The last 5 Augusts in the UK according to Trevor Harley

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2016 A warm month – at 17.0C, the warmest since 2004 in the CET series. It was particularly warm in the east. The highest temperature of the month (and year) was 34.1C at Faversham in Kent on the 24th; the 10th was a cold night, with -1.5C at Kindrogan (Perthshire). The month was changeable in the first half, and warmer and more settled in the second. Rainfalls was very close to the long-term average, although it was wet in parts of the north. It was quite a sunny month, with 110% of average. 2017 Unsettled. The CET temperature was 15.6 …

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July 2021 Monthly Report – Warm with a good dry spell

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July 2021 turned out well. The first week proved to be very wet, with the bulk of the month’s final rainfall falling this week. There was 48.5mm recorded altogether in what was a very short unseasonal spell. High pressure built in to give us a sustained spell of warm, dry and sunny weather for the next three weeks. The temperature reached 20 degC on 24 days, and eight of those went as high as 25 degC (including 6 days consecutively from 16th-21st). The maximum was a very hot 29.3 degC on the 17th. This was a very warm spell, causing big …

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The end of the July heatwave – Phew!

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It’s July 24th and today is the first day i’ve felt remotely comfortable in my own house for weeks. The heat has been slowly building this month, with incredibly stuffy nights keeping me awake and making me feel progressively tired. Normally our living room is a cool haven, facing North and receiving no direct sunshine, but even this hasn’t been a comfortable place. The first 23 days of July averaged 17.7 degC. That isn’t record breaking, but it’s very warm for Durham. The spell of 16th-23rd has been the hottest, averaging 20.3 degC. This has been the spell that’s caused …

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Tornado (Funnel Cloud) over Darlington 10th July 2021

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Funnel Cloud over Darlington 10th July 2021

There was a lot of hot but turbulent weather early in July which spawned some thunderstorms and funnel clouds in places. This shot was taken over Darlington on 10th July. Technically this was not a tornado, as it didn’t touch down on the ground, but it was spectacular and probably quite scary for those under it! We would encourage anyone who sees a funnel cloud (especially if it touches the ground to become a tornado) to report it to Torro.  

The last 5 July’s in the UK according to Trevor Harley

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July 2016 Slightly warmer than average overall. Unsettled first half, then with a fine spell, and a hot spell from the 18th to 29th, before turning thundery, the month finishing unsettled. Rainfall was about average overall (104%) bit better in the NW and drier in the SE, and very dry in the south. It was quite a dull month, with 92% of average sunshine. The highest temperature of the month was 33.5C at Brize Norton (Oxon), and 33.9C at Jersey Airport on the 19th. 97.9 mm of rain fell at Nunraw Abbey (East Lotion) on the 20th. July 2017 An …

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June 2021 Weather Summary – Very Long Dry Spell

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June 2021 posted a welcome recovery for the early summer period after the seemingly long cold Spring. The temperature passed the 20 degC mark on 21 days in the and the real notable thing was the great dryness. There was no measurable rain at Durham from 25th May until 17th June, a spell of 23 consecutive days and even then it was just a trace 0.1mm. The total for the entire month was 26.9mm, but it almost all fell in the last 6 days, and more than half of it on 25th June, when 14.6mm wet us thoroughly. The average …

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The last 5 Junes in the UK according to Trevor Harley

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2016 Wet, dull, and quite warm. The first half was more settled and relatively warm. The night of the 22-23 June saw severe thunderstorms with flooding in the SE, particularly in the London area. Farnborough recorded 45.0 mm overnight. The end of the month was cool and unsettled. The average temperature was brought up by some mild nights; the highest temperature of the month was only 27.8C, Porthmadog. Rainfall overall was 144% (95 mm), with a lot of it occurring towards the end of the month. It was particularly wet in the east. There was only 74% of sunshine (137 …

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May 2021 Weather Summary – Disappointingly cold

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Hefty showers in the first week of May 2021

May 2021 was notably cold in the first week. Night time temperatures were only a few degrees above freezing and the maxima were very disappointing. Along with this, rainfall was on the high side, resulting in the cold start to Spring continuing. The cold nights continued until the last 5 days of the month, when ‘normal’ weather returned. The maximum temperature was a very modest 22.2 degC on the 29th. The 6th was the coldest minima, coming within a whisker of an air frost, something we haven’t become familiar with in May. Overall, the month averaged 9.8 degC which was …

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The last 5 Mays in the UK according to Trevor Harley

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2016 After an unsettled start the rest of the month was largely anticyclonic, with winds generally from the easterly direction, making it particularly warm and sunny in the west, and cooler and cloudier in the east. There was a more unsettled spell midmonth. It was warmer than average, with near average rainfall (92%). Overall sunshine was 115% of average. The highest temperature of the month was 27.7C at Plockton (Ross and Cromarty) on the 9th, and the lowest -5.7C at Tulloch Bridge (Invernessshire) on the 14th. 2017 The first ten days were anticyclonic with easterly winds, and the widespread drought …

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April 2021 Weather at Durham – Cold but Dry

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Wow, what an extraordinary month! April 2021 has been a remarkable month in the long history of weather records. The month was notable for a) It’s frostiness and b) the lack of real rain. April 2021 Temperature in Durham April 2021 was actually colder than March 2021 at Durham by a significant sum. The mean for the month came in at 6.1 degC, a full 1.0 degC lower. In April last year, the mean was 9.6 degC. Snow on 11th April 2021. The mean minimum for April 2021 was 1.6 degC (mean is 3.7) and there were 9 days with …

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