Author: Eric Gilbert

The wind was mainly from the west on Monday that brought much warmer air. The temperature slowly rose from 5.3C at 08.00 to 7.9C at 22.00 and at 08.00 on Tuesday read 9.0C. There was just a slight dip after midday but the maximum was 2.0C above the 37-year average and the first above average day since 26th December.

For most of the daylight hours the wind was peaking around 20mph, the strongest wind since 3rd January. However after midnight it increased in strength gusting to 33mph at 02.39.

There was a rain shower just before midnight but more persistent showers after 03.00 and a heavier fall just before 08.00 on Tuesday producing a total of 4.7mm making it the wettest day since 26th December and brought the monthly total to just 6.7mm when the average is 90.5mm.

Tuesday, after the rain band had passed over, it was much calmer with total cloud cover but a higher base with the wind veering into the northwest.

The air mass on Sunday, even though it was very calm, came from a more westerly direction and was less cold than last week, as a result the thermometer rose to 4.4C. Although it was warmer it was still 2.5C below the 37-year average. The thermometer continued to rise overnight, slowly, to reach a maximum of 5.2C at 05.19 on Monday morning. The other notable feature was that the the UV level was the highest since 1st December at 0.7, a welcome sign that, even if a minimal rise, the sun is beginning to gain a little strength. We also saw welcome sunshine totalling 1.9 hours after four foggy days.

Thankfully no fog was observed on Monday morning, the cloud although thick, was far higher and in places showing signs of thinning. The temperature at 08.00 was 5.3C and forecast to rise further in the milder air and as the ground begins to warm up, just a little. The temperature of the soil at a depth of 5cm has, for most of the month, been just above freezing but this morning read 3.2C at 08.00.

The tongue of high pressure pressure dominated on Saturday continuing the calm, foggy and cold weather. The fog thinned a little during daylight hours but returned late afternoon. The thermometer was reluctant to rise above freezing, eventually rising to 0.6C at 14.42, before dropping again in the late afternoon and a minimum of -1.7C at 21.42. Saturday was another day with minimal movement of air, the maximum speed was 7mph from the north east but again the anemometer was stationary for long periods.

Sunday’s arrival was a repeat of several previous days with fog, currently limiting visibility to 1000m, and frost persisting with a reading of -0.7C at 08.00. The anemometer is currently resting as there is no movement of air!

Fog persisted for much of the day on Friday that, combined with the air mass coming predominantly from the north, meant anther cold day. The thermometer rose to a maximum of 1.3C at 14.59 being 5.8C below the 37-year average before slowly falling again to reach a minimum overnight at 00.33 of -1.4C, which was 2.C below average. We have yet to have a day or night in January that is above the 37-year average. The thick, low cloud and fog meant no sunshine or any UV recorded.

Saturday arrived where Friday ended with fog limiting visibility to 1100m and the air almost still, the anemometer just occasionally rotating very slowly but mostly stationary. The temperature at the time of readings at 08.00 was -0.4C.

Thursday saw the thermometer continue to fall during daylight hours, rather than rising, to reach a minimum of -3.0C at 18.54 before pausing. There followed a gradual reversal so that by 23.00 Thursday evening the thermometer read +0.8C. We endured 32 hours of continuous sub zero temperatures.
The fog on Thursday lifted in the early afternoon to misty conditions but never cleared completely before visibility reduced again towards dusk. The wind was from the northwest until late afternoon before backing into the southwest and very light with the maximum movement of air, could not be classed as a gust, of just 6mph. This was the quietest day for wind since 21st January 2020 when a maximum air movement of only 5mph was recorded.

Friday morning dawned grey and gloomy with the occasional flake of snow observed after 08.10. The thermometer read 0.3C at 08.00 in still conditions.