WHO coined the phrase ‘Flaming June’, implying that it’s the sunniest of months? It is a myth. The statistical reality is that, in this part of the country, both May and July are on average sunnier, and this year June lagged some way behind April.

June 1 promised much, being beautifully sunny in Wellington, with a maximum temperature of 25C (77F). A bit of a flash-in-the-pan, as it turned out, with intermittent drizzle and light rain arriving for the Street Fair the following day, though not enough to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds who attended. This began a spell of very unsettled – and at times unseasonable – weather. A cold front gave sharp showers late on June 5, clear skies that night allowing the temperature to tumble to 4C (39F), before strong sunshine the next day led to the development of thunderstorms, although our area was spared these.

Rain set in early on June 7 with a wind from the east, and though it eased off in the afternoon, further heavy rain with thunder and lightning arrived during the evening, the wind then swinging right around to the west. The resulting 36mm (1.4ins) of rain in less than 24 hours was highly unusual in June. With low air pressure continuing to dominate, the next week offered at best brief sunny spells, with temperatures below normal. June 10 made a promising start, but rain arrived by teatime to continue all night, only easing off after breakfast the next day. Another 35mm – already 130 per cent of the average rainfall for June and only a third of the way through the month. With severe flooding in other parts of the country, reference was made in the media to the notorious June 2012, when flooding around here was serious.

Things didn’t improve much on June 11. Heavy cloud and an east wind resulted in a maximum temperature in Wellington of a mere 11C (52F), making it our second coldest June day on record. During the following four days there was little sun and more rain. June 16 finally offered something a bit more summery, the temperature in Wellington edging up to 20C (68F) for the first time in a fortnight. As we approached midsummer, low pressure was annoyingly persistent over southern Britain. Temperatures rose only slowly, and although there was a lot of cloud and even hill fog, not much rain fell.

June 22 arguably marked the beginning of summer, with unbroken sunshine and a maximum in Wellington of 22C (72F). At last, an anticyclone was controlling our weather. For the rest of the month it was much warmer than average, by day and night. While continental Europe was suffering record-breaking heat, Wellington’s highest temperature of 29.6C (85.3F) on June 28 was not a record, although a minimum of 16C (61F) that night was exceptionally high. A belated three-day burst of sunshine prevented the month from being written off as one of the dullest Junes.

After a cool first half, the overall mean temperature of 15.2C (59.4F) was slightly higher than average. The total rainfall of 105mm (4.1in) was 178 per cent of the average, and the sixth highest for June in the last 60 years, but it was not the wash-out that at one stage seemed likely.

SIMON RATSEY

WWN weather correspondent