Category: Commentary

During the very sunny morning and early afternoon the sunshine boosted the temperature to 13.7C at 14.16 being 5.7C above average and the warmest day since 14th November. However, advance cloud from an approaching weather front began to thicken with the first raindrops were observed at 16.40, that just dampened the ground, no quantity, after nineteen dry days. Further light rain was triggered the automatic rain gauge at 00.30 and 04.30 with drizzle at 07.40. However, the rainfall total was just 1.2mm.

Due to the thick cloud cover overnight it was a mild night with a minimum of 6.2C at 00.05 earlyThursday, which was 4.6C above the average.

Thursday after first light revealed that another weather front, a warm front, was passing over the area with low, thick cloud bringing banks of light drizzle that were driven on by a southerly wind gusting to 20mph, the strongest since the 3rd. A temperature of 8.3C at 08.00 made it the warmest start to a day at that time this month, equal to that on the 3rd.

The fog thinned into mist late morning but it was not until after 13.00 that the sun began to strengthen, the thermometer then rose to 12.6C being 4.6C above the average. This was the warmest day since the 19th December.

Under clear skies the temperature dropped away to -0.7C at 01.51 early on Wednesday producing an air first for a couple of hours. Subsequently the temperature began to rise to reach 3.9C at 0800.

Wednesday arrived with weak sunshine through thin cloud on the eastern horizon. The high pressure system, that has influenced our weather for the past two weeks, is weakening and receding. As a result the barometric pressure has fallen to 1023.8mb at 0800, the lowest pressure since 20th January. Also changing is the wind direction, forecast to come from the southwest today indicating a significant change in our weather.

Although sunshine was reduced on Monday the south-southeasterly airflow meant the thermometer climbed to 11.4C at 14.57, which was 3.4C above the average and the warmest day since 5th January. The overnight minimum of 4.8C occurred at 00.12 in the early hours of Tuesday, which was 3.2C above the average.

The lower temperature overnight allowed fog to form that as dawn lifted revealed reduced visibility to 200m. However, ust after 07.30 it was observed the fog was beginning to thin that by 08.00 had raised visibility to 500m.

Tuesday also arrived with calm conditions due to the continuing influence of the high pressure, which is slowly migrating eastwards over Europe that will maintain the airflow from the southeast quadrant.

Ww have now had 13 continuous dry days in February with evaporation from ground sources and plant life minimal at this time of year, due to low temperatures and minimal wind, but already has produced a deficit of 7mm of equivalent lost rainfall.

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday and` Friday with continuous thick cloud.The significant difference was the change in wind direction to SE, although it continued calm with a maximum air movement of just 14mph but often periods of total calm.

There was nit a lot of variation between day and night extreme with a maximum of 9.1C and minimum of 5.4C.

Monday began as the two previous days, calm and cloudy. The blocking high pressure is still keeping weather fronts, and any rain, at bay as we have now had seventeen continuously dry days.

The cloud cover was total for all of Saturday with no sunshine although the temperature did rise to a maximum of 9.9C been 2C above the 39-year average and the warmest day since the 3rd.

The temperature very slowly dropped away continuously after the peak at 13.30 to reach a low f 5.8C at 07.50 on Sunday, which was 4.2C above the average.

Sunday was a repeat start of the day with thick, low cloud. The high pressure is still in control so another calm day with a mild, moist air stream.