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The rainfall
distribution in Kent is influenced highly by North Downs and the High
Weald. The type of rainfall varies through the year.
 In
summer it is more showery, falling over short periods and is normally
more intense than in winter.
In
winter the rainfall is more frontal (it comes along with the weather
systems) and falls over longer periods.
A day's
steady rainfall can give on average 10-15mm. Heavy thundery rainfall
over an hour or so can give between 25 and 50mm.
Just
25mm of rainfall is equivalent to around 200 tonnes of water on
a football pitch. So imagine the impact of 160.8mm - that's how
much fell on 20th September 1973 in Thanet in a day!
 Sea
Breezes
Land surfaces are poor conductors of heat; their temperature increases
rapidly in sunshine and decreases equally quickly at night.
The
sea is different - with little change of surface temperature from
day to night except where it is exceptionally shallow.
Because
of this, the sea warms up and cools down more slowly than the land,
creating temperatures contrasts at different times of year. These
contrasts produce local land and sea breezes along coastlines.
On
a larger scale the sea acts as a reservoir of heat from the summer,
keeping coastal regions milder in the autumn than regions inland.
In summer, it warms up slowly providing cooling sea breezes keeping
temperatures near coasts below those inland.
It
also helps to explain why overnight, temperatures near the coast
are often warmer than inland. The Kent coasts tends to be warmer
on average overnight in winter and cooler by day in summer, so coastal
areas have a smaller range of temperatures.
Take a look at Weather history
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