Very Wet and Rather Cool

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during June 2021 in Shoreham was 20.7 Celsius (69F), and that was about 1 Celsius (<2F) below normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 13.0 Celsius (55F), and that was around the June average.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 27.0 Celsius (81F), on the 16th, but only 2 other days, the 1st and 2nd, had maxima above 25 Celsius (77F). There were a few more pleasantly warm days, especially around mid-month, but in total there were only 18 days with maxima above 20 Celsius (68F), and only 7 of those days had highs above 23 Celsius (73F). A few very cool days occurred, but of the 12 days with maxima below 20 Celsius (68F), only 4 had values below 17 Celsius (63F). The 4th had a maximum of 15.8 Celsius (60F), with the other 3 very cool days positioned between the 19th and 22nd. The coolest day was the 21st with a high of 14.3 Celsius (58F).

There were no particularly warm nights during June, although on 7 occasions the temperature stayed above 15 Celsius (59F). The warmest nights mainly occurred during the third week, and on 3 out of the last 4 nights of the month. Only 3 of these warmer nights had minima above 16 Celsius (61F), the 15th, 17th and 18th had lows of 16.5 Celsius (62F), 17.3 Celsius (63F) and 16.4 Celsius (62F) respectively. The coolest nights occurred at the beginning of the second week and during the last week of June. On 5 nights the temperature dipped below 10 Celsius (50F), and on 2 of these cool nights, minima were below 9 Celsius (48F). On the 23rd a low of 8.9 Celsius (48F) was recorded with 8.8 Celsius (48F) occurring on the 26th.

The sea temperature rose steadily from 14 Celsius (57F) at the beginning of June, to 17 or 18 Celsius (63-64F) around mid-month, but then stayed around 16 or 17 Celsius (61-63F) for the remainder of the month.

Frost

No air frost occurred during June The lowest grass temperature occurred on the 26th when 7.2 Celsius (45F) was recorded.   

Rain

Rainfall in June amounted to 102.8 millimetres (4 ins.) which was well over double the average for the month. It was the wettest June in the area for 9 years. Measurable rain fell on 13 days, which is 3 days above the average, and wet days (when 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.) or more of rain falls) numbered 11 days, and that was 5 days above the average. The first measurable rain of the month fell on the 3rd, but most of the 3.4 millimetres (0.1 in.) that fell during the ‘rain day’ (0900-0900 UTC) occurred on the morning of the 4th. The rain continued into the afternoon, adding another 7 millimetres (0.3 ins.) to the monthly total. It was dry between the 5th and 15th, but the 16th was the wettest day of the month with 20.6 millimetres (0.8 ins.) recorded. It was the beginning of an unsettled spell of weather that lasted until the 30th. Although 3 days, the 22nd, 23rd and 26th were dry, on other days rain was occasionally heavy. Daily totals included 18.2 millimetres (0.75 ins.) on the 17th, 9.4 millimetres (0.35 ins.) on the 18th, 15.2 millimetres (0.6 ins.) on the 21st and 9.8 millimetres (0.4 ins.) on the 29th.

Hail

No hail was observed in this part of Shoreham.

Thunder

Two separate thunderstorms occurred on the evening of the 16th, although the thunder was mostly quite distant. On the late afternoon of the 28th, there was a distant rumble from a storm to the north of the Downs.

Snow

No sleet or snow was observed this month in Shoreham. 

Wind

Even though the month was wet, pressure was relatively high during June, with anticyclones generally positioned to the west or south of the country. That led to a predominance of winds blowing from between southwest and northwest. On days when the wind was generally indeterminate, afternoon sea breezes developed, and these mainly blew from the southwest. Overall, winds were lighter than normal. At Shoreham Airport, the highest gust recorded during the month was 28 knots (32 mph) from the north-northeast on the afternoon of the 21st.    

Fog

There was fog on the morning of the 7th which lifted into low cloud by early afternoon, Several other days had low cloud and misty conditions overnight and during the mornings.

