Dry and cold

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during February 2018 in Shoreham was 6.5 Celsius (44F), and that was over 1 degree Celsius (1.8F) below normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 0.9 Celsius (34F), and that was  more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.5F) below  the February normal.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 11.2 Celsius (52F) on the 19th, but there were only 2  other days with maxima above 10 Celsius (50F), the 15th and 18th, with highs of 10.4 and 10.1 Celsius (50F) respectively. On most days  (17) the temperature rose to between 5 and 8 Celsius (41-46F), but there were several cold days. Prior to the 26th, the 6th, with a high of 4.5 Celsius (40F), was the only day when the temperature failed to reach 5 Celsius (41F). However, the last 3 days of the month became steadily colder.  A high of 2.3 Celsius (36F) on the 26th was followed by minus 0.2 Celsius (32F) on the 27th. On the last day of the month a maximum of minus 0.7 Celsius (31F)  was the lowest in February for 24 years, and the lowest so late in the Winter since 1986.

There were very few mild nights during February. In fact, there were only 3 nights when the temperature stayed above 5 Celsius (41F). The 15th and 19th had lows of 6.4 and 6.9 Celsius (44-45F) respectively, but the mildest night of the month was the 20th when the temperature only fell to 9.3 Celsius (49F). On the first 4 nights of February the temperature was 2 Celsius (36F) or higher, and after the 20th there were no minima above 2 Celsius (36F). In between, there was a mixture of cold  and less cold nights. On 4 occasions minima were below minus 2 Celsius (28F), including minus 3.3 Celsius (26F) on the 8th, and minus 3.4 Celsius (26F) on  the 27th. The last complete night of the month was the coldest with a dawn temperature of minus 5.4 Celsius (22F).

The sea temperature was around  8  Celsius (46F) at first, soon falling to 7 Celsius (45F) where it remained for most of the month. However, there was a further drop to 5 or 6 Celsius (41-43F) on the last few days of February.

Frost

There were 12 air frosts in central  Shoreham during February, with 6 of them occurring between the 7th and 16th, and the other 6 on consecutive nights beginning on the 23rd. Most of the air frosts were slight, with 7 of the frosty nights having minimum temperatures between minus 2 and zero Celsius (28-32F) . There were 17 grass frosts during the month,  with 4 of these occurring on consecutive days beginning on the 5th,  and a further 7 confined to the last week of February. The 4 grass frosts during the first week had minim um temperatures above minus 3 Celsius (27F), but on the 8th a ground temperature of minus 7.8 Celsius (18F) was recorded. This temperature was matched on  the 12th, and there were a further 5 nights when the grass minimum dipped below minus 5 Celsius (23F).  

Rain

There were 35.4 millimetres (1.4 ins.) of rain during February and that was less than half the monthly average. Rain fell on 14 days, about 3 days below what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more)  amounted to 7 days.  Although the beginning of the month was unsettled, amounts of rain during the first week were generally small, with the highest total of 1.8 millimetres (0.08 ins.) falling on  the 3rd. On the 8th,  cloud thickened in  the evening and overnight rain produced 6.6 millimetres (0.26 ins.). Another 3.4 millimetres (0.15 ins.) was attributed to the 10th, but it was the end of the second week that produced the wettest weather of the month.   On the 13th a total of 4.6 millimetres (0.2 ins.) fell, but the following day was wetter. On the 14th, rain for much of the day helped to give a total of 13.2 millimetres (0.5 ins.). No more than 4 millimetres (0.15 ins.) fell during the rest of the month, and this included 5 consecutive dry days between the 21st and 25th. The wettest day during this period was the 18th when 1.6 millimetres (0.06 ins) were measured.

*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC

Snow

Sleet or snow fell on 6 days during February. A light sleet shower fell late in the morning of the 5th, with a light snow shower falling in the early hours of the 7th. The snow lay in small patches through the morning. On the 12th, there were showers during the evening, one of which fell as sleet. The snowiest weather occurred at the end of the month. Light snow showers fell late on the morning of the 26th, with moderate falls in the evening.  Further snow showers fell on the 27th and 28th, and with the temperature falling below freezing at 1700 hours on the 26th and remaining sub-zero for the remainder of the month, it was inevitable that the snow settled. On the morning of the 27th there were 4 cm (<2 ins.) of snow lying, this decreased to 2 cm (<1 in.) on the 28th    The reduction was mainly due to the powdery nature of the snow, and the dryness of the brisk easterly wind which was accompanied by relative humidity values below 40%.

