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| Britain had coldest August evening for almost 40 years on Thursday | Britain had coldest August evening for almost 40 years on Thursday |
| (7 months later) | |
| Britons love lamenting the weather but now we really have something to complain about. Not only is this summer the soggiest for a century, but Thursday night was the coldest August evening for nearly 40 years. | Britons love lamenting the weather but now we really have something to complain about. Not only is this summer the soggiest for a century, but Thursday night was the coldest August evening for nearly 40 years. |
| Record lows were recorded across the country. Braemar in Scotland was the chilliest spot as it dropped to -2.4C (28F), followed by Aviemore near Loch Ness at -1.8C and -0.7C in north-east England. But there was one piece of good news: the all-time record low UK temperature for August has yet to be broken. The Met Office said the frostiest evening was on 21 August 1973, when Lagganlia in the Highlands dropped to -4.5C. | Record lows were recorded across the country. Braemar in Scotland was the chilliest spot as it dropped to -2.4C (28F), followed by Aviemore near Loch Ness at -1.8C and -0.7C in north-east England. But there was one piece of good news: the all-time record low UK temperature for August has yet to be broken. The Met Office said the frostiest evening was on 21 August 1973, when Lagganlia in the Highlands dropped to -4.5C. |
| As observation sites have been in operation for different lengths of time, some records are more startling than others. But people living in Bradford will perhaps feel they have little to celebrate after learning this morning that they experienced their coldest August night since records began in 1908, at 2.8C. | As observation sites have been in operation for different lengths of time, some records are more startling than others. But people living in Bradford will perhaps feel they have little to celebrate after learning this morning that they experienced their coldest August night since records began in 1908, at 2.8C. |
| So why is it so bracing? A spokeswoman for the Met Office said on Friday: "Last night saw northerly winds drag cold air from quite a long way north over the UK. This air was also dry, which meant there was very little moisture to help retain heat from the day." | So why is it so bracing? A spokeswoman for the Met Office said on Friday: "Last night saw northerly winds drag cold air from quite a long way north over the UK. This air was also dry, which meant there was very little moisture to help retain heat from the day." |
| This, combined with clear skies caused by the high pressure sitting over the country, meant all the heat radiated into the sky – leaving very cold temperatures for the time of year. | This, combined with clear skies caused by the high pressure sitting over the country, meant all the heat radiated into the sky – leaving very cold temperatures for the time of year. |
| Figures released this week by the Met Office painted a bleak picture. While the season is not quite over, forecasters said the UK had experienced just 399 hours of sunshine this summer. The mean temperature was 14C, some 0.4C below the long-term average. | Figures released this week by the Met Office painted a bleak picture. While the season is not quite over, forecasters said the UK had experienced just 399 hours of sunshine this summer. The mean temperature was 14C, some 0.4C below the long-term average. |
| The Met Office does not expect summer rainfall (at 366.8mm) to exceed the 384.4mm seen in the summer of 1912, and Scotland has escaped relatively lightly with 357mm. | The Met Office does not expect summer rainfall (at 366.8mm) to exceed the 384.4mm seen in the summer of 1912, and Scotland has escaped relatively lightly with 357mm. |
| England and Wales will be largely dry on Saturday, although the north and west may see the odd patch of drizzle. | England and Wales will be largely dry on Saturday, although the north and west may see the odd patch of drizzle. |
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