Jonathan Stott

June 2007 in Canterbury was wet, most notably 19.1mm on the 7th and 26.7mm on the 19th (with 19.6mm of that falling between 1900Z and 2000Z with a maximum rate of 110.7mm/hr). The 19th was the wettest day since 23rd October 2006 and the 2nd wettest day since before September 2004. The month as a whole was the 4th wettest since before September 2004. The month was also mild, but that was characterised by consistently warm days rather than any hot days. The maximum temperature was only 24.8C on the 12th.

Table:
http://www.canterburyweather.co.uk/month/?table=1&month=6&year=2007
Charts:
http://www.canterburyweather.co.uk/month/?table=0&month=6&year=2007
Summary including daily notes:
http://www.canterburyweather.co.uk/month/?table=2&month=6&year=2007

Temperature
Mean            16.6 °C    (+2.3 degC*)
Mean Max        20.8 °C    (+2.1 degC*)
Abs. Max        24.8 °C    (12th)
Mean Min        12.5 °C    (+2.6 degC*)
Abs. Min         6.8 °C    (26th)

Rain
Total           79.5 mm    (153%*)
Days >  0.2mm   13   days
Days >  2.0mm    8   days
Days > 20.0mm    1   days
Max Rain (Day)  26.7 mm    (19th)
Max Rate       110.7 mm/hr (19th)

Pressure
Mean          1009.9 mb
Max           1023.7 mb
Min            993.7 mb

No wind comparisons are mentioned here owing to inadequate siting of the
anemometer.

*Compared with 1971-2001 averages at Wye.

Overall, 2006 was hotter, colder and wetter than 2005: the 3 warmest days since before September 2004 occurred during a 1-week spell in July (33.6C on the 19th, 32.6C on the 26th and 32.3C on the 21st). -6.4C on the 23rd January was colder than at any time in 2005. August was the wettest month (110.5mm); 23rd October was the wettest day (28.2mm) and September was the driest month (17.0mm) since before September 2004.

Of particular interest is the total rainfall situation, especially seeing as we are still restricted on water usage here in Canterbury. The good news is that there was more rain in 2006 than in 2005 - 572.8mm compared with 486.9mm. However, the average normal rainfall total for this part of Kent is around 727mm, so there’s still a significant deficit. In fact, the cumulative deficit for 2005 and 2006 is a staggering 394mm.

• 2006 Summary
• 2006 Charts
• 2006 Table

As is becoming normal, December was another month that was warmer than average, mainly due to a large number of very warm days. 17 days exceeded 10C (compared with 5 in December 2005), including 14.4C on the 4th and 13.9C on the 30th. Eight of the ten warmest December days from the last three years were recorded during December 2006. The month was characterised by two types of weather: wet and windy from the 1st to the 17th; cold, overcast and often foggy from the 18th to the 28th followed by a return to wet and windy weather from the 29th. A significant anticyclone caused the pressure to rise to its highest level since before September 2004, reaching 1042.3mb on the 22nd. This spell of weather was cool and overcast with a number of days of significant fog or low cloud. Rainfall was just short of average.

• December 2006 Summary
• December 2006 Charts
• December 2006 Table

September was a complete contrast to August, being warm and dry. Of particular note was the consistent warmth: September’s mean of 18.3C was the 2nd highest since before September 2004, being 1.1C warmer even than the preceding August. There were several hot days: 28.7C (11th), 28.6C (21st), 27.9C (12th) and 27.8C (6th). All these days were warmer than any September day of the last two years. On the 10th/11th, a diurnal range of 20.0C was recorded with the temperature rising from 8.7C to 28.7C. September was very dry with a total of only 17.0mm (26%) making it the driest month since before September 2004. Only 0.8mm was recorded during the first 21 days of the month. 30% of the month’s rainfall fell in the last 5 hours of the month: 2.3mm fell with a maximum rate of 82.3mm/hr between 07Z and 08Z on the 1st October. The lack of rain is attributed to just missing out on several showers during the middle of the month - it was noted that a number of heavy, thundery showers passed within two miles of here, so a small change in location may well have resulted in a significantly higher rainfall total.

• September Summary
• September Table
• September Charts

It is the last day of September and for a few days now it looks as though this month will be warmer than the preceding August here in Canterbury. The mean temperature here (based on averaging the daily maxima and minima) is currently 18.3°C for September; it was 17.2°C in August. Only two days have failed to reach 20°C and both of those were very close.

On the whole, the trend also follows for the rest of England. Philip Eden’s Climate UK site contains up-to-date estimates of the Central England Temperature (CET) value for the current month. Up to the 29th September, the September CET is quoted as 16.71°C (2.9degC above normal). It looks almost certain that this September will be the warmest in the CET series which covers nearly the last 350 years. It also looks certain that this month will be warmer than the preceding August - this has only happened 8 times previously in the series, with the most recent occurrence being in 1956 (the other years were 1891, 1890, 1865, 1784, 1750, 1737 and 1729).

The Met Office have issued a Press Release stating they are confident that this will be the warmest September on record for the United Kingdom.

I will update the summary for September this time tomorrow to reflect my readings from the last month.