Hail

There was a  light shower of small hail late evening on the 12th.

Thunder

There was no thunder reported in Shoreham during February.

Wind

February broke the train of ‘westerly’ months. The first week had winds varying between northeast and northwest, followed by a week of breezes mainly from the northwest. A trend towards south or southeasterly winds in the third week was followed by increasingly cold winds from between east and northeast for the remainder of the month. The strongest winds mainly occurred during the second and fourth weeks of the month. At Shoreham Airport,  a gust of 33 knots (38 mph) was recorded early on the 9th, with 32 knots (37 mph) on the evening of the 10th. A similar value was logged early in the afternoon on the 12th. On the morning of the 13th there were gusts of 36 and 38 knots (41-43 mph) and the final gusts of the month above 30 knots occurred on the afternoon and evening of the 28th, when 32 knots (37 mph) was measured.

Fog

No fog was observed from central Shoreham during February.

Statistics for February 2018

Very mild and rather dry

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during January 2018 in Shoreham was 8.9 Celsius (48F), and that was over 1 degree Celsius (1.8F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 4.9 Celsius (41F), and that was  approaching 2 degrees Celsius (3.5F) above  the January normal.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 11.8 Celsius (54F) on the 4th, but there were 9  other days with maxima above 10 Celsius (50F), including 2 days with highs above 11 Celsius (52F), namely the 22nd and 24th. There were no particularly cold days during January. In fact, only 3 days had maxima below 7 Celsius (45F). The 6th and 7th had highs of 6.1 Celsius and 6.2 Celsius (43F)  respectively, but the 8th was the coldest day, with the temperature only rising to 4.8 Celsius (41F).

There were several mild nights during January and on 10 occasions the temperature stayed above 7 Celsius (45F). However, only 3 of these milder nights occurred before mid month,  and the 5 nights with lows above 8 Celsius (46F) all occurred during the last 10 nights of January. Included in these were 2 nights with lows above 9 Celsius (48F). The night of the 28th/29th had a low of 9.1 Celsius (48F), but the mildest night was the 23rd/24th when a minimum of 9.6 Celsius (50F) was recorded.  There were a few cold nights during January, with temperatures dipping below 2  Celsius (36F) on 5 nights. The lowest temperature was minus 0.2 Celsius (32F) on the night of the 18th/19th.

The sea temperature was around  9  Celsius (48F) at the turn of the year, but for most of January the temperature was nearer 8 Celsius (46F).

Frost

There was only 1 air frost in central  Shoreham during January, and that was on the 19th. However,  both the 27th and 30th almost had air frosts with night-time temperatures dipping to 0.1 Celsius (32F). There were 7 grass frosts during the month, but only 2 of these occurred before the 19th.  Most of the grass frosts were slight, but on the 18th/19th a grass minimum of minus 5.0 Celsius (23F) occurred, and on  the 26th/27th minus 4.4 Celsius (24F) was recorded.  

Rain

There were 64.4 millimetres (2.5 ins.) of rain during January and that was over 20% below  average. Rain fell on 22 days, about 6 days above what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more)  amounted to 16 days.  Although rainfall was below average, the impression was of a wet month. This was because rain was mostly light, even though it frequently fell. Rain fell on each of the first 5 days of the new year, including a total of 5.8 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on the 3rd. The 6th, 7th and 8th were dry, the only such spell of 3 consecutive dry days during the month.  The 9th to 12th were often damp and drizzly, but with very little rain to measure. On the 14th over 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) of rain fell, and on the 21st there were 6.8 millimetres (0.3 ins.). This was the wettest day of the month, and although the weather remained unsettled during the remainder of the month, amounts of rain stayed fairly small with no individual day exceeding 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.).

*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC

Snow

No snow fell in Shoreham during January.

Hail

There was a hail shower late morning on the 31st.

Thunder

There was no thunder reported in Shoreham during January.

