*Archive:* Daily weather statistics and Daily BBC Reviews

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By Matt Taylor

Contrasting fortunes.

So how did the Bank Holiday weekend start for you? If I was to ask a spread of people across the country, there would undoubtedly be some greatly contrasting responses. It was one of those days. While some basked in warm sunshine, others sat under grey and miserable skies. There was also some rain around, but without it...it wouldn't be a Bank Holiday weekend really!

Thankfully, we largely lost the chilly north-easterly winds of Thursday during the overnight period. That said, it was still a cold night for some. With clear spells developing over central areas of Scotland, the temperature took a sharp dive. At Tyndrum (Stirling), the mercury fell to just 1 Celsius (34 F).

A lot of cloud remained elsewhere across the country overnight. A few showers also continued in the west for a time, before more showers started to work their way into East Anglia and the south-east. Some of these showers were heavy, and the dawn on Saturday morning was welcomed in with a bang in parts of Norfolk and Suffolk. Thunderstorms rumbled around here, for the first few hours of the day.

While the thunderstorms faded away, the cloud and the showers didn't across a good chunk of southern England and Wales. The showers continued to filter eastwards through the day, close to the M4 corridor, and down towards the Bristol Channel. 9.2 mm (0.36 inches) of rain in total fell at Woburn (Bedfordshire).

Under the grey and dismal skies the temperatures remained disappointing. At Swindon, for instance, the temperature barely struggled to just 11 Celsius (52 F). This wasn't the coldest spot though. With the breeze off the sea, Scarborough (North Yorkshire) didn't get any higher than 9 Celsius (48 F). This was all despite some glorious sunshine.

Glorious sunshine was in fact the story of the day for much of north Wales, northern England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Once again Tiree (Inner Hebrides) was the sunniest spot with a marvellous 14.4 hours of sunshine.

In the sunshine, it was also pleasantly warm. Many places saw the temperature rise into the mid to high teens. The warmest place however, was Llanbedr (Gwynedd) where a temperature of 21 Celsius was recorded.

Towards the end of the day, we did at last start to see some sunshine in the south, along the Kent and Sussex coasts. To the far north though, cloud was starting to inch in across north-west Scotland.

This could be the sign of another day of mixed fortunes on Sunday. Well it is the Bank Holiday weekend, after all!

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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By Matt Taylor

Will it last?

Two days into the Bank Holiday weekend and I have to say, taking the country as a whole, it hasn't been a bad weekend at all for the majority. The weather we've had looks even better when you consider that much of Europe has been very unsettled with widespread thunderstorms.

However, with Bank Holiday Monday just around the corner, it was perhaps inevitable that the fine weather wouldn't last throughout. As a brief taster of what to expect - if you're planning to do some hill-walking in the Cumbrian Fells or on the Scottish Mountains during Monday, don't be surprised if you see some sleet or even snow at times on the tops.

There have been no such problems over the past 24 hours though. Just about everywhere stayed dry. Saturday's showers over the south of England died away, and the thick cloud that plagued the area during the day started to thin and break. This wasn't without a consequence.

On driving home from work, at eleven o'clock in the evening, there were already some mist and fog patches forming in west London. As the night went on, the mist and fog developed much more widely across southern England and Wales. It wasn't soon enough though to prevent the temperature plummeting to a very chilly 0 Celsius (32 F) at Redhill (Surrey).

So it was a foggy and murky start to the day for much of England and Wales. The murk gradually lifted from many parts as the morning wore on, and some pleasantly warm sunshine came through once more. Places that sat under persistent cloud during Saturday also largely had a better day. Temperatures hit the high teens more widely across England, Wales and the south and east of Scotland. This was enough to set off a sharp shower late in the day in the West Midlands.

The medal for the highest temperature went to Central London with 20 Celsius (68 F), and in the Isle of Wight there was 14.1 hours of glorious sunshine.

Changes were afoot however, elsewhere in the UK. Across Northern Ireland, northern and western Scotland, the day was a much cloudier and cooler day than recent ones. At Loch Glascarnoch (Highland), the mercury never rose any higher than 9 Celsius (48 F).

Patchy rain also started to develop in the far north. This rain, plus the showers from the previous night, meant there were three places jostling for the title of 'wettest place'. Lerwick (Shetland), Aultbea (Highland), and Wainfleet (Lincolnshire) all saw just 2.8 mm (0.11 inches) of rain.

Unfortunately, it looks like the rainfall totals on Monday are set to be much higher!

