We’re just coming to the end of a proper heatwave unlike the one in July that lasted just a couple of days. This one has been a proper heat wave with six days in a row having a temperature above 30° C or 86.0°F. It’s the first time I’ve recorded such a heatwave in August since I installed my weather station in 2010. On the 10th and 11th of August, the temperature reached 33° C or 91.4° F which is my record for August. I’ve added my weather station summary for August below.
You can see that for six days from the 9th to the 14th of August the temperature exceeded 30° C or 86.0°F. Fortunately, the nighttime temperatures cooled off considerably. I’ve also included my updated top 20 hottest days since 2010. This summer seems to be taking over this table.
However, we still haven’t had any rainfall of any significance and the month’s total for August stands at only 2.0 mm or 0.1in. At the allotment, we seem to spend most of our time watering trying to keep crops growing. Our potatoes gave up growing weeks ago and it would be good to lift them while the ground is dry. The only problem is the ground is too dry to dig them out easily so I’m leaving them in hoping for some rain.
We’ve been able to work around the hot weather and visit the plot in the morning before the temperature reached its peak in the afternoon. However, trying to work around the dry conditions is proving much more difficult. It’s just not possible to keep everything watered.
Our rhubarb patch gave up months ago. I’ve been checking through my records and it is probably true to say that we have been in a similar situation a few times since 2010.
The chart above shows the rainfall that fell in the previous 12 months. For example, the chart for August 2022 shows that about 450 mm (18in) of rainfall fell in the last 12 months. You can see that we were in a similar position around winter time in 2018. However, the lowest amount of rainfall was in 2011 when the previous 12 months’ rainfall fell below the 400mm (16in) mark.
In general, when we arrive at the top of a trough on the chart we’ve had a spell of wet weather and accordingly, we are told to expect rain forever with lots of flooding compared with when we reach the bottom of a trough when we are told it is never going to rain again and it has never been so dry.
Anyway, we are not quite in unprecedented territory with respect of the last 12 years just yet but we are getting there. Certainly, a combination of a hot spell of weather has made the situation worse. The hot weather is forecast to break down over the next few days with thunderstorms and heavy rain but obviously, not everyone will get them.
