General and Barometric Pressure

  When a month is as warm as May 2024, finishing significantly warmer than average, it seems counter intuitive to describe it as 'poor'; but that is how the month will be remembered and it continued what has been a terrible start to the year.

  And like the months before it, MSLP would finish below average, by 3.3MB, but at least this month high pressure did at least grace us with its occasional presence.

  Rainfall this month may have been above average, but only fell on 14 days. However, the 22nd saw a notable weather event and would easily become the wettest May day in my records and the 62.1 mm that fell gave us 'more than a month's worth of rain in a day'.

  The first eleven days of the month were a little mixed, but with no rain of any note. The month opened with a maximum of 20.3°c, before quickly tailing away to a month's lowest maximum of 11.5°c on the 4th. However, from this point temperatures picked up and with high pressure establishing itself over the UK during the 7-8th through to the 11-12th, the month now experienced some genuine summer like conditions, ie: warm and sunny. Day-time maxima nudged above 20°c, peaking with 23.4°c on the 11th.

  Just 6.1 mm of rain had fallen in the first eleven days, but the breakdown in the weather began during the 12th. With the high pressure retreating east, a broad area of low pressure in the Atlantic began to push trough lines over the UK and with warm air still in-situ, the inevitable thunderstorm struck in the evening. An hours' worth of heavy rain gave 17.9 mm.

  It remained warm for the next few days, especially overnight, the 14th having a minimum of 13.0°c. There was the occasional outbreak of rain before another dry period 15-20th.

  Pressure over the UK fell slack 18th - 21st and this allowed for the temperatures to rise once more, especially with a little more in the way of sunshine. The 18th would see the month's highest maximum of 24.1°c and there was a rumble of thunder on the 19th, but no storm to accompany it.

  Through to the end of the month low pressure was in the ascendency and now sunshine became a rarity with rain on most days, apart from the final two. The 22nd saw a vigorous area of low pressure move along the east coast of the UK and then spiral west, bringing rain from 0815h through to 04h the following morning. During the afternoon of the 22nd that rainfall became heavy and quite intense at times, remaining so through the evening, The 62.1 mm that fell was 2.2 mm more than the average for the entire month! This was also one of the colder days of the month with a maximum of just 12.7°c.

  The theme for the rest of the month was broadly dull with some drizzle or showers with day-time maxima falling closer to, but still above average. However, under cloudy skies night-time minima remained high and often stayed in double figures. The final two days of the month saw a slight improvement in that they were dry, a little warmer and had some sunshine, although it was hazy for most of the 31st.

  Temperature

  With a mean minimum of 8.66°c and a mean maximum of 17.89°c May 2024 saw the temperature 2.85°c above the fifteen year average for this site. This saw it being the warmest May yet recorded at Maulds Meaburn - and it has also been the warmest yet recorded in the UK.

  The highest maximum during the month was 24.1°c (75.4°f - 18th) and the lowest minimum, 4.0°c (39.2°f - 28th) -- frost wasn't any issue at all this month, there wasn't any! And whilst the mean maximum for the month was excessive, daily maximum temperatures didn't meet the same heights; it was just consistently warm by day. However, the mean minimum at a tadge over 3°c above average was both crazily and scarily high. Only two nights in the entire month fell below the monthly average of 5.6.°c.

  At the Met' Office site at Shap a mean minimum of 7.7°c and a mean maximum of 16.8°c saw the monthly mean temperature 2.95°c above average. It was the warmest May yet recorded here (record began (1992).

  Precipitation

  At Maulds Meaburn rainfall totalled 114.6 mm (4.51 In), this being 191.3% of the average for 2007-23, making it the wettest May since 2021. Since the recorded began (2008), fifteen have been drier and one wetter.

  Of course the majority of the monthly total fell on that one day (22nd) with only one other day attaining 10mm or above. The period of 25-29th (21.4 mm) ensured that the total would breach the 100mm mark for only the second time in my records.

  Locally rainfall at Maulds Meaburn North was 117.0 mm and at Castlehowe Scar 118.4 mm. At the Met' Office site at Shap, rainfall of 129.0 mm represents 130.8% of its average making it the wettest May there since 2021. And since the record commenced (1989), twenty-five have been drier and ten wetter.

