Submitted by Steve Turner on
June was generally pleasant, with prolonged spells of hot, dry weather but was bookended by intense downpours at the start and end of the month. The hottest June day since 1976 was recorded at Heathrow Airport on the 21st(34.5o C) and for the first time since 1995, June temperatures exceeding 30o C were recorded on five consecutive days in the UK. Despite a lot of fine, dry weather it was the wettest June on record for Scotland and the sixth wettest June for the UK as a whole (both in series from 1910). Soil moisture deficits (SMDs) decreased across the UK with the exception of south‑east England. River flows were predominantly below normal in southern England but above normal to exceptionally high in northern and western Britain. Some catchments registered almost half the June average and others more than twice the average. Groundwater levels at the majority of index sites fell during June as they followed their usual seasonal recession, and by month-end ranged from normal to notably low. Stocks fell in most reservoirs in southern England with several small impoundments in the south-west more than 10% below average, and Bewl more than 20% below average, for June. However, stocks for England and Wales remained near average. Groundwater levels in south-east England remained below normal and are likely to do so for the remainder of the summer except in the most extreme of rainfall scenarios. Consequently, there is a continued possibility of localised water resource pressures and ecological stress (particularly where there has been a contraction of the stream network) in south-east England.
