Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: Cool and unsettled during the first half of the month, increasingly warm and humid later.

The fine spell of weather across the county at the end of May continued into the start of June. The 1st and 2nd were both very warm days with daytime maxima climbing to the mid 20s and with plenty of unbroken sunshine (11.1hrs on the 1st and 12.2hrs on the 2nd). However, the area of high pressure responsible for this fine weather had retreated northwards on the 3rd allowing much cooler air southwards. As pressure continue to fall a complex low developed over France on the 5th bringing a spell of very wet weather to the county. 10.1mm fell over a 12 hour period on the 5th followed by a further 5.8mm and 6.6mm on the 6th and 7th respectively. Further depressions tracked close to the south over the next few days delivering further spells of rain, most notably late on the 10th with 7.7mm recorded at Pitsford. Temperatures remained depressed for June with daytime maxima typically in the mid teens.

Pressure climbed from the 11th onwards. Consequently, temperatures began to recover although the transition to the warmer and more settled spell of weather was marked by some sharp hail showers on the afternoon of the 11th. High pressure remained the dominant influence maintaining daytime temperatures in the low 20s until a deep low tracked past the north of Scotland on the 17th and 18th. Frontal systems tied into this low brought some outbreaks of rain across the county, although totals were slight, and it became breezy particular on the 19th.

By the 22nd a renewed area of high pressure took up residence across the UK. Whilst this high tended to shift towards Scandinavia over the next few days it would have a very strong influence on the weather that developed over the next few days. Its main role was to bring in dry and warm air across the UK initially from the east and then from the south-east. Some good spells of sunshine were recorded between the 23rd and 25th, although it became increasingly cloudy and humid thereafter with thunderstorms developing on the 26th. Daytime temperatures, initially in the low to mid 20s rose significantly towards the end of the month reaching 29.4C on the 29th and 30.0C on the 30th, the warmest June day since the heatwave of 2006.

Overall temperatures in June across Northampton were above average and the warmest recorded since the June heatwave of 2006. It was also a relatively dry month (41.6mm), although it wasn’t as dry as last June when just 39.9mm of rain was recorded. Sunshine was a little below average due to the unsettled spell earlier in the month and the humid overcast conditions towards the end.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum: 30.0 C on 30th
The Lowest Maximum: 14.2 C on 6th
The Highest Minimum: 16.1 C on 29th
The Lowest Minimum: 4.5 C on 4th
The Mean Maximum: 20.4 C  
The Mean Minimum: 10.4 C  
The Overall Mean: 15.4 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 1.1 C  
    
Black Bulb    
Maximum (at 0900): 36.9 C on 29th
Mean (at 0900): 24.5 C  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 97.0 % on 28th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 47.2 % on 2nd
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 70.5 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900): 16.8 C on 29th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): 4.4 C on 4th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 10.4 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total: 41.6 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 76.2 %  
Duration: 28.6 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 10.1 mm on 5th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 9   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 8   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 179.7 hrs  
Sunniest day: 12.2 hrs on 2nd
No. of days without sunshine: 2   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 94.1 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 5.2 oktas 65 %
    

Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900): 1029.5 mb on 23rd
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900): 1001.3 mb on 7th
Mean Pressure (at 0900): 1018.2 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 81.2 miles  
Mean daily wind speed: 4.4 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative): 2435.0 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust: 31 mph on 19th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more: 0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 16.1 mph on 19th
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 8.3 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 4 NE 5 E 3 SE 5 S 3 SW 1 W 3 NW 5
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum: 5.0 C on 4th
Mean Concrete Minimum: 11.0 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche:  93.9 ml  
Pan: not available this month
    
Days with:    
Thunder: 1   
Hail <5mm: 1   
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.