Fair Isle Weather - July 1998

Weather Diary - July 1998

1. Overnight fog and extensive low stratus with drizzle. Visibility improving during morning as stratus lifted. Fog - mist 0950 UTC. Becoming bright during the afternoon with the visibility improving to 18 km - and 30 km later in the evening. Wind NNW to N'ly F4-5.

2. Generally cloudy with some low stratus developing during the afternoon with outbreaks of drizzle after 1600 UTC, visibility falling from 25 km to 15 km. Wind N'ly F4 overnight backing NW'ly and easing F3 during the morning. Backing W'ly and increasing F4 during the afternoon.

3. Cloudy overnight, but visibility remaining good at 20-30 km. Mist and drizzle from 0610 UTC with stratus lowering onto the high ground. Fog from 0620 UTC to 0830 UTC in low stratus. Visibility then improving to 10 km with patchy drizzle. Fog from 1030-1335 UTC, stratus then lifting and visibility improving to 06 km as drizzle ceased. Visibility then falling to 1800 m in rain and drizzle and low stratus after 1600 UTC. Evening foggy with sky obscured at times. Wind W'ly F5. Fair Isle lowest Tdmx (11.1° C) in UK.

4. A damp, misty day with extensive low stratus and periods of rain and drizzle. The stratus low enough to give fog overnight, 1330-1410 UTC and from 1800 UTC. The W'ly wind veering WNW'ly and increasing overnight to a mean of 24-25 kt 0530-0710 UTC. Remaining F5-6 kt all day, but backing WSW'ly late morning. Fair Isle lowest Tdmx (11.6° C) in UK.

5. Fog thinned to mist 0902 UTC as stratus lifted. W'ly F5 veering WNW to NW'ly overnight. Visibility improving to 25 km during the efternoon and early evening. Some rain and drizzle, moderate at times, later in the evening with extensive low stratus.

6. Mostly cloudy, a few extremely light showers. Some sunshine late morning/early afternoon. Wind NW to NNW'ly F4-5.

7. 0630 UTC Sea temperature 10.4° C. A cloudy, cool and dry day. The stratocumulus cloud breaking a little during the evening as the NW'ly F4-5 eased F2-3, backing SSW'ly by midnight.

8. Stratus becoming extensive overnight, with fog by 0500 UTC, the SSW'ly F2 increasing F4. Fog persisting most of day, vis improving to 2000 m for a short time 1135-1150 UTC. Persistent drizzle or rain and drizzle, heavy at times. Wind veering SW'ly and increasing F5 during the afternoon. Becoming drier during the evening, the wind veering WSW to W'l;y and easing F3 and the fog thinning to mist 2000 UTC with 20 km by 2100 UTC.

9. W'ly F4 overnight. Mainly dry, with light drizzle patch mid-morning and midday, the wind increasing F5. Visibility 30 km, falling to 15 km with some hill stratus during drizzle. W to WSW'ly wind easing F4 late afternoon and F3 in the evening. Fair Isle lowest Tdmx (12.2° Celsius) in the UK.

10. WSW F3 backing SSW overnight. A cloudy day with some light, drizzley showers/rain around the middle of the day - the 30 km visibility falling to 15 km with some hill stratus in the precipitation. W'ly F3 wind backing S'ly during the afternoon. Further drizzle late evening.

11. Rain and drizzle with extensive low stratus and fog overnight, the fog clearing to fog patches and broken low stratus after 0800 UTC. F2 S'ly wind falling calm by this time before becoming a F1-3 ESE to SE'ly during the morning and early afternoon. Light rain continued through the morning, becoming showery for a time in the afternoon. F1-3 wind then backing ENE to NE'ly with further showery rain during the evening, but precipitation mostly light.

12. Cloudy, but dry overnight. Some sunny spells during the morning and early afternoon, but then cloudy with some adjacent precipitation. Rain and drizzle during the evening, the 40 km visibility falling to 15 km. Wind light and variable overnight, F2 ESE'ly in the morning before increasing F2-3 and steadily backing to be N'ly F4 by midnight.

13. A cold, wet day with a a F4 N'ly wind increasing F5-6 and backing NNW to NW'ly. The visibility becoming poor during the afternoon and evening, falling to 2000 m in heavy precipitation and low stratus.