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 02-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

London MET 5 metres 20.2°C

Disforth 36 metres 19.9°C

Gravesend 3 metres 19.9°C

Linton-On-Ouse 16 metres 19.9°C

Topcliffe 25 metres 19.9°C

Leeming 40 metres 19.6°C

Scampton 61 metres 19.2°C

Charlwood 80 metres 19.1°C

Church Fenton 9 metres 19.1°C

Coleshill 96 metres 19.1°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Redhill 63 metres 0.1°C

Redesdale 207 metres 0.6°C

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 1.2°C

Charlwood 80 metres 1.5°C

Bournemouth 11 metres 1.7°C

Leconfield 0 metres 1.9°C

Boscombe Down 124 metres 2.0°C

Scampton 61 metres 2.0°C

Shap 249 metres 2.0°C

Albemarle 141 metres 2.3°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Wainfleet 5 metres 3.0mm

Aultbea 11 metres 2.6mm

Shobdon 99 metres 2.0mm

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 1.8mm

Fair Isle 59 metres 1.5mm

Ballypatrick Forest 156 metres 1.4mm

Baltasound 15 metres 1.2mm

Skye/Lusa 18 metres 1.2mm

Cranwell 67 metres 1.0mm

Lerwick 82 metres 1.0mm

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Nationwide extremes for 03-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Manston 55 metres 16.9°C

Great Malvern 46 metres 15.5°C

Cardiff Weather Centre 9 metres 15.3°C

Disforth 36 metres 15.3°C

Solent M.R.S.C. 9 metres 15.2°C

Linton-On-Ouse 16 metres 15.0°C

Shobdon 99 metres 14.9°C

Coningsby 7 metres 14.8°C

Leeming 40 metres 14.8°C

Filton 59 metres 14.7°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Redhill 63 metres 0.9°C

Aboyne 140 metres 1.5°C

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 2.1°C

Aviemore 220 metres 2.6°C

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 2.6°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 2.7°C

Leuchars 12 metres 3.4°C

Lossiemouth 13 metres 3.7°C

Drumalbin 245 metres 3.8°C

Tain Range 4 metres 3.9°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Coltishall 20 metres 13.0mm

Kenley 170 metres 11.0mm

Andrewsfield 87 metres 10.2mm

Wattisham 87 metres 10.0mm

Marham 23 metres 9.4mm

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 9.0mm

Charlwood 80 metres 8.0mm

Weybourne 21 metres 8.0mm

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 7.8mm

Bedford 85 metres 7.2mm

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By Jo Farrow

Mixed Bank holiday weather

Another Bank Holiday and more wet weather about on Monday 3rd May. It wasn't miserable everywhere but for East Anglia and the southeast of England a good part of the day was a wash out. Lowestoft in Suffolk had the most rain with 14mm (0.56 inches).

The day started off wet in England and Wales with a band of rain stretching from the Bristol Channel to the Humber. This line gradually crept southeastwards during the day, by noon from the Isle of Wight to the Wash and then taking its time to finally clear from Kent by 6pm. This line of rain was a cold front, and ahead of it was warm air allowing Manston in Kent to reach 17 Celsius 63 Fahrenheit. As the rain nudged southeast it introduced cooler air, so even though many areas were bright there wasn't the warmth of Sunday.

Away from the rain, it was a sunny start for eastern Scotland and southern and eastern parts of Northern Ireland. Leuchars, near Fife, managed the most sunshine with 11 hours worth. Fine weather soon appeared in northern England and Wales with just a scattering of showers.

Through the afternoon there were a few showers over Northern Ireland, more developed for eastern Scotland and some for northeast England, but even these faded by the evening.

So not a bad end to the Bank holiday across much of the UK, but by the evening there was a mass of cloud over Northern Ireland and much of Scotland. This meant a wet start to the night for Ireland and a wet and very windy Tuesday morning is forecast.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 04-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Great Malvern 46 metres 13.8°C

Gravesend 3 metres 13.3°C

Coleshill 96 metres 13.2°C

Pershore 32 metres 13.2°C

Bournemouth 11 metres 13.1°C

Brize Norton 88 metres 13.1°C

Castlederg 51 metres 13.1°C

Scampton 61 metres 13.1°C

Coningsby 7 metres 13.0°C

Hawarden 10 metres 12.8°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Redhill 63 metres 1.3°C

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 2.9°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 3.2°C

Lerwick 82 metres 3.7°C

Baltasound 15 metres 3.8°C

Drumalbin 245 metres 3.8°C

Spadeadam 285 metres 3.8°C

Wittering 84 metres 3.8°C

Redesdale 207 metres 3.9°C

Ballypatrick Forest 156 metres 4.0°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Capel Curig 216 metres 41.0mm

Shap 249 metres 33.0mm

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 27.0mm

Kenley 170 metres 23.2mm

Trawscoed 63 metres 23.0mm

Liscombe 348 metres 21.0mm

Redhill 63 metres 20.8mm

Lake Vyrnwy 360 metres 20.0mm

Middle Wallop 91 metres 19.0mm

Odiham 123 metres 19.0mm

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By Jo Farrow

Deep low pressure in early May

Tuesday 4th of May 2004 saw an exceptionally deep low pressure over the United Kingdom. Recorded at 971mb, it was the lowest pressure anywhere in the northern hemisphere and it brought some wet and windy weather on a cool day.

