Mark Hunt’s Weather Assessment
Just a really quick update on the Bank Holiday weather and I'm afraid it isn't looking like bucket and spade time at the beach. The cooler low commented on earlier in the week is still on track and currently funnelling in heavy rain over Ireland, the north of England and Scotland. The drop in temperature will be quite marked from high's of 21°-22°C in the south of England to 12°-14°C by Friday and over the weekend, so feeling noticeably chillier in a brisk North Wind.
That said, the positive part of this is that a steady front of rain showers is on track for the U.K. Now, being showers, it will be a bit hit and miss. With respect to the south of England, these will begin to move in on Thursday afternoon and track across the south part of the U.K. during the latter part of the day. These clear away in the evening and then return on Friday, tracking in from Wales, so this area should receive them first on Friday morning.
The best chance of catching a drop of rain is Saturday when the most consolidated front of showers moves across the whole country. If you want to see where the rain is tracking (sad), click on the link below and click the top right option RADAR, this will show you where the rain is. http://www.meteoblue.com/en_GB/maps/basic/index/country/europe
My bet for the best day of the bank holiday is Monday. Thereafter, temperatures will begin to recover next week during the day from the chilly weekend as high pressure once again builds, but that may mean a return to colder nights, so not brilliant for greens growth I'm afraid. Poa seeding is well on the way now in the annual biotypes, those that you see on areas of the green that thin out the most - i.e, ridges, wear pathways, clean-up strips etc. This means that next week the perennial biotypes will follow suit, uncannily this is the first week of May, exactly the same week for the last 5 years I think regardless of whether the winter has been mild or cold. Mother Natures clock is it seems pretty reliable for this event!
Weather Assessment 27th April – 4th May 2010
Some of you will be breathing a sigh of relief today after receiving last week's predicted rain on Saturday night / Sunday morning, we got 5mm here. For those of you who didn't, there may be a second bite of the cherry later on in the week.
For now, high pressure will re-assert its influence over the UK and Ireland so, for Monday through to Wednesday, it's going to be warm / very warm depending on whereabouts you are. For you fans of Metcheck, I made a point of looking for today's prediction a week ago and it predicted snow showers for Market Harborough, very accurate, when it'll probably be 17-19°C!.
Rainfall-wise, nothing for the southerly part of the U.K. for this period, but a band of rain will move North-Easterly on Wednesday diagonally across Ireland, so Munster and Connaught primarily will be the recipients and then it'll whisk off to Scotland and affect the West Coast first.
From Thursday, the indications are that a low pressure will sneak down from the North and bring cooler air for the U.K. for the latter part of this week and that cooler air flow will swing the winds round to the West and then North-West and rattle some showers southwards from Scotland later on Friday and this will result in a cool, showery weather pattern for the U.K. Bank Holiday.
Thereafter, the high begins to re-assert itself from Monday onwards and next week looks like being a very warm week, particularly in the S.East England with little rain on the horizon.
Agronomically, this pattern of weather makes life tricky if you've recently hollow cored, so the order of the day will be irrigation and 'little and often fertility' to encourage growth through the dressing to allow the next dressing to be made. The weather pattern will at least now allow some greens growth because night temperatures have lifted and so no frosts on the horizon for most of the U.K. though Scotland may be a bit nippy over the weekend. The Poa seedhead flush may end up being just one week later than normal (1st week May U.K., Mid-April Ireland) if the weather pattern holds and it wouldn't surprise me if we saw the beginning of the seedhead flush next week when the warm weather arrives back.
On a last note, I have been practising golf (I don't play) a couple of times lately at my local range under the watchful eye of my brother (good golfer) and I was pleased to note a new incentive for everyone at the range. They had erected big pictures of Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg next to the distance markers, needless to say I managed to top a driver straight into one of their visages....most satisfying.
Mark Hunt
Technical Director
Headland Amenity Ltd
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