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Nationwide extremes for 18-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Great Malvern 46 metres 19.8°C

Solent M.R.S.C. 9 metres 19.8°C

Shoreham 2 metres 19.6°C

Thorney Island 4 metres 19.5°C

Charlwood 80 metres 19.1°C

Herstmonceux 17 metres 19.0°C

Lyneham 145 metres 18.8°C

Plymouth Wc 50 metres 18.6°C

Manston 55 metres 18.5°C

Redhill 63 metres 18.5°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 3.6°C

Aviemore 220 metres 3.7°C

Wick 39 metres 3.8°C

Altnaharra 81 metres 4.7°C

Aboyne 140 metres 5.5°C

Kirkwall 21 metres 5.5°C

Tain Range 4 metres 5.5°C

Lerwick 82 metres 5.8°C

Inverbervie 134 metres 5.9°C

Stornoway 9 metres 6.1°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Glasgow/Bishopton 59 metres 27.0mm

Bridlington Mrsc 15 metres 21.0mm

Leconfield 0 metres 18.0mm

Loftus 58 metres 17.0mm

Spadeadam 285 metres 16.0mm

Strathallan 35 metres 15.0mm

Leeming 40 metres 12.0mm

Topcliffe 25 metres 12.0mm

Albemarle 141 metres 11.0mm

Disforth 36 metres 10.0mm

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By Sarah Wilmshurst

Some welcome rain for the gardens, but only in the North

It has been quite a wet day in Northern England, parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland with hail and thunderstorms accompanying some heavy rain. This was the first significant rain for ages in many places. However, apart from a few showers in Wales and the Southwest, southern areas have been dry again so the grass is still brown where it hasn't been watered.

There were showers from the word go across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northeast England, but it was late in the morning and into the afternoon that the rain really got going with the Met Office issuing a severe weather warning across Northwest England. But this was not the only place to be catching the rain - heavy showers fell across Scotland, Northern Ireland and West Wales with thunder and hail reported. The wettest place was Glasgow with 27mm (just over an inch).

But it was not all doom and gloom, there was some sunshine to be found, like yesterday the best of this was on the South coast - Bournemouth had 11 hours of sun for example. Today the lowest temperature was just 10C in Scarborough where there was not even a minute of sunshine. Here it was more like March than June. The highest was temperature was in Hastings with 20C and four hours of sunshine - a bit more like June! That was after a fairly cool start to the day with the lowest overnight temperature being reported in Loch Glascarnoch (Highlands) at 4C.

Despite below average temperatures generally and a brisk north wind, if you were out in the sunshine it didn't feel too bad. Of course the longest day is approaching very quickly now and the sun is strong so you only need a bit of shelter for it to feel quite pleasant, whatever the air temperature. But that sun makes all the difference, I should imagine it felt pretty unpleasant in Scarborough!

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 19-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Bournemouth 11 metres 19.6°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 19.3°C

Farnborough 65 metres 19.0°C

London MET 5 metres 18.9°C

Yeovilton 23 metres 18.9°C

Solent M.R.S.C. 9 metres 18.8°C

Northolt 40 metres 18.7°C

Shoeburyness 2 metres 18.6°C

Redhill 63 metres 18.5°C

Thorney Island 4 metres 18.3°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Shap 249 metres -0.2°C

Sennybridge 309 metres 0.7°C

Warcop 227 metres 1.4°C

Trawscoed 63 metres 1.6°C

Topcliffe 25 metres 1.8°C

Benson 63 metres 2.5°C

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 2.5°C

Keswick 81 metres 2.9°C

Redesdale 207 metres 2.9°C

Spadeadam 285 metres 2.9°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Aviemore 220 metres 20.0mm

Aultbea 11 metres 13.0mm

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 12.0mm

Altnaharra 81 metres 10.0mm

Kinloss 7 metres 8.0mm

Lossiemouth 13 metres 6.0mm

Waddington 70 metres 6.0mm

Marham 23 metres 5.8mm

Boulmer 23 metres 5.0mm

Edinburgh/Gogarbank 57 metres 5.0mm

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By Jo Farrow

A wet start to the weekend for most

For much of the United Kingdom, it was rather wet and nippy for Saturday 19th June. Wales and the southwest of England faired the best, escaping the worst of the showers. Torquay in Devon had the top temperature of 20 Celsius 68 Fahrenheit and Exmouth had the most sunshine with 14 hours worth.

It was a cold start for some areas after a chilly night; temperatures had fallen to 3 Celsius in Manchester and Oxfordshire and down to freezing for Shap Fell in Cumbria.