14. Rain and drizzle overnight with low stratus, the N'ly F5 wind backing NNW'ly. Becoming drier, though still cloudy, during the morning - the visibility improving to 15 km, but falling at times to 3000 m in rain and drizzle. Some brightness - almost sunshine - to south where stratocumulus cloud thinner by early afternoon, with some sunshine by mid-afternoon as stratocumulus broke to 6 oktas and later 3 oktas. During the day the NNW F5 wind slowly backed NW'W by late afternoon. 6 oktas NOCTILUCENT CLOUD observed 23:50 UTC. This thin, cirrus-like and pale blu/lilac in colour. No NLC visible above brighter northern horizon - where a small amount of dark cirrus was visible.

15. Becoming cloudy overnight with a light shower 0910-0915 UTC, with some stratus on the Hill during the shower. A clear and sunny afternoon and evening. Visibility 30 km improving 40 km. The wind, a F5 NW'W'ly at first, steadily backed to be W'ly by the end of the morning, easing F3 during the afternoon and then backing SW'ly in the evening. Fair Isle sunniest (13.5 hr) place in the UK.

16. Cloudy overnight with extensive hill stratus developing, a SW'ly F3 wind veering NW'ly and easing F2. The wind then backed SW'ly and increased F3 during the morning, veered W'ly during the afternoon and then gradually backed to be SE'ly by evening. A short period of light rain 0520-0630 UTC, the stratus then lifting and dispersing to give a bright day with sunny spells as the high stratocumulus cloud thinned and became well broken. Visibility falling to 15 km overnight, but then improving 40 km by afternoon. 11:00 UTC Sea temperature 11.0° Celsius.

17. A cloudy, but dry night with 30 km visibility. Precipitation commenced at 0510 UTC, with stratus forming on the hill and visibility falling to 15 km. Precipitation generally light or moderate during the morning - mainly rain and drizzle - with hill stratus becoming extensive and visibility falling to 2000 m by 0730 UTC. Visibility rapidly deteriorated to near fog conditions after 0830 UTC as stratus base lowered - thoughthe visibility continued to vary during the morning between 1500 m and 6 km as the stratus base varied between 0 ft and 100 ft. A wet afternoon with fog, thick at times with sky obscurred, from 1250 UTC. The wind, a F2-3 SE'ly at first, backing ESE'ly and falling F1-2 with the onset of the fog. Later in the afternoon the wind backed ENE'ly and, during the evening, continued to back to be N'ly by midnight. Fair Isle the wettest (22.0 mm) place in the UK.

18. Overnight the fog and precipitation cleared to give a bright morning with a F5-6 NNE'ly wind and a brief drizzley shower between 07-0800 UTC. Sunny spells then developed to give a pleasantly warm day with just a few light showers in the early afternoon with the F5-6 NNE'ly wind increasing F7 for a short while around 1300 UTC, with a gust to 38 kt at 1310 UTC. Wind easing and backing during the late afternoon to be N'ly F3 by evening, with the cloud breaking to give a clear evening. Some stratus on the hill after 2100 UTC, this later increasing and, with cloud base falling, resulting in fog by 2300 UTC.

19. Overnight fog and low stratus clearing by 0430 UTC to give a mild, bright morning and sunny afternoon. Visibility 25-30 km with a F2-3 N'ly wind becoming variable for a time and then ESE'ly during the afternoon, increasing F4 through the evening. Visibility falling to 15 km in light intermittent rain by midnight.

20. Visibility becoming poor overnight in rain and drizzle, falling to 2000-3000 m after 0630 UTC as low stratus became extensive. ESE'ly wind increasing F5-6 overnight, then easing F3 and veering SE'ly after 0900 UTC. Also becoming dry at this time when, although low stratus remained extensive with visibility around 800-1200 m, some brightness was observed to the east. Visibility improving to 3000-4000 m during the afternoon as the low stratus gradually lifted and dispersed. The stratocumulus cloudsheet also thinned from time to time around the middle of the afternoon to reveal some ac. cast. Stratus again building in during the evening, the base falling to give fog by 1825 UTC this soon becoming thick with sky obscured by midnight.

21. Fog becoming dense overnight, rapidly thinning after 0800UTC to fog patches and then 06 km visibility by 0820 UTC. Light rain from 1038 UTC, low stratus and fog then returning. Precipitation becoming heavy for a time in the early afternoon, then easing off after 1300 UTC and becoming dry by 1330 UTC. Remaining foggy with visibility varying 80 m to 500 m. Wind SE'ly F2-3 at first, backing NEand increasing F3-4 with the heavy rain, but then veering SSW to SW'ly as the rain ceased. Visibility rapidly increasing after 1800 UTC as the stratus lifted and dispersed to give a fine sunny spell in the early evening with 25 km visibility. Cloudy again by midnight with a layer of stratocumulus.

