Category: Commentary

Although the centre of Storm Gerrit was over the north of Scotland it did produce a very windy day on Wednesday with consistent winds above 30mph and a peak gust of 39mph from a southerly direction. Persistent rainfall and drizzle added another 8.6mm to the total, now standing at 104.5mm, which is 11.8mm above the 39-year average.

A maximum of 11.7C was still well above average (+3.7C) followed by another mild night with a low of 7.9C (+5.6C).

Thursday began with a dry start from a much brighter sky thanks to broken cloud after the previous miserable, dark and damp days.The day started with a temperature of 9.9C at 08.00 and the wind less strong but still very gusty and having veered into the southwest.

After a relatively mild day on Tuesday with a maximum of 10.6C, being 2.6C above average, the thermometer began to fall away during the late afternoon and evening to reach a low of 4.3C at 20.05. At that time the advance cloud of the next rain band began to halt the fall and return upwards again so that by 08.00 on Wednesday the thermometer read 10.7C giving us a mild night when it looked as if it was going to be chilly during the previous evening. A further 2.6mm of rainfall took the monthly total to 95.9mm being 103% of the 39-year average.

Yet another deep depression is approaching the UK, named Storm Gerrit by the Meteorological Office yesterday. The current centre pressure at 08.00 is just 970mb and it is heading just north of Scotland. We will see more rain with the wind already brisk and building.

The new day on Wednesday was so dark with virtually no daylight under the very thick, low cloud of the depression. Another wet and windy day is in store with no UV light let alone any brief sunshine.

The warmth has been slowly slipping away with a maximum of 11.7C on Monday, still 3.7C above average but the lowest for two days. The cloud bank associated with the rain band eased away in the early hours allowing the thermometer to drop to 5.3C at 08.00 Tuesday, also above average (+3.0C). Another 5.0mm of precipitation was recorded taking the monthly total to 93.3mm, just 0.6mm above average.

Tuesday revealed the cloud receding to the east and clear skies that allowed the temperature to drop. The barometric pressure is currently rising fast with a pressure of 1015.4mb at 08.00 so a drier day before the rains return later.

Christmas Eve was another mild day and night, well above average with a peak of 12.9C (+5.0C) and a low pf 10.1C (+7.9C). Rainfall amounted to 3.7mm.

Christmas Day dawned yet again dull, cloudy and damp.

A high of 12.0C at 05.53 on Sunday was the warmest since 08.00 on Saturday as the flow of very warm, moist air continues on a westsouthwest air stream. This was 4.0C above the 39-year average and the warmest start to a day since 18th November. The thermometer hovered around 9C for much of the day and early evening then slowly rose in the early hours of Sunday. Drizzle then light rain began early Saturday evening amounting to 1.5mm. That took the monthly total to 84.6mm, just 8mm below the long-term average. A maximum gust of 27 mph was recorded.

Sunday saw the wind back from west to west southwest and increase in strength. The air is being squeezed between the intense low pressure centred between Scotland and Iceland and the old anticyclone now off Spain, with the low winning, barometric pressure has dropped 8mb since Saturday to 1007.9mb Sunday.