************************************************************************************** MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT JUNE 1999 TEXT-ONLY VERSION Hard copy versions of this report, including graphics, can be obtained from the weather station at the following address: Pitsford Hall weather station Pitsford Hall Moulton Lane Pitsford Northampton NN6 9AX Enclosing a stamped address A4 envelope. The full register can be downloaded separately to this report from this web site. If you encounter any problems in downloading data or viewing the files, please contact the station via the answerphone on 07967 438314. For official purposes, data entries should always be double checked with the station office. ************************************************************************************** Pitsford Hall Weather Station Office: Pitsford Hall Northamptonshire Grammar School Pitsford Northampton NN6 9AX Tel. 01604 880306 Fax. 01604 882212 E-mail weather@brixworth.demon.co.uk Web site http://www.brixworth.demon.co.uk/weather Registered member of the Climatological Observers Link Corporate Member of the Royal Meteorological Society Station grading: A Climatological Station No: 91012 Station Manager: M J Lewis, BSc(Hons), FRGS Observers: Christopher Cockrell Simon Fleming Benjamin Goodyear Alexander Jackman Andrew Sunderland Honorary Foundation Observers: Paul Dickens William Keggin Martin Sheehy Andrew Stanton Technician: Mrs S West Groundsman: Mr R Green Statistical Analysis of Air and Ground Observations - June 1999 Temperatures: Mean Max: 18.9C Mean Min: 9.7C Mean Temp: 14.3C (mean comparison: 0C) Highest Max: 24.7C on 26th Lowest Max: 14.7C on 11th Highest Min: 15C on 27th Lowest Min: 4.7C on 8th Relative Humidity: Humidities observed at 0830hrs: Max: 99% on 13th Min: 73% on 18th & 22nd Mean: 84.1% All Humidities (hygrograph record): Max: 99% on 13th Min: 33% on 25th Rainfall: Total for Month: 63.3mm (mean comparison: 111.2%) Max: 19.9mm on 1st Rain Days: 14 Wet Days: 8 Duration: 41.6 hours Rainfall acidity: Lowest pH: 5.5 on 6th Mean pH: 6.04 Winds: Max Max Gust: 34mph on 20th Max wind speed at observation: 13mph on 2nd & 6th Mean wind speed at observation: 4.5mph Max mean 24 hour wind speed: 6mph on 8th, 20th & 21st Mean mean 24 hour wind speed: 3.7mph Directions: north 5, northeast 3, east 0, southeast 2, south 2, southwest 7, west 4, northwest 6, calm 1, variable 0 Pressures: Max: 1025mb on 25th Min: 998mb on 27th Mean: 1014mb Sunshine: Total: 173.5 hours Most in a day: 12.8 hours on 18th No of sunless days: 1 Cloud Cover: Mean cloud cover at observation: 70% Ground Observations: Lowest Grass Min: 3.2C on 9th Highest Grass Min: 15C on 27th Lowest Concrete Min: 4.6C on 8th Highest Concrete Min: 15.9C on 27th Soil Temperatures: 5cm mean: 14.2C max: 18.2C on 27th min: 10.4C on 9th 10cm mean: 14.7C max: 18.8C on 27th min: 11.6C on 5th 20cm mean: 16.0C max: 19.5C on 27th min: 13.5C on 5th 30cm mean: 16.3C max: 19.5C on 27th min: 14.2C on 5th Other observations: Days with fog recorded at 0830 hours: 1 Mean visibility: 7 (good, up to 20km) Days with air frosts: 0 Duration of air frost: 0 hours Days with snow falling: 0 Days with snow lying at observation: 0 Days with hail observed: 0 Days with thunder heard: 2 Days with lightning observed: 1 Gales: 0 United Kingdom Climatological Analysis - June 1999 Clear skies early on the 1st over parts of Scotland N England and resulted in low temperatures around dawn in places, although much of England (except the extreme S), Wales and Ireland began the month with cloudy conditions. By mid-afternoon the cloud had largely lifted over England and Wales, although Scotland had largely clouded over. A new area of cloud in SW England by mid-afternoon heralded the arrival of a thundery low (see surface chart for 0000 GMT on the 2nd); thunderstorms were reported from Devon around 1600 GMT and the Channel islands around 1900 GMT. These moved NE during the evening to affect much of Cent S England by midnight; 17mm of precipitation fell at Hurn (Bournemouth) in the 6 hours starting 1800 GMT. (Northolt 23C, Keswick and Shap Fell 3C, South Uist Range 6mm, Folkestone 14.9h.) The thundery activity spread to Norfolk and E Kent by dawn on the 2nd with 12-hour rainfall totals ending 0600 GMT including 26mm at Heathrow, 22mm at Hurn and 21mm at Boscombe Down. 28mm fell at Reigate during the overnight storms, while the daily rainfall total at West Totton (Hampshire) amounted to 35mm. At Lewes (East Sussex) hail 1 inch in diameter fell around 0230 GMT. The storms brought lightning, which struck a signalling cabin before dawn at Shenfield, Essex, causing rail delays to London. On the Surrey stretch of the M25 part of an embankment subsided. Flooding closed several London Underground stations. Most of Scotland and N parts of Ireland had a dry night, but by midday the rain area covered most of Ireland and was beginning to affect S Scotland. By midnight rain was falling over much of Scotland, although much of S Ireland and the SW quarter of England was then dry. Rainfall totals include 28mm at Hemsby (0600-1200 GMT); 14mm fell at Wittering in the same period with 18mm in the 6 hours to 1800 GMT. In Rayleigh (Essex) lightning struck a house and set fire to the loft. During a catamaran race in Weymouth Bay a sudden squall with a SE force 6 wind capsized 77 boats and led to the rescue of 154 competitors. Roads were flooded in many areas, and lightning disabled the emergency phones on the M1 and M45. There are unconfirmed reports of a tornado being sighted near Hockley Heath (near Birmingham), accompanying a thunderstorm with hail, during late afternoon, and also one over the Bristol Channel near Newport during late morning. In Warwick, 3 people were hit by lightning, and 5 people in York were similarly affected. During the afternoon there was an increase in wind and gustiness in S England; a gust to 49kn occurred at Worthing. In Northamptonshire the leisure centre in Rushden was closed due to flooding; 170 storm-related calls made to the Fire Brigade and 180 businesses throughout Northants were without power during the day. (Herne Bay 23C, Biggar 3C, Heathrow 48mm, Clacton 9.2h.) There was some thunder in the early hours of the 3rd in the Lincolnshire area; elsewhere it was cloudy with rain in places, heavy in parts of Scotland. By day it was mainly cloudy everywhere with rain in Scotland gradually becoming lighter, and with showers over England and Wales. These showers were thundery in parts of the Midlands and S Wales during the afternoon. (Hunstanton 20C, Baltasound 8C, Birmingham 29mm, Guernsey 9.0h.) Cloudy conditions overnight over most of the British Isles kept temperatures well above freezing by dawn on the 4th; rain over N Scotland continued on and off for most of the day. Showers were widespread over England, Wales and Ireland - these were heavy and blustery at times with widespread reports of gusts to 35kn. (Herne Bay 19C, Wick 6C, Tain Range 14mm, Anglesey 8.6h.) Areas of rain continued overnight in N Scotland, and throughout much of the 5th. Over England, Wales and Ireland clearing skies led to temperatures down to 4C in many locations, with a warm afternoon in parts of N England, the N Midlands and East Anglia. An unofficial station at Beverley reported 18.1C, and there was some ground frost in places. Cloud increased in S Ireland, S England and Wales as an active depression moved E through SW England to Hampshire by midnight, bringing some further heavy rain (and occasional thunder) to the Midlands and S districts. Thunderstorms were also reported from NE England and SE Scotland. (Leeds 18C, Castlederg 1C, Aspatria 26mm, Prestatyn 15.1h.) Rain and showers continued to fall over many parts of scotland throughout the 6th; clearing skies over Wales led to a ground frost in sheltered places in the N. Elsewhere it remained generally cloudy overnight with rain in some S and E districts of England. During late morning and afternoon increasing cloud brought more heavy and, in places, thundery showers to England and Wales. (Northolt 20C, Llanbedr 1C, Falmouth 27mm, Guernsey 12.7h.) Rain and showers were largely confined to E England and E Scotland by dawn on the 7th, although by midday precipitation had fallen in many areas of S, E England, the Midlands and S Wales. These bands of rain continued into the evening, being slow-moving with hail, heavy rain and thunder observed in places. At Danbury (Essex) 17mm fell in 10mins during a thunderstorm around 1230 GMT. At Colchester, some rotation was seen in the cloudbase during a thunderstorm (in the form of `8 fat v-shaped incipient funnel clouds'), although the vertical development did not extend down to the ground and soon settled back into mammatus form. Much of Ireland, N Wales and W Scotland, however, remained dry during the day. According to televsion, about 18cm of snow fell on Cairngorm in a northerly airflow. (Gravesend 19C, Saughall -1C, Topcliffe 25mm, Tiree 