Author: Eric Gilbert

A chain of weather fronts is bringing more rain and wind over the next few days, starting today. The past twenty-four hours has produced 16.5mm of precipitation, predominantly in the past few hours. That brought the monthly total to 100.0mm exactly, which is 8.3mm above the 38-year average.

Both the maximum of 9.4C and the minimum of 8.7C were above average being + 1.3C and +6.2C respectively.

On drawing back the curtains on Wednesday it revealed another dark and wet morning with the wind much stronger and from the southwest.

The brisk wind from predominantly a westerly direction meant a cool day on Monday with the thermometer not rising above the long-term average with a maximum of 5.6C (-2.4C). This fell away during the evening to a low of 2.1C at 03.01 on Tuesday.

By 08.00 on Tuesday the thermometer had recovered a couple of degrees with a temperature of 4.1C under partially cloudy skies. Advance cloud from the next weather front was already showing itself after dawn.

The temperature for Christmas Day was mild with the thermometer climbing to 10.6C by 14.10, which was 2.5C above the average. From that time the wind edged into a westerly quadrant, a cool direction and the temperature began to slowly fall away. However cloud and showers, the last just after 02.00 on Monday meant the sky then began to clear and the temperature to drop more rapidly to reach 2.2C at 08.00.

Another 6.8mm of rainfall took the monthly rainfall to 83.3mm, still 8mm below the 38year average.

Boxing Day dawned bright with clear skies and the thermometer continuing to fall away to reach 2.1C at 08.40.

The centre of the deep low pressure is currently just off the coast of Scotland, east of Iceland, which produced the wind direction change with today producing a westerly light breeze. As a result of the depression easing away the pressure has been rising quite rapidly putting on 9mb since this time yesterday.

The southerly breeze on Saturday and thick cloud overnight meant the mild weather continued. The maximum of 9.9C was 1.8C above the average and a minimum of 9.4C was a significant 6.9C above the average.

A little rain fell in the past twenty-four hours, 0.8mm, that took the monthly total to 76.5mm, which is still 15mm below the long-term average.

Christmas Day dawned mild and overcast with the temperature at 08.00 reading 9.9C.

The thermometer eventually climbed to 12.0C on Friday being 3.9C above the average after the morning rain had stopped.

During the majority of the evening the thermometer hovered around 7C but under clearing skies in the early hours the temperature slowly fell to a minimum of 5.0C at 08.00, by 08.30 that was down to 4.8C.

Saturday arrived with variable light cloud but no sunshine initially.