16.4mm wettest place in the UK.

Sat 22nd washout of a day with widely 1 - 2 inches across WW and half inch Midlands. Here at Lwn 32.5mm in the 24 hours to midnight, while Cwm Dyli (NRW), Snowdonia had 65.8mm in the same period; Astwood Bank 18.0mm was the wettest place of the Midlands MO sites (2100).

Sun 23rd Coventry measured 12.4mm in the 24 hours to 0900.

Mon 24th Mumbles, near Swansea 25.6mm wettest place in the UK (most places today though below 10mm).

Tue 25th here in Ceredigion at least, apart from the washout of last Saturday 22nd - much of the past week has been mainly dry with some sunny spells, feeling quite warm although temperatures not far from average (20c). What rain there has been has tended to be overnight apart from that Saturday.

Wed 26th very cool Summer night inland, minima Lwn 3.2c, Shobdon 4.3c, Trawsgoed 6.4c, CL 9.1c, Nottingham 9.2c, Valley 14.2c. Rain pm, an inch parts of WW and half inch widely Mids; Scolton Country Park (Pembs) 30.2mm wettest in UK.

Thu 27th appreciated a warm day Mids maxima Wellesbourne (Warks) 25.8c, Pershore 25.6c, Coventry 25.1c, Nottingham 22.5c, Lwn 21.6c, Mona 20.4c, Aberdaron & Pembrey Sands 18.4c.

Nature notes

Sat 1st marked decrease in bird song with the new month, hardly anything singing this evening, it was a breezy day.

Sun 2nd southern forestry some bird song up here this evening, a few Chiffchaff, Blackbird and Song Thrush was nice to hear.

Llanybydder: only a few Swifts about at dusk after a breezy day, however passing Rhydybont chapel 2/ 3 screamers; chicks audible from high above at the dilapidated warehouse; one seen to exit nest hole at former station building. Note Rhydybont is a Grade 2 listed building; the former mill is not listed unfortunately (could offer some protection).

Tue 4th Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan; 3 Swift near the park; plenty of H Sparrows, quite a few still seemed to be occupying nests in the many gaps available in the buildings many of which are hundreds of years old.

Thu 6th 8/9 screaming Swift this evening in spite of the overcast drizzly conditions. Not much bird song anymore, bar the odd Chiffchaff, Blackbird & S Thrush.

Sat 8th forestry dusk: little bird song now; it was getting dark started to head back to car then 2205 distant Nightjar briefly churred from whence we came (300 m); 2220 another heard ahead of us (under 100m) in Larch fell area (now showing 2 to 3 years regrowth plantation);  2230 first sighting of the year close under 50m briefly but no more churring so departed.

Sun 9th village, lots of hirundines and Swifts around dusk, about a dozen HM and 20 Swallow (young now flying and being fed by attendant adults); also about a dozen Swift with 3 seen to enter the hall (W side) in rapid succession.

Tue 12th Llanybydder dusk, cool evening after showers: Driving slowly past Rhydybont chapel 4 or 5 Swift noted; Aberduar chapel, numerous (15 - 20) exits and entries in just 20 minutes after sunset as it was getting dark, these into or out of at least 6 or 7 different locations into the soffit (perhaps some shuffling along within the soffit space?). This colony seemingly doing well then after the renovation concerns of 2018.

Tue 18th heard a bird screaming looked out to see the family of Jays flying off the Holly one was carrying a bird (Great Tit?). Predated most likely off one of the feeders on the Holly.

Wed 19th a nice dry day after several poor ones: Carmarthen Merlin's Walk 4 House Martin nests a couple of which seemed active with adults feeding the chicks. They nest on the bends in the downpipes beneath the rooflines of the shops below. 

Carmarthen evening: 20+ Swift high above the town at times breaking into screaming parties, as observed from vicinity of St Peters church. Inspected the church building and noted droppings on the sloping roof of the North Transept abutting the main church body and that the roof line had a number of gaps one of which had these Swifts in it. Note that as well as the church several other old buildings that may have Swifts, one being the chartered surveyors (Llewellyn Humphries) just down from the church, this is known as Napier House and is a Grade 2 listed building. The other being the rear side of  the Meeting House in Lammas St from which I thought I may have heard chicks?