14.1h.) Heavy overnight rain and thunderstorms led to some local flooding of roads in Cleveland by dawn on the 8th; rain continued to fall over areas of NW, NE and E England and N parts of East Anglia until mid-afternoon, while E Scotland was cloudy with a few rain showers throughout the day. Elsewhere, skies largely cleared by dawn, giving a ground frost in sheltered places. Increasing cloud cover brought light rain to S Ireland and SW England during the morning, while it turned cloudy in much of S England and Scotland during the day despite pressure rising to 1026mb over the Channel Islands by 2100 GMT. (Barbourne 19C, Castlederg 1C, Leeming 33mm, Ronaldsway 14.3h.) A persistent area of low pressure continued to bring some rain to NE England overnnight, but this rain had almost ended by dawn on the 9th. Elsewhere the night was dry except in the Northern Isles, extreme NE Ireland, SW England and the Channel Islands; clear skies and a N airflow led to a touch of ground frost in some sheltered parts of Scotland, the Midlands and Wales and these same clear skies then led to a sunny day in many places. Light rain, however, affected parts of W Scotland and NW Ireland, the Channel Islands and, later, North Sea coasts of SE Scotland and NE England. (Bristol and Herne Bay 20C, Loch Glascarnoch 0C, Topcliffe 7mm, Morecambe 15.5h.) Clearing skies overnight over the S half of England and E Wales led to a ground frost in some sheltered inland districts before dawn on the 10th, while the rest of the British Isles had a mainly cloudy start to the day. Cloud soon developed over S England and England, Wales and Ireland then had a mainly cloudy day with light rain and drizzle over Ireland during early morning. Parts of E Scotland saw some sunny spells, and it was generally sunny over the Channel Islands. (Edinburgh 20C, Benson 3C, Jersey 5mm, Guernsey 11.9h.) Frontal cloud was quite persistent in E Scotland and E england during the 11th, and although rainfall amounts were small so were daytime temperatures in a N airflow. Clear skies in C Scotland overnight led to some ground frost there before dawn. Most of the British Isles had sunny intervals during the day, although more prolonged sunshine occurred in SW districts of Scotland and Wales. (Southampton 19C max, Loftus 9C max, Strathallan 3C min, Coltishall 2mm, Tiree 13.0h.) There was further cloud and rain in the E half of Scotland England on the 12th; during the afternoon there were thunderstorms in parts of the E Midlands and East Anglia, with 47mm falling in 6 hours at Danbury (Essex). The best of the sunshine was again in W Scotland, and later in parts of W Wales, while much of the remainder of the British Isles had a mainly cloudy day. (Herne Bay 19C, Tulloch Bridge 5C, Honington 19mm, Tiree 14.0h.) After cloudy night with rain or drizzle over N Ireland, Scotland the the extreme E of England, fog patched formed around dawn on the 13th under clearing skies from Hampshire to the Pennines with the visiblity falling to 100m in places. These soon cleared and much of Cent and S England had a mild day with sunny spells. Rain fell over Scotland and much of Ireland for most of the day, pushing into Wales and N England early in the afternoon; associated cloud spread to much of S England later in the afternnon and evening. (Bournemouth 22C, Pembrey Sands 5C, Clacton 28mm, Penzance 14.0h.) Rain bands associated with a cold front brought bands of (mainly light) rain to many parts of the British Isles during the 14th, although some heavy rain fell in W Scotland overnight. A cloudy night in most districts kept minimum temperatures up, although in extreme SE England and coastal East Anglis clear skies before dawn led to some local fog formation. Fog also occurred in parts of the Northern Isles. Ahead of the S-moving rainbands, much of S and Cent. England has some warm, sunny spells, while Ireland turned brighter during the afternoon; other places were rather cloudy. (Gravesend 24C, Redhill 4C, Lusa (Skye) 18mm, Clacton 15.0h.) While Scotland was mainly cloudy overnight, clearing skies in other areas led to some fog patches by dawn on the 15th, especially on some Irish Sea coasts and in SW and Cent. S England. Cloud soon developed over England and Wales during the day, although away from the coasts it was quite warm here with some coastal fog in the parts of Cornwall and W Wales; 24C recorded at Wigan and 25c at Leeds. Light rain spread into Ireland and then W Scotland during the day, extending to E Scotland by nightfall. (London 26C, Aboyne 5C, Lough Fea 1mm, Jersey 14.1h.) The overnight rain was heavy in places in Scotland, and during daytime on the 16th continued to fall there and in N parts of Ireland; by the evening, a clearance was evident in the extreme N of Scotland, however. After some overnight fog in parts of SW Wales, SW and Cent S England, England and Wales had a mainly sunny day, while it was generally cloudy in Ireland. Parts of SE, Cent S England, East Anglia and the Midlands were quite warm, although it was cooler on the coasts. (London 27C, Culdrose 8C, Lusa 25mm, Southend 16.0h.) The night was warm in places in S England, with 1800 - 0600 GMT minima on the 17th including 13.0C at St Mary's, Scilly. It was cloudy overnight in Scotland at first, with rain in the S; as the rain moved S skies cleared in N districts while England and Wales clouded over after a clear start. The rainmoved S to N England by mid-morning, and then largely faded out, although some did fall in Cornwall for a while. During the afternoon Scotland clouded over while sunny periods occurred over England, Ireland and Wales. (Hastings 23C, Loch Glascarnoch 4C, Port Ellen 5mm, Penzance 14.0h.) Light rain and drizzle spread slowly E over Ireland and Scotland overnight although there was little cloud over England and Wales by dawn on the 18th. Precipitation continued to fall over Scotland by day, while becoming generally lighter over Ireland; cloud spread to parts of N England and N Wales during the afternoon, while the remainder of the British Isles had a mainly sunny day. (London Weather Centre 25C, Lerwick 11C max, Lerwick 5mm, Prestatyn 16.1h.) It remained cloudy overnight over Ireland and Scotland, with light rain or dirzzle in places; after a clear start, cloud spread SE to cover most of Wales, N and W england by dawn on the 19th, with light rain pushing into N England by this time. This area of cloud extended to cover most of the British Isles by early afternoon, with some light rain falling in parts of S England but with more extensive and heavier rain over Ireland and Cent. Scotland by that time. This heavier rain, associated with a cold front, continued to push SE to reach the Midlands and SW England by midnight. (Herne Bay 25C, Tulloch Bridge 7C, Dundrennan 21mm, Eastbourne 15.5h.) Rain over Scotland diedaway to the E overnight, while the cold frontal rain over England cleared the extreme SE by midday on the 20th, with a few rain showers falling behind the front in places. Following a warm night in few places in the S (e.g. 14.1C at Hemsby, 14.5C at Heathrow and 14.6C at Manston), the NW breeze made it feel much cooler by day than of late over the whole British Isles. During the afternoon there were showers of hail and thunder in NE England (also Aberdeen reported a thunderstorm shortly before 1200 GMT) with reports of several tornadoes in the Newcastle area, including one around 1415 GMT near the Silverlink, E of the city. Showers of rain were quite widespread over Ireland and Scotland generally. (Shoreham 21C, Loch Glascarnoch 5C, Capel Curig 25mm, Fishguard 10.3h.) Showers died down overnight in most places and a patchy cloud cover resulted over the British Isles by dawn on the 21st. During the day it was mainly dry, but with rain showers in Scotland and in W areas of England and Wales. (Bournemouth 19C, Spadeadam 4C, Loch Glascarnoch 10mm, Saunton Sands 15.0h.) There were clear skies over most of the British Isles by dawn on the 22nd, with an air frost reported in sheltered area of Scotland. Ground frost was fairly widespread at inland Scottish sites N of the Forth-Clyde valley, and over parts of NW England, NE Wales, Cent S England, Kent and a few other isolated areas. An exception to this were S Scotland, NE England and later Ireland, where there was overnight cloud and rain. This cloud soon spread to most parts of Britain, except NW Scotland, and frontal rain fell over much of Ireland by mid-afternoon, and later over S Scotland, parts of N England and W Wales. (Cardiff 19C, Loch Glascarnoch -1C, Lough Fea 7mm, Stornoway 17.2h.) A cloudy night meant that minimum temperatures on the 23rd remained fairly high over much of the British Isles, the exception to this being over N parts of Scotland where clear skies led to localised air frosts. These frost occurrences are helped by the crystal clear air over N Scotland; Fair Isle has been reporting visibilities of 80km for the past few days. Overnight precipitation over England, Wales and S