MONTHLY CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY for AUG. 2003 NAME: Ferryhill CITY: Ferryhill STATE: Co. Durham ELEV: 394 feet LAT: 54deg 41min N LONG: 1deg 33min W TEMPERATURE (°C), RAIN (mm), WIND SPEED (mph) HEAT COOL AVG MEAN DEG DEG WIND DOM DAY TEMP HIGH TIME LOW TIME DAYS DAYS RAIN SPEED HIGH TIME DIR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 17.3 22.2 17:00 13.5 24:00 0.2 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 2 15.8 20.9 15:00 11.4 6:00 1.2 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 3 17.7 25.1 17:00 12.4 6:00 0.8 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 4 19.3 26.8 15:00 14.2 7:00 0.1 3.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 5 20.6 28.6 16:00 15.5 6:00 0.0 5.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 6 20.9 28.1 16:00 15.3 6:00 0.0 5.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 7 19.4 23.4 17:00 17.0 24:00 0.0 3.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 8 19.4 24.1 18:00 16.4 5:00 0.0 3.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 9 20.0 29.3 16:00 16.7 6:00 0.0 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 10 20.4 22.7 19:00 18.3 24:00 0.0 2.5 8.6 0.0 0.0 13:00 --- 11 18.3 20.6 17:00 16.8 5:00 0.0 2.8 0.4 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 12 19.0 21.8 18:00 17.4 6:00 0.0 3.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 13 17.7 21.3 15:00 13.9 24:00 0.1 2.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 14 15.8 19.9 18:00 12.4 6:00 1.0 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 15 15.6 20.1 17:00 11.5 8:00 1.2 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 16 16.8 22.0 15:00 12.8 5:00 0.7 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 17 16.0 20.9 17:00 11.4 5:00 1.1 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 18 16.8 20.7 16:00 13.9 24:00 0.2 1.5 0.4 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 19 16.1 20.7 17:00 13.2 5:00 0.8 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 20 16.5 22.5 16:00 12.3 7:00 0.8 1.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 21 16.6 18.9 17:00 14.7 5:00 0.2 1.3 0.4 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 22 16.8 19.9 14:00 13.7 7:00 0.3 1.6 0.2 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 23 16.7 22.6 17:00 12.7 3:00 0.6 1.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 24 16.4 19.8 15:00 13.4 7:00 0.5 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 25 15.5 17.7 17:00 13.6 7:00 0.5 0.5 0.8 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 26 14.3 16.3 15:00 12.9 24:00 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 27 13.8 16.5 16:00 12.3 7:00 1.9 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 28 12.4 13.9 19:00 10.9 24:00 3.1 0.0 1.6 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 29 11.9 14.9 17:00 10.2 4:00 3.6 0.0 9.2 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 30 11.7 15.1 17:00 8.5 6:00 3.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- 31 12.2 14.9 16:00 9.9 8:00 3.3 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 1:00 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16.7 29.3 9 8.5 30 27.2 60.5 21.8 0.0 0.0 1 --- (+1.6) (36%) Max >= 32.0: 0 Max <= 0.0: 0 Min <= 0.0: 0 Min <= -18.0: 0 Max Rain: 9.20 ON 29/08/03 Days of Rain: 7 (> .2 mm) 2 (> 2 mm) 0 (> 20 mm) Heat Base: 15.5 Cool Base: 15.5 Method: Integration Hot and dry. The first two weeks were hot; the third week warm; the final week cool and unsettled. A phenomenal heatwave smashes the British record high. The month starts with an anticyclone, and temperatures build until 36.4C is recorded at Wisley on the 6th and 36.9C at Enfield on the 9th. Sunday 10th ws an extraordinary day in many ways, with 100F broken for the first time, and a new record maximumfor the country. Measurements available on the day saw a new record of 38.1C at Gravesend (that's 101F) - but it was also 37.9C at London Heathrow, and 37.7C at Northolt. Later an even higher temperature was known to have been recorded - 38.5C [101.3 F] at Brogdale, near Faversham, the same day.) [Note that there is still some debate about the certainty of these figures: the highest agreed maximum is 38.1C at Kew Botanical Gardens (on the 10th; althought the Met Office accept the Faversham figure; see "Weather", September 2004 and Letters column thereafter for details of the debate).] Whichever, the bookmakers lose £500,000. The same day, a cold front sweeps south accompanied by some violent thunderstorms. In one thunderstorm at Carlton-in-Cleveland (near Middlesborough), a new reliable short duration rainfall record was set, when 30 mm fell in 5 minutes (a record hourly rainfall equivalent of 360 mm/hr). 49 mm of rain fell in 15 minutes, giving an hourly rainfall rate of 196 mm. 47.2 mm of the rain fell in 12 minutes, and 45.3 mm in 10 minutes (270 mm/hour) - the last of these figures also broke the previous 10 minute rainfall record set at Leeming, July 1968. Most of the rain fell from 9.35 - 9.47 am GMT. Along with large hail, there was a 9C temperature drop in just 1/2 hour, and a 3 mbar pressure jump. Trees were blown down, and there were reports of tornadoes. From the 5th to the 13th, there were 9 consecutive days where somewhere in the country exceeds 30C, the longest such run since 1976, and 29C was exceeded between the 2nd and 14th - the longest run since August 1997. 32C was exceeded on 5 days. A new Scottish record high was set on the 9th, with 32.9C recorded at Greycrook (near St Boswell's, in the Borders) - the previous record had stood since 1908. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were some very high minima in the south (particularly along the south coast), although not as high as in 1990. At Ventnor (Isle of Wight) the minimumon the 9-10th was 23.2C, and many other locations saw temperatures not dipping beneath 22C. The weather became cooler from the 14th, although it was still pleasant and anticyclonic. The final week was cool and unsttled, with ground frosts in the north. There was some heavy rain in places between the 27th and 29th. Overall the warmest August since 1997, and only 1947, 1975, 1995, and 1997 have been hotter; and the with 20 mm, 23% of the expcted rainfall, the fourth driest of the last hundered years (beaten only by 1940, 1947, and 1995).