Driving home Llanybydder station car park, c 20 Swift undertaking frenzied screaming parties (colonies in both former station building and the old warehouse/ mill). Good to see such numbers the most this Season (perhaps greater numbers now as chicks are fledging?)

Alltyblaca 3 Swift near the chapel.

Back home dusk: Our Swifts too were frenzied. 15 to 20 birds observed from the garden until 2200 when it was getting dark. An entrancing display, the best of this Summer.

Thu 20th Lampeter, Sainsbury car park, evening: came out with the trolley noticed a lot of Jackdaws above making much noise, looked down and 30 metres ahead a Sparrowhawk on top of something, as I slowly approached the Sparrowhawk released a Collard Dove which flew to nearby shrubs followed by the hawk. This was right next to our car and as I approached this I saw the hawk fly up and away a bit, then the dove went up on top of one of the tall light posts, with presumably it's partner on an adjacent post. Quite a few feathers on the ground, the dove must have been in shock and still susceptible to the hawk.

Mon 24th a fine evening at the forestry: waited for the possibility of a Nightjar. 2140 (20 minutes after sunset) one churring well at 50 metres then seen to fly a short distance. This being the usual location where the main track bends and is wide.  Approached its new location getting to 10 metres although could not pick it out in the trees and dark, then it flew low over us. Then amazed to witness 4 or 5 birds (possibly a family?) swooping and clapping around us for a minute and all within 40 metres! Further churring audible as we walked back the 500 metres or so to the car at the main gate (2210).

Wed 26th Long Lawford, Rugby (LL): wet evening 6 Swift above the bungalow.

Thu 27th LL dusk 12 to 15 Swift; seems to be a colony in the Elizabeth Way environs while a bird exited one of the boxes of the house on Townsend Lane and swooped low over the road and above the park; they now has 3 Swift boxes together with speakers to play calls to attract further birds.

Fri 28th LL afternoon 12 to 15 Swift above The Spinney; Green Woodpecker heard by the Church (it is always quite something to hear one laughing in the Midlands as they are very few and far between WW). 

Wyken Slough, Coventry evening: hoping for a good number of Swifts (have seen up to 70 feeding above the lake in previous years) however tonight was a no show. Great Crested Grebe sat on a nest which seems rather late. Another Green Woodpecker heard.

Not sure which day but a Song Thrush heard briefly in Rugby which had not heard for several weeks now since most of the birds went quite early in the month.

Sat 29th about a dozen Swift above The Spinney LL dusk.

Mon 31st LL morning some 20 to 30 mostly Swift and some House Martin high above the garden (something like 15 to 20 Swift a good number). Church afternoon a Red Kite just over the tree tops by the church and another Green Woodpecker heard close by not seen.

Driving back: half dozen Swift M5 near Bromsgrove; another half dozen Abergavenny which has a good population and plentiful suitable old buildings.

Second half of July: plentiful butterflies on the better days, chiefly Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and Whites (also some Peacocks and Red Admiral and the odd Tortoiseshell. 

July 2023 summary

Dull or very dull and many places very wet; a poor Summer month in spite of near average temperatures.

Many NR Wales gauges more than double their July averages;  all locations below average sun, some very dull indeed having around half the average. Temperatures unremarkable with rather cool days and average or quite mild nights, and so near average overall. Remarkably this was the first July at Coventry cooler than June since 1970, prior to which it was not unusual. Public perception being that it was an extremely poor month and someone was overheard stating that it was the coldest July on record! In actual fact it was only the coolest since 2020 both here at Lwn and Coventry. Rain and sun-wise it was indeed a poor month.

Rainfall totals July 2023

Capel Curig, Snowdonia c 290mm (double the average)

Mona, Anglesey 140.6mm (over 200%)

Aberdaron, Llyn Peninsular c 115mm (very wet)

Trawsgoed, Ceredigion 145.0mm (very wet)

Aberporth, near Llangrannog c 80mm (rather wet)

Llanwnnen 158.6mm (171%)

Pembrey Sands, Carms c 135mm (very wet)

Milford Haven, Pembs c 120mm (very wet)

Mumbles, near Swansea c 135mm (almost 200%)

Nottingham c 130mm (about 200%)

Shawbury, Salop c 110mm (about 200%)

Coleshill c 80mm (wet)

Coventry, Bablake School 97.0mm (170%)

