HEADLINE: CHILLY START, SOON WARMER; UNSETTLED, COOL, WET AFTER
MID-MONTH
[Temperature]

Mean 24hr maximum:... 17.8 [+0.5]
Mean 24hr minimum:... 09.2 [+1.7]
Mean of 24hr max & min:... 13.5 [+1.1 anomaly on eLTA 1971-2000]

Rolling 12 month temperature anomaly: +0.5 (was +0.4 end last month)

Monthly +ve anomaly heavily biased to the 24hr minimum element. Minima
were never particularly low, even over the final days of the month, and
we have not recorded an air or ground frost. Looking at a composite
local record (since 1971), the overall mean *minimum* figure was the
highest since 2000, the years 1998, 1999 & 2000 having the warmest, and
equal second-warmest mean night minima in that record.
More importantly for the perception of this month, after a promising
start during the first-half when temperatures rose to 26.6degC on the
4th, the second half of the month failed to live up to this promise with
20degC being approached (but not reached/exceeded) on only a couple of
days. It is this fact, plus the cloudy, damp weather that prevailed,
that brought spring abruptly to a halt [insects, some plants etc.], at
least in this part of the country.

[Rainfall]

Total rainfall/melted snow etc:... 89.1 mm [154% of eLTA 1971-2000]

Rolling 12 month rainfall anomaly: 95% (was 85% end last month)
Rolling 24 month rainfall anomaly: 86% (was 83% end last month)

Total rainfall for this year (2006) so far: 265 mm, representing 97% of
the eLTA by the end of May.

Although it has been a wet month, given the final total (89 mm), in the
last 35 years, there have been 5 wetter Mays. It is the wettest May
since 2000 hereabouts, when 129.0mm was recorded, of which 48.3mm was
due largely to the 'Bracknell Storm'. I record rainfall in two segments:
09-18Z & 18-09Z; this month, the 'weight' of rainfall was heavily biased
to the 'night-time' segment (64.3mm/18-09Z plays 24.8mm/09-18Z).
It is the wettest *any* named month since October 2004 (124.8 mm).

Other figures via the link below (East Berkshire Weather), including
spring-time averages / totals.

--
Martin Rowley: data via -
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/booty.weather/metindex.htm
Bracknell (Wooden Hill/Tawfield), Berkshire
NGR: SU 854 667 Elev: 80m
Lat: 51DEG23MIN30SEC(N): Long: 00DEG46MIN28SEC(W)

Martin, 98.8mm (3.9") in Rutland after 51.7mm (2.03") in April.
Welcome wet but what a poor spring.
Cheers
Paul
--
'Wisest are they that know they do not know.' Socrates.
Paul Bartlett FRMetS
www.rutnet.co.uk Go to local weather.
400FT AMSL 25Miles southwest of the Wash