Ireland became lighter during the morning and by late afternoon was confined mainly to SW and NE England. Scotland was mainly dry with sunshine during the day. (Northolt 22C, Altnaharra -1.8C, Ronaldsway 24C, Kinloss 16.2h.) Cloud cleared overnight in S England to give some fog patches there by dawn on the 24th and some fog was also reported along Irish sea coasts. During the day most of the British Isles had sunny spells although early cloud over the Midlands and East Anglia took a while to clear; parts of Wales and S England saw cloud developing during the day although this started to clear during late evening. Moderate rain and drizzle occurred in the Northern Isles in what was otherwise a generally dry day over the British Isles. Large diurnal temperature ranges reported in NW Scotland, e.g. minimum 3.0C and maximum 26.8C at Kyle of Sutherland. At 2355 GMT noctilucent cloud was observed at Fair Isle. (Cardiff 24C, Altnaharra 3C, Lowestoft 0.4mm, Eastbourne 15.7h.) Cloud cleared almost everywhere by dawn on the 25th with fog patches forming in S Scotland by 0600 GMT. An exception to this was W Scotland where cloud spread from the W giving some rain in the Northern Isles; this cloud moved E during the day, breaking up during the afternoon over Scotland. Elsewhere, cloud amounts were small and some places reported unbroken sunshine under the influence of the W flank of an anticyclone. (Prestatyn 25C, Coltishall 5C, Baltasound 3mm, Beverley 16.1h.) Cloud over W Ireland and Scotland thickened overnight with with rain falling in W Ireland by 0600 GMT on the 26th. Rain spread to the whole of Ireland during the morning (12 and 13 mm fell at Shannon and Rosslare, respectively, in the period 0600-1800 GMT) and to W Scotland. After a mainly clear night, many places in England (except for the cloudy extreme N) reported their warmest day of the year so far (e.g. Wigan 26C. Bablake 25C. Leeds 25.5C). However, a trough moved N during late morning onwards from SW England to NW England giving widespread thunderstorms as far N as Glasgow by midnight (with hail in places); light rain also fell in SE England and the E Midlands. In SW England the thunderstorms were preceded by the advection inland of coastal air, creating fog, in places. (Northolt 27C, Leconfield 5C, St Angelo (N Ireland) 16mm, Skegness 15.4h.) The thundery activity continued during the early hours of the 27th in NW England and SW Scotland (and later in parts of NE England). Rain over E Ireland moved E during the night and day, affecting most of England, Wales and Scotland. Falls were heavy in places, although mainly light in SE England, and driving conditions were difficult in N England, S Scotland and Northern Ireland at times. 33mm fell at Weston Coyney (Staffs.) in the period 0700-1600 GMT, making it the wettest June day there since records began in 1960. Other large totals to 1800 GMT include Eskmeals 41mm, Spadeadam 21mm and Drumburgh 26mm. (Hunstanton 21C, Castlederg 6C, Walney Island 45mm, Newquay 10.3h.) There was further rain in Scotland overnight, with showers over other W parts of the British Isles by dawn on the 28th. Some of these showers were thundery over parts of N England. The rain turned to showers over Scotland during the day, and showers continued for much of the day over the rest of the British Isles, although early in the afternoon an area of rain (heavy in places) pushed into SW England and S Wales before moving across S England, the Midlands and East Anglia overnight, leading to difficult driving conditions. A tornado was reported near Wick during the early evening, while later in the evening thunderstorms occurred in NE Scotland. At Chalfont St. Giles 33mm fell in the 24 hours beginning 0900 GMT. (Heathrow 19C, Madley 5C, Kinloss 20mm, Tiree 12.8h.) Overnight rain in S England, the Midlands and S Wales moved slowly SE, lasting for most of the daylight hours on the 29th in many SE areas, and with light precipitation still falling in places by midnight in the SE. Rainfall totals for the 24 hours ending 1800 GMT included Wattisham 27mm, Boscombe Down 25mm, Heathrow 26mm, Maidenhead 31mm, Great Kingshill 27mm, while other 24-hour totals during the period of the rain included 35mm at Crowthorne (ending 1730 GMT), 33mm in Cent. Reading and 23mm at Romford (ending 1700 GMT). No play was possible at the Wimbledon tennis championships during the day. Elsewhere, some overnight rain in Scotland became more widespread in N districts there during the day, scattered showers fell over Ireland while N Wales, N England and S Scotland remained mainly dry. (Herne Bay 21C, Hillsborough 4C, Northolt 34mm, Aspatria 14.4h.) The overnight rain finally cleared E Kent by mid-morning while that over Scotland persisted all day in places. After a cloudy start, rain moved E into W Ireland before dawn and, during early evening, into W districts of England and Wales. 