Warm, but some Thundery Downpours 

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during July 2019 in Shoreham was 23.5 Celsius (74F), and that was over 3 degrees Celsius (5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 14.6 Celsius (59F), and that was less than 1 Celsius (1F)  above the July normal.    

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 33.3 Celsius (92F) on the 23rd, but the 25th was almost as hot with 33.0 Celsius (91F). These were some of the highest temperatures known to have been recorded in the area and comparable with the high temperatures observed in the Summer of 1976, and the August heatwave of 1990. There were no other days when temperatures exceeded 30 celsius (86F), but there were 4 other days when the temperature rose above 25 Celsius (77F). The warmest of these days was the  24th with a reading of 26.5 Celsius (80F). On most days (23), maximum temperatures were between 20 and 25 Celsius (68-77F), but there were 2 rather cool days. On the 7th, the temperature struggled to reach 19.0 Celsius (66F), but the 19th was cooler with a high of 18.9 Celsius (66F).

There were a few warm nights during July, especially during the second half of the month.  The warmest night was the 24th with a minimum of 19.0 Celsius (66F), but a low of 18.8 Celsius (66F) occurred on the 26th, and 18.2 Celsius (65F) was noted on the 30th. There were 11 other nights with minima higher than 15 Celsius (59F). There were no particularly cool nights, although minimum temperatures were below 13 Celsius (55F) on 10 nights. This included 5 nights with minima below 12 Celsius (54F). The lowest temperature was 11.2 Celsius (52F), this occurring on 3 nights, the 15th, 17th and 19th. 

The sea temperature gradually rose from 18 Celsius (64F) at the beginning of June to 19 or 20 Celsius (66-68F) by the end of the month.

Frost

There were neither air nor grass frosts during  July.  The lowest grass minimum temperature was 7.8 Celsius (46F) recorded on both the 15th and 19th.    

Rain

There were  47.0  millimetres (1.85 ins.) of rain during July and that was close to the monthly average. There were 9 days of measurable rain, and that was about 3 days below normal for July. The first half of the month was very dry, with the 6th the only day with measurable rainfall between the 1st and 16th, and even then, just 1.8 millimetres (0.07 ins.) were recorded. Thereafter, the month was somewhat more unsettled. The 17th and 18th each produced less than 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.) of rain, but on the 19th there were 32.2 millimetres  (1.27 ins.) making it the wettest July day for 12 years.  Dry weather followed for 3 days, but changeable weather towards the end of the month led to 5 out of the last 9 days recording measurable rain. The wettest day was the 26th with 5.8 millimetres (0.2 ins.), with each of the other 4 days having less than 3 millimetres (0.1 ins.).

Hail

No hail was observed in Shoreham during July.

Thunder

There were 4 days with thunder during July. The first thunder was in association with the heavy rain late on the evening of the 19th. Thunderstorms late on the evening of the 23rd rumbled on into the early hours of the 24th, with frequent lightning, especially to the south, although thunder was generally distant. Thunder and lightning occurred intermittently overnight on the 26th.

Snow

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

Wind

Southwesterly winds were dominant during July, although winds blew from other directions too., with east or southeasterly breezes associated with some of the warmer days. Generally winds were quite light, although moderate or fresh sea breezes occurred on several afternoons. The main exception to the light winds occurred late on the 29th and 30th , when southwesterly winds were strong enough to break branches off trees and substantially reduce the yield from fruit trees. At Shoreham Airport southwesterly gusts touched 30 knots (34 mph) on the afternoon of the 20th, but on the 30th southwest winds gusted to 41 knots (47 mph) in the afternoon, with 32 knots, (36 mph), from the same direction, on the 31st.     

Fog

There was no fog observed in this part of Shoreham during July. 

Statistics for July 2019