Temperature
Latitudinal location and land-water contrasts account for temperatures in Kent. Kent averages 50.5°F year-round and is one of the warmest areas in England.
Latitude
Higher latitude means greater temperature range. Located along the southeast coast of England just above the 51° North latitudinal belt, Kent reports smaller temperature ranges than northern England. Temperatures in Kent range and rarely go below 28°F or above 78°F.
Kent climate data (1981–2010)
| |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) |
7.4
(45.3)
|
7.4
(45.3)
|
10.3
(50.5)
|
12.9
(55.2)
|
16.3
(61.3)
|
19.3
(66.7)
|
21.8
(71.2)
|
21.9
(71.4)
|
18.8
(65.8)
|
14.8
(58.6)
|
10.7
(51.3)
|
7.8
(46.0)
|
14.1
(57.4)
|
| Daily mean °C (°F) |
4.5
(40.1)
|
4.4
(39.9)
|
6.7
(44.1)
|
8.7
(47.7)
|
12.0
(53.6)
|
14.7
(58.5)
|
17.2
(63.0)
|
17.2
(63.0)
|
14.6
(58.3)
|
11.2
(52.2)
|
7.5
(45.5)
|
5.0
(41.0)
|
10.3
(50.5)
|
| Average low °C (°F) |
1.7
(35.1)
|
1.5
(34.7)
|
3.1
(37.6)
|
4.6
(40.3)
|
7.7
(45.9)
|
10.2
(50.4)
|
12.6
(54.7)
|
12.5
(54.5)
|
10.5
(50.9)
|
7.7
(45.9)
|
4.3
(39.7)
|
2.3
(36.1)
|
6.6
(43.9)
|
Land/Sea
Kent's coast meets the English Channel. Kent's land heats and cools faster than the water. Less temperature range occurs in coastal climates whereas interior land in northern England produces greater temperature ranges throughout the year and suffer from Continentality.
(The water above represents the English Channel. The land represents Kent. Land heats faster and as a result the lower pressure winds from the sea carry up to the land where warm air rises up and circles back around. Image courtesy of: http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/PressureWind/dirunal-landwater.jpg)
Water/Precipitation
(The water above represents the English Channel. The land represents Kent. Land heats faster and as a result the lower pressure winds from the sea carry up to the land where warm air rises up and circles back around. Image courtesy of: http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/PressureWind/dirunal-landwater.jpg)
On average northern England and areas with higher altitudes are wetter and accumulate more precipitation than Kent's southeast lowlands. Moderate to light rainfall affects Kent year-round, most notably between November and January. Reports from 2009 and 2012 indicate heavier rains during the summer and in the month of November respectively. Along with heavy rainfall, winds reached up to 100 mph in 2009. Torrential rainfall and strong winds led to 110 flash-flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency. Violent waves and flooded areas shut down schools and people needed rescuing from flooded cars.
(Pictured above: the port of Dover. Caused by wind and rain, unsafe and
rough waters cancelled departing ferries from Dover. The port of Dover
closed for a day in 2009 and cancelled ferry services between Dover and
France. Image courtesy of: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6275725.stm)
Not all of England suffers from an overabundance of rain. Eastern and central areas in England currently suffer from drought and need rain to combat dry spells.
Storms
Lightning and Thunder
Lightning and thunder affect Kent during thunderstorms.
(Photograph taken over Deal Pier in Kent. The green circles represent stepped leaders that did not reach the ground (water in this case). The yellow circles represent the points where lightning hit its target (the water).
(Kent experiences more frequent thunder than anywhere else in England as illustrated within the yellow circle. Image courtesy of: http://metofficenews.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/why-are-we-getting-thunder-and-lightning/)
Funnel Clouds
Sightings of funnel-shaped clouds took place over Dover, Kent earlier this month with one water spout and tornado sighted as well.
(This funnel cloud in Dover did reach the ground and is a tornado. England gets more tornadoes per square kilometer than in the United States, but they are generally weaker than the ones in the U.S. Image courtesy of: http://metofficenews.wordpress.com/tag/thunderstorm/)
(Another funnel cloud spotted over Dover, Kent. Image courtesy of: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2010/july/5/tornado_hits_kent.aspx)
(Yet another funnel cloud over Kent. Image courtesy of: http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2010/july/5/tornado_hits_kent.aspx)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent
http://weatherspark.com/averages/28732/Canterbury-England-United-Kingdom
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/climate.html
http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/PressureWind/PressureWind.html
http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/EarthTempClim/EarthTempClim.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2225877/UK-weather-Thunderstorms-gale-force-winds-set-batter-Britain-bringing-strong-seas-heavy-rain.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/dover-closed-as-winds-hit-100mph-1820951.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/8991395/Britain-braced-for-second-blast-of-storms.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/28/flood-alert-britain-storms
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6275725.stm
http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/Weather/Weather.html
http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/Weather/tornado.html
http://www.crystalmemoriesphotography.com/photo_7648929.html
http://metofficenews.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/why-are-we-getting-thunder-and-lightning/
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2012/july/31/waterspout.aspx