Wind

January was a ‘westerly’ month, with winds from between southwest and northwest dominating on 24 days. There were a few days with easterly winds, with all of these occurring during the first half of the month. It was often breezy, especially during the first few days of January. At Shoreham Airport,  a gust of 39 knots (44 mph) was recorded late on the 2nd, and 47 knots (54 mph) early on the 3rd. On the morning of the 15th gusts of 38 knots (41 mph) occurred,  with 49 knots (56 mph) logged before dawn on the 18th. On several days during the rest of January there were gusts between 25 and 35 knots (29 and 40 mph).

Fog

No fog was observed from central Shoreham.

Statistics for January 2018

Rather wet with a typical mix of winter weather

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during December 2017 in Shoreham was 8.4 Celsius (47F), and that was very close to normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 3.8 Celsius (39F), and that was  also very close to the December normal.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 12.6 Celsius (55F) on the 30th. There were no other days with maxima above 12 Celsius (54F), but there were 3 more days with highs above 11 Celsius (52F), and a further 6 days when the temperature exceeded 10 Celsius (50F). The mildest weather was generally during the first week and final fortnight of December, although there  were no especially cold days during the remainder of the month. However, the temperature failed to rise above 5 Celsius (41F) on 3 days. The 9th had a high of 4.2 Celsius (40F) and the 11th had a maximum of 3.3 Celsius (38F). This was the coldest day of the month, but the windy 27th, with a high of 3.9 Celsius (39F), felt just as cold.

There were several mild nights during December and on 6 occasions the temperature stayed above 8 Celsius (46F). Only 1 of these mild nights occurred before the 20th,  and that was on the 6th/7th when a minimum  of 8.8 Celsius (48F) was recorded.  Apart from the 30th/31st, when a low of 8.6 Celsius (48F) was measured, the remainder of the mild nights occurred between the 21st and 25th. This included 3 nights when the temperature kept above 9 Celsius (48F). The highest minimum was 9.3 Celsius (49F) on Christmas Eve night. There were many chilly nights during December, and on 16 occasions the minimum temperature was below 3 Celsius (37F). The coldest nights generally occurred during the second and third weeks of December, with 11 nights between the 8th and 19th having minima below 3 Celsius (37F). The lowest temperature recorded was minus 2.4 Celsius (28F) on the night of the 11th/12th.

The sea temperature was mostly between 9 and 10 Celsius (48-50F).

Frost

There were 6 air frosts in Shoreham during December, but all of these were slight. On the 8th/9th a temperature of minus 1.7 Celsius (29F) occurred, with minus 1.4 Celsius (30F) and minus 1.0 Celsius (30F) on the nights of 16th/17th and 18th/19th respectively.  Consecutive air frosts were logged on the 27th/28th and 28th/29th but the temperatures fell no lower than minus 1.4 Celsius (30F). There were 12  grass frosts during December, with 9 of them occurring between the 9th and 19th. On 3 occasions during this frosty spell the grass temperature fell below minus 5 Celsius (23F), including a low of minus 6.1 Celsius (21F) on the 8th/9th. This grass temperature was matched on the night of the 28th/29th.  

Rain

There were 103.2 millimetres (1.25 ins.) of rain during December and that was over 30% above  average. Rain fell on 22 days, about 6 days above what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more)  amounted to 15 days.  High pressure was prominent during the first few days of the month, and although the weather was often cloudy and damp, amounts of rain during this period were mostly small. This changed on the 9th when rain in the evening became persistent and heavy overnight amounting to 22 millimetres (0.9 ins.) by morning. A further 8 millimetres (0.3 ins.) were measured on the 10th, with a further 15 millimetres accumulating over the following 5 days. Once again, pressure rose, and although occasional rain or drizzle occurred, the period between the 16th and 23rd only produced 4 millimetres (0.15 ins.) of rain. Showers, merging into longer spells of rain, occurred on Boxing Day afternoon, with the rain lasting overnight. A total of 21 millimetres   (0.8 ins.) was measured on the 26th, with a further 25 millimetres (1 in.) of rain falling during the rest of the month. This included over 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on 3 consecutive days, the 28th, 29th and 30th.

*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC

Snow

Snow fell on 2 days during December. On  the morning of the 11th rain turned to sleet and wet snow for a while in the morning and  settled on some vegetation before quickly thawing.  On the 27th, early rain turned to sleet, then wet snow, around mid morning. It settled for a while, but further rain brought about a steady thaw by late morning.

