Author: Eric Gilbert

The mild, moist air, predominantly from the south on Tuesday, saw the thermometer rise to 6.8C during the daytime and early evening and peak at 7.8C at 23.52, which was 0.6C above the 37-year average.

Snow cover remained for much of the day but slowly thawed.

Rain showers during darkness amounted to 2.6mm bringing the monthly total to 58.7mm, which is 68% of the long-term average.

The warmth continued overnight with a reading of 7.6C at 08.00 on Wednesday under low cloud that initially limited visibility to 500m, but thinned by 08.30. The air movement after dawn was static with the anemometer above roof height motionless. The snow cover has now completely disappeared.

Under the transient ridge of high pressure on Monday we enjoyed 5.4 hours of glorious sunshine. As a result of the sunshine and the wind having backed onto the west, the thermometer rose to a maximum of 5.1C at 13.21 before beginning to fall back. There was a slight thaw of lying snow but snow was still widespread on the ground all day and into the night. By 18.41 the thermometer showed the air had dropped to freezing again at (-0.1C) 18.41 and continued its downward movement until reaching a minimum of -2.2C at 23.02.

The temperature began to recover after midnight as approaching cloud from yet anther weather front drifted in from the west. There were a few spots of rain at 07.40 with light rain beginning fall at 08.50.

The thermometer reading at 08.00 on Tuesday was 0.3C in still conditions.

The flow of cold air from near Iceland and the Arctic meant a cold day following the snowfall that only partially melted leaving snow cover all day and following night. The depth of the level snow was 5cm, with no drifting due to the calm conditions, and measured 5.2mm of precipitation when slowly melted.

The maximum of just 3.2C was recorded at 11.45 in brief sunshine of 0.7 hours, which was 3.9C below the 37-year average.

During the afternoon the thermometer dropped away to just below freezing all evening until around midnight when the sky cleared, flowing a few flakes of snow, to register a minimum of -4.3C at 07.20 on Monday. The UV level eased upwards again, just a little, with a peak of 0.9 not reached since 21st November. Both maximum and minimum were a degree down on the Saturday extremes.

Monday morning brought clear blue sky and bright sunshine as soon as the sun got above the horizon. A brief ridge of high pressure has been easing in over the past 15 hours with the highest pressure since the 18th with a current reading at 08.00 of 1009.7mb.

The cold air on Saturday came down from Iceland and the Arctic that meant it was a very cool day after the sharp frost. The thermometer slowly crept up to 4.3C at 14.22, which was 2.8C below the 37-year average and the coldest day this month since 7th (0.4C).

During the late afternoon and evening the thermometer began to fall slowly reaching freezing point (-0.1C) at 20.10 and -2.0C at 22.24. The minimum of -3.3C was reached at 02.49 Sunday morning being 4.7C below the 37-year average. At this time, encroaching cloud from the approaching weather front meant the thermometer began to climb again.

The radar showed the front edge of the weather front approaching the area at 06.30 with the first snow flakes falling a 06.44. At that time the thermometer had edged a little higher to read -0.6C.

The snow ceased falling just before 08.45 and lay at a level depth of 5cm due to the calm conditions. The wind, having backed into the west in the evening, came from the southeast on Sunday morning in calm conditions, the anemometer hardly turning.

The sunshine on Friday amounted to 3.2 hours with the UV a little stronger, briefly reaching 0.8. Earlier this month it had risen to 0.7 and at the beginning of the month 0.6. The thermometer struggled to reach a maximum of 6.7C at 14.26, which was 0.4C below the 37-year average. During the evening and overnight the temperature fell away to give a hard frost with the minimum of -2.4C recorded at 07.57 on Saturday.

The rainfall that started just before 17.00 on Friday amounted to 2.4mm bringing the monthly total to 50.6mm when the 37-year average is 90.5mm

Saturday began with thin high cloud through which weak sunshine appeared. The air movement has changed in direction from southwest on Friday veering into the northwest today but very calm. The flow of cold air is now coming from Iceland and the Arctic.