MAY 2018

The statistics hide the varied and sometimes violent weather of May 2018.  

Temperatures on average were 2.4 deg above normal, there were no air frosts recorded, and just one night on the 1^st with a ground frost when the temperature fell to +0.1C. Statistically a record warm month with mean temperature 14.3C beating 14.1C in 2017. The mean max temp was also a new record 20.6C, beating 19.6C in 1992.

Rainfall was slightly above average for May, but the distribution of it during the month was striking.  21 days (between 3^rd and 24^th) were virtually dry, but 10 days had appreciable rain (9 were classed as wet, 5 very wet). Indeed 15mm fell during 1^st /2^nd, while 44mm fell during 24^th /25^th /26^th giving very heavy falls in a short time

The much reported thunderstorms began here late on the evening of 26^th with rumbles, then vivid persistent lightning (much appearing to be cloud to cloud).
These continued throughout much of the 27^th, with particularly violent thunderstorms here starting at 0215, then 0640 and also 1600.

Thankfully Halesowen was spared the late afternoon downpours suffered in the nearby Selly Oak and Edgbaston areas of Birmingham, we recorded around 5mm and they 59mm in an hour around 1730 .

There were many bright sunny days during the month (10 days with at least 11 hours good sunshine recorded), others with good sunshine for part of the day, contrasting with two really dull days on 25^th and 30^th (having no more than 0.5hrs sunshine recorded).

Spring Stats
SEASONAL REPORT FOR SPRING 
Mar, Apr, May   

Spring was wet but mild.

The months of Mar, Apr and May produced 123mm, 87mm and 72mm of rainfall respectively, all above normal statistically, even though May was virtually dry between 4^th and 24^th. Overall we had 281.8mm (140% of normal) rainfall, 4^th highest on record here. Raindays were numerically 27% up, wetdays 32% up and verywetdays were 107% up (a record) on long term averages.

Temperature anomalies for the three months were –1.7deg, +1.2deg and +2.4deg respectively, giving the 11^th = highest mean temp for the Spring months with an anomaly of +1.0C. There was a new record HiMax set on 7^th May of 29.2C, and a new record LoMax –2.1C was set on 1^st Mar.  

                   this year   normal    anomaly

HiMax              29.2          29.2    
MeanMax        14.2         13.1          +1.1
LoMax              -2.1        -2.1              
MEAN                 9.7         8.7            +1.0 
 
HighMin            13.7       14.7                
MeanMin          5.2           4.3           +0.9
LoMin               -6.9       -11.1                           
 
RAINFALL      281.8       173.7       140.4%

TEMPERATURES

20.6 mean max (C) 
  8.1 mean min (C) 
14.3 mean (C)  +2.4 diff from av (C)
29.2 high max (C) on   7
13.1 low max (C) on    2 
13.7 high min (C) on  31 
  0.1 low min (C) on     1

OTHER

Ground frost on 1 day
Air frost on 0 days
2 thunder days
45% cloud cover percent
79% mean RH