Author: Eric Gilbert

The flow of Arctic air on Monday meant a very cool day with the thermometer struggling to reach a maximum of just 2.5C being a significant 4.6C below my 40-year average. Thankfully the air movement was light so minimal wind chill. As dusk approached the temperature slowly began to fall registering -2.5C at 20.00 and a minimum of -5.7C at 04.50 early Tuesday. This low was 7.0C below my 40-year average and the coldest night since 8th February 2023 (-5.8C). Interestingly, during the first part of the evening the air was unusually dry with 88% at 20.30 so at that time my car showed no signs of frost.

During the early hours of Tuesday, around midnight, I cannot track backwards further on the internet and we had calm conditions, the wind backed from the northwest to southwest. This significant change in direction began to introduce thin cloud and a slightly warmer air mass, but that did not stop the thermometer dropping to -5.7C at 04.50 Tuesday.

After dawn on Tuesday, thicker cloud be seen drifting across from the southwest that had lifted the temperature a degree, to -4.3C at 08.00. The recent anticyclone has moved eastwards, now centred over the Continent and we have two depressions surrounding the UK. Hence the barometric pressure reading at 08.00 of 1011.2mb, that was the lowest pressure since 5th January.

The real Arctic air was slow to affect the daytime as a maximum of 6.6C was logged, just 0.5C below the average and the warmest day since the 5th. Overnight the temperature hovered just a degree or so above freezing as at 06.15 it registered +0.1C . However, by 06.45 the thermometer began to fall steadily and by 08.00 registered -1.7C being 2.9C below my 40-year average.

What a delight to see clear blue skies after dawn on Monday and the certainty of some sunshine. The depression to the east, with air circulating anticlockwise, is bringing a flow of Arctic Air across the country. The barometric pressure has fallen another 5mb with a reading of 1011.5mb at 08.00, the lowest since the beginning of the month. The wind direction will be light and from the northwest. The ground temperature at a depth of 5cm had dropped to 1.1C at 08.00 from a high of 8.9C at the beginning of the month.

We have now had eight consecutive dry days, what a contrast to the extended wet period previously?

Saturday was noted for the almost absence of any word, a maximum gust of just 9mph was logged on one occasion. However, the air stream from the northwest was cool limiting the thermometer rose to 3.6C being 3.5C below my 40-year average. It was another pf the dull days with no UV light logged or global sunshine. A low of 1.0C occurred at 00.10 on Sunday that had lived to 1.4C by 08.00.

Once more the new day was greeted by dark, dull conditions under a very thick blanket of cloud. A warm weather front passed over our area in the early hours succeeded by a cold weather front passing late morning which will a change in our weather. Around noon and early afternoon the wind will veer into the northwest or north northwest heralding a short, colder spell of weather.

The recent anticyclone has long departed and we are now coming under the influence of a depression in mid-atlantic, hence a further pressure drop of 12mb since yesterday, with a current reading at 08.00 of 1016.2mb, a drop of some 24mb since its peak

Friday brought yet another cloudy, dull and cool day with the maximum 2.6C below my 40year average peaking at 4.5C. Only the first three days of January have been above average. The day was dry but not surprisingly no UV light triggered the sensor.

The past night saw the temperature slowly drain way to reach a low of 0.1C at 07.07 on Saturday.

Saturday yet again slowly came into life with thick, low cloud and dim light.

The anticyclone that has been dominating our weather for the past week is slowly emigrating westwards. The barometric pressure has fallen a significant 10mb since Friday at 08.00 with a current reading of 1028.4mb. This change in position will see the wind veer from the northeast into the north and northwest as the day progresses. By late evening and into Sunday the wind will back further into the west, a slightly warmer direction, but only for Sunday.

Yet again on Thursday the wind came from the north east, but not quite so strong, that allowed the temperature to rise to 4.3C, still 2.8C below my 40-year average. Only the first three days of this month were above the average. There was light drizzle in the early evening around 17.00. The temperature dropped very little over night thanks to a duvet of thick cloud that minimised any warmth escaping to the atmosphere, as result a minimum of 3.9C (+2.6C) was logged at 08.00 Friday.

Friday didn’t really dawn, it staggered into happening as it was so dark. The total cloud cover remained thick and low. The anticyclone centre is moving very little, edging slowly from the north of Scotland to the west of Scotland so no great changes today with the wind still coning from the northeast or east northeast. The pressure reading at 08.00 was still very high at 1038.3mb, down a touch from its peak of 1040.0mb on Thursday. Due to the slight warmer day and night the soil temperature at a depth of 5cm has risen to 3.1C at 08.00 from a low of 0.2C yesterday.