June air temperature peaks at 31.4°C

• June air temperature ranges

between 18.2°C and 31.4°C • Sea surface temperature

averages at 22.7°C • Total of 323.7 hours of

sunshine recorded

The first day of summer started off with sunshine, which eventually gave way to thunder and rain, taking many by surprise. However, this is not a completely uncommon occurrence, with meteorological records showing that five out of the past 10 summers all got off to a wet start.

June’s 11.8 mm of precipitation spilled over the climate norm by 7.8 mm, making the month considerably wetter than expected. However, sunshine and warm temperatures were not in short supply either.

The twelfth day of June was quite a scorcher, with the mercury shooting up to the month’s highest maximum of 31.4°C. On the other hand, the month’s lowest minimum temperature of 18.2°C was recorded precisely two weeks later.

At 22.7°C, the average sea surface temperature was 1.2°C higher than expected at this time of year, enticing many to test the waters and take the plunge.

June days enjoyed an average of 10.8 hours of sunshine each, peaking at 13.2 hours on the twentysixth day of the month. Although the 4th of June went down on record as the dullest day, it still enjoyed a full 4.5 hours of sunshine.

June was windier than the climate norm, with the wind speed averaging at 9.4 knots rather than the expected 7.6 knots.

The last week of the month started on a particularly blustery note, with a maximum gust of 42 knots blowing from a north by west direction recorded on Monday 25th June. The day also accounted for one of the two thunder occurrences reported by the Meteorological Office.