Author: Eric Gilbert

Friday saw the thermometer rise above average (+0.8C) with a maximum of 11.1C. It was a dry day with light rain showers falling just before 03.15 in the early hours of Saturday morning, amounting to 2.1mm.

Saturday started with thick cloud and the thermometer registering 9.1C at 08.00 after a mild night as the thermometer did not fall below 7.0C (+5C).

February 2019 review

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 Saturday at 16.20: another mild, dry day as the temperature peaked at 12.7C although southwesterly wind picked up during the afternoon with a maximum gust of 25mph, the strongest gust for almost a month.

The end of Meteorological Winter brought a much cooler day than previously but with a maximum of 11.7C it was still 4.6C above average.

There were rain showers in the morning that produced 3.9mm, which brought the February total to 65.3mm being 0.4mm above average.

The change in wind direction from south to southwest meant a cooler air and as the anticyclone lost its grip, allowed weather fronts to begin to cross the country from the Atlantic.

Friday saw a cloudy start with a minimum overnight temperature of 5.9C.

Update on Friday at 16.25: meteorological spring continues above average daytime temperature, just, with a maximum of 11.1C (+0.8C).

Wednesday was the last of the wall to wall sunshine days, which gave us 9.97 hours. The temperature was 0.7C down on the record maximum for February on Tuesday with a reading of 17.5C at 13.45, but this was still 10.4C above the 35-yea average.

During the day the barometric pressure, which has been very high for six days, began to drop as the anticyclone edged away.

Initially overnight the temperature fell away to a minimum of 1.4C at 00.35 this morning, Thursday, but the influence of the approaching weather front saw cloud begin to encroach from the west that reversed the falling trend so that by 08.00 Thursday morning the thermometer had recovered to 7.8C under a predominantly cloudy sky (7/8).

Update on Friday at 18.20: the last day of meteorological winter saw the maximum temperature down on recent days with a peak of 10.4C, which was still 3.3C above average. A significant change in wind direction, now from the south west.

Tuesday saw the February maximum record broken again as the thermometer rose to a peak of 18.2C at 14.48, which was 11.1C above average and up 0.5C on the Monday record.

It was another totally dry day with 9.91 hours of sunshine, the sunniest day since 9th October.

With no cloud cover overnight to provide a duvet that would restrict heat loss into the atmosphere, the thermometer again fell below zero with a minimum of -0.8C at 07.01 today.

Wednesday morning is a re-run of the last three days as the sun began to shine strongly when it rose above the horizon.

Update on Wednesday at 15.20: another very warm day with wall to wall sunshine producing a maximum of 17.5C. Although this was 0.7C down on the record breaking Tuesday maximum it was still 10.4C above average.

Monday saw the thermometer rise to a maximum of 17.7C at 14.46. This broke the existing record set in 1998 and was 10.6C above average, which is more typical of May average.

There was just a slight movement of air from the south all day with the strongest gust registering only 11mph.

It was another dry day giving us 9.77 hours of sunshine – wall to wall – and the UV level higher again with a reading of 2.2, not seen since 21st October.

As on previous nights under a clear sky the thermometer fell below zero, but not until just after 04.30, with a minimum of -1.5C at 07.18 this morning, Tuesday.

Tuesday saw the sun again shine brightly and strongly as it rose above the horizon lifting the temperature at 08.00 to 1.1C.

Update on Tuesday at 15.20: record broken again with maximum temperature today of 18.2C at 14.48, which was 0.5C up on Monday’s maximum and 11.1C above the 35-year average.