22. Low stratus again developing overnight with the visibility falling to 1200 m (visibility 15 km out to sea under the stratus) by 0600 UTC and fog by 0800 UTC as the stratus base fell. Outbreaks of rain during the morning period, moderate at times, the visibility varying between 800 m and 25 km as the stratus base rose and fell. Becoming dry during the afternoon, the visibility improving to 25 km as the stratus dispersed although remaining generally cloudy with small amounts of cu and an extensive sc layer. During the afternoon the F2-3 SSW to WSW'ly wind backed SSSW to SSE'ly and increased F4 - later moderating F3-4 during the evening. Fair Isle lowest Tdmx (13.7° Celsius) in the UK.

23. A cloudy night, starting off dry with 25 km visibility but continuous light rain by 0500 UTC with 4500 m visibility and low nimbostratus overcast. Overnight the F4 S'ly wind had eased F3 and backed ENE'ly. The wind continued to back during the morning, the rain becoming moderate and extensive low stratus giving fog for much of the morning. The pecepitation became ligter during the afternoon, becoming rain and drizzle. At the same time the stratus lifted and the visibility steadily improved to 15 km. During the afternoon the wind, having backed NW'ly, increased F4-5 with gusts to 29 kt by the end of the afternoon. A cloudy but mainly dry evening followed, the wind backing W'ly and easing F4.

24. A cloudy night with some rain and drizzle, but becoming dry and bright during the morning. The wind, a F4 W to WSW'ly overnight, veering W'ly later in the morning and easing F3-4 during the afternoon. Continuing bright during the afternoon, with a few very light and isolated showers developing. Visibility 20-25 km.

25. A dry day with well broken cloud for much of the time. Wind W'ly F4 overnight, easing F3-4 during the morning and backing WSW'ly in the afternoon. During the afternoon high cloud, thickening to medium, spread in from the south-west, with a stratocumulus cloud sheet by evening, with the wind becoming a F2-3 S to SSW'ly. Visibility 25-30 km.

26. A cloudy night with a F3 SE'ly wind. Some light rain 0610-0620 UTC. Some sunshine during the mornining and early afternoon, before high cloud thickened to low medium - with a moderate halo for much of the afternoon. Light rain 1635-2010 UTC, with further patchy rain later in the evening. Visibility generally 25-30 km, but falling to 12 km in precipitation. 1430 UTC sea temperature 11.5° Celsius.

27. Extensive stratus developing overnight and lowering after 0400 UTC to give fog by 0500 UTC. Drizzle or rain and drizzle from 0810 UTC. Becoming dry after 0900 UTC with visibility improving to 8 km in haze after midday. Stratus thinning for a time between 1100-1200 UTC. Wind ESE-SE'E F3 during the morning, increasing F4 later in the afternoon, but easing F3 again during the evening when it again turned misty with low stratus. Fair Isle lowest Tdmx (12.9° Celsius) in the UK.

28. A cloudy day with extensive low stratus early and late. Some drizzle overnight and a brief spell of light drizzle 1230-1315 UTC. Fog, forming overnight, clearing soon after 0800 UTC, with visibility improving to 18 km during the afternoon. Further fog at times during the evening. Wind SE'E to ESE'ly F3. Fair Isle lowest Tdmx (13.2° Celsius) in the UK.

29. Low stratus mostly clearing overnight with the visibility improving to 4000 m to 10 km. A cloudy day with some rain and drizzle late morning/early afternoon - the visibility falling to 300 m in fog for a time, subsequently improving to 1200 m to 6 km. Wind ESE F3 at first, backing E'ly and increasing F4 by morning. Later in the afternoon the wind backed further to be ENE'ly by evening. Visibility remained poor with some fog during the evening. Fair Isle lowest Tdmx (13.1° Celsius) in the UK

30. Turning wet overnight with a F4 N'ly wind. Fog early, the visibility remaining poor all morning. Becoming adrier during the afternoon, the moderate rain turning lighter and intermittent, with drizzle later. The wind also backing NNW'ly and increasing F4-5.

31. A cloudy night and morning with further outbreaks of light drizzle and a F4-5 NNW'ly wind. Becoming drier during the afternoon with some weak sunshine as the low cloud thinned. Some further drizzle during the evening. Visibility improving from an early 8 km to 15 km during the morning - though falling to 4000 m at times in drizzle - and to 25 km in the afternoon. During the day the NNW'ly wind gradually backed NW'ly, remaining F4-5.

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Last edited on 12 January, 1999   Dave Wheeler weatherman@zetnet.co.uk
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