June 2003

The averaging period used for the following assessment was 1961-1990.

UK overview

Temperatures were well above average, with England and Wales having their warmest June mean temperature since 1976. Monthly rainfall totals well above average, over East Anglia and Lincolnshire.

Shepshed (Leics) recorded the highest temperature of the year so far with 30.5 °C. Shepshed also received 39 mm of rainfall in just one hour on the 1st.

England and Wales diary of highlights

Changeable. Very warm with sunny spells, broken by thundery outbreaks.

1st to 9th Mostly warm with sunny periods but rather unsettled with rain at times, as weak Atlantic fronts and shallow low pressure centres crossed the region. The Midlands and the south-east had thundery showers on the 1st, with Shepshed(Leics) catching 39 mm in 1 hour. Widespread storms affected east and south-east England early on the 2nd, 60 mm being reported from St Leonards which caused flash flooding in places. Generally showers and outbreaks of rain affected many parts from time to time, some turned thundery in association with a secondary low which tracked north-east across the region on the 8th.

10th to 16th Generally more settled as high pressure built close by. After the clearance of thundery rain from some central and eastern areas on the 10th, and some scattered showers in the north-west on the 11th and 12th, it became mostly sunny dry and very warm everywhere. An area of thunder affected the Channel Islands and coastal areas of south-west England on the 14th. It became hot in places during the 15th and 16th. Thundery showers broke out in south-west districts later in the evening of the 16th.

17th to 20th During the 17th heavy thunderstorms tracked from the Midlands to Lincs and north-east England, also from south of London to the Essex coast. The rain was torrential in places, with flooding and lightning strikes disrupting railway networks in the noth-east, especially the Tyne and Wear Metro. 24 mm of rain fell in an hour at Coningsby(Lincs). A breezy few days followed, with rain and drizzle in north-west areas. Mist and coastal fog affected the south-west and south Wales during the 19th, thereafter a ridge of high pressure gave a warm sunny day on the 20th.

21st to 23rd A thundery spell occured, especially overnight the 22nd/23rd, as a low moved eastwards over Scotland. Some places reported pronounced lightning. The temperature rose to 30.5 °C at Shepshed(Leics) on the 22nd, the highest recorded in the UK so far this year.

24th to 26th A relatively quiet period as a weak ridge stretched itself across the region from a high over Scandinavia. Early patchy mist and fog soon gave way to sunshine and warm temperatures, counties bordering the English Channel had the odd thundery outbreak overnight 25th/26th.

27th to 30th Changeable with thundery rain at times. Heavy thundery outbreaks affected much of the north and east of England later on the 27th, followed by two days of very warm sunny conditions. Rain in the south later on the 29th spread north during the 30th delivering copious amounts with thunder, particularly over the Midlands northwards.

Scotland diary of highlights

South-westerly winds bring warmth.

South-westerly winds blew throughout almost all of June, bringing a rather dull and wet month to parts of the west, but dry, bright and warm conditions to the east. Unsettled and showery weather predominated, but there were also interludes of warm and sunny weather.

The first spell of hot weather occurred away from the west coast on the 1st, when temperatures at Kinloss and Lossiemouth reached 26 °C.

Then followed a long period of unsettled south-westerly weather, with bands of rain and showers. However, most of the rain bands passed through during the night and on many days there were only a scattering of showers.

The second spell of more settled weather occurred from the 14th to the 16th, when an anticyclone developed over England and pushed a ridge towards Scotland.

Changeable westerly weather returned from the 17th to the 23rd. The most stormy weather occurred on the 17th when a deep depression passing to the north-west of Scotland brought gusts of 58 m.p.h. to Lerwick and Sella Ness. The strong winds abated only slowly over the next couple of days.

The third fine spell lasted from the 24th to the 26th as an anticyclone developed over England and moved to the North Sea. The temperature reached 26 °C at Lochcarron on the 26th.

A front brought much rain to the south-east on the 27th, with about 35 mm being recorded at Prestwick, Bishopton and East Kilbride.

On the 29th and 30th winds turned into the east as the next Atlantic depression headed towards Biscay. It was fairly sunny in the west, and on the 29th the temperature at Lochcarron reached 25 °C.

Northern Ireland diary of highlights

Warm but wet.

June was a rather unsettled month with a mixture of long sunny spells, interspersed with showers, which were at times thundery in nature. However overall it was a warm month and on occasion very warm.

1st to 5th On the whole the start of the month was dull with rain and showers affecting most days. Daytime temperatures were around normal though by night temperatures were warm. The 2nd of the month was a sunny day, with many areas recording daily sunshine values in double figures.

6th to 8th Conditions improved across the province with plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures recorded throughout this period. However some heavy showers, accompanied by thunder did develop during the early evenings of the 7th and 8th.

9th to 12th Although there were prolonged spells of sunshine, temperatures became cooler than of late. It was also a rather unsettled period with blustery showers along with some hail and thunder affecting many areas, especially on the 9th and 10th. Western areas and some extreme south-eastern parts of the province recorded some heavier downpours on the 9th, recording about 25 mm of rain on this day alone.

13th to 20th High pressure dominated much of this period bringing very warm and sunny conditions throughout Northern Ireland. Indeed many areas recorded over 20 °C on the 14th and 16th. On the whole it was fairly dry though some showers did occur which were locally quite heavy on the 17th and 19th.

21st to 26th As well as being one of the driest spells of the month over this period, temperatures were also very warm. Many areas recorded their warmest daytime temperature for the month of up to 23 °C on 25th, which was also a very sunny day with over 13 hours of bright sunshine recorded. However heavy thundery rain tracked across the province on the 26th and in some areas daily rainfall accumulations would have around 25 mm in total.

27th to 30th The 27th was a cool, dull day with some showery outbreaks of rain, which were at times heavy. While conditions on the 28th and 29th were very warm, dry and very sunny. Indeed over 30 hours of sunshine were recorded during these two days in some coastal areas of Co Down alone. In contrast the last day of the month was cooler and duller and although much of the province remained dry the south-eastern part of the province was affected by a belt of rain which moved slowly up from the south. Many areas in this region recorded daily rainfall totals of around 25 mm or more.