Bank holiday wash outs
| 15:33 UK time, Thursday, 27 August 2009
Well another Bank Holiday weekend is almost upon us, the last until Christmas.
When the holiday was first introduced in 1871 it fell on the first Monday of August but after a few washouts during the 1950's and 1960's the Government decided to move the Bank Holiday in Wales, England and Northern Ireland to the last Monday in August.
This was done in the hope of better weather but was not always the case!
An archive clip from ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales History:
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The first late August Bank Holiday in 1965 was chilly with showers.
In 1966 violent thunderstorms on the Monday caused damage and many main roads were flooded causing chaos to holiday traffic.
In 1976 the long, hot summer decided to break over the August Bank Holiday weekend with heavy downpours.
1986 was particularly rough when the remains of Hurricane Charley struck. At Aber in Gwynedd 134.9 mm (over 5 inches) of rain was recorded and at the time it was the 'wettest August Bank Holiday on record' over England and Wales.
Many people often tell me that summers were always hot and sunny when
they were growing up but this is not the case.
There is a tendency to
only remember the good bits of our childhood because there were some awful summers in the 1950's and 1960's.
In 1960, June was drier, warmer and sunnier than normal but July and August were wetter, duller and cooler than average.
In fact July 1960 began a sequence of five exceptionally wet months and flooding was a notable feature of the second half of 1960.
Summer 2009 hasn't been the best...July was a very wet month with over twice the normal rainfall and over three times normal in south Wales.
Provisionally, it was the second wettest July on record, in a series
from 1914 (only July 1939 being wetter).
This coming Bank Holiday weekend is likely to be mixed.
Saturday - should be the the best day. A sunny start but cloud building. The odd light shower is possible in the north and north west otherwise dry.
Top temperatures 16 to 18 Celsius with a moderate to fresh westerly breeze. So a fairly decent day for the Denbigh Show on Saturday.
Sunday - more unsettled with outbreaks of rain and drizzle. Some hill fog too. Top temperatures 17 or 18 Celsius with a moderate to fresh south to south-westerly breeze.
Bank Holiday Monday - cloudy in the north and west with rain. The rain heaviest in Pembrokeshire, Gwynedd, Conwy and Anglesey.
Southern and eastern areas should be drier. The best of the brightness and sunshine in the south east. Maximum temperatures 19 to 22 Celsius with a moderate to fresh southerly breeze.
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So in summary, if you have any outdoor plans Saturday looks the best day of the Bank Holiday Weekend in Wales at the moment.
Lets hope for better things in September.
Derek
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Wales History - Welsh holiday archive clips from the 1960's
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