After a scorching July, all hopes were that August would follow suit with more heat.

Jeremy Procter, the News Extra’s own weatherman, has filed his report for the month and says figures from it show that this summer was the driest since 1996.

Mr Procter measures the elements from his home in Cobham Avenue, Sittingbourne, using a Davis Vantage Pro 2 weather station, which gives him accurate, daily information.

Using sensors linked to his computer, the equipment gives rainfall, temperature, humidity and pressure readings.

Mr Procter also has an anemometer – a wind speed indicator – on a mast on his roof.

The sensors record data, wirelessly feeding the details to a control box.

He can then access a programme that enables him to monitor, interpret and analyse the results.

The former master mariner said: “The first day of August turned out to be the hottest day of the year, with the temperature reaching the mid-30s.

This, however, was a one-day heatwave, and for the remainder of the month, temperatures remained around or slightly higher than average.

“By the end of the month, this summer [June, July and August] will have been the driest since 1996.

“Strangely enough though, total rainfall for the month was double that of August last year, but almost 80% of this occurred on August 24 and 25, coinciding with the bank holiday weekend.”

In figures, here is how August’s weather panned out:

• The highest temperature came on August 1, when the mercury hit 34.7C.
• Two weeks later, on August 14, the area experienced its lowest at 10.9C.
• The warmest day, where the average temperature was taken between 6am to 6pm, was also August 1, at 29.8C.
• The coldest came on August 13 when the equipment declared an average of 17.7C.
• The monthly average temperature was 18.6C, with total rainfall measured at 52.1mm.
• The highest rainfall rate came on August 24, which saw a total of 20.1mm of the wet stuff.
• On August 20, the highest pressure was measured at 1027.6mb. The lowest pressure was 1004.8mb on August 1.
• At 25mph, the highest wind speed was recorded on August 17.
• The highest humidity level was 98% at 7am on August 24, while the lowest was 33% at 4.26pm on Saturday.