Hail

There was no hail reported  in Shoreham during December.

Thunder

There was no thunder reported in Shoreham during December.

Wind

December was another ‘north-westerly’ month with winds from that direction dominating on a remarkably high 19 days. On most other days the wind blew from between southeast and southwest. It was frequently windy, especially during the second and last weeks of the month. At Shoreham Airport,  a gust of 38 knots (43 mph) was recorded on the 7th,  53 knots (60 mph) on  the 10th,  35 knots (40 mph) on the 14th,  42 knots (48 mph) on the 25th,  35 knots (40 mph) on the 26th,  40 knots (46 mph) on the 27th, 42 knots (48 mph) on the 29th, and  43 knots (49 mph) on the 31st.

Fog

Fog over the Downs, descended to lower levels at times during the mornings of the 20th and 21st.

Statistics for December 2017

A dry and mild month

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during October 2017 in Shoreham was 16.3 Celsius (61F), and that was over 1 Celsius (1.8F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 10.9 Celsius (52F), and that was  also more than 1 Celsius (1.8F) above  the normal October value.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 19.8 Celsius (68F) on the 16th. This was the day of the orange sun and day darkness caused by Saharan dust and smoke from Iberian forest fires spreading north in the southerly airstream.  The 16th was the only day with a maximum temperature above 19 Celsius (66F), however, there were 6 other days when maxima  exceeded  18 Celsius (64F). On most days (20) the temperature rose to between 15 and 18 Celsius (59-64F), but there were a few cooler days later in the month. The 22nd was the first of these less mild days with a high of 13.8 Celsius (57F). This was the second coolest day of the month. There were  3 other days when the temperature failed to reach 15 Celsius (59F), but only 1 of those days had a maximum below 14 Celsius (57F), that was the 30th, with a high of 11.4 Celsius (52F), the coolest day of the month.

There were many mild nights during October, and on 10 nights the temperature remained above 13 Celsius (55F). On 7 of these milder nights the minima were 14 Celsius (57F) or higher. The mildest nights were both the 14th  and 19th when lows of 14.8 Celsius (59F) were recorded.  There were 12 nights when the temperature fell below 10 Celsius (50F), but only 3 of these cooler nights had minima under 7 Celsius (45F). The end of the month was coolest with 3 out of the last 4 nights recording temperatures below 5 Celsius (41F). The coolest night was the 30th with a reading of 3.2 Celsius (38F).

The sea temperature,  around 17 Celsius (63F) at the beginning of October,  fell slowly to 14 or 15 Celsius (57-59F) by the end of the month.

Frost

There were no frosts in Shoreham during October. The lowest grass minimum was 0.0 Celsius (32F) on the 28th.

Rain

There were 30.4 millimetres (1.2 ins.) of rain during October, and that was less than 50% of the  average. Rain fell on 15 days, about 2 days above what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more)  amounted to 9 days. The first half of the month was generally dry, and although measurable rain fell on 6 days, the total was only 6.8 millimetres  (0.3 ins.) between the 1st and 16th. Rain then fell on the following 9 days with 9.2 millimetres  (0.36 ins.) recorded on  the 19th and 5.6 millimetres  (0.22 ins.) collected on the 20th. Most of the rain was then light, and during the last 6 days of October there was no measurable rain.

*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC

Hail

There was no hail reported  in Shoreham during October.

Thunder

There was no thunder reported in Shoreham during October.

Wind

October was another ‘westerly’ month with well over half of winds blowing from between southwest and northwest.  It  was often quite breezy early in the month, and again  during the unsettled spell,  but it became generally less windy towards the end of October. At Shoreham Airport,   a gust of 42 knots (48 mph) was recorded in the early hours of the 20th,  with 45 knots (51 mph) measured during the afternoon on the following day.

Fog

There was no fog observed in this part of Shoreham during October except for a while in the evening and overnight on the 25th/26th.