CL, Warks 91.2mm (152%)

Pershore, Worc 96.8mm (176%)

Shobdon (Herefords) 97.6mm (176%)

Hereford c 75mm (wet)

National Resources Wales (NRW) rain gauges 

Llyn Cefni, Ynys Mon 151.8mm (over 200%)

Bethesda Quarry (Gwynedd) 198.4mm (>200%)

Cwm Dyli (Snowdonia) 435.2mm (>200%)

Corris (near Machynlleth) 306.2mm (>200%)

Bow Street (near Aberystwyth) 129.8mm (very wet)

Pontrhydfendigaid (near Tregaron, Ceredigion) 201.6mm (>200%)

Penuwch (Ceredigion) 200.4mm (>200%)

Rhos Ymryson (near Gorscoch and 5 miles NW of Lwn) 145.6mm (very wet)

Cellan (2 miles NE of Lampeter) 140.4mm (very wet)

Pencader (Carms)  195.4mm (about 200%)

Abergorllech (Brechfa Forest, Carms) 178.4mm (very wet)

Rhydargaeau (Carms) 176.0mm (very wet)

Garnswllt (near Ammanford, Carms) 191.0mm (over 200%)

Felinfoel (near Llanelli, Carms) 173.2mm (>200%)

Maenclochog (near Preselis, Pembs) 219.4mm (>200%)

Tenby (Pembs) 130.4mm (>200%)

Bolton Hill (near Haverfordwest, Pembs) 153.2mm (>200%)

COL stations rainfall July 2023

Llansadwrn 161.0mm (207%)

Ludlow, Salop 102.3mm (158%)

Alvechurch, Worc 169.7mm (245%)

Warstock, Brum 155.1mm (231%)

Oadby, Leic 90.2mm (152%)

Cosby, Leic 68.2mm (110%) = one of the driest spots this month!

Hinckley 120.9mm (much rainfall variability then across Leicestershire)

Towcester, Northants 97.4mm (155%)

Sunshine totals July 2023

Llanwnnen estimated  91 hours (51%) = dullest July since webcam estimations began in 2013

Coventry, Bablake School 156 hrs (78%)

Shobdon, Herefordshire 100 hours (47%)

COL stations sun

Ludlow 101.1 hours 

Alvechurch 143 hrs

Oadby, Leic 118.8 hrs

Towcester 146.4 hrs

Weather log June 2023

Weather log June 2023

Key:

WW = West Wales

Lwn = Llanwnnen

AG = Aldermans Green, Coventry

CL = Church Lawford

LL = Long Lawford

ROW = Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

CC = Capel Curig, Snowdonia

MH = Milford Haven

Carms = Carmarthenshire

Pembs = Pembrokeshire

Mids = Midlands

CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire

COL = Climatological Observers Link

PWS = Personal weather station

NRW = National Resources Wales

est = estimated

inc = including

cf= compared with

Prolonged dry spell is now becoming an official drought in many areas (at least 15 successive dry days). The longest dry spell here is 22 days in September 2014, but this looks certain to be beaten as the last 17 days of May rainless. Warm and sunny weather for early Summer and no rain in the models until mid June at least:

Thu 1st West Wales warm and sunny, W Mids some sun after being plagued by North Sea cloud at the end of May, this still affecting the E Mids; maxima Porthmadog 24.9c (warmest in UK), Lwn 24.5c, Trawsgoed 21.3c, ROW 19.3c, Hereford, MH & Shawbury 18.6c, CITE 17.9c, Mumbles 17.6c, Coventry 16.6c, Nottingham 14.3c.

Fri 2nd Midlands joined in with sunny weather, maxima average to warm, Porthmadog 24.2c (warmest in UK again), Lwn 22.7c, Trawsgoed 20.9c, ROW 19.8c, CITE 19.2c, Coventry & MH 17.7c, Aberporth 15.8c.

Sat 3rd as the Summer warmth builds at least nights are still cool, even low enough for localised touches of grass frost (as at Pershore grass min -1c, air min 3.5c), other  minimum air temperatures Lwn & Shobdon 3.3c, CC 3.6c, Trawsgoed 5.3c, Coventry 7.0c, Nottingham 7.2c, Mumbles 10.2c. Warm and sunny day, max Porthmadog 23.9c (warmest in UK) but here at Lwn unofficially 24.3c, Trawsgoed 22.5c, ROW 21.9c, CITE 21.6c, CL, Coleshill & MH 20.5c, Nottingham 19.5c, Aberporth 17.3c.

