May’s weather
After a very dry April there was some statistical support that May could end up being a wetter than normal month. However, that’s not exactly how things panned out this year, with May continuing the trend of high pressure and mostly dry, sunny weather. This was mixed with a few cooler spells with some outbreaks of rain, as is typical for May, but overall, the month of drier than normal.
As the coronavirus lockdown continued through the month, electricity generation actually began to drop off according to National Grid. This is likely due to the warmer weather and longer daylight hours coupled with shops, restaurants, and bars being shut. We saw an 8% reduction in power cuts compared to the same time last year. Heading into the last week of the month over the bank holiday weekend, UK power consumption fell to record low levels.
Similar to April, the weather for Northwest England in May was warmer, sunnier, and very drier than normal. For most of the month the temperatures were a few degrees above the average, but there were a few brief cold snaps that saw 3-4 days of below average temperatures before things recovered.
High pressure was a regular companion to the UK throughout the month, and this helped keep Atlantic weather systems out of Northwest England. A few did manage to creep in at times which brought the bulk of the measurable rain for the month. Occasional showers drifting in from the Irish Sea accounted for the rest, but for the second half of the month these showers were few and far between.
June’s weather
It was statistically and climatologically unusual for May to be so dry. In fact, some parts of South England will likely see their driest month on record this May, and that includes the summer months too!
For June it looks like, at least for the first half of the month, the dryness will continue. We expect high pressure to be nearby again, but maybe a bit further to the west and over the Atlantic for a time. This would allow for some wetter and windier weather.
For the second half of the month, at the moment we are looking at some dry patterns to persist, but the confidence for the longer range is pretty low at the moment. The exact location of the high pressure systems, which is very difficult to pin down at this range, is having a massive impact on potential wet and warm weather.
