Notable dry spell for the SW?

[Graham Easterling]

Here in Penzance we have had 0.1mm in the last 14 days. The models suggest no rain in the next 10 days. If that comes about (a big if but there is a considerable degree of consistency) then 24 days would be the longest spell without a rain day since September 2014.

Also, the weather forecasts keep mentioning the coolness of this May. However, this really only applies to the SE of the UK, SE of a line roughly from the Humber to Southampton. Even this area has seen mean temperatures close to normal, but it does explain the newsworthyness. (It is unusual that the highest temperature of the year so far has occurred in Devon.) Most of the rest of the UK, excluding the immediate east coast, now has mean temperatures around 1C above the 1991-2020 norm.

Mean temperature anomaly in Penzance 1.0C, where it's been a very pleasant couple of weeks

Graham

Penzance

[Nick Gardner]

Twelve consecutive days with no rain recorded so far (since the 11th). My driest month was June 2018 when there was no recordable rainfall. The only rainfall to occur in September 2014 was 9.0 mm from a thunderstorm on the 19th, otherwise the month was bone dry. I think I've recorded consecutive dry days greater than 30 days but it splits across two months, I'll have to have a rummage through some old spreadsheets. 

Since the 11th there has been 143 hours of sunshine, that's 70% of the total possible and 11 out of the last 13 days have exceeded 20°C. Everything seems to have slipped into summer, nice. My highest temperature so far this month was 24.3°C on the 22nd.

May 1st - 23rd:

Mean maximum = 19.4°C

Mean minimum = 8.3°C

Mean = 13.9°C (+1.2°C)

Rainfall = 80.2 mm (150% - no rain since a thunderstorm on the 11th)

Sunshine = 182 hours (average for May = 212 hours).

Nick

Otter Valley, Devon.