Rain swept across Northern Ireland and western parts of the UK during the night, leading to a very wet start to Tuesday for England, much of Scotland and Wales. There was some early brightness for Northern Ireland and western Wales and also Dumfries and Galloway, as the rain had cleared here by dawn, but showers soon broke out bringing more wet weather. Capel Curig in Gwynedd had the most rain with 42mm which is 1.65 inches.

The rush hour period was pretty miserable across much of England. Bristol and Manchester saw some particularly heavy downpours and thunderstorms and there were atrocious conditions on the M4 for a time. Gusty winds of up to 50mph added to the miserable weather. The band of rain made quick progress eastwards, by mid-morning it was brighter in the west Midlands, much of Wales, southwest and northwest England.

By lunchtime the heaviest rain was over southeast England and East Anglia. Elsewhere there were some bright spells, but a whole rash of showers. Through the afternoon thunderstorms started cracking off, in Dorset, Northern Ireland, greater London and later in the day for northern England. Hail was also reported and with the gusty winds there was disruption to some ferry services.

By late afternoon northern Scotland was still sitting under cloud with more rain and the showers continued to be mixed with sunny spells. Ross-on-Wye was the most favoured spot for fine weather with 9.5 hours of sunshine. The top temperature was only 13 Celsius (55F) at Great Malvern in Worcestershire and Inverbervie in Aberdeenshire stuck at 8 Celsius (46F).

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 05-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Gravesend 3 metres 14.4°C

Northolt 40 metres 14.3°C

Aultbea 11 metres 14.1°C

Cranwell 67 metres 13.9°C

London MET 5 metres 13.7°C

Omicron Persei 8 28 metres 13.6°C

Farnborough 65 metres 13.6°C

Manston 55 metres 13.6°C

Waddington 70 metres 13.6°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 13.5°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Redesdale 207 metres -2.3°C

Spadeadam 285 metres -1.8°C

Eskdalemuir 242 metres -1.0°C

Shap 249 metres -0.8°C

Keswick 81 metres -0.7°C

Charterhall 112 metres -0.3°C

Leuchars 12 metres 0.0°C

Omicron Persei 8 28 metres 0.4°C

Warcop 227 metres 0.9°C

Albemarle 141 metres 1.7°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Rhyl 77 metres 29.0mm

Sennybridge 309 metres 24.0mm

Castlederg 51 metres 20.0mm

Trawscoed 63 metres 16.0mm

Ballypatrick Forest 156 metres 15.0mm

Lerwick 82 metres 15.0mm

St.Angelo 47 metres 13.0mm

Ballycastle 68 metres 12.0mm

Liscombe 348 metres 12.0mm

Lough Fea 225 metres 12.0mm

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By Philip Avery

Unsettled week continues for all

Whilst the pressure at the centre of the low did not match yesterday's unseasonable 971mb, the overall affect on today's weather was much the same. To say the low was slow moving would almost be an over-statement of its progress. At 0600, the centre was plotted close to the Firth of Clyde. By 1800, it was on the shores of the Solway.

A wrap-around occlusion trailed from the centre, through Northern Ireland to just west of the Western Isles at the start of the day. This too made little progress and had not cleared the Donegal coast by dark. Parts of southwest Scotland saw almost continuous rain through the day, with the odd thunderstorm to add variety. Hourly totals, however, were relatively small and it was Rhyl, Denbighshire, that collected 29.6mm of rain to make it the day's wettest spot.

The lack of sunshine close to the occlusion almost made it a certainty that the lowest daytime temperature was going to be somewhere either in western Scotland or Northern Ireland. Ballypatrick Forest, Moyle, pipped the contenders with 8C. By contrast, the further from this continuous cloud one spent the day, the more likely one was to see maximum amounts of sunshine. Guernsey certainly fitted the bill there and clocked up a very respectable 10.8 hours.