Northern Ireland had a fine start to Saturday with some sunny spells, but showers were already creeping into Londonderry and Tyrone. These became more widespread through the day and temperatures in Belfast peaked at only 15 Celsius

Across Scotland, western areas started off dry with some brightness, but elsewhere it was dull, damp and cold. The rain continued for much of the day, with Aviemore seeing 21mm (nearly an inch) of rain, with western areas soon joining in the wet weather. The lowest day temperature was Loch Glascarnoch in Highland at 7 Celsius and Glasgow and Edinburgh only reached 11 Celsius. And for the tops of the Scottish mountains it was even cold enough for snow, and it is nearly the longest day!

One pulse of rain spread from southern Scotland into northern England through the morning. Much of central and southern England and Wales started the day fine and sunny. There were a few early showers for Flintshire and Cheshire, which turned thundery as they spread towards the Peak District. A line of vicious showers developed during the day, from northeast Wales, south Pennines, to the Humber. As this line moved southeast through the day, there was a thunderstorm at Birmingham at noon, a funnel cloud reported at Walton-on-Naze and hailstones in Lincolnshire. Funnel clouds belong in the tornado, water spout family, appearing from the bases of vigorous cumuliform cloud, but not touching the ground. More thundery showers through the afternoon affected the south Midlands, Norfolk and Suffolk, and by the end of the afternoon the showers were hitting Hampshire, Sussex and Kent with a line of thunderstorm right along the south coast.

By evening, all was calm in southeast England with the showers still hanging on for the northern half of the UK.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 20-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Church Lawford 107 metres 17.7°C

Filton 59 metres 17.6°C

Benson 63 metres 17.5°C

Bournemouth 11 metres 17.5°C

West Freugh 12 metres 17.5°C

Great Malvern 46 metres 17.4°C

Shoeburyness 2 metres 17.4°C

Cork 153 metres 17.0°C

Glasgow/Bishopton 59 metres 17.0°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 16.9°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Redhill 63 metres 1.8°C

Benson 63 metres 4.3°C

Andrewsfield 87 metres 4.4°C

Wattisham 87 metres 4.4°C

Lough Fea 225 metres 4.5°C

Sennybridge 309 metres 4.8°C

Dunkeswell 255 metres 5.1°C

Yeovilton 23 metres 5.1°C

Castlederg 51 metres 5.2°C

Charlwood 80 metres 5.2°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Camborne 87 metres 12.0mm

Manchester 78 metres 10.0mm

St.Mawgan 119 metres 10.0mm

London/Heathrow 24 metres 8.0mm

Glenanne 161 metres 7.2mm

Cardinham 200 metres 7.0mm

Church Fenton 9 metres 7.0mm

Spadeadam 285 metres 6.2mm

Capel Curig 216 metres 6.0mm

Leuchars 12 metres 6.0mm

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By Sarah Wilmshurst

Showers to water the gardens

The gardens are finally getting watered as most places have had some rain today. But it has been showery rain, and as is always the case when we talk about showers one place can be getting an absolute soaking, whilst just down the road it stays bone dry.

The part of the UK that has stuck out as being dry and sunny today has been Pembrokeshire. From Met Office observations Fishguard was the sunniest place with 10 hours.

Many places started the day quite sunny, but southern parts have been plagued by rather a lot of cloud. Swanage, Southend and Weymouth saw no sunshine all day. Elsewhere the clouds built up during the morning, and by lunchtime there was a huge rash of showers across the UK. During the afternoon these showers got heavier and heavier with thunderstorms in parts of Southern Scotland and England, with hail reported in Bognor Regis. These heavy downpours prompted the Met Office to issue a severe weather warning for poor travelling conditions in England.

The showers lasted on and off all day in the Manchester area where a third of an inch of rain fell, but wettest place was Bognor Regis in Sussex with 13mm (half an inch).

It was certainly a chilly start to the day when you think that we are only a day away from the longest day. The temperature at Redhill Airport in Surrey was just 2C (36F). And it wasn't exactly boiling during the day either, with temperatures no higher than 13C (55F) in Exmouth and the warmest place was Gravesend in Kent with a top temperature of 18C (64F).

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 21-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Bournemouth 11 metres 19.9°C

London MET 5 metres 19.4°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 19.4°C

Cardiff Weather Centre 9 metres 19.0°C

Northolt 40 metres 19.0°C

Charlwood 80 metres 18.8°C

Redhill 63 metres 18.8°C

Pershore 32 metres 18.7°C

Scilly, St.Marys 31 metres 18.7°C

Kenley 170 metres 18.4°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Shap 249 metres 0.6°C

Topcliffe 25 metres 2.2°C

Warcop 227 metres 2.4°C

Redhill 63 metres 2.5°C

Benson 63 metres 2.6°C

Leeming 40 metres 2.6°C

Disforth 36 metres 2.7°C

Keswick 81 metres 2.8°C

Redesdale 207 metres 2.9°C

Spadeadam 285 metres 3.3°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Coltishall 20 metres 24.0mm

South Uist Range 10 metres 18.0mm

Larkhill 132 metres 16.0mm

Marham 23 metres 15.0mm

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 10.0mm

Loftus 58 metres 9.0mm

Shap 249 metres 9.0mm

Wainfleet 5 metres 9.0mm

Crosby 8 metres 8.0mm

Middle Wallop 91 metres 6.2mm

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By Victoria Good

Wimbledon Washout...? Not quite, but some heavy showers on the longest day of the year.

