Category: Commentary

Although we enjoyed many hours of sunshine on Sunday the thermometer fell back from the record warmth on Saturday, with a maximum of 16.2C, still well above average (+6.1C). It was the sixth successive dry day.

Overnight was also mild with a minimum no lower than 10.1C being 6.4C above the average.

Monday dawned grey and dull with fog that at first light limited visibility to 400m under calm conditions. The high pressure that gave us settled days recently has been slowly edging away. The barometric pressure today read 1009.8mb at 08.00, down 18mb on the Friday high.

Thanks to the flow of warm air on a southerly breeze, all the way from the Azores and North Africa, the thermometer rose to 17.5C, which was a significant 7.5C above the 38-year average and broke the record for the warmest November day set on 4th November 2010 with 16.7C.

It was another dry day although mist and low cloud drifted in overnight that saw the thermometer not drop below 11.3C, which was also a significant 7.6C above the long-term average.

Sunday dawned dull and gloomy with total cloud cover and misty, calm conditions. The high pressure has begun to drift eastwards and as a result the wind on Saturday backed into the south and today will have a more southeasterly component. The pressure at 08.00 was 1021.1mb, down 6mb on that time Saturday.

Friday was so dull with continuous low cloud that no global sunshine was recorded. However, it was another mild day with a maximum of 14.8C +4.7C) but dropped away in the afternoon and evening to register a low 9.1C (+5.4C). It was only the second dry day the month.

So far this month very day and night has produced an above average temperature.

Saturday also arrived with continuous cloud but a little higher. The barometric pressure has risen further with a reading of 1027.3mb at 08.00, the highest for a month.

The record for the warmest November day has just been broken: maximum of 17.5C at 13.26 broke previous record of 16.7C set on 4th November 2010

The stream of warm and moist air from around the Azores region and Northwest Africa continued on Thursday that saw the thermometer rise to 14.3C being 4.2C above the 38-year average. The exceptional weather meant that this peak temperature fell very little during the nighttime, dropping just 0.4C to a low of 13.9C. The minimum was an exceptional 10.2C above the long-term average and also even more exceptionally 3.8C above the long-term average maximum.

It was another dry day, just, as there was moisture in the air from the low, thick cloud during the morning but not measurable.

Friday saw a temperature of 14.1C at 08.00. The south-southwest air stream continues on Friday pushed on between the high pressure over the continent rotating clockwise and two low pressure systems over the Atlantic rotating anticlockwise, as they do. The barometric pressure at 08.00 was 1024.6mb, the highest pressure since 18th October, and still rising.

No precipitation fell on Wednesday, the first dry day since 29th October. Temperatures by day and night were again above average with a maximum of 13.8C (+3.7C) and a minimum of 8.6C (+4.9C) that occurred at 21.11 Wednesday evening before the temperature began to rise after 02.15. After the dull day on Tuesday thankfully, there were several sunny periods late morning.

Thursday initially was bright but just before 08.00 the cloud lowered and moisture was in the air, just not quite drizzle.

The barometric pressure has been rising for the last two days with the reading at 08.00 of 1018.8mb, the highest since 19th August.