Statistics for October 2017

A changeable, rather wet, month

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during September 2017 in Shoreham was 18.8 Celsius (66F), and that was less than 1 Celsius (1.8F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 11.7 Celsius (53F), and that was  slightly below the normal September value.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 21.9 Celsius (72F) on both the 1st and 26th, but there were 4 other days when the temperature rose above 20 Celsius (68F). On most days the temperature rose to between 17 and 20 Celsius (63-68F), with only 2 days having maxima below 17 Celsius (63F). These cooler days were the 19th and 30th with highs of 16.2 Celsius (61F) and 16.9 Celsius (63F) respectively..

There were few warm nights during September, and minima above 15 Celsius (59F) only occurred on 3 nights. The 4th/5th had a low of 16.8 Celsius (62F), The 7th/8th was also a warm night, and on  the 27th/28th a low of 15.6 Celsius (60F) was recorded. There were several fairly cool nights, these mainly occurring around the middle of the month. There was a total of 10 nights with minima below 10 Celsius, with 9 of these cooler nights occurring between the 10th and 22nd. Only 4 nights had  a minimum temperature below 9 Celsius (48F), with just the 17th dipping below 8 Celsius (46F). The minimum on the night of the 16th/17th was 7.2 Celsius (45F).

The sea temperature,  around 19 Celsius (66F) at the beginning of September fell to 16 or 17 Celsius (61-63F) after mid month.

Frost

There were no frosts in Shoreham during September. The lowest grass minimum was 3.3 Celsius (38F) on the 15th.

Rain

There were 63.8 millimetres (2.5 ins.) of rain during September, and that was over 25% above average. Rain fell on 20 days, about 9 days above what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more)  amounted to 13 days. No measurable rain fell on the first 2 days of the month, but 3 millimetres (0.1 ins.) fell on the 3rd,  and only twice more during the month were there 2 consecutive days without measurable rain. After another 3 millimetres (0.1 ins.) on the 7th, over 9 millimetres (0.35 ins.) of rain were recorded on the 8th. Amounts of rain were generally small between  the 9th and 26th, although on 3 occasions, the 12th, 18th and 24th, rainfall totalled between 3 and 4 millimetres (about 0.1 ins.). The 27th was particularly wet in the evening and overnight with 17.8 millimetres (0.7 ins.) added to the monthly total. Over 4 millimetres (0.15 ins.) was logged for the 28th, with a further 5 millimetres (0.2 ins. ) falling on the last day of the month.

*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC

Hail

There was no hail reported  in Shoreham during September.

Thunder

There was no thunder reported in Shoreham during September.

Wind

September was another ‘westerly’ month with over two thirds of winds blowing from between southwest and northwest. The first half of September was often quite breezy but it became generally less windy after mid month. At Shoreham Airport  a gust of 44 knots (50 mph) was recorded early in the evening of the 10th, with 38 knots (43 mph) measured late morning on the following day. A further gust of 44 knots (50 mph) occurred  in the early hours of the 13th.

Fog

There was no fog observed in Shoreham during September.

Statistics for September 2017

A wet month, but a fine and warm Bank Holiday weekend

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during August 2017 in Shoreham was 21.5 Celsius (70F), and that was less than 1 Celsius (1.8F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 13.4 Celsius (56F), and that was almost 1 Celsius (2F) below the normal August value.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 26.3 Celsius (79F) on the 27th, but the 29th was only 0.1 Celsius (0.2F) less warm. These were the only 2 days with temperatures above 25 Celsius (77F), but during the last week of August there were a further 3 days with maxima above 23 Celsius (73F). The 14th and 15th were the only other days with highs above 23 Celsius (73F). On most days (18) the temperature rose to between 20 and 23 Celsius (68-73F), but there were 6 occasions when the maxima failed to reach 20 Celsius (68F). On 4 of these days, the temperature was only a fraction of a degree below 20 Celsius (68F), but on the 2nd the high was only 18.4 Celsius (65F), and on the 30th it was decidedly cool. The temperature only reached 15.1 Celsius (59F), making it the coolest August day for 14 years..

There were several warm nights during August,  and on 10 occasions the temperature remained above 15 Celsius (59F). However, only 1 of these warmer nights had minima  above 17 Celsius (63F), namely the 23rd when 17.7 Celsius (64F) was recorded. There were 3 fairly cool nights in August and on these occasions minimum temperatures were below 10 Celsius (50F). On the 20th the temperature fell fractionally below 10 Celsius (50F), but on both the 14th and 31st minima were below 9 Celsius (48F). The lowest reading was 8.1 Celsius (46F) on the 31st.

