Author: Eric Gilbert

Yesterday was a memorable day for several reasons. With a maximum of only 12.2C, due to the brisk north easterly wind peaking at 23mph, it was the coolest day this month. But we enjoyed 11.06 hours of strong sunshine with the highest daily solar power since 16th August 2016. Again there was no precipitation. Overnight thin high cloud meant no frost with a minimum of 4.2C
This morning has dawned glorious with continuous sunshine after daybreak due to the anticyclone close to the UK with the highest barometric pressure, reading of 1036.2mb at 08.00, for three months.

Although cloud moved in during the afternoon yesterday obscuring the sunshine, the morning gave us 1.77 hours of strong sunshine and the UV level at midday reached into the ‘High’ category, the highest since 6th September last year. Again, a day without precipitation, making it fourteen dry days this month. Overnight the thermometer dropped steadily under the clear sky until a minimum of 2.4C was reached at 03.23 this morning, giving a grass frost, after which variable cloud and a slight breeze allowed the thermometer to rise to 5.1C at 08.00.
This morning dawned with cloud drifting in on the north-easterly wind but was soon dispersed as the sun got to work on it. The fresh breeze meant that although the thermometer read 5.2C, there was significant wind chill so that it felt like 2C.

Sunday brought intermittent sunshine, which amounted to 3.99 hours, the highest total for four days. As a consequence the temperature recovered a little to a maximum of 14.1C, just above the average for April. Early this morning there was a light shower amounting to 0.3mm, making it the wettest day this month and bringing the monthly total to 0.8mm when the average for March is 59.7mm. The thermometer did not drop below 7.6C overnight, a much warmer night than of late.
This morning has seen intermittent sunshine again with the wind veering into the north as a consequence of the squeeze between the high pressure to the west and low pressure to the east.

The cool west to northwest wind persists so it is not surprising that the maximum temperature yesterday was depressed at 13.1C, the coolest day this month and equal that on the 13th. Intermittent sunshine broke through after midday but it was mainly reduced in strength by thin cloud so only 0.8 hours were triggered on the sun recorder, which has a threshold of 100w/m2.
Overnight the initially clear sky meant that the thermometer tumbled to its lowest of 3.8C at 01.44 this morning but subsequent cloud cover allowed the thermometer to rise a couple of degrees and by 08.00 registered 6.3C.
Strong sunshine has broken through this morning as the cloud cover moved off eastwards.

Early this morning a few drops of rain fell totalling just 0.1mm, a few drops in the bottom of my rainfall measuring jar from the 5inch copper rainfall gauge. This brings the total for March to 0.5mm but evaporation from plant life and ground sources has now risen to 34mm, which is over half the March average rainfall.
Yesterday was mainly overcast with just four minutes of strong sunshine, the lowest daily sunshine count this month, which brings the monthly total to 95.6 hours.
This morning was predominantly cloudy with the sun braking through just after midday.