Statistics for June 2021

Cold, Wet and occasionally Windy

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during May 2021 in Shoreham was 15.8 Celsius (60F), and that was about 3 Celsius (5F) below normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 7.7 Celsius (46F), and that was around 1.5 Celsius (3F) below the May average. Overall, it was the coldest May in the area for 6 years.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 24.1 Celsius (75F), on the 31st, but there were only 2 other days when the temperature rose above 20 Celsius (68F), namely the 29th and 30th, with maxima of 22.8 Celsius (73F) and 20.4 Celsius (68F) respectively. Another 5 days had highs above 17 Celsius (63F), but only 3 of these less cool days occurred before the 27th. There were many cold days (16) with temperatures staying below 15 Celsius (59F), and on 9 of these days, the temperature failed to reach 14 Celsius (57F). This included every day during the first week of May, and on the 1st a high of 12.8 Celsius (55F) was recorded, with 12.1 Celsius (54f) measured on the 5th.

Even though there was plenty of cloud cover during May, nights were still quite cold. Only 8 nights had minima above 10 Celsius (50F), with just 3 of these milder nights having minima above 11 Celsius (52F). the 9th had a low of 12.0 Celsius (54F), with 11.6 Celsius (53F) and 11.9 Celsius (54F) recorded on the 21st and 29th respectively. On most other nights, minima were between 5 and 10 Celsius (41-50F), but there were some colder nights, these all occurring during the first week of May. On 6 of these nights the temperature fell below 4 Celsius (39F), but the only night below 3 Celsius (37F) was the 6th when 1.9 Celsius (36F) was measured.

The sea temperature rose steadily to 12 Celsius (54F) by the third week, and then accelerated to 14 Celsius (57F) by the end of the month.

Frost

No air frost occurred during May but there was a grass frost on 3 nights, the 3rd, 6th and 7th. The lowest grass temperature occurred on the 6th when minus 2.2 Celsius (28F) was recorded.   

Rain

Rainfall in May amounted to 56.4 millimetres (2.2 ins.) which was at least 50% above average for the month. Measurable rain fell on 20 days, which is double the average, and wet days (when 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.) or more of rain falls) numbered 12 days, and that was also double the average. During the first 26 days of May, the only completely dry day was the 11th, although several days only had a trace of rainfall. Measurable rain fell on 5 of the first 7 days of the month, with the 11.0 millimetres (>0.4 ins.) falling on the 7th making it the wettest day of the month. On most of the other days, totals were below 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.), although 6 millimetres (0.25 ins.) fell on the 18th, and another 9.4 millimetres (<0.4 ins.) were recorded on the 23rd. The last week of May was generally dry, with only 0.2 millimetres (0.01 ins.) of rain recorded, plus 0.2 millimetres (0.01 ins.) of dew.

Hail

No hail was observed in this part of Shoreham.

Thunder

Two rumbles of thunder occurred during May. The first was during a shower on the afternoon of the 17th, and the second accompanied a light shower early on the evening of the 19th.

Snow

No sleet or snow was observed this month in Shoreham. 

Wind

In complete contrast to April, low pressure dominated the weather pattern during May, with winds often quite strong and on a majority of days (17) blowing from between south and west Winds with an easterly component were mainly confined to the end of the second week and the last few days of the month. At Shoreham Airport, southwesterly gusts reached 48 knots (55 mph) on the evening of the 3rd, with 44 knots (50 mph) recorded in the early hours of the 4th. Southwesterly winds gusted to 45 knots (51 mph) on the evening of the 20th, and it then remained windy throughout the 21st causing much salt damage to plants and trees. The highest gust for the day was 49 knots (56 mph) in the late afternoon, but there were many gale-force gusts of 43 knots (49 mph) during the day. Squally gusts from the south reached 39 knots (44 mph) on the evening of the 23rd, and southwesterly gusts peaked at 32 knots (37 mph) early in the evening on the 25th.    

Fog

No fog was observed in this part of Shoreham during May.

Statistics for May 2021

Very Wet, Mild and Windy 

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during February 2020 in Shoreham was 10.1 Celsius (50F), and that was almost 2 Celsius (3.5F) above normal for the time of year.  The average minimum temperature was 5.4 Celsius (42F), and that was nearly 3 Celsius (5 F)  above the February normal.    

