PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION
NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM

MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT - AUGUST 2004

Headline: Very warm during the first week, but then largely unsettled with heavy 
downpours. The wettest August in Northampton since 1992 and the wettest on record 
for many sites within the county. 

August opened with a couple of fine sunny days, but the weather turned increasingly 
unsettled during the course of the first week. Heavy showers and thunder were noted 
on the 5th, although the county escaped some of the downpours experienced elsewhere, 
such as at High Wycombe where over 40mm of rain was recorded over an hour on the 
3rd. Despite the unsettled conditions, daytime maxima climbed consistently becoming 
very warm with 30.8C recorded on the 8th. The very warm spell also saw some pretty 
humid nights, in fact overnight minima at Pitsford did not fall below 19.4C on the 9th 
making this one of the warmest nights on record. 

The second week saw a succession of slow moving frontal systems tracking across the 
county. These brought with them prolonged heavy rain and thundery  showers. The 9th 
was a particularly wet day with 27.7mm recorded over 16.4 hours at Pitsford and 118mm 
at Oundle. Overloaded storm drains in Northampton saw a street collapse into a five foot 
hole. In fact with the exception of a trace recording on the 14th, rain was recorded 
every day until the 19th with a second set of Atlantic fronts working in from the south-west. 
Many parts of the UK were affected by flooding, notably Boscastle in Cornwall where over 
200mm fell in the space of 24 hours causing devastation. 

Low pressure continued to dominate the scene essentially for the rest of the month. 
Further thundery showers were recorded including 41.3mm in the 48 hour period between 
the 22nd and 23rd.  Several houses were struck by lightning on the 23rd when 22.4mm fell 
in just 2 hours around lunchtime. Several streets in Northampton were under water with 
many houses suffering flood damage. Not all of this period was wet however; some drier 
interludes were introduced towards the end of the month, but with winds mainly from a 
west  or north-westerly direction temperatures remained rather depressed. The 31st saw 
pressure building and a fine day heralding a more settled start to September.


Air Temperatures				
The Highest Maximum:			30.8C	on	8th
The Lowest Maximum:			18.0C	on	30th
The Highest Minimum:			19.4C	on	9th
The Lowest Minimum:			8.9C	on	21st
The Mean Maximum:			22.9C		
The Mean Minimum:			13.6C		
The Overall Mean:				18.3C		
Difference from the Monthly Mean:		+1.7C		
				
Relative Humidity:				
Highest Relative Humidity (at obs):		97.2%	on	10th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at obs):		67.4%	on	11th
Mean Relative Humidity (at obs):		84.2%		
				
Dew Point:				
The Highest Dew Point (at obs):		19.6C	on	8th
The Lowest Dew Point (at obs):		11.2C	on	22nd
The Mean Dew Point (at obs):			15.1C		
				
Rainfall:				
Total:					121.1mm		
Difference from the Monthly Mean:		248.7%		
Duration:					49.0hrs		
Highest 24 hour fall (obs to obs):		27.7mm	on	9th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):			20			
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):			17			
				
Sunshine:				
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine:		182.4hrs		
Sunniest day:				14.2hrs	on	7th
Days without sunshine:			1
Cloud cover (mean at obs):			5.6oktas	(70.0%)	
				
Pressure (reduced to sea level):				
The Highest Pressure:			1021.7mb	on	1st
The Lowest Pressure:			997.0mb	on	18th
Mean Pressure (recorded at obs):		1009.8mb		
				
Winds				
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs):		83.9miles		
Mean daily wind speed:			4.5mph	
Highest daily wind speed:			7.5mph 	on 	29th	
Run of wind (to date):			2602.4miles		
Highest Maximum Gust:			32mph	on	30th
Highest wind strength (at obs):			11.5mph	on	30th
Mean wind strength (at obs):			5.1mph		
				
Winds from the Following Directions:				

N 1 NE 2 E 0 SE 6 S 10 SW 2 W 3 NW 5 Calm 2			
				
Ground Temperatures:			 	
Lowest Grass Minimum:			6.5C	on	28th
Mean Grass Minimum:			11.5C		
Lowest Concrete Minimum:			8.5C	on	28th
Mean Concrete Minimum:			13.1C		
Lowest Bare Earth Minimum:			10.0C	on	28th
Mean Bare Earth Minimum:			14.1C		
				
Soil/Earth Temperatures:		 		
Surface mean:				18.5C		
5cm mean:				17.9C		
10cm mean:				18.3C		
20cm mean:				18.7C		
30cm mean:				19.0C		
40cm mean:				19.0C		
50cm mean:				19.2C		
100cm mean:				17.6C		
				
				
Days with:				
Thunder:					7			
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			
				
				
Total Evaporation (tank)			80.00mm