July 2016 now wetter in Stornoway than in 2015

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Edward Graham
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July 2016 now wetter in Stornoway than in 2015

Post by Edward Graham » Fri Jul 22, 2016 2:52 pm

Whilst many of you down south may have been enjoying a taste of summer recently, much like last year (2015) July 2016 is proving to be a total washout here in Stornoway.

So far, up to 09h this morning (22nd), we have had 125.1mm of rain, thus eclipsing the 2015 total of 123.1mm and we still have 10 rainfall days of the month to go, with no sign of the weather improving. The long-term July average precipitation for the Stornoway region is about 75mm. The overall record (1873-2010) is 173mm.

Again, like on 1-2 July 2015 last year, we had a very brief heatwave on Tuesday this week (19 July) lasting no more than 6-12 hours (max of 22.0C), only to be following by severe thunderstorms for much of the following night (precip total 23.4mm). Large hail was reported from some sites, and at the peak of the huge (suspect MCS) at 08h on 20th, some 9,000 lightning strikes were recorded every hour - every part of Scotland was affected. The BBC Scotland news report on the event can be seen at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-s ... d-36844140.

And last night we had an even heavier downpour: 25.8mm over a couple of hours, with a peak rate of 28.7mm/hr at 1:00am. You can see the traces from my Maplin Wifi weather station (slightly different totals) at: https://www.wunderground.com/personal-w ... 720/mdaily and https://www.wunderground.com/personal-w ... 721/mdaily

However, the weather this July is somewhat warmer than in 2015 - it's running about +0.7degC above the value for last year. Also May and June 2016 were far better (sunnier, warmer but still a little wetter than average) this year than their counterparts in 2015.

Eddie Graham, Stornoway
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eddy_weather Blog Aimsir Innse Gall | Hebridean Weather Blog: http://bit.ly/1aVMqGx

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Nicholas Gardner
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Re: July 2016 now wetter in Stornoway than in 2015

Post by Nicholas Gardner » Fri Jul 22, 2016 6:52 pm

Edward, and at the other end of these Isles:

The last rainfall we had here was 1.0 mm on the 12th and the monthly total is at just 3.3 mm.

I would say we are in environmental drought conditions with the countryside starting to look rather 'cappuccino' brown. Something more like my memories of late July in the south of France.

Water butts are all empty so having to use expensive tap water to keep my tomatoes, chillies and cucumbers alive in the garden. The rest of it will have to take its chances though the vines seem healthy enough and are laden with bunches of grapes - about large pea-size now. It's going to be a good vintage methinks.

The holiday-makers are arriving and I suspect that the dry look of this part of Devon may come as a bit of a surprise. I pity the ones trying to hammer their tent pegs into the 'concrete' ground. The heaths, hedgerows and commons are tinder-dry so a high fire risk.

This July's mean temperature is currently a little warmer than my estimated LTA, despite a run of cool nights earlier in the month:
(1st - 22nd)
Mean minimum = 12.7°C
Mean maximum = 22.8°C
Mean = 17.8°C
Rain = 3.3 mm
Sunshine = 167 hours (below average).

A maximum of 24.3C today and unbroken sunshine all day so far. Becoming humid again too with DPs around 19C this afternoon despite the sea breeze (warm sea).
Otter Valley Weather
Near Newton Poppleford, Sidmouth - Devon
50:41N 3:17 W; 20 metres AMSL; Station Grade B-BAAA37
http://www.ottervalleyweather.me.uk

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Edward Graham
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Re: July 2016 now wetter in Stornoway than in 2015

Post by Edward Graham » Sat Jul 23, 2016 5:41 pm

Hi Nicolas

Your talk of grapes and vintage vine crops has made me a little envious, I have to say!

But yes, I recall clearly the summer of 1995 - I was in the Netherlands then (there, it was a record warm, but rather thundery wet summer), returning to Reading in August (where the grass of the Uni campus was completely 'toast' brown in an absolute drought) - like you say, frankly it reminded me more of Marseille in high summer than the usual green and pleasant Berkshire ...

Oh well, the positive NAO index of the past 4-6 weeks can't last forever; it's just a shame (for us) that it's slipping into the same mode (and same Atlantic SST anomaly) of last year; I hope we don't have to wait 'til September/October for a respite, like last year.

