Friday 23rd January
The routine of wet days is beginning to become monotonous with a mostly wet day on Thursday, but thankfully not intense rainfall, that had brief drier periods between the showers. Another 5.7mm was added to the monthly total that now stands at 110.3mm, which is 123% of my 42-year record. It was another day under the moist, warm southeasterly air flow, with the temperature rising to 9.1C at 13.04 during a brighter period, and falling back to a minimum of 4.8C overnight at 02.05. These extremes were both above average at +2.0C and + 3.6C respectively.
We were greeted with more rain falling after first light on Friday as another weather front, with its associated rain band, arrived at 06.00, falling from low, thick cloud again. There have been just five totally dry days this month. As the weather front moves northward this morning, hopefully, we will have a dryer and brighter afternoon.
The unsettled conditions are associated with the arrival of another storm, Storm Ingrid, named by the Portuguese Met Office, as they have been under the greatest impact, although our West Country will receive another considerable fall of rain, possibly resulting in flooding along with strong winds. Once again we will be fortunate not to experience the worst of the storm. The centre of the depression will continue to fall, with a forecast low 958mb, as today it approaches the Brest Peninsula. This area of low pressure will be lurking around our western approaches until Sunday as the unsettled weather continues. The wind will continue from a southeasterly quadrant for a few more days bringing its moist, relatively warm air.
The outlook for next week is becoming more certain with temperatures falling a few degrees by day and night, closer to the late January average. The flow of low pressure systems will continue arriving from the Atlantic thus becoming the dominant weather pattern for the first part of next week as the high pressure over eastern Europe gives way in the battle between the major weather systems. At the moment there is no indication of any severe cold weather in the short term forecast.