Author: Eric Gilbert

Tuesday, during daylight hours, brought eight hours of almost continuous rainfall with another burst overnight. The daily rainfall amounted to 16.0mm bringing the November total to 76.1mm, still 15.3mm below the 34-year average but making it the wettest day since 26th August.

The thermometer did not reach the November average maximum with a peak of just 9.4C at 16.47, then dropped back in the evening to 6.9C just after midnight.

It was windy day with a peak gust of 26mph at 14.12.

The advancing cloud and rain overnight, brought on winds then from a southerly direction and a much warmer air mass, saw the thermometer rise steadily to 12.2C at 08.00 on Wednesday morning making it the warmest start to a day since 17th October.

Wednesday morning also saw a brief pause in the rain before the effects of Storm Diana are felt as, after still conditions during last evening when the wind dropped completely, it has been rising again this morning.

Update on Wednesday at 13.20: south westerly wind, gusting to 34mph, driving light rain in mild Atlantic air, currently 12.7C.

Update at 16.45: peak gust of 37mph and maximum temperature of 13.1C at 16.19 being 3C above average.

We enjoyed the welcome return of the sun on Monday, even if limited to the morning, with 2.35 hours, after four sunless days. However, it did nothing for the temperature as the brisk wind backed into the north that limited the maximum to just 6.5C being 3.5C below average.

Much clearer skies overnight led to the thermometer falling away steadily to a minimum of -1.7C at 02.57 before recovering to 0.1C at 08.00, the time readings were taken.

A drop in temperature and the wind dropping out overnight meant that fog formed limiting visibility at dawn to 500m.

A change in the weather pattern is afoot as the air mass on Tuesday is coming from the south east, but the still conditions persist. The cloud cover has been increasing over recent hours, thus the rise in temperature to above freezing with rain imminent from a wide weather front.

Update on Tuesday at 17.05: a significant change in weather as south easterlies bring milder air, peak of 9.4C at 16.44, making it the warmest day since 18th but still below average. Very gusty winds with maximum gust of 26mph during 7 hours of rain.

Currently (18.00), as cloud moved away eastward rain ceased with the thermometer easing downwards to (7.9C) before next rain band arrives overnight.

Sunday gave us another gloomy day, dry with just a little brightness mid-morning. The thermometer again did not get above the average for November as it struggled to reach a maximum of 7.1C (-2.9C), which was the eighth successive day with a below average maximum.

Monday arrived with broken cloud and a much brighter day in prospect, the wind now having backed into the north from the north east on the two previous days.

The rainfall for November still stands at 60.1mm being 31mm below the 34-year average. We have had six successive below average rainfall months. Although rain is forecast in the next couple of days as the blocking high lets depressions move in from the Atlantic, I wonder if it will change the sequence of drier than average months, evidence of which can be seen in the very low water levels in both the River Og and River Kennet, which flow through Marlborough.

Thursday saw the below zero temperature at the start of the day drop further to -1.7C at 09.05 before beginning to slowly lift reaching a maximum of 4.5C at 14.27, which was 5.5C below average. We have now had eight days with slowly falling maxima as the warmth of last week falls away to below average over the past five days. It is interesting to see the gradual process of the loss of warmth, 14.2C, 14.1C, 11.5C, 10.1C, 9.8C, 7.3C, 5.1C, 4.9C, and 4.5C.

The past night saw a minimum of 2.6C at 21.55 before slowly rising to 4.2C at 08.00 this morning as thicker cloud drifted in from the south.

Friday arrived with thick cloud hovering over the Marlborough Downs producing fog with visibility down to 400m.

A band of rain initially, turning to wet snow, arrived at 08.14 on Wednesday that continued for over an hour leaving a thin covering on non-hard surfaces.

The maximum temperature has been falling daily since 14th struggling to reach 4.9C on Wednesday, which was 5.1C below the 34-year average.

The total precipitation was 9.2mm bringing the November total to 58.6mm, which is still 33mm less than the average for November bearing in mind that we have had six successive months with below average rainfall.

Clearing skies late afternoon meant a sharp frost set in around midnight falling to -1.4C just before sunrise, this was 5C below the November average.

Thursday arrived with the sun beginning to shine as soon as it rose above the horizon but not triggering the sunshine recorder until 09.04.

Update on Thursday at 16.20: maximum temperature down again to peak of 4.5C at 14.27. The sequence of falling maxima over the past nine days is: 14.2C, 14.1C, 11.5C, 10.1C, 9.8C, 7.3C, 5.1C, 4.9C and 4.5C.