Author: Eric Gilbert

Tuesday saw light rain and drizzle amounting to 0.6mm, which was the first precipitation since 25th December after 20 consecutive dry days. This was the longest dry period since July 2013.

The mild air continued raising the thermometer to a maximum of 8.2C, exactly the same as on Sunday and 1.2C above average.

Wednesday started with overcast skies and low cold with the thermometer reading 8.2C at 08.00.

Update on Tuesday at 16.05: maximum of 8.9C occurred at 12.41, then started to fall away as cold front crossed the area bringing 3.1mm of rainfall. Thermometer fallen to 4.8C at 16.05 and as the sky clears will rapidly drop close to freezing.

With another dry day on Monday this made 20 dry consecutive dry days, the driest period since July 2013, which was a summer month and not mid-winter.

There were glimmers of sunshine in the afternoon totalling just 10 minutes with a maximum temperature of 8.2C being 1.2C above average.

During the evening the skies cleared and allowed the temperature to drop to 1.4C at 01.54 this morning, just above at the January average.

Tuesday morning arrived with total cloud cover, which began to drift across in the early hours around 02.00 allowing the thermometer to rise to 6.1C at 08.00.

Sunday was another dry day making this the nineteenth consecutive dry day and the driest continuous period since July 2013, which had nineteen dry days. The average rainfall for January stands at 91.8mm and this month so far no precipitation has been recorded. With records going back to 1984 I find that the longest period with consecutive dry days was in April 1984 into the beginning of May 1984, which had 27 consecutive dry days.

There were blustery conditions during Sunday evening when frequent gusts above 20mph were recorded with the peak gust of 33mph occurring at 21.29.

The temperature on Sunday hovered around 8.3C for most of the day being 1.3C above average. However, just after 18.00 a plume of warmer air arrived that slowly lifted the temperature to 10.4C at 19.42 before the thermometer steadily fell back again.

The overnight minimum was 4.7C being 3.4C above average.

Monday arrived with a cloudy sky buy hints that there might be breaks in the cloud cover as the morning progresses.

Update on Monday at 13.55: maximum temperature of 8.2C ar 12.54, which was 1.2C above average. Another dry day so far due to the high pressure reasserting itself that is likely to mean the dry spell extends further.

Saturday again was a dry day, the eighteenth consecutive dry day, making it the driest spell since July 2013. The day was again overcast with thick cloud and no sunshine.

The mild air stream continued that raised the temperature to a maximum of 9.5C, which was 2.5C above average. The cloud cover continued overnight providing a duvet to minimise warmth escaping into the atmosphere that meant the temperature at 08.00 today was a significant 7.1C above average with a reading of 8.4C.

Sunday arrived with complete cloud cover that is likely to persist throughout the day as another weak weather front moves down from the north. The strongest gust of wind this month occurred at 06.12 with a peak speed of 27mph.

It is the warmest morning since 30th December.

Update on Sunday at 18.15: 19th consecutive dry day, driest period since July 2013, when it was summer, not midwinter! Temperature consistently 2.3C above average during daylight hours at 9.3C.

Update at 20.00: temperature surprisingly risen to 10.4C since 18.15

The intense high-pressure that has dominated our weather for the past two weeks is now weakening with the air from mid Atlantic circulating clockwise around it bringing milder air for the past day or so. As a consequence the temperature rose overnight to 7.9C at 08.00 on Saturday making this the warmest morning since December 31st, being a significant 6.3C above the average minimum for January.

There were almost 4 hours of sunshine on Friday and the UV level at 0.7 the highest in January, as on three other occasions this month, only once in December, the first sign indicating that the sun is slowly beginning to strengthen.

Saturday arrived with the wind now coming from the west, still light in strength. Thick, low cloud has returned giving complete coverage of the sky.

Update on Saturday at 15.05: now experienced longest dry spell since September 2014 with 17 consecutive dry days. Temperature rose to maximum of 9.3C, which is 2.3C above average, but no sunshine.