The sea temperature stayed around 19 Celsius (66F) throughout the month.

Frost

There were no frosts in Shoreham during August. The lowest grass minimum was 5.6 Celsius (42F) on both the 20th and 31st.

Rain

There were 84.4 millimetres (3.3 ins.) of rain during August, and that was approaching 50% above average. Rain fell on 13 days, a couple of days above what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more)  amounted to 10 days, also slightly above what can be expected in August. No measurable rain fell on the first day of the month, but the 2nd was very wet with 28 millimetres (1.1 ins. falling). The weather stayed changeable, although amounts of rain were small until the 8th. On the 8th, over 3 millimetres (0.1 ins.) of rain fell, with a further 11.6 millimetres (0.5 ins.) recorded on the 9th. Although the day was fine, overnight rain produced nearly 8 millimetres (0.3 ins.) on the 16th,  and over 16 millimetres  (0.6 ins.) fell on the 20th. There was a run of 6 dry days between the 23rd and 28th but there was an unsettled end to the month with almost 7 millimetres (0.3 ins.) of rain falling on the 31st.

*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC

Hail

There was no hail reported  in Shoreham during August.

Thunder

There were 4 days when thunder was observed in Shoreham.  Early in the afternoon on the 5th a storm occurred over the Downs but with no rain in central Shoreham. A rumble of thunder occurred late in the morning of the 8th and there was lightning and a few distant thunderclaps late on the evening of the 22nd. The last thunder of the month was noted mid afternoon on the 31st.

Wind

August was a ‘westerly’ month with around two thirds of winds blowing from between southwest and northwest. The first half of August was often quite breezy but it became generally calmer after the 20th. At Shoreham Airport a gust of 37 knots (42 mph) occurred on the morning of the 3rd, with 36 knots (41 mph) recorded on the afternoon of the 18th.

Fog

There was no fog observed in Shoreham during August.

Statistics for August 2017

A warm, but also a wet and windy month

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during July 2017 in Shoreham was 22.5 Celsius (73F), and that was 2 Celsius (3.5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 14.8 Celsius (59F), and that was almost 1 Celsius (2F) above the normal July value.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 29.7 Celsius (86F) on the 18th, but there were 4 other warm days when the temperature rose above 25 Celsius (77F). All of the warm weather occurred during the first 18 days of the month, including maxima of 27.3 Celsius (81F) on the 6th and 27.1 Celsius (81F) on the 9th.; after that, the only maximum above 23 Celsius (73F) was the 23.4 Celsius (74F) recorded on the 21st. There were many days when temperatures rose to between 20 and 23 Celsius (68-73F), but there were 4 days when maxima remained below 20 Celsius (68F). The only day when the temperature failed to reach 19 Celsius (66F) was the 26th when a high of 18.6 Celsius occurred.

There were several warm nights during July. and on 13 occasions the temperature remained above 15 Celsius (59F). On 5 of these warmer nights minima were above 17 Celsius (63F), including a low of 18.2 Celsius (65F) on the 6th. There were no particularly cool nights during July, although on 3 nights minima were below 13 Celsius (55F).  On the 4th a low of  11.6 Celsius (53F) occurred, but the coolest night of the month was the 22nd/23rd when a minimum of 10.3 Celsius (50F) was measured..

The sea temperature stayed at 18 or 19 Celsius (64-66F) throughout the month..

Frost

There were no frosts in Shoreham during July. The lowest grass minimum was 7.8 Celsius (46F) on the 4th.

Rain

There were 81.8 millimetres (2.1 ins.) of rain during July, and that was approaching 50% above average. Rain fell on 11 days, close to what one would expect at this time of year, and wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more)  amounted to 9 days, also close to what can be expected in July. No measurable rain fell during the first 10 days of July, but rain set in during the afternoon of the 11th and became heavy at times overnight. The total for the rainfall day* was 26.6 millimetres  (1.05 ins.).  A short dry spell ensued but rain on the evening of the 18th became torrential for a while overnight and resulted in a total of 25.6 millimetres (1 inch) of rain. A changeable period of weather followed, and between the 18th and 29th there was only 1 completely dry day, the 21st. Some heavy bursts of rain occurred, with 7.8 millimetres (0.3 ins.) measured on the 21st, almost 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on the 22nd, and 9 millimetres (0.35 ins.) on the 29th. The last 2 days of the month were dry.

