May gave us a chance to dry out after a very
wet April. We had about half our normal rainfall in both
March and May and about double our usual April rainfall, so
we probably came out even-steven for autumn. River levels
have dropped because of the dry weather but groundwater and
soil moisture levels are looking okay for the time of year.
May brought us an impressive range of temperatures on the
Plains, from a hot 26°C, which was warmer than April’s
top temperature, down to a sharp -5°C frost. I’m told
frosts herald an end to the white cabbage butterfly, which
is great news for our brassicas and for anyone who, like me
this autumn, trapped one between lips while panting through
a bike ride… admittedly a more pleasant experience than a
bee flying into my bike shorts and stinging my inner thigh,
but that’s a story for another day. What was very
pleasingly absent from the air last month was a hefty load
of fine particulates. It’s the first May we haven’t
notched up an exceedance of the PM10 standard in Hastings
since we began continuous monitoring. Well done
Hastings!
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