4wd

+0.8C here about 4am, some cloud came over or it may have gone lower. It would have been at least the 4th ground frost nonetheless.

Last year we got below 1C on 31st August, with fairy dry ground and clear sky it will soon tumble if there's not much wind. Cool northerly flow was established yesterday with outstanding visibility this morning. I took this yesterday looking south from Blakey Ridge with the last pokey showers heading towards York and Leeds. The southern skyline main features on such a day were three large coal power stations but now the horizon is fringed with ranks of giant turbines.

A couple of webcam grabs from Stelvio, I noticed they were shutting up shop a couple of days ago but the road will be re-opened for a while yet. I've been over mid September when it was 10-15C and glorious.

Chop Gate (Bilsdale) is 5.3C lowest I've found https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/IBILSDAL4

Risk of first frost in places tonight, it's 6.3C here already , Met Office say minimum of 6C at 6am so likely to get colder than that.

Technically if a funnel cloud touches the ground it can be considered a tornado but those brief tube-like formations are often seen and can develop into fascinating ropelike structures. If it touches down the effect would be more like a dust devil than a tornado - these can be spectacular enough with loose material such as hay, litter, tents (!) being lifted into the air. When baling hay in early july two significant devils crossed a field here, the worst removed a significant area of loose hay which gently rained down for a surprisingly long time afterwards.

Gust of 65mph here at 7am on the 9th. the 8th topped at 50mph. That doesn't help much but anyone with a decent private station and records should be able to dig out similar stats. However wind speeds can be very localised and a poorly sited anemometer might read far lower than an official site.

Last year on 31st August we had ground frost and minimum of +0.8C Maximum was 18.5 on same day.

Running both sides of us here but I can do without torrential rain in the night. Can hear distant rumbles and see the odd flash to the east especially.

Best and under £150. Cannot compute. Terminating program. [smoke etc]

Rather average rainfal here through summer, June was -17mm, July +45mm an August so far -24mm Following on from a relatively dry winter and spring, there is still an underlying dryness though which belies the statistics. In fact we still seem to have a deep dryness overhang from last summer rather than an underlying wetness as was the case in the horrid summers of 2007 and 2012 Recharging ground water levels is a slow process and timing of rainfall through the year is important. Most summer rain is taken up by vegetation and lost to the air with only a short lived effect on upper layers of earth. Many soil types become quite hydrophobic when they are very dry, its like if you spill water in the kitchen - a damp mop or cloth works infinitely better than a dry one to soak it up.

Since 30C has often been recorded in September, during late August is hardly anything special. I wonder which weather station placed in a sheltered sun trap will be the focus this time.

Something about the winning shot makes me suspect it's a (very well done) composite. There are some good ones though. edit - I see they haven't decided yet, the first one anyway with convenient photogenic lightning bolt and nicely exposed shoreline

Not normal leaf senescence, which is often November in oaks, it looks badly affected by mildew or some other disease.

In 1975 harvest was early and there were so many ladybirds on the fields that trailers of grain coming in were up to 10% ladybirds as they separated out with the grain and were mostly still alive if not buried in grain for too long.

Security camera footage has emerged from Arkengarthdale end of July

I don't think it was applicable to North Yorkshire but it has been remarkable how the rain has been literally ten miles or less to the north all day. With increasing wind it has actually dried up quite a bit but got gradually cooler and only fleeting glimpses of sun.

Main area is well through here and only been 6.4mm - still drizzly