Gravesend's mid-afternoon 14C is pretty close to the seasonal average for southern England. Temperatures not far from this value, combined with a little bit of low level wind convergence, helped to spark late afternoon thunderstorms. These were especially prevalent across eastern England and along the west side of Scotland. More of the same can be expected in the short term.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 06-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Herstmonceux 17 metres 16.2°C

London MET 5 metres 15.5°C

Northolt 40 metres 15.5°C

Holbeach 3 metres 15.3°C

Kinloss 7 metres 15.3°C

Disforth 36 metres 15.0°C

Bournemouth 11 metres 14.9°C

Coleshill 96 metres 14.9°C

Gravesend 3 metres 14.9°C

Leeming 40 metres 14.9°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Bingley 262 metres 2.6°C

Cranwell 67 metres 2.6°C

Church Fenton 9 metres 3.2°C

Coltishall 20 metres 3.2°C

Benson 63 metres 3.3°C

Skye/Lusa 18 metres 3.4°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 3.4°C

Waddington 70 metres 3.5°C

Loftus 58 metres 3.6°C

Cork 153 metres 3.8°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Ballycastle 68 metres 12.0mm

Castlederg 51 metres 12.0mm

St.Angelo 47 metres 11.0mm

Valley 11 metres 9.2mm

Isle of Man/Ronaldsway 17 metres 9.0mm

Aboyne 140 metres 8.2mm

Capel Curig 216 metres 7.0mm

Sennybridge 309 metres 7.0mm

Walney Island 15 metres 6.2mm

Ballypatrick Forest 156 metres 6.0mm

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By Philip Avery

Oh so slow low maintains unsettled theme

I made the point in Wednesday's review that the dominant low over the British Isles had moved only a few miles across southwest Scotland during the day. By midday on Thursday, the low centre had reached Loch Neagh. Given this rate of progress, a marked change in weather type was never on the cards.

Some inland location was always favourite to record the lowest overnight temperature, given that cloud would dissipate as shower activity died away. The honour fell to Bingley, near Bradford, where 3C was recorded. This was somewhat higher than the -2C of the previous night recorded at Redesdale Camp. This serves to prove the point that although synoptic situations may look similar, nuances in cloud distribution, for example, can make all the difference to the weather in any one location.

The proximity of the low centre and minor troughs in the circulation helped Port Glenone, Ballymena, to accumulate 12.8mm of rain and thereby become the wettest spot of the day. As was the case on Wednesday, thunderstorms developed as heating peaked by mid-afternoon. Western Scotland, Northern Ireland and the odd spot on the south coast of England all saw varying degrees of activity. The majority of the thunderstorms had died off by early evening with some favoured areas enjoying a little late sunshine.

Tiree escaped the worst of the thunderstorms and, seemingly, much of the cloud as 11.9 hours of sunshine were recorded. The temperature there though was exceeded by Durham's. It was a little surprising to see Durham as the British Isles' warmest spot, but I'm sure 16C felt very spring-like and was much appreciated.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 07-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Strathallan 35 metres 18.5°C

Great Malvern 46 metres 18.3°C

Glasgow/Bishopton 59 metres 17.8°C

Altnaharra 81 metres 16.9°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 16.9°C

Hereford/Credenhill 76 metres 16.7°C

Shobdon 99 metres 16.7°C

Keswick 81 metres 16.6°C

Dundrennan 114 metres 16.5°C

Pershore 32 metres 16.5°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Shap 249 metres -1.7°C

Altnaharra 81 metres -1.1°C

Aviemore 220 metres -0.9°C

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres -0.2°C

Redesdale 207 metres -0.1°C

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 0.2°C

Castlederg 51 metres 0.3°C

Yeovilton 23 metres 0.5°C

Trawscoed 63 metres 0.6°C

Belfast/Aldergrove 81 metres 0.8°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Wattisham 87 metres 15.0mm

Culdrose 82 metres 9.2mm

Nottingham Weather Centre 117 metres 9.0mm

Camborne 87 metres 8.0mm

Bingley 262 metres 5.0mm

Cottesmore 138 metres 4.0mm

Scilly, St.Marys 31 metres 3.4mm

Kirkwall 21 metres 3.0mm

Valentia 9 metres 2.6mm

Bridlington Mrsc 15 metres 2.0mm

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By Sarah Wilmshurst

A change is happening

The weather started to change today, as the thundery showers of the last few days slowly gave way to cloud and rain moving in from the east. Having said that, many places enjoyed plenty of dry and bright weather.

Most started the day dry but chilly. In fact there was a ground frost in many inland rural areas, and even an air frost in one or two spots. Shap Fell in Cumbria, for example, had an overnight low of minus 2 Celsius (28F).