It was the first day's play of this year's Wimbledon tournament. So would the weather play ball? Being the longest day of the year, you may have expected plenty of warm, hazy sunshine... Ah, well.

In reality, it was a fine start to the day, if surprisingly chilly in places; the overnight temperatures had fallen to just 1 Celsius (34F) in Shap Fell, Cumbria, so there was a little frost around for this June morning.

The day soon turned into a day of sunshine and showers. The showers were fairly well scattered, so you may have been lucky and had a rather pleasant day. Temperatures in Gravesend reached 21 Celsius (70F), the highest of the day, and the Isle of Wight had 15 hours of sunshine.

It wasn't so fair in Fair Isle, between Orkney and Shetland in the Northern Isles of Scotland. The top temperature of the day here was just 12 Celsius (54F) so quite a contrast to the warm sunshine further south.

It also didn't feel too grand in those showers. They were very localised (at one point, rain stopped play on Centre Court at Wimbledon, but the skies remained dry on the outside courts!) and for some, torrential. In just an hour, Larkhill in Wiltshire recorded 11mm of rain, as did South Uist in the Western Isles, but a couple of successive downpours ended up drenching Norwich in Norfolk with 24mm of rain through the day.

A number of these sharp showers were also accompanied by a generous rumble of thunder too, so for some it was a rather lively afternoon!

However, once the warmth of the afternoon began to fade away, so did the showers. The evening turned dry and fine for most, although the showers were rather slower to clear from parts of Scotland and northeast England, and a line of showers persisted until dusk in the far south.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 22-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Crosby 8 metres 21.8°C

Cranwell 67 metres 21.5°C

Pershore 32 metres 21.3°C

Church Fenton 9 metres 21.1°C

Linton-On-Ouse 16 metres 21.1°C

Nottingham Weather Centre 117 metres 21.1°C

Coleshill 96 metres 21.0°C

Coningsby 7 metres 21.0°C

Hawarden 10 metres 21.0°C

Manchester 78 metres 21.0°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 1.5°C

Sennybridge 309 metres 1.7°C

Capel Curig 216 metres 1.9°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 2.0°C

Redesdale 207 metres 2.3°C

Castlederg 51 metres 2.7°C

Redhill 63 metres 2.7°C

Topcliffe 25 metres 2.8°C

Keswick 81 metres 2.9°C

Shap 249 metres 2.9°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Cork 153 metres 43.0mm

Camborne 87 metres 26.0mm

Culdrose 82 metres 26.0mm

St.Mawgan 119 metres 21.0mm

Valentia 9 metres 20.0mm

Plymouth Wc 50 metres 18.0mm

Scilly, St.Marys 31 metres 17.0mm

London/Heathrow 24 metres 14.0mm

Milford-Haven 37 metres 11.0mm

Cardiff Weather Centre 9 metres 10.0mm

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By Penny Tranter

Another Wimbledon upset

But as Wimbledon started the weather just went downhill - although many gardeners and farmers were happy to see the showers and rain after all the dry weather of recent weeks.

The first day of the Grand Slam tennis tournament was plagued by showers forcing the covers on and off across the courts not helping the players concentration.

Tuesday dawned dry and bright across most of the UK, after the previous day's showers and thunderstorms slowly fizzled out in the early hours. Again many places started on the cool side after the clearer overnight weather with temperatures down to 1 C at Tyndrum in Stirling, with a widespread touch of ground frost in sheltered rural areas countrywide.

But big changes were a foot during Tuesday, as a big unseasonably deep area of low pressure for midsummer was developing to the southwest of the UK in the Atlantic. This showed its hand across Devon and Cornwall in the morning, but for many after the day dawned dry and bright; it stayed dry through the day, with sunny spells, especially in north and east England and Scotland. The sunniest spot turned out to be Tiree in the Inner Hebrides with 15.8 hours of glorious sunshine but it was cool in Lerwick with 13 C.

The rain in the far southwest marched steadily north and east during the day reaching most of Northern Ireland, Wales, southern England and south Midlands by late afternoon and then nudged a little further east and north by late evening - completely stopping play at Wimbledon by early evening. A few places had over 10mm in an hour, with Culdrose in Cornwall the wettest spot by 6pm with 23 mm. Although wetter weather was being recorded after that during the evening.