All the best from soggy Stornoway!
Eddie Graham
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eddy_weather Blog Aimsir Innse Gall | Hebridean Weather Blog: http://bit.ly/1aVMqGx

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Nicholas Gardner
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Re: July 2016 now wetter in Stornoway than in 2015

Post by Nicholas Gardner » Sun Jul 24, 2016 5:17 pm

I remember the summer of 1995 well. I had just graduated from University and spent most of that summer surfing either at Sennen in the far west of Cornwall or Croyde in north Devon. I have memories of day after day of baking hot weather and the countryside turning brown. I've never been able to equal that suntan though I am having a good go this year.

I had to drive up to Birmingham, probably early August in 1995 and the whole of the countryside seemed to be on fire. Everywhere to the horizon there were plumes of smoke as fields went up in flames. Then by mid-August the trees started dropping their leaves. It was a serious drought (didn't Yorkshire run out of water?).

It was the best summer I've ever known (I can barely remember 1976) and certainly hasn't been equalled since.

I've just been giving the vines another 'summer' prune to keep them under control. It was sweaty work because even though the sun has hardly shone today and it has been predominately overcast the temperature has stuck at around 22°C with a dew point of 20°C and hardly a breath of wind. A 'muggy' day indeed.
Otter Valley Weather
Near Newton Poppleford, Sidmouth - Devon
50:41N 3:17 W; 20 metres AMSL; Station Grade B-BAAA37
http://www.ottervalleyweather.me.uk

Greg Gruner
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Re: July 2016 now wetter in Stornoway than in 2015

Post by Greg Gruner » Sun Jul 24, 2016 8:29 pm

Being that bit older (!) I do remember the summer of '76 (and '75, which was also hot and dry). I did my 'O' Levels that year, at the end of June in the middle of the hottest spell. We lived in Sheffield so not as hot as further south, but I still measured 34C (with a thermometer not properly screened).
The funniest thing was that right at the end of August 1976 we were on holiday in N Wales with my aunt. She asked me "Do you think it will ever rain again?" I assured her that I thought it would. Within 2 days the heavens opened; it poured in September and October and the drought was history...

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Edward Graham
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Re: July 2016 now wetter in Stornoway than in 2015

Post by Edward Graham » Mon Jul 25, 2016 3:15 pm

Funny Greg - the summer of 1975, that was my very earliest weather memory!
I was just a tiny tot in Ireland back then and it was my brother's birthday on 4/8/1975 - there was glorious weather. Many years later, I checked the records, and discovered that Dublin Airport reached a new record high that day with Casement Aerodrome having a max of +30.5degC on previous day 3/8.
Of course, the summer of 1976 was even better - though probably 1995 will always be the benchmark for me...
E.
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Edward Graham
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Re: July 2016 now wetter in Stornoway than in 2015

Post by Edward Graham » Sun Jul 31, 2016 8:48 pm

Well still a few hours to go until July ends climatologically at 09h tomorrow morning... but I can provisionally confirm the following for Stornoway for this month:
- Total precip will be around 145mm (roughly 200% of normal, and the 3rd wettest July in 145 year series for the region since 1873, outwith any inhomogeneities)
- Total sunshine: only a miserable 75-80hrs (the 4th dullest on record since 1929, caveats relating to Campbell-Stokes recorders excluded)
- Mean air temp: +13.2C (near normal)
- It rained on 30/31 days in the month (>=0.2mm), this must be some record!

So although both precip and sunshine were worse than in 2015, the general feeling is a month not quite as bad as in 2015, as we actually got a good crop of *strawberries (none at all last year) and the rainfall tended to be heavy and showery in nature (rather than long days of frontal rainfall last year and daytime temps sometimes not even in the teens).

Your can read more & see some graphs plotting the above, if interested, at: https://uhi-mahara.co.uk/view/view.php?id=5156

Surely August can't be as bad... (says he, who remembers 1986 very well...)

E.
* I noticed Stornoway's June 2016 mean air temperature was +2.1degC above that of June 2015: I think this maybe helped the strawberries..
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eddy_weather Blog Aimsir Innse Gall | Hebridean Weather Blog: http://bit.ly/1aVMqGx

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