June 2025 began like a normal June, with some unsettled weather as well as warm sunny days. From the second week onwards, however, a blocking high pressure became established over or near the UK and the warmth started to build. The top temperature reached was 32.9°C appropriately on the 21st – Midsummer Day – making this the third warmest June day in our 41 years of records. It felt hotter though at the end of the month with three consecutive days over 30°C.

Of our past Junes, six have had one day over 30°C, and five have had two days over 30°C: June 2025 had no less than five days over 30°C.

The mean temperature of the month overall was 19.1°C – that’s the warmest ever June in our records by a whole degree, and the previous record of 18.1°C was set only in 2023, more evidence of the pace of global warming as it affects our neighbourhood. The average daily maximum was 25.4°C, another new record beating the 24.5°C recorded in 2023. Similarly the average daily minimum was 13.5°C, another new record (previously 12.7°C set in 2021). Perhaps surprisingly, though, we recorded no ‘Tropical nights’ (where the temperature never drops below 20°C).

The unsettled start to the month produced some wet days, but overall it was a dry month. The total rain for June was 36.0mm compared with our long term average of 56.5mm, and the 9 days on which it rained was more than four days less than average. Some severe thunderstorms passed through East Anglia late on 13th June into the 14th, but Epping escaped the worst effects of these. Consequently the wettest day was in the first unsettled week and delivered 11.8mm of rain, compared with the average of 15.6mm.

Not surprisingly it was a sunny month. We only have comparable records for last year, but it was almost an hour a day sunnier than June 2024. The Met Office in its published sunshine data for East Anglia reports that sunshine hours were 41% above the average for June.

The pressure chart reflects that unsettled first week with low pressure prevalent, and also shows the showery days towards the end of the month. But despite the warm weather, overall the mean, highest and lowest pressures of the month were all a little below our long term average.

With several hot days, you’d expect the winds to be predominently from the south and east, yet interestingly the normal Atlantic directions – south-west to west – were the usual ones. Winds were however relatively gentle overall, the strongest gust of the month coming in at 24mph (Force 5), compared with the average for June of 33.3mph.

With June ending with a heatwave, how hot will July be? We’ll report it here!