The warmest place was Colwyn Bay in Conwy with 23 C just before the rain moved in from the south.

That rain was set to give over 30mm of rain in many parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland during Wednesday as well as some very cool and windy weather there, with gusty beefy showers and even gales over England and Wales.

As for Wimbledon? Yes, more interruptions are likely on Wednesday due to squally showers and high winds - possibly gusts of 50mph - it's not until Friday that we can be assured of a full day's play.

Related Links: BBC - Climate Change

Jet Stream

Met Office Feature - Thunderstorms

Royal Meteorological Society

Met Office Feature - Flooding

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 23-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Keswick 81 metres 20.5°C

Omicron Persei 8 28 metres 19.9°C

Hawarden 10 metres 19.3°C

Leeming 40 metres 19.1°C

Manchester 78 metres 19.1°C

Coningsby 7 metres 18.9°C

Shap 249 metres 18.8°C

Cranwell 67 metres 18.6°C

Albemarle 141 metres 18.5°C

Leconfield 0 metres 18.5°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Lake Vyrnwy 360 metres -99.0°C

Altnaharra 81 metres 5.8°C

Aboyne 140 metres 7.7°C

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 8.2°C

Aviemore 220 metres 8.4°C

Lerwick 82 metres 8.4°C

Baltasound 15 metres 9.1°C

Kinloss 7 metres 9.5°C

Kirkwall 21 metres 9.5°C

Sella Ness 7 metres 9.5°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Ballypatrick Forest 156 metres 49.0mm

Leek Thorncliffe 299 metres 46.0mm

Bingley 262 metres 43.0mm

Capel Curig 216 metres 38.0mm

Lough Fea 225 metres 36.0mm

Castlederg 51 metres 35.0mm

Sennybridge 309 metres 35.0mm

St.Angelo 47 metres 35.0mm

Liscombe 348 metres 34.0mm

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 33.0mm

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By Susan Powell

British summer gets into full swing....

Oh yes, traditional British summer as been at its finest today - Wimbledon, cricket, cream teas, howling gales and torrential rain!

I think we can say the weather has had the last word on almost all fronts today.

The reason for all the trouble - one of our old friends, an area of low pressure. Nothing unusual in that I hear you cry - but the low itself was unseasonable in both its depth and intensity. The central pressure of 982mb makes it one of the deepest lows ever to sweep the British Isles at this time of year.

The low pushed a band of heavy rain through England and Wales during the previous evening and overnight. The front then made its way into Scotland and Northern Ireland by dawn - where it sat throughout the day.

Following the main rainband there was little respite from the wet weather as heavy, thundery showers brought further torrential bursts to England and Wales.

The covers stayed on continually at Wimbledon as the rain just kept on coming. The southwest certainly mopped more than its fair share too - a landslide destroyed several gardens in Truro and parts of Plymouth saw extensive flooding.

The wettest place through the 24 hour period was Lough Fea (County Tyrone) where 44.6mm (1.76 inches) of rain were recorded.

The rain however made up only half of this weather story - strong winds added to the complications. Across southern England some the strongest June winds ever were recorded - gusts reaching around 60mph at times.

Powerlines were blown down in Kent and Essex leaving thousands without power. The Severn Crossing was closed. Ferry services across the Channel were suspended due to choppy conditions and trains disrupted as leaves were blown on to the tracks. The stormy conditions were also being held responsible for the further demise of Brightons West Pier in the waters below.

Despite the strong winds through the Channel the brightest of days weather was here - St Louis (Jersey) clocked a total of 7.9 hours of sunshine.

Needless to say it was by no means a balmy day in terms of temperatures. Keswick (Cumbria) did well to scrape a high of 21C (70F) before the heaviest of the rain marched in here. Most however were stuck with top temperatures around the mid-teens, but for Aviemore (Highland) and Ballypatrick Forest (Moyle) as sorry 11C (52F) was the best on offer. (The coolest spot overnight was Altnaharra (Highland) with a minimum of 6C (43F).

