By Mike Trigger

June 2023 was drier, warmer and sunnier than average.

High pressure to the north and low pressure to the south resulted in winds predominantly from an easterly point for the first twenty days of June. By the 9th, low pressure had edged closer to SW England and the high pressure had moved slightly away towards Scandinavia. This fall in pressure allowed showery outbreaks of rain to reach the district on the 9th and 10th. Pressure recovered a little before a similar process brought a little more rain on the 16th and 17th. Low pressure then remained over or just west of the UK eventually bringing a band of thundery rain north across Biscay and over SW England for the 20th. This started a change which resulted in pressure falling across the north of the country as higher pressure developed to the south. The results were winds mostly from between west and south and the passage of weak Atlantic weather systems across SW England which led to slightly cooler temperatures after the heat of mid-month.

In terms of statistics:

The temperature for the month averaged out near 18 Celsius, that's almost three degrees above the longer-term average (LTA 1980-2010). The warmest day was the 13th when temperatures reached 26 or 27 Celsius at the coast and around 30 Celsius inland. Around the district most places had at least 25 days when afternoon temperature exceeded 20 Celsius, a few urban locations only had one day when 20 Celsius was not reached. There was between 4 and 11 days when the temperature reached 25 Celsius and a few urban parts reached 30 Celsius on one or two days around the 13th. The coldest morning was on the 3rd when the temperature dropped to 8 or 9 Celsius, although a few inland areas dipped to 5 Celsius.

Rainfall totals in the Teignmouth and Dawlish area ranged from 16mm to 26mm, less than half the average June rainfall. There were around 24 dry days (average 19 days), 4 days with 1mm or more of rain (average 8) and in some places 1 day with 10mm or more of rain (a typical number for June). The wettest day of the month was the 20th when between 6 and 15mm of rain fell.  

Sunshine estimates suggest around 284 hours of sunshine that's almost 30% more sunshine than average.

The sea temperature at the Dawlish wave buoy increased from 15 Celsius, at the start of the month, to be around 16 Celsius at the end. The sea temperature, however, reached close to 20 Celsius during the hot weather in the middle of the month, which was unusually warm.