August 2015 - A Rather Dull Month
August also saw a rather dull month for most parts though temperatures were at least close to average. The (Hadley) CET mean temperature was 16.2C, just slightly above the average as forecast (+0.4C).
August saw CET temperature anomalies range from just below average in northern parts and in the SW to very slightly above average in much of the rest of the south and SE. One of the warmest places was Coningsby (Lincs) with a mean temperature of 22.5C. The coldest was Lerwick (Shetland) with a mean of 14.8C. Most of the UK was very close to or just above average in fact. Pressure was about 2mb below average over most parts though western Ireland saw pressure nearer 5mb below.
Like July , August was a notably wet month in places.
The south coast counties were very wet but elsewhere it was generally near average or even rather dry. Central Scotland saw just 50% of its average rainfall. The Midlands too & parts of the east coastal counties were also drier than average seeing 60-70%. However where storm totals were high right along the south coast along with Cornwall, some places saw nearer 250% of average, for example Camborne (Cornwall) saw 241% and similar percentages were seen in Eastbourne, E Sussex. The sporadic, sometimes thundery nature of the rain this month left a lot of local variation.
Generally, it was rather duller than average right across the southern UK as a whole with most parts here seeing about 60-75% of average sunshine hours. Brize Norton (Oxon) however saw just 52% . However, much of the rest of the UK saw about 70-90%, though eastern Scotland was about average.
As a whole summer 2015 was slightly below average across the UK at -0.4C and slightly wetter than average at 113%.
By the end of August sea temperature anomalies were about a degree above average around eastern UK coasts but near or slightly below average around western coasts. Soil temperatures were near average but soil moisture was generally above average for most parts of the UK and well above in many southern & SE'ern parts.
Now looking at August in more detail.
August 2nd was a very warm sunny day in the south in places as a plume skimmed the SE. St Helier on Jersey reached 28.5C.The 3rd was again quite a warm day locally in parts of the central east, around the Wash area , Coningsby (Lincs) reached 26.4C.
On the 5th some isolated thunderstorms developed in medium level instability in the evening and ran NE across parts of the south coast towards London & Essex. The 6th was quite a warm day locally in parts of the east & SE, Cavendish (Essex) reached 26.0C.
The 8th was also quite a warm day in the SE, Charlwood nr Gatwick Airport reached 27.8C as was the 9th when Gravesend reached 27.8C again.
On the 13th a warm plume extended across the south & SE of the UK as low pressure developed to the south. Thunderstorms moved up across the south east overnight and further thundery rain across Sussex and Kent towards Essex and east London northwards during the morning. Up to 78mm fell in the Eastbourne area in the space of about 12 hours. Two flood alerts were issued by the Environment Agency in Kent - for a part of Romney Marsh and the Upper Stour River around Ashford. In Eastbourne, all flying displays at the Airbourne airshow were cancelled for the day. The Arndale shopping centre was evacuated briefly because of overflowing drains in the High Street & flooding temporarily disrupted trains between Eastbourne and London, along with services between Lewes and Wivelsfield. Brighton was badly affected with the station concourse flooded and reports of water seeping through doorways across the city and surface-flooding.The Gym's premises on Maderia Drive was closed when the changing rooms & basement area were flooded when the sea drains (again) failed to cope with the excess water. East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said crews had been fighting a fire at a house in Hawkins Way, Hailsham, that was struck by lightning. No-one was injured. In Kent, firefighters were called to a house in Prospect Way, Brabourne Lees, after the ridge of the roof was hit, although there was no fire. There was a small fire at a house in Singleton Road, Great Chart, also hit by lightning, and flooding in New Romney, Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells. Southeastern said flash flooding in Gillingham disrupted trains between Chatham and Faversham.
The 14th saw a front become slow moving as it ran east across the UK giving copious amounts of rain in places. To the east warm tropical air gave limited sunshine though Weybourne ( Norfolk) managed to reach 25.6C. Radar suggested some parts of south Dorset near Bridport saw up to 65mm during the day but officially Keele recorded 52mm in the 25 hours from 21-21Z. There was localised flooding but the low water levels of rivers meant that most run off was absorbed in the water courses quite well.
On the 18th it was wet in parts of the far north as fronts stalled, Fair Isle saw 43mm of rain in the period 21-21Z .
On the 21st after a rather cool period, warmer air moved up across the southern & south eastern Uk today allowing Gravesend (Kent) to reach 27.6C.
On the 22nd a warm plume affected parts of the south & east and temperatures rose to 30.9C at Gravesend (Kent) the warmest day this August. Remarkably Holbeach (Lincs) saw its temperature rise 8C in a hour from 21C at 1400BST as the wind swung from NE off the North Sea to SSE & it then reached 30C. However, it soon destabilised to the west as rain moved into the far SW with local thunder here but thunderstorms broke out more widely in the afternoon across the Welsh border regions and moved north towards Liverpool and Manchester & further storms developed across the Midlands and moved north north east towards Yorks and the NE coasts with more storms developing across Cumbria and the north Pennines, bringing heavy rain in places. Bramham near Tadcaster had 62mm in the 24
hours to 21Z with 53.6mm in 3 hours to 1900, including 30.4mm in 1 hour.
A new multiplex cinema had to be evacuated in Hawarden (Flintshire) when water started pouring through the roof. Isolated storms also affected the Isle of Wight & moved up into parts of Hants by the evening. On the 23rd some warm air was left in the extreme east allowing Sutton Bonnington to reach 27.0C. However elsewhere it was a rather cooler showery day with some heavy rain about, esp in Nreland where Katesbridge (Co Down) saw 65mm in the 24 hours to 21Z.
On the 24th a low pressure area ran NE into the Channel from N France and towards the North Sea today bringing copious amount of rain to many parts of the south & SE in particular. Thorney Island saw 56mm in the 24 hours to 21Z but locally it is likely that some areas saw more like 60-65mm, for example around Eastbourne & also the Reigate & Redhill area, due to localised thunderstorms which developed in the afternoon in places. There was localised flooding but on the whole less than might have been envisaged with such amounts.
The 26th was another wet day in many parts of the south & SE. Fronts became slow moving across the south & SE with embedded thundery convection on them. Heathrow (Outer London) saw 48mm of rain in the 24 hours to 21Z. It was windy too near the cold front, The Needles gusted 58kt (67mph) at about 1200.
Some thunderstorms moved through the English Channel and were visible from SE coasts on the 29th through to the early hours of the 30th. More storms moved up from N France through the Channel on the evening of the 30th.
David Wiseman disclaimer – Issued as a non commercial ‘Not for profit’ forecast. The user assumes the entire risk related to its use of this data. I am providing this data "as is" and disclaim any and all warranties, whether express or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will I, David Wiseman, or any related contactors be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages or lost profit resulting from any use or misuse of this data . Climate stats have been compiled with the partial use and help of UKMO news page data , with thanks. Other news data was compiled from many sources including UKww reports, news papers & some BBC local news reports
