Author: Eric Gilbert

After a dry morning the rains returned starting at 13.50 on Friday amounting to 4.9mm, which took the monthly total to 43.1mm when the 40-year average is 61.4mm. The maximum of 14.1C was logged early in the day at 11.30 due to the increasing cloud after that time as the next weather front closed in on our area.

The skies cleared early evening that allowed the temperature to fall away to a minimum of 1.9C at 06.24 on Saturday. This was the coolest night for a week and produced a short-lived ground frost but not an air frost.

The ridge of high pressure that brought the clearer overnight skies will also mean a much drier and sunnier day on Saturday, certainly in the morning, than recently. The barometric pressure rose a significant 17mb since Friday with a reading of 1020.8mb at 08.00, the highest since the 7th. The sun that shone brightly after it rose above the horizon lifted the temperature to 6.3C by 08.00. It won’t last as another depression is closing in with its associated weather fronts due to cross the country later today and tomorrow.

The sunshine on Friday combined with the warm southerly air stream pushed the thermometer to 14.6C, which was 4C above my 40-year average and the warmest day since 18th November. The UV level at its peak registered 3,6, which took it into the ‘Moderate’ level for the firsts then since 25th September. The overnight minimum of 9.3C was also well above average +6.8C.

Some brightness marked the start of Friday with the odd, very brief glimpse of sunshine. By 08.00 the thermometer had risen to 10.7C.

There are still five low pressure systems in the North Atlantic so the weather for the next few days is still changeable.

The Jet stream that has for weeks been mainly tracking south of the UK has provided a conveyor belt along which depressions form that are then directed over the UK. On Thursday morning I counted five low pressure systems in The Atlantic, to the west of the UK, that will continue this pattern. Yesterday again we enjoyed mild conditions as the southwesterly breeze, often strong that gusted to a peak of 24mph, continued to feed mild, most air across the UK. The maximum of 12.7 that occurred at 12.01 was 2.1C above my 40-year average whilst the minimum that was logged at 07.28 on Thursday was a significant 6.7C above my long-term average. At least it was a dry day.

No change on Thursday as it dawned dull and gloomy with total cloud cover. The air stream has backed a few degrees and will come from the south and later south-southwest today and brisk. The barometric pressure has ben slowly falling as the depressions approach the UK with a reading of 1007.6mb at 08.00

The southwesterly breeze on Tuesday channelled up from far south in the Atlantic, warm, moist air that saw the thermometer rise to a maximum of 12.4C at 16.25. This peak was exactly 2C above my 40-year average. However,it was a dull and dreary day with low cloud persisting producing intermittent light rain and drizzle with the UV level the lowest this month.

The diurnal temperature range was minimal, the difference between night and day, was just 2.1C as the warm air persisted overnight under the thick cloud cover that limited loss of warmth into the atmosphere. The minimum of 10.3C was a significant 7.8C above my 40-year average.

Wednesday after dawn revealed again total cupid cover but was thinner and higher than on Tuesday. The temperature at 08.00 was 10.6C, exactly equal to the average maximum for March. The flow of warm, moist air continues on a southwesterly track.

Monday was another day best forgotten as regards the weather being dark, gloomy and dull all day. The brisk wind from the northwest, a cool direction, meant the peak temperature of 9.0C that occurred early in the afternoon at 13.04, was 1.6C below my 40-year average maximum.

Overnight revealed a distinct change in our weather for the next few days as an anticyclone over Iberia and a depression to the west of Ireland have started to channel up milder air from west of North Africa and around Madeira that at 08.00 had an air temperature of 15C. The diurnal image of temperatures, the difference between day and night, was minimal, just 2.9C.

The minimum of 6.1C was 3.6C above my 40-year average and occurred at 04.20 early Tuesday. It was just before midnight that the wind direction changed from northwest to southwest. Just after 04.20 the evidence of the major change was evident as the thermometer began to rise again to reach 9.1C at 08.00. The air circulating clockwise around the anticyclone and anticlockwise around the depression brought the milder air that will see maxima well above average for a few days.

Tuesday dawned with steady, modest rain that had triggered the automatic rain gauge at 02.30 and that amounted to 8.3mm by 08.00. The additional precipitation took the monthly rainfall total to 31.1mm when the 40-year average is 61.4mm.