June was warmer, drier than usual

June was warmer than the 30-year average and also drier than the norm, the Met Office at MIA said today.

The mean temperature was 23.7 °C which was 0.7 °C more than the climate norm. The warmest June was in 2003 with a mean temperature of 26.1°C, whilst the coolest was that of 1933 with 20.9 °C.

The warmest day last month on the 12th when the thermometer peaked to 32.8°C. The mean maximum temperature was also higher than the climate mean by 1oC. Since 1923, the highest temperature was recorded on 13th June 1997, when the temperature peaked to 40.1°C.

The lowest temperature last month was 15.5°C on June 4th. The mean minimum last month was also warmer than the climate mean by half a degree. The coolest June night since 1923 was that of 7th of June 1975 with a low of 12.6 °C.

The wind speed in June, averaging 7.4 knots was as much as would be expected in a typical June. For 76 % of the time it was in the light speed bracket (1-10 knots) whilst for 11% of the time it was variable. The West North West was the most frequent direction. There was one day when the maximum gust reached 36 knots from East South East.

The lowest grass-height temperature last month was 12.3 °C recorded on the 4th. The lowest ever recorded grass-height temperature in June was 6.1 °C on the 8th June 1978.

The average sea surface temperature last month was 22.7 °C. This is more than the average value for June since 1978.

The Meteorological Office said it was urging the people to heed its UV Index forecasts as the index has risen to dangerous levels.

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