Sun 4th sunny and warm again WW, return of North Sea cloud Midlands but most cleared afternoon; Porthmadog max 25.0c (yet again warmest in UK), Lwn 24.9c, Trawsgoed 23.1c, ROW 21.9c, CITE, MH & Mumbles 20.7c, Coventry 19.6c, Nottingham 18.6c, Aberporth 17.7c.

Mon 5th North Sea cloud persisted into afternoon central & E Mids; Marches & WW sunny; Porthmadog 24.3c, Lwn 23.6c, Valley 21.6c, Shawbury 19.6c, CITE 18.1c, Mumbles 16.7c, Coventry 16.4c, Nottingham 16.3c. Third successive cloudless day here at Lwn with an estimated 15.5 hours bright sunshine each day, this is now one of the most prolonged dry, sunny spells of recent decades (comparable with Summer 1995 excepting temperatures much more amenable).

Tue 6th N Sea cloud made it over to WW but cleared late morning, persistent cloud for the Midlands though where it was cool, even very cool for June; maxima Porthmadog 22.7c, Lwn 20.6c, Trawsgoed 19.0c, Aberporth 16.7c, Pershore College 15.9c, Coleshill & Coventry 14.0c, Nottingham 13.0c.

22nd successive dry day here at Lwn equalling the record from September 2014 (only Summer 1995 had a more prolonged drought since I have been in Wales as far as I can tell). The climate of WW these past weeks has been akin to the Mediterranean (where ironically they have had much rain and floods of late). Getting close to 300 hours of sunshine here now in the past 4 weeks which is a greater amount than in the last exceptionally prolonged sunny spell of June/ July 2018 (c 250 hours in under 3 weeks). The sunniest calendar month here is 271 hours for May 2020.

Wed 7th warm. locally very warm and sunny WW, cloud cleared most of the Midlands around midday with temperatures around average, maxima Lwn 25.4c, Porthmadog 22.6c, Pembrey Sands 22.5c, ROW 21.1c, Pershore 20.3c, CITE & Mumbles 19.2c, CL & Coleshill 18.8c, Coventry 17.9c, Aberporth 16.9c (we were at nearby Llangrannog where it felt more like 20c), Aberdaron & Nottingham 16.5c.

First week of June exceptionally sunny for WW, interludes of N Sea cloud means the Midlands only quite sunny. Comparing Llanwnnen with Coventry for this period, Llanwnnen an estimated 99 hours sun for the week, Coventry 57 hours; days between 20 and 25c Llanwnnen cf 14 to 20c Coventry; both locations a rainless week (Llanwnnen now on 24 successive dry days). Poor Weybourne on the North Norfolk coast a very dull start to Summer 2023, just 15 hours so far.

Thu 8th WW warm or very warm and sunny/ W Mids rather warm and sunny/ E Mids mostly sunny with average temps: maxima Whitechurch (Pembs) 25.3c, Lwn 25.1c, Pembrey Sands 24.3c, ROW 22,4c, Aberporth 21.8c, Pershore 21.3c, CITE 20.6c, Aberdaron 19.2c, Coventry 18.7c, Nottingham 18.0c.

Thu 8th this phenomenal dry, warm and sunny spell has given an estimated 313 hours here at Lwn in the 4 weeks since May 12th. This makes it the most prolonged very sunny spell here probably in decades.

Fri 9th West Wales very warm or hot and sunny, more humid while the Midlands warm and mostly sunny: maxima Porthmadog 29.7c (hottest in UK), Pembrey Sands 27.2c, Lwn 27.1c, Aberporth 25.9c, ROW 24.7c, Mona 22.7c, CITE 22.0c, Coventry 21.6c, Nottingham 19.7c.This was the fifth day of the month Porthmadog was warmest place in the UK.

