I was away from the weather desk last week braving the elements and filming for a new series of Weatherman Walking. We went to Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr Tydfil and then headed west to Carreg Cennen Castle in Carmarthenshire.
The weather was very mixed with heavy rain, sunshine, hail and cold winds, so the thermals and waterproofs both came in handy. There was even a little snow on the Brecon Beacons and some flooding in Carmarthenshire.
Ray Garner, who runs a weather station at Llanfynydd, recorded over 72mm of rain in 24 hours on 14/15 May making it the wettest May day there since 1996. The previous wettest was 17 May 2002 with 58.9mm.
Last Friday parts of southwest Wales were hit by thunderstorms and Martyn Brock took this amazing photograph of fork lightning in Milford Haven.
Fork lightning in Milford Haven. Photo: Martin Brock
Aberporth in Ceredigion was the sunniest place in Wales yesterday with over 14 hours of sunshine, while Tredegar in Blaenau Gwent was the warmest place with a top temperature of 19.7° Celsius.
Looking ahead, there is plenty more dry weather to come this week with only a few millimetres of rain expected. It will also turn cooler and windier by Thursday with north-westerly winds bringing fresher air to us from the Arctic.
As for the bank holiday weekend, well at the moment it's looking mixed. A little rain and a few showers are likely but there should be some fair weather and sunshine as well. Temperatures are likely to be near or below average but out of the breeze and in any sunshine it will feel quite pleasant.
Derek
