Author: Eric Gilbert

Thursday gave us almost 10 hours of strong sunshine that lasted from when the sun got up over the horizon to late afternoon when the high cloud dimmed the intensity of the sun. It was the sunniest day since August 28th last year.

The thermometer slowly rose to its highest at 15.41 with a peak temperature of 11.1C, although this was still 3C below the 34-year April average.

After 10 successive wet days it was a treat to have a dry day with little wind, which made it a very pleasant Spring day.

Overnight the thin cloud allowed the thermometer to gradually fall away to a minimum of 3.7C (average for April) just before dawn that arrived with thin cloud allowing weak sunshine after 08.00.

Friday update at 14.00: current temperature of 13.8C makes this the warmest day since 1st November. Wind gusting to 28mph is taking the edge off the temperature with wind chill making it feel more like 12.1C.

Wednesday was a miserable day with the showers coming thick and fast producing almost continuous rain or drizzle until late afternoon when there was a break allowing 50 minutes of sunshine to lift the temperature to a maximum of 10.3C at 17.23, being 3.5C below the April average.

Rainfall amount was 6.1mm bringing the total for April to 29.7mm, which occurring in the first four days of the month was over half the 34-year average.

With the depression easing eastwards as the day progressed the cloud thinned early evening to allow the thermometer to drop slowly overnight to a minimum of 3.2C at dawn, just below the April average.

Glorious sunshine appeared as soon as the sun rose above the horizon and with blue skies under the ridge of high pressure, we are promised a sunny day.

Thursday update at 14.00: 7 hours of continuous strong sunshine to 14.00, with much more to come from the temporary ridge of high pressure. Temperature is currently 10.4C and edging higher that with light winds make it a pleasant spring day.

Thursday update at 19.00. 10 hours of sunshine today, the sunniest day since 28th August.

Tuesday gave us 1.66 hours of sunshine, which lifted the temperature to a maximum of 12.1C, the highest for nearly three weeks but this was still almost 2C below the 34-year April average.

There was intermittent drizzle during Tuesday and more rain overnight totalling 1.7mm.

The mild southerly winds, gusting to 26mph, and cloud meant a warm night with the lowest temperature of 6.5C.

Wednesday morning is predominantly cloudy with passing light showers that are obscuring the sun as another depression is making its way across the country. The temperature at 08.00 had risen to 8.2C.

Wednesday update at 13.00: wind recently gusting to 28mph and frequent showers amounting to 3mm so far today.

Wednesday update at 15.30: first sunshine of day just broken through after showers until now had merged to give almost continuous rain or drizzle.

Wednesday update at 18.30: 50 minutes of late sunshine lifted the temperature to a high of 10.3C but still 4C below average. Frequent showers have produced another 6mm of rainfall today.

Monday was predominant gloomy with much cloud although the southerly wind lifted the temperature to 10.3C this was still more than 4C below the early April average.

Showers occurred during daylight hours and continued overnight producing 3.7mm of rain.

The thermometer did not drop below 8C overnight rising to 9.6C by 08.00 thanks to the southerly winds and total cloud cover.

Tuesday update at 14.00: the milder air on the southerly wind, with brief glimpses of sunshine, has raised the maximum to 12.2C, the warmest day for nearly three weeks but still 2C below the April average. The strong winds, gusting to 24mph, are also tempering the temperature.

March 2018 Summary

What a month as more records broken – cold, wet and windy with considerable snow.

The lack of sunshine and frequent strong winds, with many days from the northeast, meant that temperatures were depressed. The mean temperature for the month was 1.6C below the 34-year average but it was not the coldest March on record as that occurred in 2013 when the mean was 3.7C below the average. My records show that a colder March occurred in the years 1984-1987, 1996 and as mentioned 2013.

The month began with record low daytime temperatures for the dates of the 1st and 2nd. On the 1st the thermometer never got above freezing with a maximum of -2.0C. It is not surprising that the following night was the coldest of the month with a minimum of -6.1C . This cold spell followed the coldest end to February on record for those last two days.

The intense low temperatures by day and night meant that the cold percolated into the ground so that on the 1st the ground temperature at a depth of 5mm was -1.3C. There were 10 air frosts throughout the month being just above the average frequency

There was considerable snow in the strong northeasterly winds that meant considerable drifting occurred. Snow fell on both the 1st and 2nd also 17th – 19th. With snow around our bungalow, varying from 1cm to over 40 cm, obtaining the equivalent rainfall total for each day was not straightforward.

I thought it might be of interest to describe the recommended technique to obtain the equivalent rainfall on such days. As little snow remained in the rain gauge that could be melted due to the wind blowing across the mouth of the gauge, a different technique had to be employed. The standard 5 inch Meteorological Office rain gauge (or 12.5cm) was removed from the ground. The inverted funnel was inserted vertically into a representative area of lying snow, avoiding drifts or areas where snow had been removed by strong winds, to obtain a ‘snow core’ sample down to ground level. As far as possible, all of the snow in the area enclosed by the rain gauge funnel was collected in the funnel, after placing a thin piece of wood under the funnel at ground level. This snow was placed into a suitable receptacle and the procedure repeated twice. The container with the resulting accumulated snow was placed in a bowl of warm water to slowly melt and then measured in the standard graded glass measuring jar. The resultant liquid was then divided by three to get the best guestimate of the equivalent rainfall total.