Sat 10th hot or very hot Midlands, Mid & N Wales. Thunderstorms S & W Mids pm (these missed Coventry); WW a little rain in places with warm sunny intervals (spits mid afternoon here at Lwn), now just 1mm in over a month here. Maxima Pershore 30.3c, CITE 29.9c, CL 29.6c, Nottingham 29.1c, CC 27.7c, Trawsgoed 27.0c, Lwn 26.7c, Shobdon 26.4c, MH 20.0c. Newport (Salop) 12.8mm rain, Coventry 0mm; PWS near Upton-upon Severn (Worc) recorded 42mm.

Sun 11th WW warm and humid with sunny intervals, local showers; Midlands very warm/ hot; thunderstorms E Mids late afternoon became widespread tracking west and forming a thick line early evening. Some of these were quite severe (radar judged 3 inches very locally such as close to Brownshill Green, Coventry while a PWS at Long Itchington near Southam (Warks) recorded 62mm during the early evening. There was much thunder and lightning at Coventry & Rugby as the storms moved close by with hail in places too. Parts of Coventry had road floods (NW city) while others escaped with next to nothing (NE city & Nuneaton PWS 0.6mm). Church Lawford had 27mm in the hour to 1900 and Corley (EA gauge) 24mm 7 to 8pm. Places nearby escaped such as the Hinckley area which remained bone dry (all PWS 0.0mm thereabouts), Bulkington and even Meriden not many miles from soaked Corley, such are thunderstorms. Church Lawford 34mm wettest Met Office station in the UK today while Bablake, Coventry 27.6mm dramatically ending their droughts (30 and 22 days respectively). Maxima CITE 30.3c, CL 30.0c, Coventry 29.7c, Nottingham 29.1c, Llanwnnen 24.7c, Hereford 23.1c,  ROW 22.7c, CC 22.5c, Aberporth 19.0c.

Mon 12th some rain overnight parts of WW, here at Lwn 1.5mm broke the almost 4 weeks drought (longest recorded here). It remains a 'partial' drought however (a prolonged run of days averaging under 0.2mm per day) - this now being over a month long (just 5.5mm since May 8th or 35 days). Longest 'PD' here since 40 days in May/ June 2018. Warm or very warm with thunderstorms again breaking out pm, this time affecting Wales as well as the Midlands, hit and miss as usual, but Llanwnnen, Coventry & Rugby all had thunder and lightning but missed the worst of the downpours (Braunston, Northants 16.4mm 4 - 5pm). The radar judged the hills inland of Tal-y-Bont (N Ceredigion) to have had over 100mm today while nearby Bont Goch (EA) recorded 45.2mm for the day (half of this in one hour afternoon). By the by it was another hot day for the Midlands and warm most of WW (bar some Cardigan Bay coasts), max CITE 29.7c, Nottingham 28.9c, Newport (Salop) 28.4c, Coleshill 28.3c, CC 25.6c, Lwn 22.8c, but with Aberporth just 16.0c (coolest in the UK); Sutton Bonington (Notts) 35.0mm, Hereford 17.8mm.

Tue 13th an infamous day in Meteorology being known for the 'June 13th anomaly' or 'enigma' because of being the only day of Summer (June 1st to August 31st) never to have reached 30c somewhere in the UK. This anomaly ended today, our Lwn garden reached 30.1c at 1300 as did the official MO station of Porthmadog at the same time. A few places on the south coast of England also topped 30c. Maxima Porthmadog 30.8c, Lwn 30.4c, ROW 29.0c, MH 28.6c, Pershore 28.1c,Trawsgoed 27.5c, Coventry, Valley & Hereford 27.4c, Nottingham 27.2c, Aberporth 23.6c.

Wed 14th warm night SW Wales but rural Midlands rather cool, minima Mumbles 17.4c, Aberporth 17.3c, Lwn 11.8c, CC 11.3c, Coventry & Nottingham 10.6c, Shobdon 5.9c. Warm or hot and sunny by day, max Lwn 28.9c, Porthmadog 28.0c, ROW & Trawsgoed 27.5c, CITE 26.5c, Coventry 25.7c, Nottingham 24.9c, Mumbles 22.7c.

Thu 15th very warm or hot again, plenty of sunshine, but showers with local thunder broke out afternoon over Snowdonia and the Cambrians; maxima Lwn 29.2c, Usk (SE Wales) 28.8c was officially hottest in UK, ROW 27.9c, CITE 27.6c,  Coleshill, Pershore & Trawsgoed 26.5c, Mona & Nottingham 26.1c, Coventry 25.7c, Aberporth 23.8c. Swyddffynnon, Ceredigion 1.2mm officially wettest in the UK however the radar suggested very locally perhaps 50mm in the Cambrians.