Apart from a few showers in South Wales, Northern Ireland and Southwest England it was a dry morning with the early morning mist and fog clearing away. The sunshine came through the cloud on and off throughout the day in many western areas, and here there was a lot of dry weather. The sun was nearly dawn till dusk in a few spots, Exmouth in Devon for example seeing 13.7 hours of sunshine.

By lunchtime rain was just starting to fall along the coasts of East Anglia and Northeast Scotland. This rain then edged over towards the West to affect Eastern Scotland, Eastern England and the Midlands by teatime, then Northwest England and Southwest Scotland by the end of the evening.

Some of the rain was heavy. In Wattisham, Suffolk, nearly 13mm of rain fell in just 2 hours - in fact this was the wettest place today with 14.6mm in the 24 hour period (0.57inches). Even before the main band of rain arrived there were heavy thundery showers across Kent in the afternoon.

It was a warm day for some - notably in southwest Scotland where 19 Celsius (66F) was recorded at Strathallan. The cloudier spots were not so warm, however, with just 9 Celsius (48F) in Loftus.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 08-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Baltasound 15 metres 19.1°C

Strathallan 35 metres 19.0°C

Omicron Persei 8 28 metres 18.2°C

Leuchars 12 metres 17.1°C

Edinburgh/Gogarbank 57 metres 16.9°C

Tain Range 4 metres 16.9°C

Lerwick 82 metres 16.8°C

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 16.4°C

St.Angelo 47 metres 16.2°C

Bingley 262 metres 15.9°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Castlederg 51 metres 2.5°C

St.Angelo 47 metres 3.8°C

Valentia 9 metres 4.5°C

Cork 153 metres 4.9°C

Ballycastle 68 metres 5.2°C

Belfast/Aldergrove 81 metres 5.3°C

Roches Point 40 metres 5.3°C

Glenanne 161 metres 5.5°C

Liscombe 348 metres 5.7°C

Islay/Port Ellen 17 metres 6.0°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Manston 55 metres 16.0mm

Shoeburyness 2 metres 16.0mm

High Wycombe 204 metres 15.0mm

Wittering 84 metres 12.0mm

Andrewsfield 87 metres 11.4mm

Bedford 85 metres 11.0mm

Cottesmore 138 metres 10.0mm

Drumalbin 245 metres 9.2mm

Kenley 170 metres 9.0mm

Boulmer 23 metres 8.0mm

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By John Hammond

Queer weather

The weekend started on a wet note for many. No surprises there.

But in other respects the weather threw up some weird departures from the norm this Saturday.

For a start, whereas normally our weather comes in from the west, on this occasion we were being attacked from the east. A front coming in from the North Sea brought a wet night to eastern counties, and by dawn it was damp and misty across most of the UK. Herne Bay in Kent was the wettest place with 22.6mm of rain.

Just southwest England, southwest Wales and Northern Ireland stayed dry all night. Clear skies across the Province allowed a touch of frost on the ground. Katesbridge in County Down was the coldest place with 1Celsius (34F).

Most of us, however, threw the curtains open to a miserable Saturday morning. Through the day the weather front continued to edge westwards as a narrowing band of rain. But it was moving at a snail's pace and never made it to the west of Northern Ireland, Pembrokeshire or Cornwall. Here it stayed sunny all day. Falmouth ended up with the prize for most sunshine, collecting 13.3 hours.

On the other side of the weather front, brighter skies gradually emerged from the gloom, especially in eastern England and notably in the Northern Isles of Scotland.

How often is it that Sheltand is the warmest place in the UK? Hardly ever. Baltasound was only a couple of degrees shy of its all-time May record with 19 Celsius (66F).

That left a large swathe through the heart of the UK which stayed cloudy all day. Rain lingered longest in a line through the east of Northern Ireland, parts of Wales and on through Dorset and Hampshire. Further outbreaks of rain, also developed later in the afternoon across parts of northern England and central and eastern parts of mainland Scotland - and some of these were heavy and thundery.

Not only was it a dull day for most places. Mist also hugged the hills exposed to the northerly breeze, and it felt chilly too. Temperatures struggled to reach the low teens for many, and nowhere was it chillier than at Loftus in Cleveland, where we only reached a meagre 8 Celsius (46F).

