PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT - JULY 2005 Headline: Mainly dry, warm and sunny. Unsettled at the start and end. July opened on a fairly unsettled theme as areas of low pressure tracked eastwards across the county. The 5th was a particularly wet day with 6.4mm of rain falling over nearly 6 hours at Pitsford Hall. However, by the start of the second week high pressure had started to build. Although rather cloudy at first, some decent spells of sunshine finally broke through on the 10th and 11th with around 13 hours of sunshine recorded on both days. High pressure also saw an increase in the temperatures. Daytime maxima reached 27.0C on the 10th and remained in the mid to high twenties until at least the 15th. High pressure remained in charge until the 17th giving rise to a prolonged spell of settled weather with good sunshine totals on most days, typically around 9 hours, and some pretty warm temperatures. The warmest day occurred on the 14th with maximum temperatures reaching 29.5C. A cold front worked across England and Wales on the 18th and whilst thunderstorms were induced in some eastern areas, much of the county escaped dry. There followed a transition to a cooler spell of weather as winds swung round to the north or north-west. Daytime maxima fell to the low twenties. An active depression worked across southern counties in the period of the 23rd to the 25th. This delivered a fair amount of rain to the county on the 24th; in fact over 23mm fell over 15 hours at Pitsford bringing to and end a protracted period of dry weather. From then on until the end of the month it remained fairly unsettled. Low pressure dominated the picture and produced another particularly wet day on the 27th as 13.7mm of rain fell in just under a few hours triggering flash floods. Further hefty showers brought the month to a close on the 31st. Air Temperatures The Highest Maximum: 29.5C on 14th The Lowest Maximum: 14.7C on 27th The Highest Minimum: 17.2C on 15th The Lowest Minimum: 8.9C on 5th The Mean Maximum: 21.4C The Mean Minimum: 12.5C The Overall Mean: 17.0C Difference from the Monthly Mean: -0.3C Relative Humidity: Highest Relative Humidity (at obs): 99.0% on 28th Lowest Relative Humidity (at obs): 59.4% on 14th Mean Relative Humidity (at obs): 77.5% Dew Point: The Highest Dew Point (at obs): 18.3C on 13th The Lowest Dew Point (at obs): 10.1C on 31st The Mean Dew Point (at obs): 13.3C Rainfall: Total: 47.9mm Difference from the Monthly Mean: 100.0% Duration: 40.0hrs Highest 24 hour fall (obs to obs): 23.1mm on 24th Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 8 Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 4 Sunshine: Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 145.9hrs Sunniest day: 13.5hrs on 11th Days without sunshine: 5 Cloud cover (mean at obs): 6.4oktas (80.0%) Pressure (reduced to sea level): The Highest Pressure: 1032.6mb on 11th The Lowest Pressure: 1002.4mb on 25th Mean Pressure (recorded at obs): 1015.5mb Winds Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 96.4miles Mean daily wind speed: 5.2mph Highest mean daily wind speed: 11.8mph on 6th Run of wind (to date): 2988.5miles Highest Maximum Gust: 35mph on 6th Highest wind strength (at obs): 17.3mph on 6th Mean wind strength (at obs): 7.4mph Winds from the Following Directions: N 9 NE 1 E 3 SE 1 S 3 SW 5 W 2 NW 6 Calm 1 Ground Temperatures: Lowest Grass Minimum: 5.6C on 5th Mean Grass Minimum: 9.2C Lowest Concrete Minimum: 9.1C on 5th Mean Concrete Minimum: 13.1C Lowest Bare Earth Minimum: 9.2C on 5th Mean Bare Earth Minimum: 12.7C Soil/Earth Temperatures: Surface mean: 19.3C 5cm mean: 17.7C 10cm mean: 18.0C 20cm mean: 18.2C 30cm mean: 18.5C 40cm mean: 18.3C 50cm mean: 18.4C 100cm mean: 16.6C Days with: Thunder: 0 Hail less than 0.5mm: 0 Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm: 0 Snow or snow & rain: 0 Fog 0 Air Frost: 0 Ground Frost: 0 Gales: 0 Total Evaporation (tank) 91.94mm