Author: Eric Gilbert

Wednesday brought a rash of showers that were almost continuous throughout daylight hours. There was a lull overnight but just after 05.30 Thursday morning another band of rain crossed the area. The rainfall during the past twenty-four hours amounted to 7.7mm bringing the monthly total to 33.4mm with the current 35-year average at 59.5mm.

It was a mild day thanks to the southerly air stream with gusty winds peaking at 30mph. The thermometer maximum was at 11.5C, which was 1.2C above average.

Thursday saw another band of rain crossing the area, clearing just after 08.10, with the cloud thinning as the temperature fell away to a minimum of 4.4C.

Update on Thursday at 16.35: strong westerly winds all day gusting to 38mph at 12.32. A dry day during daylight hours.

Tuesday proved a dry day until the advance rain began to fall at 15.44, from an extensive rain band, as a warm weather front reached us.

The rainfall from this weather front produced 13.8mm, which was the wettest day since 18th December and brought the March total to 25.7mm.

It was a warm day with the thermometer reaching 10.9C being 0.6C above the average and a windy day with a peak gust of 37mph occurring at 22.50.

The warm front arriving in the late afternoon and its associated thick cloud meant a warm, mild night followed with the thermometer reading 9.8C at 08.00 this morning, Wednesday.

Wednesday morning arrived with thick cloud and light rain from the back edge of the weather front now moving away to the east.

Update on Wednesday at 17.50: frequent, almost continuous showers throughout daylight hours as a deep depression approached from the west with the lowest barometric pressure in a month, currently reading 983.6mb. A mild day thanks to brisk southerly winds with a maximum of 11.5C being 1.2C above average.

Monday brought brisk westerly winds, gusting to a peak of 32mph in a squall at 11.58, that meant a wind chill that dropped the maximum of 8.8C to making it feel more like 6C. The peak was also below average (-1.5)C, the first for nearly a month.

A heavy rain shower started at 12.00 that with later minor showers just after 5pm amounted to 1.9mm.

Overnight saw a minimum of 2.9C at 02.39, which had recovered to 4.8C at 08.00 today, Tuesday.

Tuesday morning arrived with the sun shining brightly after it rose above the horizon.

Update on Monday at 18.30: temperature eases back above average, just (+0.6C) with a maximum of 10.9C at 13.10. Rain arrived 15.40 ahead of next extensive rain band, this time from a warm front, so a mild wet night ahead.

Sunday saw the barometric pressure fall to its lowest pressure in over a month with Storm Freya passing to the north west of this area. The lowest pressure was 986.6mb early this morning, Monday, compared to the highest this month, on the 1st, with 1020.0mb.

The deep depression brought strong winds for most of Sunday with a maximum gust of 39mph at 16.36. Later in the evening the wind strength dropped rapidly.

During the day there were frequent showers emanating from a wide weather front that produced 5.4mm of rainfall.

Sunday gave us another relatively warm day with a maximum temperature of 11.1C, which was 0.8C above the 35-year average.

With clear skies overnight the thermometer dropped to a minimum of 2.9C at 06.23 this morning, Monday, being 0.8C above average.

Monday morning brought broken cloud cover with glimpses of brightness and the wind now backing into the west.

Update on Monday at 15.45: temperature depressed in strong, cool westerlies with a maximum of only 8.8C at 11.56, being the first below average (-1.5C) temperature in almost a month. The gusty wind, peaking at 32mph, produced a wind chill so that it felt more like 6C.

Saturday brought another warmer than average day with a maximum of 12.7C (+2.4C). It was breezy day with a maximum gust of 31mph at 21.03

No rain fell during daylight hours but brief showers occurred just before and after 11pm and restarted at 05.00 today as a weather front from Storm Freya arrived. The rainfall over the past twenty-four hours amounted to 2.5mm.

A mild night followed with a minimum of 7.5C, which was 5.4C above average.

Sunday arrived with thick cloud and steady rain but at 08.00 little wind ahead of the gale force winds forecast for later in the day.

February 2019

February 2019 was another month with a broken record, twice, with the warmest February day held since 1998. On the 25th the thermometer rose to a maximum of 17.7C with the following day higher again at 18.2C, which was 11.1C above the 35-year average.

It was a warm month with a mean temperature of 5.92C but did not break any records although it was 1.3C above the average. February 2011 was warmer with a mean of 6.29C. To offset the very warm days a frost was recorded on 11 days with the thermometer registering a very hard frost on the morning of the 3rd with a low of -11.3C.

Although the end of the month was predominantly dry, it began with a number of very wet days that included much snow on the 1st. Two days, the 1st and 5th, produced a daily precipitation of 9.7mm. The precipitation for the month registered 65.3mm, which was just 0.4mm above the 35-year average. There were 16 dry days. There was 50% coverage of snow on the ground from the 1st to the 4th.

The barometric pressure began to rise on the 19th, with the centre settling over the continent. This brought a succession of 9 dry days and with the wind coming from the south carrying very warm air from around the Canary Islands, temperatures rose as we enjoyed several days of wall-to-wall sunshine. On four days we enjoyed a daily total of almost 10 hours. The monthly total for sunshine was 163 hours.

Fog occurred during the early morning on five days with visibility restricted to 100m on the 14th and 23rd.

Winter 2018-19

We have just enjoyed a warm winter with a mean temperature of 4.89C, which was 0.6C above the 35-year average. The winter of 2015 was the warmest since my records began in 1984 with a mean of 6.4C. By contrast, the coldest winter since that date was in 2009 with a mean of just 2.03C.

Precipitation for the three months totalled 222mm, which was 25mm below the 34-year average and the driest for five years. The extremes were in 2013 with 528mm and 1991 with just 94mm. The last three winters have shown a deficit over the average of 119mm.

Update on Sunday at 18.40: Storm Freya brought a stormy day with frequent strong gusts and a maximum gust of 39mph at 16.36. It was another warm day with an above average temperature of 11.1C (+0.8C). The barometric pressure continues to fall with a current very low reading of 989.4mb