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 13.6 Celsius (56F) on the 23rd, and although no other days had a maximum above 12 Celsius (54F), there were 6 days with highs above 11 Celsius (52F), and a further 9 days when 10 Celsius (50F) was reached.  No cold days occurred during February, but on 6 occasions the maximum temperature was below 9 Celsius (48F). On the 6th a high of 8.3 Celsius (47F) was recorded, but on the 27th it was 0.1 Celsius (0.2F) cooler, making it the coolest day of the month.

Several mild nights occurred during February, and on the 16th the minimum temperature was 10.4 Celsius (50F). On 4 more nights the temperature remained above 9 Celsius (48F), with a further 4 nights having minima exceeding 8 Celsius (46F).  There were 8 nights when the temperature fell below 3 Celsius (37F), with 2 clusters, the 5th to 7th, and the 26th to 28th accounting for most of the chilly nights. On the 6th a minimum of minus 0.7 Celsius (31F), with the 28th only 0.1 Celsius (0.2F) less cold. 

The sea temperature was between 8 and 9 Celsius (46-48F) throughout the month.

Frost

A total of 2 air frosts were recorded during February and 10 grass frosts. Grass frosts occurred on 3 consecutive nights beginning on the 5th, and on the 6th the grass minimum was minus 5.6 Celsius (23F). On most nights the frost was very slight, but there  were 4 consecutive nights of grass frost beginning on the 25th, and on the last of these nights, the 28th, a minimum temperature of minus 6.1 Celsius (22F) was recorded.    

Rain

Rainfall in February amounted to 97.2 millimetres (3.8 ins.). This was well over double the monthly average.  There were 21 days of measurable rain, and that was 5 days above average.  Although nearly 8 millimetres (0.3 ins.) of rain fell on the 1st, 4 out of the following 5 days were dry. However, there was only 1 other completely dry day during the remainder of the month, and that was on the 11th. Some of the rain during the second week and around mid month was heavy.  On the 9th over 9 millimetres (0.35 ins.) of rain fell, followed by 12.8 millimetres (0.5 ins.) on the 12th, the wettest day of the month. A further 10 millimetres (0.4 ins.) was recorded on the 15th, with over 9 millimetres (0.35 ins) measured on the 16th.  The rain was then somewhat lighter until the last week of February. A total of 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) fell on the 25th with 7.4 millimetres (0.3 ins.) on the 26th, with another 8.6 millimetres (0..35 ins.) added to the total on the 28th. 

Hail

Small hail was observed in Shoreham during squally showers on the 16th. Small hail also fell in a late afternoon shower on the 26th. Soft hail, or graupel fell in late morning and afternoon showers on the 25th. 

Thunder

No thunder was heard in Shoreham in February.

Snow

There was no sleet or snow observed in Shoreham during February.   

Wind

Not only was the month changeable, but it was also frequently windy, with the winds almost entirely blowing from between southwest and northwest, with southwesterlies predominating.  At Shoreham Airport, the days with gusts exceeding 30 knots (34 mph) were as follows:- 1st- 33 knots (38 mph) from the southwest early afternoon; 4th- 33 knots (38 mph) from the northwest late morning; 9th- 53 knots (60 mph) from the southwest in the early evening after a day of gales. The strong winds continued throughout the 10th with 44 knots (50 mph) recorded in the early hours and during the evening. 11th – 38 knots (43 mph) from the west late afternoon; 13th – 42 knots (48 mph) from the southwest early morning; 15th – 43 knots (49 mph) from the southwest in the evening; 16th – 42 knots (48 mph) from southwest early morning. The rest of the 16th was very windy and a southwesterly gust of 46 knots (53 mph) occurred late in the evening; 17th – 41 knots (47 mph) from the southwest in the morning. 18th – 32 knots (37 mph) from the southwest early evening; 20th – 39 knots (44 mph) from the southwest early evening: 21st – 35 knots (40 mph) from the southwest late evening; 22nd – 38 knots (43 mph) from the southwest midday; 23rd – 41 knots (47 mph) from the southwest early morning; 24th – 39 knots from the southwest midday; 25th – 33 knots (39 (mph) from the northwest late afternoon; 26th – 32 knots (36 mph) from the west late afternoon; 27th – 31 knots (35 mph) from the northwest early afternoon; 28th – 31 knots (35 mph) from the southwest late afternoon, and finally; 29th – 44 knots (50 mph) from the southwest early in the morning.     