First half of June has been very dry for much of WW (very locally up to average); rainfall variable due to thunderstorms Midlands, ranging from very dry to rather wet. WW has had an incredibly sunny and warm first half, here at Lwn 175 hours to 15th is above the whole June average. Even more incredible is that the past non-calendar month (May 16th to June 15th ) has had an estimated 352 hours (no month here has even been close to 300 hours before). The Midlands has also been sunny (Coventry 131 hours). Very warm for WW and warm so far Midlands; mean maxima 25.5c here at Lwn has not happened in June before. With warmth expected to last for much of the remainder of the month June 2023 is expected to be the hottest for 200 years for the UK.

Rainfall totals June 1st - 15th:

Valley 4.4mm

CC 14.8mm

Trawsgoed 23.4mm

Aberporth 2.8mm

Llanwnnen 5.0mm (very dry)

MH 2.0mm

Mumbles 1.4mm

Nottingham 7.0mm (very dry)

Coleshill 8.6mm

Coventry 30.6mm (average)

CL 37.4mm (rather wet but most in one hour of one day)

Pershore 27.8mm

Hereford 18.2mm

King's Newnham (EA gauge) 11.4mm

NRW gauges June 1st - 15th

Bethesda 5.6mm, Cwm Dyli (Snowdonia) 25.4mm, Corris (Gwynedd) 27.2mm, Bow Street 9.0mm, Penuwch 14.0mm, Rhos Ymryson ( 5 miles from Lwn) 2.0mm, Pencader 4.8mm, Tenby 2.4mm

Fri 16th last of the really warm/ hot days for the time being, maxima Porthmadog 28.1c, ROW 28.0c, Lwn 27.8c, Mona 27.1c, Hereford 26.9c, Trawsgoed 26.7c, Nottingham 25.9c, Coventry 25.8c, Aberdaron 22.6c. Midlands stayed dry and bright, rain in places WW.

Sat 17th warm and humid, thundery showers in places, as during the evening mid & N Wales (we were away but Llanwnnen would have had thunder 2030 with sferics as close as 4 miles.). 7mm from the evening downpours ended the Llanwnnen partial drought (39 days).

Sun 18th warm and humid, thundery showers quite widespread, inc Coventry; a couple of inches locally; Sutton Bonington (Notts) 36mm officially wettest in UK; also Wellesbourne (Warks) 23mm.

Tue 20th Midlands heavy rain with thunder in places moved north late night/morning, an inch in places. Warm with scattering of thundery showers WW  (thunder from various directions early evening here at Lwn), these affecting Midlands evening (inc Brum area). Pershore College 18.6mm to 2100.

Wed 21st scattered showers with local thunder though many places escaped dry; here at Lwn just a few spots afternoon as a dark line of showers persisted to track just NW of here for several hours, these giving 17mm at Cribyn PWS just 3 miles to our north

Thu 22nd warm or very warm, sunny periods, a few thundery showers developed, big storm affected Leicestershire (S of Leicester) late afternoon with frequent lightning and large rainfall totals., the thunder was heard rumbling away from Rugby with Wigston PWS 71mm in 90 minutes and Fleckney (EA) 48mm in a similar timescale.

A mixed end to June:

Sat 24th very warm night widely 15c or above minima. The low of 17.1c here at Lwn being a June record (beating 16.1c from 2017). This held up from the high of just 18.6c yesterday which was overcast and the coolest day of the month so far; Shobdon & Trawsgoed 17.9c, Pembrey Sands 17.6c, CC, Coleshill & Nottingham 16.6c, CL 15.7c, Aberdaron 15.2c. Hot much of the Midlands by day max Nottingham 28.3c, ROW 27.9c, Pershore 27.3c, Coventry 27.2c, CL 26.5c, Lwn 26.2c, Trawsgoed 25.8c, Shawbury 25.1c, MH 22.5c, Aberdaron 19.6c.