So a topsy turvy day ended, with another variety show expected in the day ahead.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 09-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Altnaharra 81 metres 20.6°C

Baltasound 15 metres 20.3°C

Aboyne 140 metres 20.1°C

Strathallan 35 metres 19.6°C

Glasgow/Bishopton 59 metres 19.5°C

Lerwick 82 metres 18.7°C

Tain Range 4 metres 18.0°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 17.8°C

Keswick 81 metres 17.6°C

Cardiff Weather Centre 9 metres 17.5°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Culdrose 82 metres 3.0°C

Cardinham 200 metres 3.5°C

Camborne 87 metres 4.6°C

Plymouth Wc 50 metres 5.3°C

Cork 153 metres 6.4°C

Kirkwall 21 metres 6.8°C

Liscombe 348 metres 6.8°C

Valentia 9 metres 6.8°C

Sennybridge 309 metres 6.9°C

Dunkeswell 255 metres 7.1°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Charterhall 112 metres 8.0mm

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 5.2mm

Lake Vyrnwy 360 metres 4.6mm

Loftus 58 metres 4.4mm

Boulmer 23 metres 4.0mm

Edinburgh/Gogarbank 57 metres 4.0mm

Scampton 61 metres 3.2mm

Dundrennan 114 metres 3.0mm

Dunkeswell 255 metres 3.0mm

Isle of Man/Ronaldsway 17 metres 3.0mm

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By Sarah Wilmshurst

Another variety show

We said in yesterday's review of the day to expect another variety show today, and that is what we got with lots of cloud for some, but very warm sun for others and some pretty hefty showers too!

For most of us it was another dull, damp and misty start with drizzle about and some patchy fog too. But the day did not dawn like this for all. In Cornwall and parts of Northeast Scotland early risers were rewarded with some pleasant morning sunshine. It was not a cold start to the day in most places, although in the clearer slot in Cornwall, temperatures were somewhat lower with an early morning figure of 3C (37F).

That misty low cloud stuck around all day near the east coast of England, with a little drizzle here too. For the third day running Loftus (Redcar and Cleveland) was the days cold spot with temperatures no higher than 9C (48F), but for many the cloud thinned enough to allow a bit of brightness to come through. It was therefore slightly warmer than yesterday in many places. The cloud broke up quite nicely in some spots, especially in Scotland, Northwest England and near the South Coast, with the temperature climbing to 21C (70F) in Altnaharra (Highland).

In the sunny spots the shower cloud soon built up, though, and during the afternoon there were some showers. Most of these showers were in Scotland where they were heavy and there were quite a few thunderstroms. Southern England, the Midlands and Northwest England also caught some, but the wettest place was in the Borders of Scotland at Charterhall with 8.8mm.

Like yesterday Cornwall stayed dry and sunny all day. Not a bad day at all on the beach at Newquay with 13.7 hours of sunshine

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 10-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Glasgow/Bishopton 59 metres 22.4°C

Strathallan 35 metres 22.1°C

Solent M.R.S.C. 9 metres 21.8°C

Keswick 81 metres 21.6°C

Omicron Persei 8 28 metres 21.5°C

Aboyne 140 metres 20.8°C

Edinburgh/Gogarbank 57 metres 20.8°C

Drumalbin 245 metres 20.7°C

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 20.5°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 20.5°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Shap 249 metres 3.5°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 3.7°C

Aboyne 140 metres 5.1°C

Capel Curig 216 metres 5.2°C

Strathallan 35 metres 5.8°C

Sennybridge 309 metres 6.3°C

Warcop 227 metres 6.4°C

Altnaharra 81 metres 6.6°C

Leeming 40 metres 7.0°C

Leuchars 12 metres 7.2°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Leek Thorncliffe 299 metres 25.0mm

Coleshill 96 metres 11.0mm

Sennybridge 309 metres 10.2mm

Drumalbin 245 metres 7.0mm

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 6.0mm

Mumbles 35 metres 6.0mm

Farnborough 65 metres 5.0mm

Manchester 78 metres 5.0mm

Preswick rn 6 metres 5.0mm

Plymouth Wc 50 metres 4.0mm

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By Matt Taylor

More pick and mix weather.

What a mixed and interesting start to the week it has been. The day had it all - mist, fog, warm sunshine, torrential showers, thunderstorms, and even reports of tornados!

After the heavy showers in the west on Sunday, the overnight period was relatively quiet. Most places had a dry night, but a great deal of low cloud developed across the country. There was also a lot of mist and murk around, with some patchy fog here and there.

Not everywhere experienced cloudy skies though. There were some good breaks in parts of Scotland and northern England. This allowed the temperatures fall away in some parts. Shap Fell (Cumbria) was the coldest spot overnight, with a low of 3 Celsius (37 F).

It did mean that where we saw the clear skies, we also saw a pleasant and bright start to the working week. As the sun rose, the temperatures quickly lifted. Even I was surprised at how pleasantly warm it felt in Leeds at eight o'clock this morning, with well broken cloud and some lovely sunshine.

