July passed without ever getting going and overall was a quiet month, had few warm days and the lack of sun was fairly noticeable. Whilst pressure never fell too low and was indeed average for July, low pressure systems generally dominated and were never too far away from the UK. During a brief warmer period, 18th-23rd, the 19th gave one especially warm day, the warmest day of the year to date, but was followed on the 20th by a decent thunderstorm that lasted all morning.

   The frequency of cloudy nights and thus high night-time minima was the main reason for the month's mean temperature being only marginally colder than average and indeed the mean minimum temperature was just warmer than average with the mean maximum showing a departure of just over 1°c below normal.

   MSLP of 1014.6 Mb was +0.1 Mb above the local average for July, slightly surprising considering the near ever presence of low pressure systems, but despite the frequency of low pressure rainfall was never that heavy or prolonged.

   Overall a mean minimum of 10.78°c and a mean maximum of 18.36°c saw the temperature 0.5°c below the 1981-2010 average and it was the warmest July since 2014 (the fifth warmest of the eight now recorded at this site). The highest maximum temperature recorded was 29.5°c (19th), the lowest minimum 4.4°c (6th).

   Rainfall of 66.5 mm (Crosby Ravensworth School 68.3 mm - CastleHowe Scar 58.2 mm and at Reagill, 73.2 mm) made it the driest July since 2014 (the 2nd driest of the ten now recorded at this site) and was 60.3% of average for 2007-15. Locally, rainfall percentages were just above normal with the Met'O stating that as a whole Cumbria was wetter than average. However, their map below could suggest that some area's had below average rainfall.

   At the Met' Office site at Newton Rigg, 72.6 mm (103.4%) made it the driest July since 2015 and in a series back to 1900 there have been 53 wetter and 60 drier (with incomplete data for 3 years). In a series back to 1951 (with one year of missing data), a mean temperature of 14.85°c is the warmest since 2014 with 26 having been warmer, 3 having the same temperature and 35 colder in that time.

   Figures from the Environment Agency’s rainfall sites were, (figure in brackets being the monthly average for 1961-90)   ‘Data kindly provided by the Hydrometry and Telemetry team of the Environment Agency (Penrith)’:

   Kirkby Thore (39.8 mm)         faulty rain gauge

   Brothers Water 184.6 mm (142 mm)

   Nunwick Hall (65.8 mm)         faulty rain gauge    and

   268.5 mm at Seathwaite Farm (Borrowdale - 204 mm [average for 1981-2010])

  1st - 11th    The month opened not as the height of summer, but somewhere more akin to the middle of autumn! Low pressure (LP) was generally dominant throughout the period and the month started with LP near Iceland drawing down W-WNW'ly winds; subsequently it was a little grey, cool and showery.

   The 1st and 2nd saw temperatures struggling just above 14° with the 2nd feeling particularly cool in a fresh and brisk W'ly breeze and which would ultimately be a month's lowest maximum of just 14.2°c (57.6°f). Temperatures would very slowly recover into the range of 16-18°, but which is still below the norm' for July. Under the cloudy skies night-time minima stayed above 10° and resulted in a narrow diurnal range of temperatures, although the 6th started with a month's low of 4.4°c (39.9°f) as high pressure (HP) to the SW briefly ridged north.

   In this time rainfall totals were generally light, mainly falling in the form of showers and/or light rain with only the afternoon of the 4th seeing something slightly heavier as LP moved across the UK to our south.

   Once that LP of the 4th had cleared and following a brief ridge of HP, it was back to the frontal systems arriving from off the Atlantic and after the 7-8th had seen temperatures marginally over 18°, it once again became that bit cooler. LP out in the Atlantic very slowly moved east over the next few days, but with its associated fronts ahead of it which saw the 9th with 10.4 mm become increasingly wet as the day progressed. The 10-11th saw the LP itself finally arrive, the 10th having 8.7 mm before the LP finally exited north-east.

    Mid-day 10th -   the slow moving low pressure arriving on the 10th  

      YEAR TO DATE           
                         * 2016     To Date                   TEMP      8.39°c         --         RAIN    663.2 mm

                         * 2015  Jan - July                   TEMP      7.79°c         --         RAIN    656.8 mm

                         * 2014  Jan - July                   TEMP      9.48°c         --         RAIN    800.1 mm

                         * 2013  Jan - July                   TEMP'     7.59°c         --         RAIN    513.6 mm

                         * 2012  Jan - July                   TEMP'     8.16°c         --         RAIN    601.3 mm

                         * 2011  Jan - July                   TEMP'     8.58°c         --         RAIN    668.9 mm

                         * 2010  Jan - July                   TEMP'     7.50°c         --         RAIN    314.2 mm

                         * 2009  Jan - July                   TEMP'     8.67°c         --         RAIN    650.7 mm

                         * 2008  Jan - July                   TEMP'                    --         RAIN    723.7 mm


                         This makes the Jan' to July period of 2016 0.14°c warmer than the average for 2009-15 and with 107.6% of average rainfall for 2008-15