After nine days of temperatures in excess of 20°C, a band of rain moved across Bracken House from the west to signal an end to the late May warm spell. The warm spell ran from the 22nd until the 30th, with the temperature reaching 26.7°C on the 24th.
The warm spell helped push the average temperature for the month up by around 3°C, squashing any rumors that May 2012 would be the coldest for 100 years. Indeed, May 2012 looks like being just an average month, temperature wise.
The rain also brought to an end a spell of 11 days without precipitation, the longest dry period since the 12 day spell ending on August 2nd 2011. Despite the rains in the first half of the month, May 2012 looks destined to finish with only a few millimeters over the average rainfall for the station.