Fog

No fog was observed in this part of Shoreham during February.

Statistics for February 2020

Rather Cold and Damp 

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during November 2019 in Shoreham was 10.3 Celsius (50F), and that was about 0.5 Celsius (1F) below normal for the time of year.  Daytime temperatures were, on average, the lowest in November since 2010.  The average minimum temperature was 5.8 Celsius (42F), and that was only very slightly below the November normal.    

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 15.1 Celsius (59F) on the 1st, but only 1 other reading above 13 Celsius (55F) occurred; this was on the 3rd when 13.2 Celsius (56F) was recorded. However, 12.9 Celsius (55F) was measured on both the 2nd and 26th. Highs exceeded 10 Celsius (50F) on a further 10 occasions during November with all these milder days occurring from the 1st to the 10th, as well as from the 22nd to the 28th. There were no particularly cold days during November, but there were 7 days when the temperature stayed below 9 Celsius (48F). These colder temperatures occurred between the 14th and 17th, on the 20th, and on the last 2 days of the month. The lowest maximum was 7.4 Celsius (45F) on the 14th.

No especially mild nights were logged during November, but on 3 nights the temperature stayed above 10 Celsius (50F).  The first 2 nights of the month had minima of 10.2 Celsius (50F) and 11.6 Celsius (53F) respectively, with 10.4 Celsius (50F) recorded on the 26th. Only 12 other nights had minima above 5 Celsius (41F), with most of these milder nights occurring during the first and fourth weeks. The second and third weeks had some of the colder nights, but only 5 nights had minima below 3 Celsius (37F), with just 2 of these colder nights having minima below 1 Celsius (34F). The lowest temperature was minus 1.4 Celsius (30F) on the 19th, although a minimum of 0.1 Celsius (32F) was recorded on the last night of the month. 

The sea temperature steadily fell from 13 Celsius (55F) at the beginning of November to 10 or 11  Celsius (50-52F) by the end of the month.

Frost

There was 1 air frost during November (the 19th), but 8 grass frosts occurred. Apart from the 30th, when minus 2.8 Celsius (27F) was recorded, all the grass frosts were sandwiched between the 8th and 19th. The grass frosts were mostly very slight with only 2 further nights measuring temperatures below minus 2 Celsius (28F). The 9th had a grass low of minus 2.2 Celsius (28F), with minus 4.4  Celsius (24F) occurring on the 19th.    

Rain

A total of 100.8  millimetres (4 ins.) of rain fell during November and that was about 15% above the monthly average. There were 21 days of measurable rain, and that was around 5 days above normal for November. The month got off to a very wet start with nearly 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) of rain falling on the 1st and 17.4 millimetres (0.7 ins.) on the 2nd.  A further 9.4 millimetres (0.4 ins.) fell on the 4th, and by the end of the first week over 41 millimetres (1.6 ins.) of rain had fallen. Over 11 millimetres (0.4 ins.) fell on the 13th and rain fell for most of the day on the 15th. However, no measurable rain fell between the 16th and 20th. The very changeable weather then continued with over 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) recorded on the 23rd, 26th and 27th. However, the last 2 days of the month were dry. 

Hail

No hail was observed in Shoreham during November.

Thunder

No thunder was heard in Shoreham in November.

Snow

There was no sleet or snow observed in Shoreham during November.   

Wind

Southwesterly winds only occurred on 16% of the days during November, with double that total blowing from the northwest. In a very cyclonic month (the average pressure was only just above 1000 mb) it was not surprising that there was also a fair representation of winds from both southeast and northeast. The 2nd was a particularly windy day, and at Shoreham Airport southwesterly gusts of 38 knots (43 mph) late on the evening of the 1st, steadily increased during the night and peaked late in the morning of the 2nd at 57 knots (65 mph), but with gusts not falling below 30 knots (34 mph) until late in the evening. Unusually for an autumn month, no further gusts above 30 knots (34 mph) were recorded during the remainder of the month.    

Fog

There was no fog observed in this part of Shoreham during November, although it was very misty at times on the 1st. 

Statistics for November 2019