Fingers crossed August is better than last month
WELL, July came good at the very last gasp and gave us a glimpse of the sort of summer that all staycationers are craving after too many cool, wet, cloudy days. It was 37C (98F) on Friday in southern parts, lapping up the warm breezes heading our way from France where temperatures were topping 40C (104F).
Will it last into August? There is going to be a stumble at first, but if we persevere it could all come good.
Yesterday saw the first step in a retreat of the warmth in southern England and East Anglia as the wind changed direction to a westerly. And that direction of travel will continue.
Nothing to despair about in southern, and eastern areas, where it will continue to be largely dry, with sunshine, but more like 23C (73F).
Down in Devon and Cornwall, 18C (104F) might feel a bit miserly, while on the Gower Peninsula and along the majestic sweep of Cardigan Bay in west Wales it is a notch or two higher at 19C (66F). For those who have headed all the way to the Shetland Islands, brace yourselves for 14C (57F).
As a holiday week begins for many, low pressure will get things off to a bad start tomorrow, bringing rain to southern England and showers in Wales. But as the week goes on that warming high pressure from the south will force its way in. In the North and West, however, those lows might prove harder to displace.
The Royal Meteorological Society this week released its state of the nation’s climate report for 2019. The 12 months were not quite as exceptional as recent years – standing only 12th in the list of hottest since 1884, but still recorded a 1.1C rise above the longterm average from 1961 to 1990.