Whilst we were lucky enough to experience temperatures of 30 degrees in some areas in August, unfortunately it was short lived and surrounded by wet weather and thunderstorms. Thankfully the storms didn’t have much of an effect of our network, but we were prepared just in case to ensure we continue to power the lives of our five million customers throughout the region.
As we enter into the autumn months days will get shorter and temperatures will get cooler. Have we said goodbye to summer for good now? Richard Martin-Barton, professional meteorologist from MeteoGroup provides us with detail on what we can expect as the month progresses.
A look back at August’s weather
In short, August was a tale of two halves, with a good deal of cool, wet and at times windy weather during the first two weeks. More sustained high pressure built in during the latter third of the month, eventually bringing the third heatwave of the summer.
The 1st rather foreshadowed much of early August, as a line of heavy showers and thunderstorms stretched across the region from southern Scotland, bringing a few lightning strikes. A slow-moving area of low pressure slowly drifted east across northern Britain later in the first week, allowing further heavy thunderstorms to bring torrential rain to the region on the 4th, before more general outbreaks of rain and showers lingered until the 7th.
A brief period of drier, calmer weather developed on the 8th, but a more active low-pressure system pushed active fronts north across England and Wales the following day. These brought widespread rain, brisk winds and further heavy showers for the following two days. Further Atlantic depressions passing close to Scotland brought more windy and wet weather around mid-month, followed by a rather showery westerly airflow for a few days.
On the 21st and 22nd, persistent rain developed across Cumbria, giving 30-40mm rain widely across Cumbria. It became dry by the 23rd as the rain lifted to the north. This set the stage for the third notable heatwave of the summer, with a hot Tropical Continental airmass pushing north across the country from Spain and France for several days. The heat peaked across the region on the 25th, when temperatures reached 30C in numerous locations. The heatwave ended with a bang, as lively thunderstorms broke out across Eastern England on the 27th, while the weather was more seasonal for the closing days of the month.
A look ahead to September
September is the start of meteorological autumn, and this week is likely to be rather mixed with westerly winds bringing blustery showers or longer spells of rain to the region. A more extensive low-pressure area may bring more widespread cloud, rain and breezy weather on Friday, while chillier north-westerly winds will push across the country on Saturday, perhaps bringing the odd shower.
Early next week, slightly higher pressure may give some drier weather, although lingering fronts may bring quite cloudy, damp weather at times. By the middle of the week, a deep low, perhaps associated with ex-Hurricane Dorian, may bring breezier and wetter weather to the country. Confidence lowers as we head towards mid-month, due to a lack of agreement between the computer models, although wetter and windier bursts look more likely to extend across the region from the north-west. Beyond mid-month, we anticipate high pressure to become quite extensive right across the UK, perhaps providing a longer period of calm and dry weather, with the early Autumn sunshine and light winds allowing temperatures to climb above average once again.
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