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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| The weather in May | The weather in May |
| (30 days later) | |
| A bald reading of the statistics would imply that May was a very average month, with temperatures, rainfall and sunshine all near normal. That would, however, disguise the month's highly contrasting nature. It was chilly through the first half of the month, and unusually dull in the south and east for three weeks. Then the last ten days turned abnormally warm and often sunny, and local high temperature records were broken. | A bald reading of the statistics would imply that May was a very average month, with temperatures, rainfall and sunshine all near normal. That would, however, disguise the month's highly contrasting nature. It was chilly through the first half of the month, and unusually dull in the south and east for three weeks. Then the last ten days turned abnormally warm and often sunny, and local high temperature records were broken. |
| Temperatures | Temperatures |
| The mean maximum temperature in May ranged from 18.2C at Southampton National Oceanographic Centre to 9.3C at Fair Isle in the Northern Isles. The Central England Temperature (CET) of 12.0 deg C was 0.3 degrees above average, slightly lower than 2011, but higher than 2010. Northern Scotland was 0.5 to 1.0 degrees below average while southeast England was 0.5 to 1.0 degrees above. The highest individual temperature was 29.0C at Cromdale, Morayshire, on 27 May, while the coldest night was at Saughall, Ayrshire, early on 5 May when the temperature fell to -6.2C. | The mean maximum temperature in May ranged from 18.2C at Southampton National Oceanographic Centre to 9.3C at Fair Isle in the Northern Isles. The Central England Temperature (CET) of 12.0 deg C was 0.3 degrees above average, slightly lower than 2011, but higher than 2010. Northern Scotland was 0.5 to 1.0 degrees below average while southeast England was 0.5 to 1.0 degrees above. The highest individual temperature was 29.0C at Cromdale, Morayshire, on 27 May, while the coldest night was at Saughall, Ayrshire, early on 5 May when the temperature fell to -6.2C. |
| Rainfall | Rainfall |
| Averaged across England and Wales, there was 57mm of rain, which is 93% of the average. Scotland had 57mm, which is 97% of average, while Northern Ireland was drier with 46mm, or 81% of average. The wettest location was Kinlochewe in Wester Ross, where 158mm fell. Manston, Kent, was the driest spot with only 8mm, although it just missed, by only a few hundred metres, a torrential cloudburst on 30 May. | Averaged across England and Wales, there was 57mm of rain, which is 93% of the average. Scotland had 57mm, which is 97% of average, while Northern Ireland was drier with 46mm, or 81% of average. The wettest location was Kinlochewe in Wester Ross, where 158mm fell. Manston, Kent, was the driest spot with only 8mm, although it just missed, by only a few hundred metres, a torrential cloudburst on 30 May. |
| Sunshine | Sunshine |
| England and Wales had an average 211 hours of sunshine, which is 104% of the mean. Scotland was sunnier with 241 hours, or 136% of its average, while Northern Ireland topped that with 245 hours, 120% of the average. Tiree, Inner Hebrides, was sunniest, recording 270 hours of sunshine, while Wattisham, Suffolk, Hampstead in London, and Monkswood, Cambridgeshire, were least favoured with 152 hours. Heathrow airport, London, recorded only 57 hours of sunshine in the first three weeks of May, then 112 hours in the last ten days, jumping from an average of 2.7 to 11.2 hours per day. | England and Wales had an average 211 hours of sunshine, which is 104% of the mean. Scotland was sunnier with 241 hours, or 136% of its average, while Northern Ireland topped that with 245 hours, 120% of the average. Tiree, Inner Hebrides, was sunniest, recording 270 hours of sunshine, while Wattisham, Suffolk, Hampstead in London, and Monkswood, Cambridgeshire, were least favoured with 152 hours. Heathrow airport, London, recorded only 57 hours of sunshine in the first three weeks of May, then 112 hours in the last ten days, jumping from an average of 2.7 to 11.2 hours per day. |
| Becky Newham MeteoGroup | Becky Newham MeteoGroup |
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