Sun 25th Very warm night many areas, min Pembrey Sands 18.2c, Mumbles 17.9c, MH 17.3c, Lwn 16.7c, Coventry 16.6c, Trawsgoed 14.1c and Shobdon 11.1c, so rural Herefordshire one of the coolest parts of the UK overnight. Still a warm day WW but a front brought a line of showers across from the west with local thunder and cooler, fresher air by evening. Midlands hot and sunny before the trough affected NW Midlands in particular with locally heavy downpours and thunderstorms here (Shrewsbury area about an inch of rain), just isolated showers elsewhere. Maxima Wellesbourne (Warks) 29.6c, Nottingham & Pershore 29.2c, CL 28.8c, Sutton Bonington 27.8c, Shawbury 25.5c, Lwn 23.5c, Trawsgoed 22.7c, Aberdaron 17.6c. 

Wed 28th a rather cloudy, drizzly couple of days for West Wales, a few heavier bursts; another warm night min 16.5c and so the third time in a week that the previous warmest June night record was topped. Gogerddan 11.6mm wettest place in the UK on a not especially wet day.

Nature notes

First week of June: just over a month ago I was spiking the lawn as it was waterlogged and muddy, now it is baked dry and starting to brown over. Holly trees shedding leaves although it looks like it will be a bumper red berry Autumn. Bluebells where well shaded and especially higher up (200M) still have flowers, most now going to seed.

Fri 2nd Aberduar chapel, Llanybydder: c 10 screaming Swift this fine warm evening, nice to see they are doing so well since the new soffits were installed in 2018.

Rhydybont chapel: c 6 screaming Swift putting on a great display here as usual. The wooden soffit has quite a few holes as it is rather dilapidated (keep expecting to see scaffolding erected these recent years). Also half dozen Sand Martin and half dozen H Martin (no nests evident here as yet, perhaps as it has been so dry).

Forestry: Cuckoo calling upon arrival after 2100 from about 100m distance. Nightjar churring 2150 (20 minutes past sunset) for 5 minutes from the usual slope adjacent steep path, then nothing until 2220 when by the main gate ready to depart, one was churring from within 100 m (neither birds seen). As 400 m apart I take these to be 2 different birds.

Sat 3rd first Swift egg shell on the ground Church hall (west side central).

Sun 4th about a dozen screaming Swift suddenly flew over the garden this morning as if out of nowhere and were gone a minute later.

Southern forestry dusk, Laburnums coming out; distant Nightjar 2200 from back at the car about 300 or 400 yards away in the northern (usual) forestry.

Wed 7th driving the minor routes to Llangrannog this afternoon, still much Hawthorn bloom, some fresh, meaning the prolonged dry weather has kept it on for over a month. Pockets of Laburnum scattered about too. Much Red Campion along verges and some Foxgloves.

Sun 11th Rhydybont chapel, Llanybydder half dozen screaming Swift evening.

Sun 11th Forestry 'Laburnum lane' dusk Grasshopper Warbler before the Laburnums some 150m from car parked in central layby. Clearly visible reeling as close as 40m. Laburnums perfect after a month of dry weather and sunshine, splendid showing along here as usual. Also quite a bit of fairly fresh Hawthorn at this altitude (300masl) also a Horse Chestnut still holding candelabras. Redstart heard.

Drove to main gate 2200 for Nightjar churring at close quarters (c 40m) but not seen.

Wed 14th forestry early evening; Stonechat, Tree Pipit (I think), possible Wood Warbler, not so many Chiffchaff or WW in song.

Thu 15th Aberystwyth plentiful warbler song by the river at Morrisons.

Mid month: Many local House Sparrows have young chirping away which would be second broods (first broods having fledged early to mid May). Rookery in Lampeter is still active, most unusual, so I guess these too have managed second broods. Foxgloves seeding up. Bird song has declined through the month but many are still in song albeit seemingly with less vigour than a month ago (excepting the ever enthusiastic Song Thrushes!).

Sat 17th/ Sun 18th drove to Cardiff airport then back staying overnight, the only Swifts seen were those over villages within 10 miles of home driving back 18th afternoon.

Sat 24th Longwood, Lampeter evening; warm and humid plenty of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler song also some Blackcap and Thrushes. A little muddy in places, must have caught a downpour in the past few days that avoided Llanwnnen. Main pond low, under a foot (3 feet full Winter) and Newt pond very low below 6 inches and just 12 feet by 6 feet of water extent (usually about 30 feet by 15 feet).

