Friday brought even thicker and duller conditions with the temperature down on Thursday producing a maximum of 10.7C (+0.4C). The night was cooler but still above average with a minimum of 6.6C (+4.5C).
Saturday arrived with the cloud looking a little thinner after dawn and the temperature at 08.00 of 8.1C.
Thursday was another gloomy day with continuous heavy cloud.
Both Wednesday and Thursday were very similar dominated by low, thick cloud. Evaporation was 0.73mm on both days, both days were dry with wind coming from the west and peak gusts of 13mph and 14mph respectively. Global sunshine was identical for both days at 6.8 w/m2 with minima 8.2C and 8.1C respectively.
Thursday saw both maximum and minimum temperatures above average with 12.3C (+2.0C) and 8.1C (+6C).
Friday arrived with the same gloomy start to the day.
Although Wednesday was another gloomy day with constant but variable cloud the UV level at 3.2 was the highest since 4th October as the sun’s strength slowly builds. The barometric pressure, reading 1033.3mb at 0800 today, Thursday, has been rising steadily for two days but trapped below it is a thick cloud and with little wind, peak gust yesterday was just 14mph, does little to break up the cloud blanket. With little brightness, the thermometer did rise above average (+1.4C) with a maximum of 11.7C.
That cloud blank meant a very mild night with the thermometer not falling below 8.2C, which was 6.1C above average. However, the penalty is that Thursday morning arrived with the cloud base so low it is draping itself over the Marlborough Downs and Savernake Forest.
The soil temperature at a depth of 5cm read 9.1C today, the warmest since mid-December.
Tuesday saw the thermometer rise above average again with a maximum of 12.3C (+2C) likewise the minimum was 7.4C (+5.3C).
It was the first dry day in March with the monthly rainfall now 69.8mmm (+10.3mm).
Wednesday dawned with thick cloud and little movement of the air.
Update on Wednesday at 14.50: a cooler day with thick cloud obscuring the sun and limiting any temperature rise with a maximum of 11.7C being 1.4C above average. The second dry day this month.
There was a brief shower on Monday afternoon, amounting to 0.1mm, so we have yet to have a totally dry day in March.
The westerly winds had moderated with a maximum gust of 15mph, although this did temper the temperature that reached a maximum of 9.2C, which was 1.1C below average.
Cloud overnight meant a mild night with a minimum of 6.3C at 00.33 Tuesday morning that dawned with thick cloud and misty conditions.
The sunshine recorded has been malfunctioning for a few days so I have removed all that data for March.
Update on Tuesday at 17.40: temperature returns above average with a maximum of 12.3C (+2C) in light winds, peaking at just 11mph