30th (Herne Bay 22C, Ross-on-Wye 6C, Aultbea 29mm, Isle of Wight 11.3h.) Information supplied courtesy of Roger Brugge, Climatological Observers Link. A message from Roger Brugge: The Climatological Observers Link, a group of about 400 amateur meteorologists in the UK, is currently collecting monthly data for the period 1991-2000 to compile a booklet of climatological averages and extremes, following on from its successful version for the periods 1971-80 and 1981-90. I am, therefore, trying to locate as many observers (both amateur and professional) as possible, who might be interested in contributing to the project. Data on temperature, rainfall, sunshine, soil temperatures and days with certain weather types are needed. Please contact me at brugge@met.rdg.ac.uk or see the webpage at http://www.met.rdg.ac.uk/~brugge/col.html if you are interested. You do not need to be able to provide a complete 10-year period of data to help us. Roger Brugge, COL Secretary. Notable Weather Events in Northamptonshire The following report is taken from the weather station's web site 1 June 19.9mm rainfall recorded over 4.5 hours. 2 June Flooding, lightning strikes and power cuts throughout the county. Leisure centre in Rushden, East Northants, closed due to flooding. 170 storm-related calls made to the Fire Brigade. 180 businesses throughout Northants were without power during the day. Emergency phones on the M1 and A45 were without power. Northamptonshire was one of the worst effected areas in the eastern counties. 6 June Thunder heard in highly localised areas, including Crick and Creaton, at around 2pm with reports of associated 'green lightning'*. The afternoon passed peacefully despite a few showers at Pitsford Hall. 26 June Warmest day of the year so far. 24.7C recorded at Pitsford Hall. Duration of bright sunshine 10.2 hours. Highest recorded soil/earth temperatures at 0830 hours the following morning: 18.2C, 18.8C, 19.5C and 19.5C at 5, 10, 20 and 30cm depths respectively. Also warmest night recorded at 15C. Reports from Northants Weather Watchers Reports received from Pitsford Hall weather station's network of weather enthusiasts across Northamptonshire. From Jeremy Borrett : WILBY'S TOTAL MONTHLY & YEARLY RAINFALL (BETWEEN 1994 AND 1999) ______________________________________________________________________ 1994 (mm) 1995 (mm) 1996 (mm) 1997 (mm) 1998 (mm) 1999 (mm) ______________________________________________________________________ January 80 83 44 22 88 109 February 44 76 56.5 66.5 8 21 March 46 55 36.5 11.5 82 37.5 April 54 31 51.5 19 175 76 May 62 36 24.5 92.5 16 68 June 24 95 34.5 149 126 77.5 July 24 19 69 49 19 August 36 9 70.5 66 62 September 122 121 11 42 60 October 76 28 45.5 81.5 130 November 52 82 79 84 45 December 62 96 55 78 56 ______________________________________________________________________ TOTAL (mm) 682 731 577.5 761 86 311.5 ______________________________________________________________________ WILBY'S JUNE 1999 MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT Wind direction ============== North: None South: 8 days East: 1 day West: 2 days North-west: 8 days North-east: None South-west: 3 days South-east: 1 day Variable: 1 day Calm winds: 6 days Total: 30 days Wind speed ========== Average wind speed (mph): 2mph Maximum wind speed (mph): 9mph (3rd) Minimum wind speed (mph): 0mph (11th, 12th, 24th & 27th) Temperature =========== Average temperature: 19°C Highest temperature: 25°C (26th) Lowest temperature: 5°C (5th) Rainfall ======== Total rainfall (mm): 77½mm Highest rainfall (mm): 37½mm (2nd) Air pressure ============ Average air pressure: 1017mb Highest air pressure: 1027mb (10th, 11th & 15th) Lowest air pressure: 1000mb (27th) Report on the Northants thunderstorms, 2 June 1999. From Jim. 2nd one of the day started at 14:30BST and moved from south to north passing overhead finished 15:11 with a brief apperance of the sun. A wacky day indeed.Heavy rain throughout this period which has led to large puddles of water forming in back and front gardens. Lightning very frequent from 14:45 to 15:05 all C - C. Temp fell from 16.7 to 14.9. More thunder at 15:58 to north but only twice heard. Mistiness has now blown away but still some threatening cloud about. Temp now 17:35 17.2C Northampton Thunderstorm, further report from Jim. 2 June 1999. Distant rumbles heard 12:40 to the north and light bulb flickering that was enough to unplug the modem following recent articles in this ng. No rain but very misty. 