Another 1 hour of strong sunshine was recorded yesterday although the maximum temperature slipped (13.4C) again to be 0.5C below the April average. Late yesterday evening the wind backed from the southeast to the east and is quite brisk this morning. Overnight the cloud cover and warmer air meant that the thermometer did not drop below 8.5C, a very mild night compared with many this past week. The barometric pressure has been dropping for the past thirty six hours as a depression from the Atlantic approaches with its cold front already over Cornwall and at 0800 gave the lowest reading all month at 1001.7mb.
It is the warmest morning all month but notable is that after so little rain and now a drying easterly wind, the humidity level at 08.00 was 73%, the driest air at this time since June 6th 2016.
Author: Eric Gilbert
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Warmest morning this month with very dry air
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No visible evidence this morning but another frost
Yesterday was a quiet day with little wind (maximum gust 10 mph) and minimal sunshine (0.72 hours). The daytime temperature recovered to near average wth a maximum of 13.6C. The thermometer dropped rapidly after dark and reached a minimum of 1.8C at 01.59 this morning, giving a temporary ground frost. The thermometer registered a recovery to 5.4C at 08.00.
No rain fell yesterday thus the total for April to date is 6.1mm compared to the 33-year average that is 59.7mm. During the past 28 days the moisture that has evaporated into the atmosphere from ground sources and plant life totals 65mm giving a deficit for April so far of almost 60mm of equivalent rainfall. It is no wonder that our two local rivers are registering several slight drops in their levels.
This morning, although there is little visible evidence of wind direction, the clouds show a total change in direction from north to south. We now have high pressure to the east and low pressure to the west hence the arrival of warmer air for the near continent rather than the polar maritime of recent days. -
Temperatures recover a little as wind backs into north west
After the arctic blast on Wednesday, both day and night, the slight shift in wind direction from north to northwest meant a slightly warmer day yesterday with a maximum of 10.6C, but this was still 3C below the average. Sadly, the intense and lengthy cold meant my rhododendrons and apple blossom were very badly affected. There was a little sunshine between the heavy clouds and a couple of light showers amounting to 0.6mm, which brings the total to 6.1mm for April, the third driest I have recorded since 1984 when the thirty-three year average is 59.7mm. Overnight the cloud cover meant that the thermometer did not drop below 4.8C. This morning broke with continuous cloud cover that has the promise of breaking as the day progresses with the thermometer recovering to 7.0C at 08.00. It has been a month when only two days have not registered strong sunshine, if minimal, with a total of 148 hours to date.
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-3.0C and 8 hours below zero – winter again!
Wednesday was even colder than the previous day with a maximum of 9.7C, the coldest day this month, but the wind chill factor reduced this by 2C. Late afternoon another rain shower gave us 1.2mm of rain bringing the total for April to 5.5mm. At this time the thermometer started to drop and continued falling almost continuously until this morning. The minimum temperature was -3.0C, the coldest April night since 2013, that occurred at 05.45 with the thermometer rising to 2.0C at 08.00 under the influence of a strengthening sun. There were eight hours of sub-zero temperatures. The soil temperature at a depth of 5cm was reading 3.4C at 0800, the lowest for a month.
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Winter in Springtime with snow!
What a day of contrasts yesterday was? The brisk northerly wind pegged back the daytime temperature to a maximum of only 9.8C, some 4C below the average and the coldest day since 6th March. Out of the wind the 5.92 hours of sunshine were quite strong with a UV level at the top end of ‘Moderate’. However, at 19.15 a storm arrived with initially large rain drops that by 19.24 turned to wet snow and lasted for over ten minutes. There was not a great quantity of precipitation, just 2.2mm, but it was the wettest day this month and brings the total for April to 4.4mm, the second driest April since my records began in 1984. At this time thermometer dropped over 4C to a low of 1.8C and the wind gusted to 29mph, the strongest gust for over a month.
Overnight the thermometer dropped to a low of 0.6C giving a ground frost but not an air frost. At daybreak everywhere was white due to the precipitation last night unlike the previous night when there was an air frost but not noticeable due the every dry air at that time.
This morning has dawned with thick cloud and only the briefest glimpses of sunshine and a temperature that has recovered to 3.7C at 08.00