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 24-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Bournemouth 11 metres 20.3°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 19.7°C

Manston 55 metres 19.5°C

Shoeburyness 2 metres 19.4°C

Charlwood 80 metres 19.3°C

Redhill 63 metres 19.1°C

Northolt 40 metres 19.0°C

Farnborough 65 metres 18.8°C

Brize Norton 88 metres 18.7°C

London MET 5 metres 18.7°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Lake Vyrnwy 360 metres -99.0°C

Warcop 227 metres -99.0°C

Spadeadam 285 metres 7.6°C

Drumalbin 245 metres 7.8°C

Cork 153 metres 7.9°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 8.0°C

Aviemore 220 metres 8.1°C

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 8.1°C

Leek Thorncliffe 299 metres 8.1°C

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 8.1°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Loftus 58 metres 44.0mm

Edinburgh/Gogarbank 57 metres 43.0mm

Boulmer 23 metres 35.0mm

Aberdeen/Dyce 65 metres 31.0mm

Capel Curig 216 metres 30.0mm

Lossiemouth 13 metres 28.0mm

Kinloss 7 metres 27.0mm

Newcastle Weather Centre 30 metres 23.0mm

Albemarle 141 metres 22.0mm

Aboyne 140 metres 21.0mm

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By Susan Powell

Summer was off once again....

A bit like the demise of Wayne Rooney only 23 minutes into the England game, the British weather was rather off on expectations though the day too!

It is after all June - yes thats the one, even refered to in some circles as 'Flaming June'. However the closest things have come to hotting up of rmost us in recent days has been the action in Euro 2004. Whilst the England team leads the excitement in Portugal the weather at home remains decidedly lack lustre and lack temperature too...

The day started with plenty of heavy rain over Northern Ireland, Scotland and Northern England - the back lash of an occlusion on the deep low that brought in the very stormy conditions for the entire country in the previous 24 hours.

The centre of the low may have pulled out into the North Sea but the occlusion still had plenty of clout to it - enough to deluge Buxton in Derbyshire with 46.2mm (1.82 inches). It also meant that the northern half of the British Isles was plagued with cloud and outbreaks of rain on and off through the majority of the day - although northwestern areas did dry up and brighten a touch during the afternoon.

The grey and wet weather certainly held temperatures back in the north - most spots only reaching the mid-teens. Soggy Spadeadam in Cumbria was the chilliest place through the day - the temperature only reaching 10C (50F). (The lowest overnight temperature was recorded at Saughall in East Ayrshire - a minimum of 7C (45F).

For Wales and the remainder of England the day however was quite a dramatic improvement on it's predecessor. It started fine for many with some sunshine and just a few isolated showers. The showers did become more widespread during the afternoon, some turning heavy and thundery, and of course once again we saw those covers go on at Wimbledon!

Never the less the overall scene was fair for many with bright spells and temperatures in the high teens. The days warmest place was Bournemouth in Dorset with a top temperature of 20C (68F). The sunniest place was St Louis on Jersey with a total of 12 hours.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 25-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

London MET 5 metres 22.1°C

Northolt 40 metres 21.8°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 21.5°C

Bournemouth 11 metres 21.1°C

Cardiff Weather Centre 9 metres 20.9°C

Gravesend 3 metres 20.9°C

Castlederg 51 metres 20.8°C

Great Malvern 46 metres 20.8°C

Farnborough 65 metres 20.7°C

Lake Vyrnwy 360 metres 20.7°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Lake Vyrnwy 360 metres -99.0°C

Castlederg 51 metres 4.2°C

St.Angelo 47 metres 4.6°C

Lough Fea 225 metres 4.8°C

Strathallan 35 metres 5.4°C

Islay/Port Ellen 17 metres 5.5°C

Stornoway 9 metres 5.7°C

Ballycastle 68 metres 5.9°C

Drumalbin 245 metres 5.9°C

Liscombe 348 metres 6.0°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Bridlington Mrsc 15 metres 4.0mm

Loftus 58 metres 3.0mm

Brize Norton 88 metres 1.0mm

Church Fenton 9 metres 1.0mm

High Wycombe 204 metres 1.0mm

Keswick 81 metres 1.0mm

Ballypatrick Forest 156 metres 0.8mm

London MET 5 metres 0.8mm

Lough Fea 225 metres 0.8mm

Shobdon 99 metres 0.8mm

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By Sarah Wilmshurst

A bit more like summer

The weather has been much more like summer today, with most places staying dry with a good deal of sunshine. This was a vast improvement to the past couple of days, especially in Scotland and Northeast England, and they even managed a full day's play at Wimbledon.

The cloud from the low pressure system that brought that nasty weather earlier in the week was still flirting with the East coast early in the day. But it soon moved off into the North Sea, to allow some sunshine to come through.

For the rest of us it was a dry and sunny start to the day, but in some eastern and central areas the cloud bubbled up during the morning and it was fairly cloudy for a time around lunchtime. But during the afternoon the cloud broke up again to give most a sunny end to the day.

Western and southern areas had a pretty sunny day with Exmouth in Devon having 15 hours, 30 minutes of sun. However thin high cloud moved across the far southwest during the afternoon, with rain arriving in the Isles of Scilly around dusk.

