Warning!
I have run this weather station for over 30 years. In that time the
average annual temperature has risen by just under 1.0°C. This in undeniable
as I don't have any evidence that the equipment is failing.
Instead of having compassion, caring and intelligence in dealing with this
burgeoning issue, most of us seem to be stuck in the conditioning of
mainstream politics which thinks the only way out of everything is economic
growth. We have trapped ourselves in this system because we too are mainly
greedy for more and more, as if it is the saviour of everything. It isn't!
Nature can do without us, but we cannot do without nature. Until we care
about nature, have compassion toward other people and implement intelligent
solutions (i.e. without nationalism), we will continue to destroy the planet
and show ill will to one another. The time to become aware is always now.
Doing the weather for the last 30 years plus, is like watching one aspect of
the slow motion global car crash.
Barry. August 2025
____________________________________________________________________________
May 2026:
It was the third warmest May since
continuous records began in Bristol in 1891 (136 years). With an average
temperature of 15.7°C it was 2.0°C above the 30 year average for Bristol.
The warmest May was in 2025 when the average temperature was 16.0°C. The
rainfall for the month of 45.8mm was 73.4% of the 30 year average. The
average pressure for May in the last 8 consecutive years has been 1020mb. No
other month since the data startedin 1993 has shown that consistency.
The highest daily maximum temperature of 34.2°C on the 26th was the highest
recorded for May (or June) since data started in 1938. The previous warmest
May day was only in 2025 with 30.6°C. Before that 29.2°C was recorded in May
2010. For five consecutive days in May (24th-28th) the daily maximum
temperature reached over 30°C. The highest daily minimum temperature of
19.5°C on the 26th was the highest since this data started in 1960. The
previous highest for May was 16.8°C in 1989. The highest average daily
maximum of 26.9°C on the 26th was the highest for the month since this data
started in 1993. The previous highest was 22.0°C recorded in 2012. Both the
maximum daily temperature of 34.2°C and the maximum daily average of 26.9°C
broke the June's records as well as May's!
Spring 2026: It The
spring of 2026 was the 2nd warmest, after 2025, with respect to the average
temperature, since the data started for the city in 1891.
The mean temperature was 12.6°C, 1.9°C above the 30 year average. The spring
rainfall of 2026, at 111.7mm, was the 18th driest out of 145 years of
data. The 30 year average for spring in Bristol is 179.5mm so 2026's
rainfall represents 62.2% of the average.
Annual 2025:
The annual average temperature for 2025
was 13.1°C. That made it the warmest since continuous records began in 1891
and 1.5°C above the 30 year
average of 11.6°C. The annual rainfall for Bristol in 2025 was 791.1 mm this
makes it the 51st driest year since this data started 173 years ago in 1853.
The 30 year average for the city is 913.8 mm so 2025 represents 87% of the
average.
To
view a full report of the Bristol Annual Weather report 2023 and a discussion
of trends etc click here. This is a Word created .doc
document which is produced annually for a Bristol Naturalist Society
publication. Please acknowledge the source if quoting any of the contents.
Thank you.
The 2025 Annual
summary is here: http://www.bristolweather.org/weather2025annual.htm
For the full monthly summary please go here: http://www.bristolweather.org/weather2026
May.htm
The
Meteorological site is situated in an urban housing area approximately one
mile to the south of the Centre of Bristol.
This area is in a district called Totterdown.
Statistical correlations with the Bristol
Meteorological Office site, that was
less than two miles to the North and was
situated on top of a City Centre office block, were generally good with
rainfall and barometric data particularly close.
The site of the station is approximately 34 metres above sea level with the
manual instruments mounted in a Stevenson screen. The screen is sited
centrally in a small concreted garden area. A Snowdon
rain gauge is mounted correctly in the ground but does not have the full open
space required around it. A Davis
Vantage Pro2 Plus automatic weather station (AWS) was
added in May 2005 and this is mounted 4 feet above a concrete shelter. The wind
data is gathered automatically from a Davis
Vantage Pro2 Plus anemometer which is sited 3.3 metres (10 feet) above the
house top.
Manual observations are still taken at approximately 09:00 hours GMT every
day for rainfall and cloud cover. Rainfall manually recorded in the Snowdon rain gauge is entered for the previous day. The
wind data is constantly logged and automatically reset at 24:00 hours GMT
every day (in the summer BST -1 hour. The Davis rainfall tipping bucket was recalibrated in November 2005 and is now
consistently under 3% under recording (an improvement from installation in
May 2005 when 10% was more
typically the norm).
Since the arrival of the Davis
Vantage Pro2 Plus equipment in May 2005 temperatures, humidity and barometric
pressure are recorded from the new equipment. These figures will be more
accurate and will be taken at exactly 09:00 GMT (in the summer BST -1 hour)
as the data is now logged to a computer.
By default the Davis
equipment records every parameter for the 24 hour period 00:00 to 23:59 BST
or GMT. Data analysis will enable manual data extraction of temperatures and
rainfall to 09:00 GMT (adjusted in the summer). Due to the 0.2 mm (tipping
bucket) measurements of precipitation recorded by the Davis equipment the
Snowdon rain gauge will still be used due to its greater accuracy (see
above).