July 2010: dry but otherwise unexceptional (qualitative only)
 

Sorry no figures, but here's an assessment of July from a qualitative
sense in the Southampton area, including an assessment of how
"summery" it felt. Note that I was away from the 7th-17th and away
again (though much less further afield) on the 24/25th, so those
periods are taken from secondhand reports.

Anyway, the overall sense of the month was very dry and fairly warm,
but also seemingly significantly cloudier than normal. There seemed to
be a near continuous sequence of frontal systems through the month,
but most of those were very weak - so little rainfall but a lot of
cloud.

July 1st and 2nd were warmish days with quite a lot of cloud and a
little sun, then a westerly set in though with only weak frontal
systems. The 3rd, 5th and 6th were reasonably sunny and fairly warm,
while the 4th and 7th were dull (and on the 4th, windy) with
occasional drizzle.

I was out of the country until the 17th inclusive, but from what I can
gather: the one consistent hot, sunny spell occurred over the 4 days
from the 8th to the 11th, but then I was lucky to miss the apparent
worst spell of the month from the 12th-17th: apparently cool, wet,
overcast and windy.

The 18th was overcast in the morning but then a sunny and pleasantly
warm afternoon, the 19th was warm and fairly sunny while the 20th was
warm and cloudy. The 21st could be termed a "sucker's sunny day" - the
sort you quite often get after a cold front which has moved some way
ahead of its parent low - while the 22nd had the low move over the
area though only two brief showers in the Southampton area. Apparently
much wetter further inland though.

The rest of the month, from the 23rd onwards, was more or less
consistently cloudy but dry, with temperatures at or a couple of
degrees above average, and with light rain on the 27th and overnight
30/31st and more prolonged sun on the 28th.

So a pleasant enough month, but not exactly a classic. Very
reminiscent of August 2009 in fact, another similarity being that,
like Aug 2009, it was apparently a poor month further north and west.

Nick