*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC

Hail

There was no hail reported  in Shoreham during July.

Thunder

There were 3 days when thunder was observed in Shoreham. On the evening of the 18th thunderstorms broke out, with these becoming severe in the early hours of the 19th. Continuous thunder and lightning occurred for over an hour before they finally moved away to the north. At one stage, the rain was falling at a rate of almost 90 millimetres (3.5 ins.) per hour.  The  last thunderstorm of the month, on the 22nd, was slight, and produced just 2 rumbles in the middle of the afternoon..

Wind

It was a windy July, especially during the second half of the month. Winds from a southwesterly direction accounted for nearly 60% of the observations,  although breezes from a northeasterly point coincided with some of the warm days. The 28th was the windiest day at the Airport with 34 knots (39 mph) recorded.

Fog

There was no fog observed in Shoreham during July.

Statistics for July 2017

A very warm, but also a rather wet, month

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during June 2017 in Shoreham was 22.1 Celsius (72F), and that was almost 4 Celsius (7F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 13.5 Celsius (56F), and that was over 1 Celsius (2F) above the normal June value.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 31.7 Celsius (89F) on the 21st, but there were several other very warm days between the 17th and 21st, including the 18th with 30.1 Celsius (86F) and 30.4 Celsius (86F) on the 20th. The temperature reached 27.0 Celsius (81F) on the 14th, and in total there were 6 days when the temperature rose above 25 Celsius (77F). There was plenty of fairly warm weather, with a further 13 days when the temperature exceeded 20 Celsius (68F). There were no particularly cool days during June, and although the temperature failed to rise above 18 Celsius (64F) on 3 occasions, the lowest value for the month was 17.0 Celsius (63F), some 6 Celsius (11F) above the record low for June.

There were several warm nights during June. but with most of the warmer nights occurring after mid month. There were 8 nights with minimum temperatures above 15 Celsius (59F), although only 1 of these warmer nights occurred before mid month. On the 11th a minimum of 15.4 Celsius (60F) was measured, although this figure was exceeded on 5 nights between the 19th and 24th. On the night of the 20th/21st a low of 18.1 Celsius (64F), occurred, with the following night 1 Celsius (1.8F) cooler.  There were no especially chilly nights, although on 2 occasions the temperature fell below 10 Celsius (50F),  The coldest night, by a fraction, was the 3rd/4th,  when a minimum of 9.8 Celsius (50F) was measured.
The sea temperature climbed steadily from 13 Celsius (55F) at the beginning of June to a comfortable 18 or 19 Celsius (64-66F) during the third week. Despite lower air temperature, the sea stayed relatively warm until the end of the month.

Frost

There were no frosts in Shoreham during June. The lowest grass minimum was 6.1 Celsius (43F) on the 13th.

Rain

There were 53.0 millimetres (2.1 ins.) of rain during June, and that was about 20% above average. Rain fell on 9 days, close to what one would expect at this time of year, but wet days ( rainfall of 1 millimetre (0.04 ins) or more) only amounted to 4 days, roughly half of what can be expected in June. A little rain fell on the 2nd, but the first high rainfall occurred on the 5th. A total of 21.4 millimetres (0.8 ins.) was measured with a further 6.6 millimetres (0.25 ins.) logged on the 8th.  No measurable rain fell between the 9th and 21st (13 days) and only just over 1 millimetre (0.05 ins.) fell between the 22nd and 26th. However, on the following day, steady rain contributed another 22.2 millimetres  (0.9 ins.) to the monthly total.  Almost 95% of the June rain total fell on just 3 days, the 5th, 8th and 27th. Although it rained on the last 3 days of the month, once again amounts were small.

*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC

Hail

There was no hail reported  in Shoreham during June.