Although the vast majority of the UK stayed dry all day, just a couple of light showers cropped up in Central Scotland. The wettest place was Skegness with 10mm. This came up as the wettest place because we measure rainfall from 6pm to 6pm, so this rain fell yesterday evening.

The wind has not been anywhere near as strong as recently and it has felt a bit more like summer. Not a heat wave though with the top temperature just 22C in London and the coldest place was Sella Ness in Shetland with just 11C. That was after a cool start to the day with the early morning temperature just 1C in Katesbridge (County Down).

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 26-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

St.Angelo 47 metres 22.3°C

Castlederg 51 metres 21.7°C

Jersey 84 metres 20.7°C

Glenanne 161 metres 20.5°C

Belfast/Aldergrove 81 metres 20.3°C

Chivenor 8 metres 19.9°C

London MET 5 metres 19.7°C

Charlwood 80 metres 19.1°C

Llanbedr 0 metres 18.9°C

St.Mawgan 119 metres 18.9°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Aboyne 140 metres 1.1°C

Redesdale 207 metres 1.5°C

Altnaharra 81 metres 1.8°C

Aviemore 220 metres 2.8°C

Shap 249 metres 2.9°C

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 3.8°C

Tain Range 4 metres 3.9°C

Spadeadam 285 metres 4.2°C

Kinloss 7 metres 4.3°C

Sella Ness 7 metres 4.3°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Cork 153 metres 35.0mm

Valentia 9 metres 34.8mm

Plymouth Wc 50 metres 23.0mm

Culdrose 82 metres 22.0mm

Lough Fea 225 metres 22.0mm

Roches Point 40 metres 19.0mm

Cardiff Weather Centre 9 metres 17.2mm

Spadeadam 285 metres 17.2mm

Islay/Port Ellen 17 metres 17.0mm

St.Angelo 47 metres 16.0mm

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By Victoria Graham

As happy as a pig in mud...

During a recent train journey to the south-west of England, I got chatting to the lady opposite me.

The weather forecast is such an easy conversation starter, and this was the topic of our brief interlude as she mentioned she was heading to Cornwall for a camping trip. At this stage the forecast did not look favourable, with rain and strong winds on the agenda, but, as I commented, "you haven't really had a true camping experience unless you have battled the elements under canvas"...she didn't look convinced.

The Glastonbury Festival started this last Friday where the 'camping experience' would have been truly fulfilled. Blustery winds and heavy rain have hampered the area, but I am sure most of the revellers would have been as happy as 'pigs in mud'.

Today, once again, has been a very wet day with the heaviest rain this morning starting in the west - some particularly nasty bursts in Culdrose, Cornwall, where by 0600GMT they recorded over 15mm in just two hours, and by the end of the day they recorded the highest total anywhere of 22.4mm. In neighbouring Ireland, Cork Airport also had a very wet day, accumulating over 33mm of rain from midnight to 0600GMT.

The brighter weather came both early and late. The best sunshine was reserved for Scotland. Here it was a really lovely start after a clear night where the temperature fell at Aboyne, Aberdeenshire to 1C (34F). The best sunshine therefore, was almost predictable at Lerwick, Shetland, with just over 15 hours, although it didn't help the temperatures not too far away in Fair Isle, where the lowest daytime temperature was recorded at 11C.

The sun also came through late in the day over much of Ireland, west Wales and south-west England as the heaviest of the rain moved away. However, with the temperature rising to a daily maximum of 22C in St. Angelo, County Fermanagh, this helped trigger thunderstorms during the afternoon, urging the Met. Office to issue a Weather Warning, alerting to potential localised flooding.

I think it's just worth a mention that Wimbledon for the second time during this 2004 tournament, didn't manage any play today. Hopefully the next few days will be a little (marginally) better.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 27-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

London MET 5 metres 23.7°C

Northolt 40 metres 23.7°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 23.6°C

Shoeburyness 2 metres 23.5°C

Wattisham 87 metres 23.1°C

Bedford 85 metres 23.0°C

Coltishall 20 metres 23.0°C

Andrewsfield 87 metres 22.8°C

Marham 23 metres 22.8°C

Holbeach 3 metres 22.6°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Redesdale 207 metres 7.8°C

Glenanne 161 metres 7.9°C

Charterhall 112 metres 8.1°C

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 8.1°C

Boulmer 23 metres 8.8°C

Shawbury 76 metres 8.9°C

Altnaharra 81 metres 9.2°C

Lough Fea 225 metres 9.5°C

Baltasound 15 metres 9.6°C

Albemarle 141 metres 9.7°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Kinloss 7 metres 22.0mm

Altnaharra 81 metres 21.2mm

Larkhill 132 metres 14.0mm

Ballypatrick Forest 156 metres 11.0mm

Boscombe Down 124 metres 11.0mm

Lossiemouth 13 metres 10.6mm

Coleshill 96 metres 10.2mm

Plymouth Wc 50 metres 10.0mm

Islay/Port Ellen 17 metres 9.0mm

Andrewsfield 87 metres 8.2mm

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By Matt Taylor

Flaming June!

