Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: A fairly average month temperature-wise, despite a notable warm spell during the second week. Drier than normal and sunnier, but still rather changeable at times.

Pressure was fairly slack across Northamptonshire at the start of June. High pressure was present to the north-west, but this drifted steadily north-eastwards towards northern Scandinavia to allow low pressure and its attendant frontal systems to move up initially from the south and then later in from the west. Overnight on the 2nd into the 3rd saw a spell of fairly persistent and heavy rain across the county. 10.9mm was recorded at Pitsford in the 24 hour period leading up to 0900 GMT on the 3rd, with a further 8.4mm falling during the day. As high pressure remained firm over Scandinavia, frontal systems which had started to work eastwards on the 3rd ground to a halt over the eastern side of the

. This resulted in a fairly cloudy day on the 6th but otherwise it remained dry.

A ridge of high pressure began to move in towards the south-west from the Azores on the 7th. This brought with it significantly warmer air and daytime temperatures climbed reaching a peak of 25.0C on the 9th. Winds remained light and although working in from the north-west, they had their origin across much warmer water to the south-west. Some respectable sunshine totals were also recorded. The high steered a deep low to the north on the 10th bringing strong winds and outbreaks of rain to the far north. However, on the 11th the area of high pressure across southern parts of Britain had started to retreat allowing a much cooler northerly airstream across the region. Frontal system heading south also brought outbreaks of rain.

Conditions remained fairly cyclonic across the eastern half of Britain, Northamptonshire included, until the 16th. With the centre of the low positioned over southern Scandinavia there was a fairly persistent north-westerly breeze which kept temperatures below their seasonal average with some fairly chilly nights.

A ridge of high pressure built in temporarily across the south on the 17th ahead of a fairly active depression which brought some outbreaks of rain to the county on the 18th. The wind freshened to a fairly brisk south-westerly allowing temperatures generally to rise. A further low pressure system tracked close to western coasts and across northern Britain between the 21st and 23rd. Again this brought spells of rain, especially on the 21st when some fairly heavy pulses were recorded during the evening and overnight into the 22nd associated with the passage of first a warm and then a cold front. It also became quite windy with gusts reaching 36mph, unusual for early summer.

An area of high pressure had started to develop across the UK on the 23rd. This introduced some fine settled weather with some good sunshine. On the 24th temperatures passed the 20C mark for the first time since the 10th. However, the fine spell was short lived with cyclonic conditions once again becoming established over much of the UK as low pressure worked into the far north. Outbreaks of rain were recorded on the 26th tied into an occlusion moving east. However, high pressure remained strong across the south and the county benefited from this pretty much until the month came to a close with only occasional well scattered showers.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum:    25.0 C on 9th
The Lowest Maximum:    14.3 C on 12th
The Highest Minimum:    15.0 C on 28th
The Lowest Minimum:    6.5 C on 16th
The Mean Maximum:    19.1 C  
The Mean Minimum:    10.3 C  
The Overall Mean:    14.7 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean:  +0.4 C  
    
Black Bulb    
Maximum (at 0900):    35.0 C on 9th
Mean (at 0900):    23.4 C  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900):  98.9 % on 3rd
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900):  53.5 % on 9th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900):  72.3 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900):   12.9 C on 3rd & 8th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900):  6.6 C on 15th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900):   10.1 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total:      39.9 mm  
Difference from the Monthly Mean:  69.9 %  
Duration:     42.9 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900):  10.9 mm on 2nd
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):    8   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):    8   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine:  219.4 hrs  
Sunniest day:     11.7 hrs on 19th
No. of days without sunshine:   3   
Difference from the Monthly Mean:  139.2 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900):   5.7 oktas (71.3 %)
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure:    1025.8 mb on 9th
The Lowest Pressure:    1006.2 mb on 22nd
Mean Pressure (recorded at 0900):  1016.4 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs):  98.3 miles  
Mean daily wind speed:    5.3 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative):   2949.5 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust:   36 mph on 22nd
No. of gusts of 50mph or more:   0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900):  16.1 mph on 14th
Mean wind strength (at 0900):   8.2 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 6 NE 3 E 1 SE 1 S 3 SW 4 W 4 NW 8 Calm 0
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum:   5.2 C on 16th
Mean Concrete Minimum:   9.0 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche      98.7 ml  
Pan      97.04 mm
    
Days with:    
Thunder:     0   
Hail <5mm:    0   
Hail >/=5mm:     0   
Snow or snow & rain:    0   
Snow lying:     0   
Fog:      0   
Air Frost:     0   
Gales:      0   

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 download this report for £2 or take out an annual subscription for the paper-based report for £25. Click here for further details.