Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: The month was amongst the coolest July’s on record with rainfall about average.

With rising pressure in a polar air-mass, July began with below average temperatures, perhaps a signal for how the month as a whole would pan out. The afternoon was rather cool in spite of abundant sunshine and light winds. The weather became progressively warmer over the next three days and there were long sunny periods, with 9.5 hrs recorded at Pitsford on the 2nd. The warm spell peaked on the 4th with a high of 25C, although elsewhere the following day was a touch warmer.

Cooler conditions were introduced on the 6th as deep depression centred west of Ireland on the 5th, drifted very slowly east then northeast across the British Isles, reaching the North Sea on the 9th/10th. During this period rain fell widely and sometimes heavily particularly on the 7th which saw 13.5mm recorded at Pitsford in the space of 4.5hrs. It also became quite windy, notably on the 8th.

High pressure developed near Iceland during the 10th/11th, subsequently sinking slowly southwards over the next five days to reach Biscay on the 15th. There were further heavy showers in eastern England on the 10th, but mainly light across Northamptonshire. Generally, these few days were dry with variable amounts of cloud and some occasional very sunny days such as the 11th. Daytime temperatures generally rose to the low 20s, a touch cooler on the 12th and 13th as cloud amounts increased associated with an upper level disturbance.

An unusually deep depression for the season tracked SE-wards across Scotland between the 16th and 19th, thence turning northwards and filling, allowing a northerly flow to develop across the UK. A further shallow disturbance tracked from Ireland to northern France on the 20th/21st. This was the coolest and one of the cloudiest parts of July. No sunshine was recorded at Pitsford at all on the 20th and daytime temperatures climbed to just 17.2C. Rain fell on most days, although amounts were slight compared to totals recorded in other areas.

Western parts of Britain became dry and sunny between the 20th and 25th, but showers did not relent across the county until the 23rd. A build of pressure across the British Isles settled the weather down between the 26th and 29th, and the county remained dry, but sunshine was variable rather than plentiful, ranging from 12.2 hrs on the 24th but with no sunshine at all on several days. Daytime temperatures rose only a few degrees above normal, although the 28th was warm at 25.4C. The last two days of July were fine and warm with 24.9C registered on the 31st.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum: 25.4 C on 28th
The Lowest Maximum: 17.0 C on 13th
The Highest Minimum: 14.7 C on 4th
The Lowest Minimum: 4.5 C on 5th
The Mean Maximum: 20.7 C  
The Mean Minimum: 10.6 C  
The Overall Mean: 15.7 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: -1.1 C  
    
Solar Radiation    
Maximum (at 0900): 709.0 W/m^2 on 2nd
Mean (at 0900): 309.7 W/m^2  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 98.9 % on 16th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 44.5 % on 5th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 73.3 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900): 14.7 C on 28th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): 5.1 C on 1st
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 11.1 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total: 47.4 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 105.8 %  
Duration: 32.6 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 13.5 mm on 7th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 12   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 9   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 136.7 hrs  
Sunniest day: 12.2 hrs on 24th
No. of days without sunshine: 5   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 62.7 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 5.9 oktas 73.8 %
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900): 1027.7 mb on 1st
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900): 991.2 mb on 17th
Mean Pressure (at 0900): 1013.5 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 93.2 miles  
Mean daily wind speed: 5.0 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative): 2890.3 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust: 31 mph on 23rd
No. of gusts of 50mph or more: 0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 18.4 mph on 7th
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 8.6 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 3 NE 4 E 1 SE 3 S 3 SW 2 W 4 NW 10 Calm 1
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum: 5.0 C on 5th
Mean Concrete Minimum: 10.9 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche 98.3 ml  
Pan 63.46 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.