The day came in with a whimper, but out with a bang. June is certainly turning into an exciting month weather-wise.

Across the extreme southeast corner of England, there were still the remnants of Saturday's muck lingering first thing. So for the likes of Kent, it was a grey, misty and murky start to the day, although this didn't last too long. There was also a fair amount of cloud and the odd shower in western areas.

However, in between these two areas there was some welcome sunshine to start the day for many. This was a massive contrast to the very grey and dismal skies that we saw on Saturday, and perhaps a huge relief to the revellers at Glastonbury after the previous day's washout. The organisers at Wimbledon must also have been pleased, after declaring play on Sunday for only the third time in the tournament's history.

It was a slightly chilly start under the clearer skies, with Redesdale Camp (Northumberland) the chilliest at 8 Celsius (46F), but it didn't take long to warm up. By the afternoon, the mercury had risen to 24 Celsius (75F) at Gravesend and Broadness (both in Kent). The sunshine also remained for a full 12 hours at Colwyn Bay (Conwy). If only it stayed that way everywhere.

During the afternoon, the showers started to pep up across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and then western England and Wales. It wasn't long before we started to see some thunderstorms set off. As these pushed east, the downpours became increasing torrential, even forcing the early finish of Wimbledon - although thankfully not before Tim Henman had seen off his opponent.

The worst conditions were to be in the north and east of Scotland. Flash flooding and funnel clouds were reported in parts of Aberdeenshire. By 1800, 18.8 mm (0.74 inches) of rain had fallen at Kinloss (Moray), 14 mm (0.6 inches) of that in just 30 minutes. It continued to rain here into the evening, and after the flooding worries in the same area last week, concerns were again beginning to mount.

With the cloud and showers around in the north of Scotland, it meant a rather disappointing day for the Lerwick. After the glorious sunshine of Saturday, the greyer skies kept the temperatures pegged back at just 11 Celsius (52F).

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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By Matt Taylor

Strawberries anyone?

After the stormy end to the day on Sunday, today thankfully, was a much quieter day for just about all concerned. Although those watching Tim Henman make hard work of his victory against Mark Philippousis probably wouldn't agree!

Sunday's heavy rain did continue overnight in the far north-east of Scotland. Elsewhere under clearing skies the night turned into a rather chilly one for many. At Katesbridge (County Down), it was almost worth digging out the winter duvet again as the mercury plummeted to just 3 Celsius (37F).

For just about everyone it was a chilly, but sunny start to the day. Across the bulk of England and Wales, despite some cloud bubbling up, the sunny spells continued. At St. Louis (Jersey), it was game, set and match as far as sunshine amounts were concerned. Here there was an impressive 13.7 hours in all.

Once the sun came out it was pleasantly warm. It almost went to a tie break to find the warmest place, but Shoeburyness just edged ahead of the rest with a high of 21 Celsius (70F).

Across the far north and west it was considerably cooler as a brisk breeze blew, and the cloud built. In fact, the cloud and rain that plagued the far northeast of Scotland at the start of the day almost persisted through to the evening. 27 mm (1.06 inches) of rain fell in all at Lerwick (Shetland), making it a thoroughly wet day. The temperature at Baltasound (also Shetland) never managed to rise above 12 Celsius (54F).

Thickening cloud also brought some outbreaks of heavy rain to Northern Ireland around the middle of the day. These then pushed eastwards into northern England, north Wales and Scotland later in the afternoon and evening, chasing away the sunshine and dampening the spirits of a British win at Wimbledon.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 29-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

London/Heathrow 24 metres 22.8°C

Northolt 40 metres 22.8°C

Shoeburyness 2 metres 22.8°C

London MET 5 metres 22.7°C

Gravesend 3 metres 22.5°C

Manston 55 metres 22.3°C

Farnborough 65 metres 22.1°C

Kenley 170 metres 22.1°C

Benson 63 metres 21.5°C

Andrewsfield 87 metres 21.4°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Redhill 63 metres 6.3°C

Redesdale 207 metres 7.1°C

Shap 249 metres 7.2°C

Lerwick 82 metres 7.3°C

Aberdeen/Dyce 65 metres 7.7°C

Aboyne 140 metres 7.7°C

Altnaharra 81 metres 7.7°C

Kirkwall 21 metres 7.8°C

Lossiemouth 13 metres 8.1°C

Fair Isle 59 metres 8.3°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Isle of Portland 53 metres 14.0mm

