1997 No. 52 Part 1 - Bedfordshire Natural History Society

Bedfordshire Naturalist for 1997, No. 52 (Part 1) (1998)
April
This was another very dry month, though with a little more rain than in March. All
but 0.7mm oftpe 13.2mm total fell in the last seven days. Prior to that light showers
occurred on just three days out of23. It was another warm month with a maximum of
22.2°C (72°F) recorded on the 9th, a day which also recorded 10.4 hours ofsunshine.
The clear skies however meant that night-time temperatures did not match the relative
warmth.during the day with air frost occurring on seven nights.
May
This was the third warm, dry and sunny month in sequence, though less marked than
in the previous two. The warmest periods were the first three days, mid-month (16th ­
18th) and the last three days. A small area to the west ofthe county was severely affected
on 17th May by violent storms including exceptionally large hail and a tornado which
struckWootton. Details ofthese weather events are· described separately belo~ On a
day whenWoburn Sands is reputed to have recorded 86mm ofprecipitation (Webb
1997, 1998) Silsoe recorded just O.lmm.Weather records submitted to the Recorder
from Cranfield (which was within the affected area) show a total of 17mm but with
the householder absent on holiday at the time there is no way ofknowing how
accurate this figure is, particularly as newspaper reports refer to the fire brigade
pumping out twelve flooded houses in Cranfield on 17th May. The events of 17th May
are an extreme example ofhow localised weather events can be, and emphasize the
need for descriptive notes to be made ofsuch events and submitted to the Recorder.
June
June provided a marked contrast to the preceding months; it was extremely wet with
more than twice the month's expected rainfall, and not unexpectedly it was less sunny
than normal with daytime temperatures just a little below average. Perhaps because of
the cloudy skies the nights were relatively warm.The wettest day ofall was 26thJune
whenSilsoe recorded 34.2mm ofrainfall which in itselfis equivalent to about 75% of
the normal rainfall for June.The 27th and 28th were also particularly wet days. The
potentially damaging effect ofsuch excessive wetness at this time ofyear on the
wildlife ofthe Cfounty has already been commented on. Across England andWales June
1997 was the wettest this century, but in Bedfordshire June 1958 was wetter (total
117.6mm), andJune 1987 was nearly as wet (total107.8mm).
July
The weather returned to a warm, dry and sunny format for July but without
reaching any ofthe extremes experienced earlier in the year. The warmest day was the
7th reaching 25.3°C (79.7°F).The 31st July was the wettest day (14.6mm) accounting
for nearly· halfthe month's total rainfall.
August
This was an exceptional summer month. A daytime temperature·of26.7°C (80°F)
was reached or exceeded on sixteen days, with the month's highest temperature of
32.0°C (89.6°F) occurring on 11th August. It was particularly warm from 6th to 20th
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