Summary for August 2006

HEADLINE: DRY OVERALL. NEAR-AVERAGE TEMPERATURES AFTER WARM START.

TEMPERATU

Mean 24hr maximum:... 21.9

Mean 24hr minimum:... 13.1

Mean of 24hr max & min:... 17.5 [+0.3 anomaly on eLTA 1971-2000]

Rolling 12 month temperature anomaly: +0.9 (was +0.8 end last month)

PRECIPITATION (PPN/mm):

Total rainfall/melted snow etc:... 27.6 [51% of eLTA 1971-2000]

Driest August since 2003.

Rolling 12 month rainfall: 86% of eLTA (was 91% end last month)

Rolling 24 month rainfall: 83% of eLTA (was 86% end last month)

Total rainfall for this year (2006) so far: 349.6 mm, representing 82%
of the 'average' that we should have by the end of August (426mm).

[SUMMER/SEASONAL NOTES]

[TEMPERATURE]

Mean 24hr maximum 24.3 (+2.8)

Mean 24hr minimum 13.6 (+1.7)

Mean 24hr temperature 18.9 (+2.2)

The exceptional warmth of this summer was a feature of June & July only;
after one final 'warm spell' ending 6th August, summer became "autumn"
and temperatures bumbled along around average by day and a little above
by night.

Using a 'best-construction' climatology based on Easthampstead Park
(since 1971), then this summer, by mean 24 hr (i.e. 1/2 Tx + Tn)
temperature, is the warmest in that series. The previous warmest was
2003 (this summer was 0.3degC warmer than 2003) and before that 1995
(this summer 0.5degC warmer than 1995).

Thanks to the excessive warmth of July, we are on course to have the
warmest year in the 1971-2006 composite record, despite the indifferent
August.

[RAINFALL]

Dry overall, with June & August notably so: however, in August we came
close to having some exceptional totals!

Driest summer (June, July & August total = 84.9mm/55% eLTA 1971-2000)
since 1995 (45mm), which was the driest summer for this particular
record [starts 1971]. In that series, there have been 4 drier summers
(than this one): 1972, 1976, 1990 & 1995.

Martin.

--
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)