THE unsettled conditions of late August continued into September, but with temperatures on the warm side. Monday, September 1, set the theme for the first week, being breezy with spells of strong sunshine interrupted by showers in the middle part of the day.

There was some quite heavy rain about lunchtime on Wednesday, September 3, and light showers the following two days. Saturday, September 6, was the warmest day of the month, with a maximum temperature in Wellington of 22°C (72F), despite a strong and gusty wind from the south.

A solitary clap of thunder and a short burst of heavy rain on the Sunday morning marked the passage of a cold front. That introduced a very disturbed week, with rain or showers every day and lower temperatures, but less wind. After a beautifully sunny morning, our area caught the edge of a thunderstorm during the afternoon of Monday, September 8, with some hail thrown in for good measure. There were several hours of heavy rain during the night of Tuesday, September 9, sunshine and showers during the next few days, and rain almost all day to end the week.

In the first fortnight, the Wellington area had received a month’s worth of rainfall, so lawns had greened up nicely. However, our local reservoir stocks continued to dwindle, and water companies emphasised that much more rain was needed this autumn to normalise the supply situation. Unfortunately, from that perspective, the second half of September was predominantly dry, with high air pressure close to or over the British Isles. Initially, with a moderate breeze from the south, it became noticeably warm with a maximum of almost 22°C (72F) in Wellington on Friday, September 19. This came after one of our warmest September nights on record, the minimum temperature of 17°C (63F) having been exceeded only six times previously, but never so late in the year.

After a brief shower during the afternoon of Saturday, September 20, the wind veered to a more northerly point, introducing a polar airstream. The next day’s maximum in Wellington was only 14.5°C (58F), and was followed by a string of chilly nights with minima as low as 2°C (below 36F). By way of compensation, Monday, September 22, offered us maximum sunshine, and from then to the month’s end only one day could be described as significantly cloudy. That day was Saturday, September 27, but at least the rain held off long enough not to spoil the Carnival in Wellington.

The month ended with sunshine, and Met Office data show that it was one of the sunniest Septembers this century. Regarding temperatures, the cool end to the month meant that the overall mean temperature was exactly average at 14°C (57F), while the total rainfall of 92mm (3.7 inches) was slightly above normal, but much less than each of the last three Septembers had given us. At present, a wet October seems unlikely.