Category: Commentary

With a northerly breeze and the wind beginning to pick up after 10.00 on Thursday, it was no wonder the thermometer struggled to reach a maximum of only 4.8C. This was 2.2C below average, the coldest day since the 4th plus wind chill meant outside it felt more like 1C than 4C.

There were 5.4 hours of welcome sunshine and another dry day. The UV light level rose to 0.8, the highest since 22nd November, evidence that the sun’s strength is slowly returning.

During the evening the thermometer dropped steadily so that at 18.12 it had produced the beginning of an air frost with -0.1C. At 22.55 the thermometer read -3.0C and -5.0C at 03.15. The lowest temperate was at 07.41 on Friday with a minimum of -6.4C. The was 7.7C below the 37-year average and the coldest night since 1st January 2021 when -6.7C was recorded.

Friday brought a clear sky and sunshine as soon as it rose above the horizon.

The centre of the anticyclone is just to the west of southwest Ireland and forecast to slowly migrate southeastwards. As a result the breeze will back from north to northwest and later west-northwest, but very light again.

As one anticyclone departed the country another began to influence our weather on Wednesday with a consequent rise in barometric pressure. It was the eighth consecutive dry day with light winds from the north although a little stronger than of late.

The temperature by day brought a maximum of 8.5C being 1.5C above the average and with clear skies the thermometer slowly dropped during the evening to produce an air frost with a minimum of -1.2C at 07.20 on Thursday.

Thursday dawned with clear skies and an appearance of the sun as soon as it rose above the horizon. The thermometer had recovered a little to read -0.3C at 08.00.

The new high pressure system is currently centred to the west of Ireland that will mean the breeze will veer a little to come from the north, which will mean a cool if sunny day. The pressure reading at 0800 was 1036.1mb.

Tuesday started bright but evidence of fog from the Thames Valley was seen to the Northwest at 07.45. The fog rolled across the area so that by 08.15 the visibility was dawn to 200m. However, over the next hour the fog became more dense limiting visibility to 100m. Just after 10.30 there was evidence of thinning but it took almost to midday before it cleared to misty conditions. The temperature slowly rose above freezing at 10.30.

There followed 0.8 hours of sunshine, that after such a cold and foggy start, struggled to reach a maximum of 6.4C being 0.6C below average.

During the evening the thermometer slowly dropped to -0.5C at 23.10 before reversing the trend that saw the temperature rose to 3.1C at 08.00 on Wednesday.

Wednesday initially saw a little brightness to the east but the sky was predominantly cloudy under calm conditions.

The thermometer eventually reached 8.1C on Monday, being 1.1C above the average, thanks to the 5.4 hours of strong sunshine, that made it the sunniest day since 2nd November.

During the early evening the thermometer fell rapidly so that by 19.32 it had reached -0.1C and -3.0C at 23.00. However, the minimum of -3.9C was recorded at 06.31 on Tuesday, being 5.2C below the 37-yea4 average.

In the early hours of Tuesday, well before dawn, the sky was covered in very thin, speckled cloud that was illuminated by the first full moon of the year and was an eerie sight when the night is usually dark.

At first light on Tuesday there was clear sky to the east but by 08.00 the cloud cover had thickened and completely covered the sky.

Fog was observed to the north of Marlborough at 07.45 and by 08.15 had drifted over the area restricting visibility to 150m. By 09.30 the fog had become more dense limiting visibility to 100m.

Sunday saw the temperature rise 2.8C above the 37-year average at 13.05 with a maximum of 9.8C, even though we only had 2.2 hours of sunshine.

Inevitably clear skies overnight brought an air frost with a minimum of -1.2C in the early hours being 2.5C below the average. However, after 06.30 on Monday the thermometer began to rise a little with a reading of 1.8C at 08.00.

Monday arrived with clear skies continuing and the appearance of the sun as soon as it rose above the horizon.

The barometric pressure has been rising again for the past twenty-four hours as another anticyclone approached the UK. The centre is just off the coast of Cornwall with a reading of 1038.4mb at 08.00, the highest for five days.