14C 12:44 steady rain and rumbles getting louder to the north sounds like they are over near you Mike, at Pitsford. Power then went off and came back on three times in quick succession, computer still on : (( Now off but can't work : )) 12:45 - 13:07 thunder heard every minute loudest at 12:57 lightning seen only once at 12:57 (CC) Must be worrying for the folks in St James as this is very similar day to that which led to floods in easter '98. Hope they don't have to use new flood siren for real. !! Rain stopping 13:10 and birds in good voice so I guess it's over for time being. It still feels very muggy and temp at 14.6C at 13:30. Looks like we may get some more : )) Computer seems to have survived : )) Jim From Joe, Bedford. Posted to uk.sci.weather newsgroup according to LOOK EAST much of western east anglia (if beds, northants etc is east anglia) saw more than an inch of rain, a house was struck by lightning in cambridge and parts of northants had localised flooding,,, here in bedford there was one spectacular lightning strike close by but only one other piece of lightning and that was nothing in comparison, quite a lot of rumbling thunder though,,, total rain = 24.8mm Station Notes At the end of June, the weather station completed work on the ground enclosure with the installation of additional Negretti and Zambra earth thermometers. The station can now provide on a daily basis soil/earth temperatures at 5cm, 10cm, 20cm, 30cm, 40cm, 50cm and 100cm depths; bare earth temperatures; grass and concrete minimum temperatures; and state of the ground observations. The original Casella angle-type soil thermometers were deemed unsatisfactory as condensation within the stem of the thermometers presented difficulties in recording temperatures. The automatic weather station nears completion. Alex Corbishley, an ICT student at the school, has been working hard on the installation of the system which should enable the station to provide online weather data several times daily. The station anticipates the system going 'live' via the world wide web during August. During June, the station was also elected a corporate member of the Royal Meteorological Society. The station's inclusion within this body will provide additional credibility to the professionalism of the operation at Pitsford Hall. Observations will continue at the station during the school holidays. However, the release of daily weather reports via e-mail, fax and world wide web will suffer interuption over the following dates: 4th-9th July and 31st July - 7th August. Further interuptions are planned for August and these will be detailed in the next weather report to be issued on 9th August. Appendix Weather Station Inventory (including equipment in active use as of 1 June 1999) Rooftop Enclosure and Office Standard Stevenson screen containing Mahogany mounted maximum and minimum thermometers (Casella type) Wet and dry bulb hygrometer Large pattern Stevenson screen containing Sheathed pattern maximum and minimum thermometers (UK Met Office with calibration certificates) Sheathed pattern wet and dry bulb thermometers (UK Met Office with calibration certificates) Thermograph (UK Met Office) Hair Hygrograph (UK Met Office) Campbell-Stokes Sunshine Recorder (UK Met Office MKII) Snowdon-type pattern raingauge (UK Met Office) British Association pattern raingauge (for recording rainfall acidity) Tilting syphon rainfall recorder (UK Met Office MKI) Wind vane (UK Met Office) Totalising Cup-Counter Anemometer (UK Met Office, mounted on 5m mast) Digital wind direction system (Digitar, for determination of maximum gust) Fortin-pattern mercury barometer Open-scale micro-barograph (UK Met Office) High resolution digital pH meter (Hanna) Two PC's with modem links and dedicated fax/phone line Ground Enclosure Soil thermometers (5cm, 10cm, 20cm, 30cm, 40cm, 50cm, 100cm) (Negretti and Zambra) Grass and concrete minimum thermometers (UK Met Office with calibration certificates) Hook Evaporimeter (Negretti and Zambra, used periodically) Bare Earth thermometer (Negretti and Zambra) Bare Earth Plot and Concrete Slab