May 2014 was milder and wetter than average with lighter winds than normal.
The average temperature for the month was 11.8°C, 0.8°C above the normal. The maximum temperature was 22.7°C recorded at 14:18 on the 19th. The minimum temperature was 0.6°C recorded at 04:35 on the 3rd. The warmest spell was between the 15th and the 19th when the yearly record temperature was broken every day. The highest dew point of the year was recorded on the 19th at 14.6°C, with the average dewpoint being 8.7°C. The average high temperature for the month was 15.8°C, 0.4°C higher than normal. The average low temperature was 8.1°C, 1.0°C higher than normal. The mean temperature for May is now 11.2°C. The maximum heat index was 25.0°C recorded at 14:21 on the 17th. Despite the high temperatures, there was only 93.8 sunshine hours in the momnth, well down on last year’s total of 124.8 hours. This was mainly because no sunshine was recorded in the last five days of the month, the first time a five day sunless spell has happened here.
Rainfall for the month was 58.4 millimetres on 19 days, 13.6 millimetres more than the May average. The wettest day was the 22nd when 11.6 millimetres fell. Rainfall for 2014 is now 267.8 millimetres, 75.1 millimetres more than normal for the end of May. Evapotranspiration for the month was 79.1 millimetres, the highest since August 2013, although this figure was lower than 2013’s total of 87.1 millimetres.
Winds for May were lighter than average at 3.5 mph, this compares with the month average of 4.3 mph. The maximum recorded wind speed was 20.7 mph from 270° (W) on the 9th at 10:43, and the maximum gust speed was 29.9 mph from 270 °(W) also on the 9th at 10:41. The total wind run was 2626 miles, much less than the May average of 3192 miles.
The highest barometric pressure was 1035.5 millibars, recorded at 07:49 on the 15th, with the minimum being 993.2 millibars at 17:45 on the 10th. The average pressure for the month was 1013.6 millibars.
Weather Underground graph for May 2014.