The equivalent rainfall for the month came to 130.9mm, which was a record for this station that commenced recording in 1984. This total was 228% of the 34-year average or 73.5mm above and was considerably more than the previous record of 113.7mm set in 2001. We don’t need to be reminded that there were only 4 dry days in March!

It was not a sunny month. There were just 55.3 hours of strong sunshine. This total was only 2 hours more than that recorded in January and only half of that which we enjoyed in the very sunny February. It was not a surprise to find that the highest UV level during the month was the lowest since this instrument was installed in 2010.

Such a miserable month was due to the frequent depressions crossing the country, born out by the barometric pressure data being a significant 18mb below the long-term average.

We all hope that the new month will bring much warm sunshine although on the 1st April the maximum temperature was only 7.3C, which was almost 7C below the average for April and that was not a joke!

Sunday morning gave us 1.85 hours of sunshine before cloud bubbled up then thicker cloud from the next weather front obscured the sun.

Rain returned again in the evening starting at 19.40 and continued into Monday morning, slowly easing away. The past twenty-four hours have produced 18.2mm of rain, the wettest April day since 2014.

The thermometer struggled to reach 7.3C on Sunday due to the minimal sunshine but predominantly from the wind that had moved back into the northeast for the majority of the day before veering into the southeast in the evening.

Monday arrived with the hang back of cloud and light rain from the extensive weather front now slowly departing to the east. The thermometer, fell to its lowest point at 00.09 early this morning with a minimum of 1.3C before recovering to 7.2C at 08.00 as the wind backed slightly, now into the south as the milder air slowly moves north.

Monday update at 17.00: throughout the day we have been plagued by low cloud delivering light showers of drizzle. Late afternoon the cloud thinned and the sky brightened with limited hazy, week sunshine. However, the thermometer has still been depressed with a maximum of 10.3C when the April average is 14C.

March 2018 Summary

What a month as more records broken – cold, wet and windy with considerable snow.

The lack of sunshine and frequent strong winds, with many days from the northeast, meant that temperatures were depressed. The mean temperature for the month was 1.6C below the 34-year average but it was not the coldest March on record as that occurred in 2013 when the mean was 3.7C below the average. My records show that a colder March occurred in the years 1984-1987, 1996 and as mentioned 2013.

The month began with record low daytime temperatures for the dates of the 1st and 2nd. On the 1st the thermometer never got above freezing with a maximum of -2.0C. It is not surprising that the following night was the coldest of the month with a minimum of -6.1C . This cold spell followed the coldest end to February on record for those last two days.

The intense low temperatures by day and night meant that the cold percolated into the ground so that on the 1st the ground temperature at a depth of 5mm was -1.3C. There were 10 air frosts throughout the month being just above the average frequency

There was considerable snow in the strong northeasterly winds that meant considerable drifting occurred. Snow fell on both the 1st and 2nd also 17th – 19th. With snow around our bungalow, varying from 1cm to over 40 cm, obtaining the equivalent rainfall total for each day was not straightforward.

I thought it might be of interest to describe the recommended technique to obtain the equivalent rainfall on such days. As little snow remained in the rain gauge that could be melted due to the wind blowing across the mouth of the gauge, a different technique had to be employed. The standard 5 inch Meteorological Office rain gauge (or 12.5cm) was removed from the ground. The inverted funnel was inserted vertically into a representative area of lying snow, avoiding drifts or areas where snow had been removed by strong winds, to obtain a ‘snow core’ sample down to ground level. As far as possible, all of the snow in the area enclosed by the rain gauge funnel was collected in the funnel, after placing a thin piece of wood under the funnel at ground level. This snow was placed into a suitable receptacle and the procedure repeated twice. The container with the resulting accumulated snow was placed in a bowl of warm water to slowly melt and then measured in the standard graded glass measuring jar. The resultant liquid was then divided by three to get the best guestimate of the equivalent rainfall total.

The equivalent rainfall for the month came to 130.9mm, which was a record for this station that commenced recording in 1984. This total was 228% of the 34-year average or 73.5mm above and was considerably more than the previous record of 113.7mm set in 2001. We don’t need to be reminded that there were only 4 dry days in March!

It was not a sunny month. There were just 55.3 hours of strong sunshine. This total was only 2 hours more than that recorded in January and only half of that which we enjoyed in the very sunny February. It was not a surprise to find that the highest UV level during the month was the lowest since this instrument was installed in 2010.

Such a miserable month was due to the frequent depressions crossing the country, born out by the barometric pressure data being a significant 18mb below the long-term average.

We all hope that the new month will bring much warm sunshine although on the 1st April the maximum temperature was only 7.3C, which was almost 7C below the average for April and that was not a joke!