Weather Statistics for January 2006

Headline: The driest June in Northampton for more than 80 years. A heatwave around mid-month culminated in above average temperatures.

June opened with an anticyclone dominating the weather across a large part of the UK, although the far north of Scotland was plagued by frontal systems which skirted around the high which was pretty much firmly centred over the Celtic Sea for the first few days, becoming more centrally placed by the end of the first week. The weather remained dry across the county with winds generally light and from a northerly quadrant. Most days clocked up a good few hours of sunshine. As the high drifted closer to Scandinavia from the 9th the winds swung round to a south-easterly direction and temperatures increased dramatically culminating in a short heatwave between the 10th and 12th. The month’s maximum was recorded as 30.4C on the 12th representing the second hottest June day in Northampton since 1995 (30.6C) after 31.0C last year. Nevertheless, this was still the third hottest June day since 1976 (34.0C).

As the high retreated eastwards an Atlantic low began to make in-roads into the west of Ireland. A cold front associated with this drove south-eastwards on the 13th introducing much fresher air and some rain, although amounts were slight (2.6mm in just under 2 hours). In fact this turned out to be the wettest day of the month. Temperatures which had been in the low 30s on the 12th just about reached a high of 17C on the 14th. Despite the presence of low pressure wind speeds remained fairly modest.

A ridge of high pressure drove in from the south-west on the wake of the low on the 15th. It continued generally dry across the county with temperatures recovering through some good spells of sunshine. However, the front which introduced rain on the 13th remained close-by to the south-east and introduced the odd shower on the 16th.

The period through to the 19th saw fairly slack pressure conditions across the UK. The weather was pretty uneventful. It remained dry and pleasantly warm with highs typically in the low to mid 20s. However, a second Atlantic low worked across the UK on the 19th/20th and with the centre now much closer to the county winds picked up to a moderate to fresh north-westerly by the 21st with gusts reaching 31mph. The low brought with it a small amount of rain, although generally most days caught some good sunshine.

Following the low pressure remained fairly slack once more until the final few days when a ridge of high pressure built in across the UK from the west. Winds remained very light or calm and from the 29th temperatures began to increment substantially culminating in a second heatwave which was to hit the county during the first week of July.

Overall this was Northampton’s warmest June since 1996 (18.2) and joint with 1989 the second warmest June since 1970 (17.2C). Moreover, with only 4.9mm of rain falling (less than 9% of the average) this was the driest June in Northampton since 1925 (0.5mm).


Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum:    30.4 C on 12th
The Lowest Maximum:    17.0 C on 14th
The Highest Minimum:    16.2 C on 12th
The Lowest Minimum:    5.3 C on 1st
The Mean Maximum:    22.9 C  
The Mean Minimum:    11.1 C  
The Overall Mean:    17.0 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean:  +2.0 C  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at obs):  98.1 % on 23rd
Lowest Relative Humidity (at obs):  51.9 % on 30th
Mean Relative Humidity (at obs):  71.6 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (at obs):  17.4 C on 12th
The Lowest Dew Point (at obs):   7.3 C on 21st
The Mean Dew Point (at obs):   12.4 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total:      4.9 mm  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 8.6 %  
Duration:     4.9 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (obs to obs):  2.6 mm on 13th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):    3   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):    2   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine:  216.8 hrs  
Sunniest day:     12.9 hrs on 10th
Days without sunshine:   0
Cloud cover (mean at obs):   4.5 oktas  (56%)
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure:    1031.2 mb on 2nd
The Lowest Pressure:    1008.0 mb on 19th
Mean Pressure:    1020.9 mb  
    


Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs):  73.6 miles  
Mean daily wind speed:    4.0 mph  
Highest mean daily wind speed:  13.3 mph on 21st
Run of wind:     2206.6 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust:   31 mph on 21st
Highest wind strength (at obs):   12.7 mph on 1st
Mean wind strength (at obs):  3.7 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 8 NE 3 E 1 SE 5 S 2 SW 3 W 2 NW 5 Calm 1
    
Ground Temperatures:     
Lowest Grass Minimum:   2.6 C on 1st
Mean Grass Minimum:    8.3 C  
Lowest Concrete Minimum:   6.7 C on 1st
Mean Concrete Minimum:   11.5 C  
Lowest Bare Earth Minimum:   6.1 C on 1st
Mean Bare Earth Minimum:   11.0 C  
    
Soil/Earth Temperatures:     
Surface mean:     19.3 C  
5cm mean:     17.5 C  
10cm mean:     17.7 C  
20cm mean:     17.7 C  
30cm mean:     17.8 C  
40cm mean:     17.8 C  
50cm mean:     17.8 C  
100cm mean:     15.9 C  
    
    
Days with:    
Thunder:     0   
Hail less than 0.5mm:    0   
Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm:  0   
Snow or snow & rain:    0
Ground Frost:    0
Air Frost:    0
Fog:     0  
Gales:     0
    
    
Total Evaporation (tank)   109.6 mm  

All data © Pitsford Hall weather station.

The weather station publishes a full Monthly Weather Report (ISSN 1741-4733) which is distributed to libraries across Northamptonshire. This report comprises a full UK weather diary, reports of extreme weather events across the county, statistics from Pitsford Hall's affiliated stations across the county as well as news from the weather station itself. Individuals may subscribe to this report at a rate of £15 per year. Please contact the station for further information.