AUGUST 1995
1995 Day 1974-94 1995 Day 1974-94
Mean Maximum Temperature 14.9 13.6 Highest Max temp 19.5 21 20.2
Mean Minimum Temperature 11.0 10.2 Lowest Min temp 7.5 29 4.4
Mean Sea Temperature 12.0 11.9 Lowest grass minimum 4.1 29 -3.7
30 cm Earth temperature 13.1 12.2 Days with ground frost 0 0.6
100cm Earth temperature 11.8 11.3 Days with air frost 0 0.0
Total Rainfall (mm) 25.3 62.9 Days with snow/sleet 0 0.0
Wettest Day (mm) 6.5 12 13.4 Days with snow cover at 09hr 0 0.0
Rain Days (over 0.1mm) 12 17.6 Days with hail 0 0.2
Wet Days (over 0.9mm) 6 12.1 Days with fog during 24hrs 18 11.0
Total sunshine, hrs 159.7 145.8 Days with fog at 09hrs 6 3.4
Sunniest day, hrs 13.6 1 13.1 Days with NIL sun 4 5.1
Mean wind speed, kts 10.1 11.7 Days with gale 0 0.8
Maximum gust, kts 37 26 47.5 Days with thunder 0 0.3
Mean Sea Level pressure 1019.6 1012.4 Days with aurora 1 1.0
Wind Direction (%) at 09 UTC
North 19.4 11.2 S. West 25.8 12.7
N. East 3.2 5.6 West 6.5 18.8
East 3.2 9.2 N. West 9.7 9.3
S. East 19.4 12.4 South 12.9 18.0
CALM 0.0 2.4
View the Rainfall graph
View the Temperature Graph
View the Sunshine Graph
August 1995
As August progressed, there was every prospect that - like the rest of the UK - the month was going to turn out the warmest ever. While, taking the British Isles as a whole, August 1995 did achieve this distinction, it was in fact only the third warmest month ever on Fair Isle - with the mean monthly temperature of 12.8 Celsius being exceeded by the 12.9 of August 1991 and the 13.0 of August 1975. A subtle shifting of the persistent high - responsible for the hot weather during much of the summer over much of the UK - resulted in north to north-west winds spreading cooler conditions in over the Northern Isles from the 24th of the month onwards. Despite this, and though there were only ten days when the temperature reached 15.5 Celsius ( 60 F), the average daily maximum temperature of 14.9 Celsius for the month equals the previous highest set in August 1991! Though a dry and sunny month, it was only the fourth driest and the ninth sunniest August on record.
On the 23rd at 2340 UTC a strong, horizontal band of aurora was observed extending from low in the west through to the north. A strong, low aurora arch was also present to the NNE. Within this the sky was noticeably darker than outside the arch.
Over the UK as a whole, summer 1995 (June, July, August) was the driest this century, the hottest since 1976 and the sunniest since 1989. On Fair Isle it was our third driest summer since records began in 1974, but only the fifth warmest since 1976. Since 1989 - unlike the rest of the UK - we have had three sunnier summers on Fair isle.