  Figures from the Environment Agency's rainfall sites were, (figure in brackets being the monthly average for 1991-2020)   'Data kindly provided by the Hydrometry and Telemetry team of the Environment Agency (Penrith)':

  At Appleby in Westmorland rainfall of 120.9 mm (LTA of 56.2 mm) represents 215.1% of its average (1857-2023) and made it the wettest since 1986 - since the record commenced, 162 have been drier and five have been wetter.

  Kirkby Thore 128.2 -- (46.1 mm)

  Haresceugh Castle (Kirkoswald) 148.76 mm -- (61.6 mm)

  Brothers Water 133.37 mm -- (139.2 mm)

  Seathwaite Farm (Borrowdale) 199.0 mm -- (173.4 mm [average for 1845-2023]) represents 114.8% of its average - making it the wettest since 2021 and since 1845 when the record commenced, 114 have been drier and 65 have been wetter.

  OTHER:-

  During the month the following 'days of' were recorded: thunder on two days -- the wind speed averaged 4.10 mph, with a maximum gust of 30 mph (12th and 23rd).

  We had 0 Air Frosts in the month (year 23)          --          Grass Frosts totalled 0 (year 56).

  The 1 foot soil temp ranged from a low of 10.4°c on the 1st        to      a high of 15.4°c on the 20th     --      with a monthly mean of 13.8°c

  The 1 meter soil temp ranged from a low of 9.0°c on the 1st      to      a high of 12.5°c on the 23rd and 29th to 31st     --     with a monthly mean of 11.3°c

   This makes the Jan' to May period of 2024 1.23°c warmer than the average for 2009-23 and with 154.8% of average rainfall for 2008-23

  Cumbrian Rainfall

  Whilst May finished as a wetter than average month, in the main there wasn't really anything untoward about the month; well except for one day.

  The Met' Office have stated that 'provisionally the 22nd was the wettest spring day on record for northern England, and some stations in the area experienced record-breaking amounts of rainfall'.

  Between the 21st and 23rd, a low pressure system that had moved from the Netherlands towards the UK across the southern North Sea brought persistent rain to northern Wales, northern England, and southern/central Scotland. This saw a large number of stations record 'more than a month's worth of rain in a day' and it wasn’t just the usual suspects where the highest totals were recorded.

  Whilst the Met' Office are currently quoting Honister as having the greatest (124.0 mm) 24Hr fall in the UK on the 22nd, the 'honour' actually goes to Braithwaite Force Crag Mine with 150.1 mm. But when this total is matched with the monthly total of 242.1 mm (the highest total in Cumbria for May) the event of the 22nd begins to show its significance.

  And this was quite typical at virtually all stations, but the biggest surprise was probably found at Thursby (5 miles west of Carlisle) where 105.2 mm fell on the 22nd out of a monthly total of 150.9 mm.

  Other falls exceeding 100mm on the 22nd included: Gelts (Nr. Brampton) 100.8 mm -- Greenside Mines 101.0 mm -- Keswick Sewerage Treatment Works 100.2 mm and Moorahill Farm 107.2 mm (near Bampton and Burnbanks).

  And because I always have to have a 'but because it's Cumbria', somewhere in deepest, darkest Penton was the exception - at Catlowdy the 23rd was the wettest day of the month.

  Clearly that fall on the 22nd had an effect on the percentage falls for the month and with Carlisle at the centre, an area in the north of the county saw the greatest percentages this month. And indeed it was Carlisle that provided the highest percentage fall for the month with a whopping 259.2% of its LTA.

  And then at Seascale out on the west coast sae a monthly total of just 73.4 mm, but it was Brothers Water where the only fall would be below the LTA, 133.37 mm being just 95.6%.

  Impacts – 22nd - As the low pressure system moved north, prolonged heavy rain across north Cumbria saw multiple reports of surface water flooding in Carlisle and households were temporarily cut off by rapidly rising rivers in and around the hamlet of Stockdalewath. Across north Cumbria the heavy rain severely disrupted rail travel.