For much of the country though, Monday began on a very grey and dismal note. Improvements to the dull conditions were very slow, but eventually the skies did start to brighten for most. By early afternoon, many of us were able to enjoy some warm sunshine. This also helped the temperatures along quite nicely in places, with Glasgow the warmest spot at 22 Celsius (72 F).

However, this is where the 'fun' began. The increasing amounts of sunshine, and rising temperatures only gave rise to some towering shower clouds. Within a short space of time, these exploded across central and southern Scotland, northern and western areas of England, and parts of Wales, into vicious thunderstorms.

These were slow-moving, and torrential in places. There were reports of flooding in Looe (Cornwall), Swansea, Manchester, and Glasgow, to name just a few. In one particular thunderstorm at Brecon (Powys), there were even reports of a tornado.

Some very high rainfall totals were reported through the afternoon, but the wettest place was Leek Thornecliffe (Derbyshire). 24.6 mm (0.97 inches) of rain fell here during the afternoon, the bulk of which was in just one hour.

Away from the showers, you were no doubt oblivious to the plight of areas just a short distance away. For instance, while thunderstorms crashed around Plymouth, around the coast in Torquay, there was 12.3 hours of almost un-interrupted sunshine.

There were areas that saw neither showers nor much sunshine. Low cloud continued to plague some northern and eastern coastal areas. At Fair Isle, this prevented the temperature rising above 9 Celsius (48 F) - a far cry from the high 60's F of the previous day.

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 11-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Cardiff Weather Centre 9 metres 20.5°C

Shobdon 99 metres 20.3°C

Yeovilton 23 metres 20.1°C

Filton 59 metres 19.6°C

Chivenor 8 metres 19.1°C

Middle Wallop 91 metres 19.0°C

Sennybridge 309 metres 18.9°C

St, Athan 49 metres 18.9°C

Guernsey 102 metres 18.5°C

Dunkeswell 255 metres 18.3°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Redhill 63 metres 5.6°C

Sennybridge 309 metres 6.3°C

Charlwood 80 metres 6.5°C

Lerwick 82 metres 6.7°C

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres 6.8°C

Loftus 58 metres 6.8°C

Warcop 227 metres 6.9°C

Capel Curig 216 metres 7.0°C

Shap 249 metres 7.2°C

Fair Isle 59 metres 7.3°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Larkhill 132 metres 13.0mm

Sennybridge 309 metres 11.0mm

Warcop 227 metres 10.0mm

Boscombe Down 124 metres 9.0mm

Eskdalemuir 242 metres 8.0mm

Dunkeswell 255 metres 7.0mm

Bournemouth 11 metres 6.0mm

Middle Wallop 91 metres 5.0mm

Drumalbin 245 metres 4.0mm

Dundrennan 114 metres 3.0mm

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By Matt Taylor

Weather review - 11th May 2004

Once again the day had it all - reports of tornados included! Essentially though, it was another dry and settled 24 hours for many, and as an area of high pressure starts to build now from the Atlantic there is more settled weather to come through the rest of the week.

It was anything but settled in some western areas during Monday evening as the day's thunderstorms continued to rattle on. Eventually though, they did die away and many places had a dry night. Much like previous nights, a good deal of low cloud and mist developed, with the odd fog patch also forming. With all that cloud it wasn't to be a cold night. 6 Celsius (43 F) was the night time minimum, this being recorded at Redhill (Surrey).

It did mean that it was rather a grey start to Tuesday across virtually the whole of the country. Only a few pockets around central Scotland and some sheltered western coasts actually managed to see some early sunshine. Unlike the previous day, the cloud was a bit more reluctant to break up. In fact, it remained rather dull and grey for many right through the day, especially for many eastern areas. Some of the cloud, near northeastern coasts, was also thick enough for some patchy drizzle. This helped to pin the temperature back at 9 Celsius (48 F) at Loftus (Redcar and Cleveland).

The gloom did gradually lift across parts of Wales and the southwest of England, and the hole in the clouds across central Scotland also grew in size. 12.5 hours of glorious sunshine in Tenby (Pembrokeshire) was also probably enough to tempt people on to the town's beach.

In that sunshine, the temperature lifted to 21 Celsius (70 F) further along the coast in Cardiff. However, in a similar fashion to Monday, the higher temperatures helped to spark off some fairly nasty thunderstorms across parts of Wales, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Hampshire. Later in the day, some also sparked off around the Perth area of Scotland.

Once again there were a few problems with localised flooding, and the sighting of another tornado was also reported - this time over Dartmoor. The worst of the thunderstorms tended to be towards the English Channel coasts, and here we saw 23 mm (0.9 inches) of rain fall at Weymouth (Dorset).

