My local July total is a record low 3.2 mm, smashing the previous 1957-2021 July record of 6.7 mm set in 1999 (who remembers that one?).
The monthly totals and anomalies since Aug '21 paint a decidedly dry picture with one glaring exception:
Month |
Monthly Prec. (mm) |
Prec. Anomaly v. 1991-2020 |
Prec. % v. 1991-2020 |
Aug '21 |
49.9 |
-11.41 |
81.4% |
Sep '21 |
23.2 |
-36.42 |
38.9% |
Oct '21 |
141.7 |
49.73 |
154.1% |
Nov '21 |
5.2 |
-89.54 |
5.5% |
Dec '21 |
67.9 |
-22.85 |
74.8% |
Jan '22 |
24.1 |
-63.83 |
27.4% |
Feb '22 |
50.1 |
-12.70 |
79.8% |
Mar '22 |
60.7 |
3.41 |
106.0% |
Apr '22 |
13.2 |
-41.00 |
24.4% |
May '22 |
38.8 |
-8.86 |
81.4% |
Jun '22 |
23.5 |
-25.67 |
47.8% |
Jul '22 |
3.2 |
-46.20 |
6.5% |
Overall |
501.5 |
-305.34 |
60.7% |
Last October has proved to be a massive outlier and a crucial lifeline - where we'd be without that soaking wet month, I dread to think.
Nearly half the usual rainfall has been missing during these past 12 months. Notably, two record lows have been set just 9 months apart, the other one being Nov '21.
This month was very nearly even drier, as my location caught the very edge of a very heavy shower on 22nd that hammered the hill just to my northwest. Up there, as much as 20 mm may have fallen based on radar estimates. A mere mile or two to my southeast, less than 1 mm.
Here, it put down 2.8 mm which is 87.5% of the monthly total. Most of that was in the space of half an hour and it was peculiar seeing water rushing down the roads all of a sudden. The impact on vegetation has been surprisingly tiny, with grass showing barely any response and trees continuing to shed leaves at an accelerating rate. Clearly, most of the water ran straight off the hard-baked ground or evaporated before it had time to soak in.
Without that one shower, the total of 0.4 mm would have been the driest month on record for any time of year. It's the closest I've come to a bone dry month.
Today featured numerous showers but all were very light and short-lived, speckling surfaces for a few minutes at a time. Story of most of the month whenever it did manage to rain.
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https://twitter.com/peacockreports 2021's Homeland Extremes:
T-Max: 30.4°C 21st Jul | T-Min: -6.8°C New Years Day! | Wettest Day: 34.1mm 2nd Oct | Ice Days: 2 (27th Jan & 8th Feb)
Keep Calm and Forecast On