Diary of Highlights

1st to 3rd
This was a transition period prior to the development of a ridge of high pressure over the British Isles. An Atlantic low brought weakening fronts to the west and north, with some sharp showers in the north on the 1st and more general rain to the north on the 3rd. It was also very warm, with temperatures reaching around 25 °C in the London area on the 2nd. North Sea coasts began to be plagued by low cloud and fog.

4th to 12th
A ridge of high pressure slowly declined with thundery troughs affecting eastern districts. Many places were fine and warm at first though the east saw relatively little sunshine after the 4th. Cloud became widespread across the country by the 7th and there were some heavy thunderstorms over East Anglia and the southeast on the 8th with Herstmonceux reporting 33 mm of rain in 6 hours. It was still warm, with temperatures usually reaching 22-24 °C and up to 26.1 °C at Pershore on the 9th. The southwest and the north became showery later. Winds were generally light throughout.

13th - 17th
A deep depression southwest of the British Isles moved slowly northeast across the country. A spell of heavy and thundery rain pushed north across all districts on the 13th, giving 15.6 mm in an hour at Ellesmere Port. Heavy and thundery showers developed each day giving some very high totals in places - with Edgbaston reporting 70 mm in 12 hours on the 15th. It was very warm and humid at first with temperatures reaching 25 °C at Gravesend on the 13th - but it became significantly cooler as winds turned more northerly. Central and north-eastern districts saw the highest rainfall.

18th - 23rd
Low pressure dominated the weather, with a slow-moving depression deepening to the southwest of Cornwall before it moved northeast across the country. There were some very heavy showers with some funnel clouds reported and 21.4 mm of rain falling in an hour at High Wycombe on the 19th and flooding reported in Boscastle on the 21st.

24th - 30th
An exceptional spell of wet weather with spells of rain throughout most of this period. A deepening depression became slow-moving over the country on the 25th bringing a sustained spell of heavy rain to Lincolnshire, most of Yorkshire and the Midlands. Widespread flooding was reported. Many places recorded over 50 mm of rain in 12 hours and Fylingdales recording over 100 mm in the 24 hour period ending 2100 UTC on 25th. There were also very strong northerly winds in places with a gust of 56 knots recorded at Berry Head.