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website

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Nationwide extremes for 12-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Glasgow/Bishopton 59 metres 18.8°C

Keswick 81 metres 18.4°C

Skye/Lusa 18 metres 18.1°C

Altnaharra 81 metres 17.7°C

Milford-Haven 37 metres 17.7°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 17.7°C

Strathallan 35 metres 17.4°C

Omicron Persei 8 28 metres 17.2°C

Chivenor 8 metres 17.1°C

Sennybridge 309 metres 17.1°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Loch Glascarnoch 265 metres -0.7°C

Altnaharra 81 metres 2.1°C

Tulloch Bridge 237 metres 2.8°C

Tain Range 4 metres 2.9°C

Aviemore 220 metres 3.2°C

Wick 39 metres 3.2°C

Islay/Port Ellen 17 metres 3.3°C

Aultbea 11 metres 3.5°C

Skye/Lusa 18 metres 3.5°C

Aboyne 140 metres 3.8°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Liscombe 348 metres 2.0mm

Strathallan 35 metres 2.0mm

Castlederg 51 metres 0.4mm

Charterhall 112 metres 0.4mm

Cardinham 200 metres 0.2mm

Dunkeswell 255 metres 0.2mm

Glenanne 161 metres 0.2mm

Isle of Portland 53 metres 0.2mm

Pembrey Sands 3 metres 0.2mm

Shap 249 metres 0.2mm

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Nationwide extremes for 13-05-2004

WARMEST

Weather station Altitude Daytime Temperature

Leeming 40 metres 18.4°C

Newcastle Weather Centre 30 metres 18.2°C

Topcliffe 25 metres 18.2°C

London/Heathrow 24 metres 18.0°C

Disforth 36 metres 17.9°C

Farnborough 65 metres 17.9°C

Strathallan 35 metres 17.9°C

Yeovilton 23 metres 17.6°C

London MET 5 metres 17.5°C

Northolt 40 metres 17.5°C

COLDEST

Weather station Altitude Overnight Temperature

Leconfield 0 metres 2.1°C

Wattisham 87 metres 2.6°C

Redhill 63 metres 3.1°C

Shoeburyness 2 metres 3.1°C

Marham 23 metres 3.2°C

Topcliffe 25 metres 3.6°C

Shoreham 2 metres 3.7°C

Benson 63 metres 3.9°C

Albemarle 141 metres 4.1°C

Bridlington Mrsc 15 metres 4.1°C

WETTEST

Weather station Altitude Total Daily Rainfall

Skye/Lusa 18 metres 2.4mm

South Uist Range 10 metres 2.0mm

Tiree 12 metres 1.4mm

Baltasound 15 metres 1.2mm

Lerwick 82 metres 1.2mm

Sella Ness 7 metres 1.2mm

Barra 3 metres 1.0mm

Wick 39 metres 1.0mm

Ballypatrick Forest 156 metres 0.8mm

Stornoway 9 metres 0.8mm

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By Elizabeth Saary

Scotland claims all the prizes

It looks like forecasters will have a slightly quieter time of it for the rest of this week, with the thunderstorm risk now passed. I'm sure we will still be kept rather busy though forecasting where the best places for sunshine will be - especially as we get towards the coming weekend. High pressure will dominate the scene until at least the beginning of next week, but there will still be a fair amount of cloud around. Things should get slowly sunnier though as time goes on.

The day started off once again on a rather grey note but most places saw some brighter weather and even some sunshine during the afternoon.

Most places had a very mild night on Tuesday night. The exceptions were parts of Scotland where it got a little chillier, but the only place that just dipped below freezing was Loch Glascarnoch in Highland region with a minimum temperature of -1C (30F).

Much of Scotland saw plenty of sunshine as the cloud was quick to disperse here. Eastern England, along with southwest England and Wales were not too far behind though. It was Northern Ireland and central parts of England that kept the mainly cloudy skies for much of the day. The highest recorded sunshine total was in Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides with nearly 14 hours.

Some sunshine also helped to boost the temperatures in Glasgow to 19C (66F) making it the warmest place in the UK.

With some more persistent cloud and a northwesterly breeze, Lerwick in Shetland only saw a high of 10C (50F).

Most places had a dry day although there were just a few isolated showers in Wales during the late afternoon and evening. By the end of the day, some spots of rain were beginning to show up in northwest Scotland due to an approaching weather front. The most recorded rainfall in the 24 hour reporting period was 2.8mm at Strathallan in Perth and Kinross, but this was due to showers on Tuesday evening.

So Scotland claimed all the prizes in the weather extremes of the day!

Information thanks to the BBC Weather Website