Thunder

There were 3 days when thunder was observed in Shoreham. Showery rain on the evening of the 8th produced 1 late flash and rumble. On the morning of the 22nd there was plenty of thunder but most of it stayed to the west and north. On the 27th there were a couple of late morning thunderstorms embedded in the steady rain.
Wind

After a quiet start to the month, it became very windy at the end of the first week with southwesterly gusts at Shoreham Airport reaching 40 and 35 knots (46 and 40 mph) on the 6th and 7th respectively.  Southwesterly winds continued into the second week, but after mid month breezes were generally lighter, except between the 22nd and 26th, and often blowing from between northwest and northeast..

Fog

There was no fog observed in Shoreham during June.

Statistics for June 2017

A warm, but occasionally wet, month

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during May 2017 in Shoreham was 18.8 Celsius (66F), and that was around 2 Celsius (3.5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 10.3 Celsius (50F), and that was nearer 1 Celsius (1.8F) above the normal May value.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 28.1 Celsius (82F) on the 26th, but there were several other warm days, more especially in the latter part of the month. There were 10 days when the temperature exceeded 20 Celsius (68F), but only 1 of these warmer days occurred before mid month. The temperature reached 22.1 Celsius (72F) on the 11th, but this value was exceeded 5 times during the last 10 days of May, and included highs of 26.3 Celsius (79F) on the 25th and 24.2 Celsius (76F) on the 28th. There were no particularly cool days during May. In fact, the only 3 days with maximum temperatures below 15 Celsius (59F) all occurred before the 9th. These rather cool days were the 1st, 3rd and 8th, with the 3rd having the lowest temperature with a reading of 12.6 Celsius (55F).

There were many mild nights during May. but although there were 16 nights with minima above 10 Celsius (50F), only 4 of these milder nights had lows above 13 Celsius (55F). All of these mildest nights occurred after mid month and included minima of 15.5 Celsius (60F) and an exceptionally mild 17.2 Celsius (63F) on the following night. On the first 11 nights of May minimum temperatures were below 10 Celsius (50F) with only 4 of these cooler nights thereafter. There were only 3 nights when the temperature fell below 7 Celsius (45F). On the 20th a minimum of 6.5 Celsius (44F) was recorded, with 4.7 Celsius (41F) and 3.1 Celsius (37F) measured on the 9th and 10th respectively.
The sea temperature was 11 Celsius (52F) rising to 13 Celsius (55F) towards the end of the month.

Frost

There were no frosts in Shoreham during May, although the grass temperature fell to 0.0 Celsius (32F) on the 10th, and below 3 Celsius (37F) on the 20th.

Rain in Shoreham

There were 64.4 millimetres (2.5 ins.) of rain during May, and that was about 20% above average. Rain fell on 12 days, close to what one would expect at this time of year. Although measurable rain fell on the first 3 days of May, it only amounted to just over 3 millimetres (0.1 ins.). The following week was dry, but then the weather became very unsettled. Between the 11th and 19th, only the 15th had no rain* On the 11th, over 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.) of rain fell, and although rainfall was lighter on the following 3 days, the 4 day period 16th to 19th was very wet. A total of nearly 43 millimetres (1.7 ins.) fell in 96 hours and included 3 days with totals above 10 millimetres (0.4 ins.). The wettest day was the 16th with 14.0 millimetres (0.55 ins.). There was plenty of dry weather for the remainder of the month, and only the 28th had measurable rain. On that day 7.4 millimetres (0.3 ins.) was measured.

*A rain day is from 0900-0900 UTC

Hail

There was a report of hail around lunchtime on the 19th, and although the fall was brief in Shoreham, it was heavier and more prolonged over the Downs to the east of the town.

Thunder

There were 3 days when thunder was observed in Shoreham. There was thunder and lightning from high-level cloud in the early hours of the 27th, with another rumble around breakfast time. Very little rain fell during these storms. On the following evening, storms spread north from France, and although the main centres of activity seemed to be southeast of Shoreham, thunder and lightning continued into the early hours of the 29th.
Wind

The wind through the first fortnight of May was often from a northeasterly direction, but apart from the 2 very warm days later in the month, the northeasterly breeze gave way to the more typical southwesterlies. Generally the wind was light or gentle. and only the 4th and 6th had gusts exceeding 15 knots (17 mph). On both these days 17 knots (19 mph) was measured.

Fog

There was no fog observed in Shoreham during May, although visibility was significantly reduced under low cloud cover early on the 27th.

Statistics for May 2017