Wed 28th one dead Swift chick church hall (3 weeks old?), west side on ground beneath two south end windows. Chick(s) still audible from directly above the dead chick. Seems to be 5 or 6 nests this Summer which is typical. First obvious casualty of the year, many years having one or two be they chicks or adults.

June 2023 summary

Very warm and sunny; variable rainfall.

Much of WW dry (SW Wales very dry) whereas much of the Midlands average to wet.

CET 17.0c was on par with June 1976, here at Lwn mean max 23.8c would be virtually unprecedented for the month.

It was the warmest June since 1846 (CET 18.2c).

For the UK as a whole mean temperature of 15.8c and so the warmest June since these records began in 1884 (decisively beating 1976 & 1940 which were both 14.9c).

Rainfall totals June 2023

Capel Curig, Snowdonia c 105mm (rather dry)

Valley, Anglesey c 25mm (dry)

Aberdaron, Llyn Peninsula c 35mm (dry)

Trawsgoed, Ceredigion c 60mm (rather dry)

Aberporth, near Llangrannog c 25mm (very dry)

Llanwnnen 34.5mm (62% historical and 41% here)

Pembrey Sands, Carms c 20mm (very dry)

Milford Haven, Pembs c 15mm (very dry)

Nottingham c 60mm (average)

Shawbury, Salop c 40mm (rather dry)

Coleshill c 55mm (near average)

Coventry, Bablake School 67.4mm (113%)

CL, Warks 73.4mm (131%)

Pershore, Worc 52.0mm (100%)

Hereford c 40mm (near average)

Shobdon, Herefords 28.4mm (49%)

National Resources Wales (NRW) rain gauges June 2023

Llyn Cefni, Ynys Mon 43.4mm (rather dry)

Bethesda Quarry (Gwynedd) 47.6mm (very dry)

Cwm Dyli (Snowdonia)  183.6mm (average)

Corris (near Machynlleth) 134.2mm (average)

Bow Street (near Aberystwyth) 45.2mm (rather dry)

Pontrhydfendigaid (near Tregaron, Ceredigion) 58.0mm (rather dry)

Penuwch (Ceredigion) 36.6mm (very dry)

Rhos Ymryson (near Gorsgoch and 5 miles NW of Lwn) 50.0mm (rather dry)

Cellan (2 miles NE of Lampeter) 35.2mm (very dry)

Pencader (Carms) 39.0mm (very dry)

Abergorlech (Brechfa Forest, Carms) 27.0mm (very dry)

Rhydargaeau (Carms) 33.0mm (very dry)

Garnswllt (near Ammanford, Carms) 44.2mm (very dry)

Felinfoel (near Llanelli, Carms) 32.6mm (very dry)

Maenclochog (near Preselis, Pembs) 45.8mm (very dry)

Tenby (Pembs) 20.6mm (very dry)

Bolton Hill (near Haverfordwest, Pembs) 27.4mm (very dry)

COL stations rainfall June 2023

Llansadwrn 39.1mm (53%)

Ludlow, Salop 74.3mm (109%)

Alvechurch, Worc 70.7mm (101%)

Warstock, Brum 65.5mm (105%)

Cosby, Leic 68.0mm (104%)

Oadby, Leic 100.4mm (204%)

Towcester, Northants 51.4mm (90%)

Sunshine totals June 2023

Llanwnnen estimated  236 hours (145%)

Coventry, Bablake School 241.1 hrs (126%)

Shobdon, Herefordshire 215.2 hours (110%)

COL stations sun June 2023:

Ludlow 223.3 hrs

Alvechurch 225.4 hrs

Oadby (Leic) 216.2 hrs

Towcester 243.5 hrs

Weather log May 2023

Weather log May 2023

Key:

WW = West Wales

Lwn = Llanwnnen

AG = Aldermans Green, Coventry

CL = Church Lawford

LL = Long Lawford

ROW = Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

CC = Capel Curig, Snowdonia

MH = Milford Haven

Carms = Carmarthenshire

Pembs = Pembrokeshire

Mids = Midlands

CITE = Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire

COL = Climatological Observers Link

PWS = Personal weather station

NRW = National Resources Wales

EA = Environment Agency

est = estimated

inc = including

cf= compared with

c = approximately

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)