August 2016 - Sunny, settled and dry.......

[Nicholas Gardner]

The sunshine total for August passed 100 hours this evening making for another fine, warm day in what is turning out to be another lovely summer month. No rain since the morning of the 2nd and everything is looking parched again.

Only one 'wash-out' day of the summer so far and that was the 1st August but I musn't grumble as the rain was so desperately needed.

Now a sunny, warm evening; we're being spoilt.

All my dedicated watering of the veggie plot seems to be paying off with one of the best crops of toms, chillies and cucumbers since 2013. They're coming thick and fast now. I've just noticed the grapes are darkening early so I'm expecting a high sugar and flavour content. Chateau Otter Valley 2016 looks like being a good vintage (unless the wasps get them).

August 2016 (1st - 13th)
Mean minum = 12.3°C
Mean maximum = 23.1°C
Mean = 17.7°C
Rain = 25.5 mm
Sunshine = 100.8 hours.

[Nicholas Gardner]

Well, it hasn't been quite as 'settled' recently but a glorious day with unbroken sunshine and warm again too. The 7th cloudless day this month.

The sunshine for this August has now passed the total for July and is topping off the meteorological 'summer' in fine fashion. Though September is usually a continuation of summer down 'ere in the shelter of the south coast of Devon with it often being one of the driest and most settled months of the year.

August 1st - 26th:
Mean minimum = 12.8°C
Mean maximum = 23.2°C
Mean = 18.0°C
Rainfall = 34.9 mm
Sunshine = 208 hours.

The recent high amounts of sunshine have really helped in ripening the grapes and some are already sweet and near the time for harvesting. The grapes are a little smaller than normal probably due to the extremely dry conditions during July but there are plenty of them. Very few olives on the tree again this year. I know that young trees (this one is about 10 years old and 3.5 metres tall) can be unreliable with producing olives but I would have expected (given this warm and reasonably sunny summer) something better. I'll have to give it a good talking to.

[Edward Graham]

Hi Nicolas

Up here in Stornoway, I'm happy to report that August ended in considerably better style that it had begun... and the mildness continues now into the first week of September. Overall air temperature, precipitation and sunshine ended up very close to the long-term regional average, but these stats belie a stark contrast in weather between the first and final fortnights. For example:

1st-15th:
Mean max: 15.4C
Total Precip: 67.0mm
Total Sunshine (SYY airp): 34.5hrs
A significant orographically-enhanced period of rainfall occurred from 10-12th across much of the NW Highlands and Hebrides (with over 100mm in places) and there was an unseasonably strong summer gale on 7th=8th.

16th-31st:
Mean max: 18.0C
Total Precip: 19.8mm
Total Sunshine (SYY airp): 91.7hrs
The sea was just about warm enough for a pleasant dip by the month's close, with (importantly), three fine weekends in-a-row.

I haven't worked out the stats for the entire summer yet - I expect that they will be rather mediocre, especially given the dire July (though overall nowhere near as poor as for summer 2015).

Eddie Graham