Author: Eric Gilbert

Another day has passed with rain and mist from low cloud covering the high ground. Occasional showers in the past twenty-four hours amounted to 2.8mm, bringing the total for December to 13.4mm when the mean is 91.5mm. At dawn the humidity reading was 99%, the second day this month with such a high reading. The thermometer reached a maximum of 11.1C yesterday, some 3.5C above the mean and although falling late afternoon and evening it recovered after midnight to 9.3C at 08.00. The barometric pressure is now at its lowest since 22nd November, at 1018.4mb, due to the encroaching low pressure systems that seem to have been a regular feature of our weather in the past week.

There was a brief respite in the gloomy, wet weather of recent days with a dry and bright morning yesterday when almost 1 hour of strong sunshine was recorded. By afternoon thin cloud had started to obscure the sun. The maximum recorded at 14.37 was 9.4C, down on recent days but still above the mean for November. The thermometer, after this time, dropped almost continuously until 02.47 this morning when it reached a low of 0.1C giving a ground frost for a short while. There was thickening mist and fog during the evening as the temperature dropped.
The weather has been changing again this morning as another front, this time a warm front, has pushed in from the Atlantic raising the temperature to 4.6C at 08.00, dispelling the fog but with thickening cloud and no sunshine.

After a relatively dry start yesterday, with just dampness in the air, rain set in just before 11am. Rain continued until around 8pm, with very heavy falls between 6 and 7.30pm, totalling 8.5mm. There were strong gusts of wind later in the day with a maximum gust of 25mph at 19.15. It was at this time that the cold front left the area, the barometric pressure began to rise rapidly and the wind to abruptly veer from the south into the north-west. The thermometer then began to drop consistently from a high of 12.1C at its maximum to 7C at 19.30 and a minimum of 2.8C at 05.05. This low temperature gave a ground frost and caused fog to form in the River Og valley outside Marlborough.
This morning there is hazy sunshine as a temporary ridge of high pressure gives respite from the thick cloud and rain.

With a maximum of 13.7C, which is 6C above the mean for December, friday was the warmest day since the 30th of October. With little variation overnight the minimum was 10.6C. The barometric pressure has started to drop as the anticyclone loses its grip and the low pressure systems from the Atlantic make advances across the country with heavy rain imminent. It was a dry day yesterday but there were light showers overnight amounting to 0.6mm.

With a maximum of 12.8C yesterday it was the warmest day since 15th November. It was another day with low, thick cloud, which, from time to time brought light showers that amounted to 1.1mm. It was the third day this month with no sunshine and even more noticeable, no measurable UV light. The cloud overnight meant another mild night when the thermometer did not drop below 11.1C, which is 9C above the mean for November.
This morning is dawning brighter with thinner cloud but no sunshine.