England and Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Very warm and very dry overall. Record breaking heat wave second week.
Diary of Highlights:
1st to 2nd
Low pressure to the NW brought a breezy start to the month with occasional rain and drizzle, however it became sunny and warm by the 2nd.
3rd to 13th
A notable and record breaking heat wave especially in the Midlands, Central Southern and SE England and East Anglia as high pressure took control bringing prolonged sunshine to most areas.
Temperatures topped 30°C somewhere for 10 days in a row and exceeded 35°C in many places on the 6th, 9th and 10th. Warm nights made sleeping difficult. There was some patchy hill and coastal fog mainly around SW and W areas.
The 5th and 6th saw a little thunder in the N, while rain affected the NW on the 9th. Valley/Anglesey reached 33.0°C on the 5th, with 35.0°C recorded at Rocquaine on Jersey, both new station records.
The 9th and 10th saw extreme heat across much of the region, particularly in SE England on the 10th where 38.1°C was claimed by Gravesend, a new UK record. Most stations in Greater London reported around 38°C breaching their previous highest.
In contrast there were thunderstorms in N, W and central areas of the region, with severe outbreaks over NE England. Carlton in Cleveland (N Yorks) collected 48mm in 15 minutes and 2 cm of hail on the ground, also Middlesborough which had 30mm in a downpour.
There was more thunder in W, NW and NE areas on the 11th. It continued mostly hot with a little thunder in the SW on the 13th as a cold front moved SE.
14th to 18th
Changeable with occasional rain or showers in places, mainly in W and S areas and cooler though still warm or very warm at times. There were good sunny periods generally, especially inland and in E areas.
Developing low pressure to the north brought fresher air from the NW during the 18th.
19th to 26th
Dry and mostly warm with sunny periods at first but more breezy in the north on the 21st as a low tracked eastwards passing by N Scotland.
Slow moving fronts gave light rain and drizzle in many places during the 21st and 22nd and in the NE on the 23rd.
High pressure then re-established itself over the UK but retreated to Iceland by the 25th allowing cloudier cooler conditions and a little rain and drizzle to spread in from the NE.
27th to 31st
An anticyclone near Iceland and low pressure over Scandinavia fed markedly cooler air from the Arctic.
The cold front stalled over S districts on the 28th as a depression from Biscay moved ENE bringing much needed rain to these areas.
The rain heavy, at times with some thunder, moved away during the 29th. Mainly dry weather followed with sunny periods. N districts experienced scattered showers and ground frost.
This has been the driest and sunniest August since 1995 and the warmest since 1997.
Statistical details
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| England and Wales Mean Temperature Series (series began in 1961). |
The mean value for the month was 17.7°C. |
2.4°C above the 1961-1990 average, which is in the exceptionally above average category. 4th warmest in series, warmest 1995 with 18.4°C. |
| England and Wales Rainfall Series (series began in 1961). |
The total for the month was 17.4mm |
23% of the 1961-1990 average, which is in the exceptionally below average category. 2nd driest in series, driest 1995 with 10.3 mm. |
| England and Wales Sunshine Series (series began in 1961). |
The total for the month was 211.1 hours. |
123% of the 1961-1990 average, which is in the well above average category. |
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The period 1961 to 1990 is the current World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) period for taking climate statistics.