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 10.0mm

Capel Curig 216 metres 9.0mm

Tiree 12 metres 5.0mm

Skye/Lusa 18 metres 4.0mm

Spadeadam 285 metres 3.4mm

West Freugh 12 metres 3.2mm

Machrihanish 13 metres 2.8mm

Lake Vyrnwy 360 metres 2.6mm

St.Angelo 47 metres 2.4mm

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By Dan Corbett

Weather Review for 29th June 2004

There was a lot more cloud across the British Isles on Tuesday. The cloudier skies were all tied in with a weather system moving in from the northwest. This weather system will move across the British Isles over the next couple of days making it wet and unsettled for many of us. This might not be such great news for tennis fans after they have just enjoyed two dry days.

The day started nice and sunny across most of England and Wales but, further north the cloud was already in place to start the day for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The clear skies lasted most of the day across the Channel Islands giving 13.8 hours of sunshine for Jersey.

The umbrella came in handy across Northern Ireland and Western Scotland as the patchy rain moved across through the morning. The patchy rain and showers continued to move further in across the British Isles through the middle of the day and afternoon. The patchy rain had moved across most of the British Isles except southeastern portions of England by the evening. The rain buckets collected a good tally across parts of Scotland and Wales by days end. Eskdalemuir (Dumfries and Galloway) and Capel Curig (Gwynedd) picked up 0.40 inches (10.2 mm) of rain in 24 hours to 1800 hours Tuesday.

It was a chilly start in the Highlands of Scotland. Kinbrace (Highland) dropped to 5C this morning and, the cloud and rain that moved across Scotland helped keep the afternoon temperatures down. The high in Stornaway (Western Isles) only managed to climb to 13C. The warm spot across the British Isles for Tuesday was Herne Bay (Kent) at 23C. It was quite a pleasant day for a trip to the park here but perhaps no so much the case further north. The perfect picnic weather may be harder to find on Wednesday and for tennis fans keep your fingers crossed the rains stay away.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 30-06-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Manston 55 metres 21.6°C

Northolt 40 metres 21.6°C

Pershore 32 metres 21.5°C

Lossiemouth 13 metres 21.4°C

Wattisham 87 metres 21.3°C

London MET 5 metres 21.2°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 21.2°C

Coltishall 20 metres 21.1°C

Shoeburyness 2 metres 21.0°C

Scampton 61 metres 20.8°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Liscombe 348 metres 10.5°C

Baltasound 15 metres 10.7°C

Leek Thorncliffe 299 metres 10.7°C

Sennybridge 309 metres 10.8°C

Lerwick 82 metres 10.9°C

Kirkwall 21 metres 11.0°C

Redhill 63 metres 11.1°C

Fair Isle 59 metres 11.2°C

Lake Vyrnwy 360 metres 11.2°C

Boulmer 23 metres 11.3°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 22.0mm

Kinloss 7 metres 20.0mm

Capel Curig 216 metres 19.0mm

Shap 249 metres 18.0mm

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 16.0mm

Wick 39 metres 14.0mm

Keswick 81 metres 13.0mm

Skye/Lusa 18 metres 13.0mm

Spadeadam 285 metres 12.2mm

Lossiemouth 13 metres 12.0mm

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By Elizabeth Saary

A disappointing end to June

June ended on a rather disappointing note for those who like their summers to be dry and sunny. In the last few days, the weather has continued to be influenced by low pressure with plenty of blustery showers around.

Today saw some weather fronts cross the country bringing lots of cloud and some very heavy bursts of rain. The thundery rain across parts of Scotland was so intense that the Met Office issued a severe weather warning. It was no surprise then that the wettest place in the UK was Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway with 23mm of rain - almost an inch. As the rain moved into eastern Scotland, a massive 16mm of rain fell in just one hour at Kinloss. Many parts of northern England also saw some very heavy showers - a particularly nasty one dumped 7mm of rain on Manchester in under an hour.

With wet weather and brisk westerly winds, it's no surprise that temperatures are nothing special at the moment. It was a mild start to the day with the lowest temperature at dawn just 11C (52F) at Bramham in North Yorkshire. During the day, the highest value that anywhere could manage was just 22C (72F). This was recorded at Margate in Kent where a bit of sunshine helped things along.

Shetland often turns out to be the coolest place in the country - not surprising really, given that it is so far north. This was once again the case, with the best temperature in Lerwick just 12C (54F).

For the sunniest place in the UK, we have to go as far south as possible - to Jersey. Nearly 7 hours of sunshine was recorded here.

During the evening, the heavy showers began to clear away from easternmost parts of Scotland and England and it was expected that most places would stay dry overnight, apart from a few showers around western coasts.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website