On 27 Aug, 21:16, wrote:
On 26 Aug, 21:23, wrote:





To date, my August sunshine total has still to break 100 hours. Here's
the sunshine ranking of the months of 2008 to date, with August being
the first 26 days only:

204.8 h - June
186.2 h - May
184.7 h - July
157.3 h - April
145.0 h - February
107.1 h - March
*96.6 h - August (to 26th incl)
*73.7 h - January

So August has romped past January's total, still has some way to go to
reach March, and with 5 days to go, needs to average just under 10 h
daily even to equal February's total!

The August low record, 117 hours in 1968 (70 years' records for
Reading area), is looking vulnerable - needs just over 4 h per day to
make that.

Total 2008 to date 1155 h: in 2003 to end-August we'd had 1406 h, a
difference of just over an hour per day - every day.

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire

Nil sunshine again today. So with 12.0 h sunshine only just possible
in the closing days of August at this latitude, if the next four days
see unbroken sunshine then August will equal February's total.
Personally, I don't rate the odds!

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Still not reached 100 h - assuming no sunshine this evening, we're
just north of 97 h month to date. Still 20 hours needed to exceed the
dullest August on record (1968) in 70 years' local records, seems
unlikely in the two days remaining.

Per Nick's comments on percentage sunshine above, and taking 'maximum
sunshine' as astronomical day length minus 1.0 h (for the 30 min at
the beginning and end of day when the sunshine recorder will struggle
to record due to low solar angle - although 20 min might be a better
yardstick for electronic sensors) then this represents about 23 per
cent of possible - close to his figure of 22 in Devon.

Jan 1996 (19.9 h sunshine, C/S recorder) was the absolute dullest
month on my records here, representing only about 9 per cent of the
possible. I recall the very long dull spell after the bitter cold and
heavy snow in Jan 1987, when there was no sunshine for 15 consecutive
days from 13th, and how everyone brightened visibly when the sun
finally came out again at the very end of the month. I can't imagine
how depressing it must be to live north of the Arctic Circle and to
lose the sun all winter.

--
Stephen Burt
Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire