Wetter and much warmer than average with high night-time minima notable. Warm and thundery at the start, becoming cooler and unsettled towards the end of the month.
June started well with increasing temperatures and plenty of sun, but became hot and humid from the 6th with thunder heard on most days upto the 10th. Whilst temperatures remained above average, especially by night, the general theme then became more unsettled, although in general Cumbria avoided the worst of any rain and/or thunderstorms and daily rainfall totals were slight. However, the final five days of the month saw a more mobile and cooler westerly flow with rain becoming heavier and more frequent.
One curiosity about June is that prior to this year the 3rd June was the driest day of the year in my nine years of rainfall records, only having recorded 0.2 mm on two occasions (2008 and 2013) and the 13-15th after seven years were the only days in June not to have attained 20°c - after 2016 these two records are still intact.
MSLP of 1014.1 Mb was -1.3 Mb below the local average for June as after the settled start to the month low pressure gradually became more dominant, culminating in the poor end to the month.
Overall a mean minimum of 9.64°c and a mean maximum of 18.66°c saw the temperature 1.1°c above the 1981-2010 average and it was the warmest June since 2006, although the warmest of the eight now recorded at this site. The highest maximum temperature recorded was 25.6°c (6th), the lowest minimum 1.9°c (2nd).
Rainfall of 94.0 mm (Crosby Ravensworth School 89.6 mm - CastleHowe Scar 106.8 mm and at Reagill, 111.0 mm) made it the wettest June since 2012 (the 3rd wettest of the ten now recorded at this site) and was 128.9% of average for 2007-15. Locally, rainfall percentages were typically in the range of 130% of normal.
At the Met' Office site at Newton Rigg, 108.0 mm (184.3%) made it the wettest June since 2012 and in a series back to 1900 only seven have been wetter. In a series back to 1952, a mean temperature of 14.25°c is the warmest since 2006 with only five having been warmer in that time.
Figures from the Environment Agency’s rainfall sites were, (figure in brackets being the monthly average for 1961-90) ‘Data kindly provided by the Hydrometry and Telemetry team of the Environment Agency (Penrith)’:
Kirkby Thore ??? mm (42.2 mm) - data not complete this month
Brothers Water 217.98 mm (131 mm)
Nunwick Hall 63.4 mm (55.0 mm) and
236.4 mm at Seathwaite Farm (Borrowdale - 177 mm [average for 1981-2010])
1st - 5th The month opened with high pressure (HP) near Iceland ridging strongly over the UK with low pressure (LP) over the continent. The period was one of dry days with plenty of sunshine and increasing temperatures. The days tended to start with plenty of sun, cloud then building in the afternoon, but becoming sunny again in the evening.
Whilst the 1st-2nd saw day-time temperatures around the average for June, 16-18°c, the 2nd saw the month's coldest temperature of 1.9°c and just avoided starting with a ground frost, but by the 5th the temperature was upto 25.4°c.
6th - 10th Remaining warm and indeed some days became quite hot, but now the air mass became more unstable, leading to several days having thunder and we had to endure some quite uncomfortable humid conditions, especially by night.
Warm by day and night and indeed from this point on, the majority of the month experienced mild nights and subsequently sleeping became occasionally uncomfortable - not so much summer duvet on the bed has no duvet required!
The 6th saw the month's highest temperature of 25.6°c (78.1°f) and then the first thunder of the year with rain in the early evening! The thunderstorm on the afternoon of the 7th was accompanied by a spell of heavy hail (10.9 mm) that was over 5mm in size and then on the 8th we finally got to see some lightning along with the thunder.
HP was still over the UK but weakening and various fronts were always nearby, in particular on the 10th when a number of heavy showers gave 10.4 mm of rain.
11th - 17th Low pressure then became dominant from off the Atlantic and whilst we lost some of the warmth by day with temperatures falling back below 20°c, it still remained mild by night. After the 10th, only the 23rd would see the temperature back above 20°.
However, despite the proximity of LP, which brought heavy rainfall further south, here in Cumbria we tended to stay clear of any fronts and subsequently the worst of any rain, although the days were generally cloudy. A general fall in day-time temperatures saw the 17th only attain 14.3°c (57.7°f).
18th A ridge of HP brought a reasonable day with sunny spells.
19th - 30th
The rest of the month was generally under the control of LP systems arriving from off the Atlantic, the final five days of the month seeing a more mobile westerly airflow and the depressions arriving more quickly.
But after 9.1 mm of rain on the 19th, rainfall totals were negligible until 10.0 mm on the 25th and the 20th-23rd saw some decent sunny spells, especially in the afternoons as once again our part of the UK tended to avoid any fronts.
The afternoon of the 25th saw a spell of heavy rain (10.0 mm) courtesy of various troughs moving across northern England, but then with the month ending in a more mobile westerly flow, spells of rain became more common and the days had a much fresher feel about them; by the 28th the maximum temperature had dipped to just 13.5°c (56.3°f).
Apart from recording the month's lowest day-time maximum temperature, the 28th also became the month's wettest day with 11.6 mm of rain, which mainly fell during the afternoon. The 29th was a fairly dark day with yet more rain, 11.1 mm and it stayed cold on the 30th as the month ended cloudy but bright but with rain from 1800 hrs.
Mid-day 29th - the more mobile, cooler and wetter westerly regime
Rainfall totalled 94.0 mm for the month, with rain recorded on 19 days of which 15 were 'Wet days' (1.0mm +).
The Mean Temperature for the month was 14.15°c -- The Mean Max' was 18.66°c -- The Mean Min' 9.64°c.
We had 0 Air Frosts in the month (year 39) -- Grass frosts totalled 0 (year 83).
The 1 foot soil temp ranged from a low of 14.5°c on the 2nd-3rd and 30th to a high of 17.1°c on the 9th -- with a monthly mean of 15.9°c
The 1 meter soil temp ranged from a low of 11.4°c on the 1st to a high of 13.5°c on the 19th and 24-29th -- with a monthly mean of 12.9°c
COMPARISONS:-
* June 2016 rainfall was 128.9% of the June average for 2008 - 2015
* June 2016 was 1.22°c warmer than the June average for 2009 - 2015 and 1.1°c warmer than the local long term average 1981-2010
* 2015 Jan - June TEMP 6.71°c -- RAIN 578.3 mm
* 2014 Jan - June TEMP 8.38°c -- RAIN 738.2 mm
* 2013 Jan - June TEMP' 5.96°c -- RAIN 392.9 mm
* 2012 Jan - June TEMP' 7.20°c -- RAIN 491.0 mm
* 2011 Jan - June TEMP' 7.68°c -- RAIN 599.3 mm
* 2010 Jan - June TEMP' 6.28°c -- RAIN 206.4 mm
* 2009 Jan - June TEMP' 7.61°c -- RAIN 450.5 mm
* 2008 Jan - June TEMP' -- RAIN 621.1 mm
This makes the Jan' to June period of 2016 0.22°c warmer than the average for 2009-15 and with 117.1% of average rainfall for 2008-15
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