Category: Commentary

The southwesterly winds on Friday, gusting to over 20mph, brought anther mild day with a maximum of 13.6C being 3.1C above the average. However, it was a day of sunshine and showers. Sunshine was limited to 3.5 hours with showers arriving at 16.30 and again overnight, the heaviest of these was logged at 02.30, in total amounting to 2.9mm.

The minimum of 8.1C gave us the warmest night this month and was 5.6C above the average.

The rainfall for the month now stands at 28.1mm, which is 31mm below the 37-year average. The evaporation from the ground and plant life has reached 27mm this month so effectively cancelling out the rainfall.

Saturday initially saw some brightness but the advancing cold front has already produced some spots of rain since 08.00 with the wind beginning to rise.

Wednesday saw the thermometer rise to a peak of 13.8C thanks to the southerly air stream and lighter winds. It was the second warmest day this month after the 16th (16.2C) and 3.3C above the average. Sunshine of 3.6 hors was limited to the afternoon as the cold front meant a cloudy morning and especially between 11.45 and 12.15 when it became very dark and my solar panels almost shut down.

Limited sunshine in the afternoon meant the UV level had dropped to 2.6, being ‘Low’ after three days at ‘Moderate’.

The early evening saw the thermometer again fall steadily to reach a minimum of 0.4C at 03.25 in the early hours of Thursday.

Thursday morning brought glimpses of brightness with the temperature at 08.00 having recovered to 5.9C

The brisk breeze on Tuesday, gusting to 20mph, brought a warmer and more moist air mass than of late that saw the thermometer climb to a maximum of 12.2C at 15.19 in limited sunshine of 4.3 hours. The peak was 1.8C above the long-term average and the warmest day for a week. The UV level indicates that the sun is gaining in strength with a peak reading of 3.5 being classed as ‘Moderate’ and the highest since October. No rain has fallen for four consecutive days.

A minimum f 4.8C in the early hours of Wednesday, recorded at 02.10, was 2.4C above the average.

After dawn for half an hour we enjoyed weak sunshine but by 07.00 the advance cloud from an approaching cold front obliterated any further sunshine. Currently (08.30) no precipitation is falling from the thicker cloud.

Our old anticyclone is now much weaker and centred over eastern Europe so that combined with a depression over Iceland, is continuing to bring an air mass from the Atlantic.

Monday gave us 7.5 hours of sunshine and the UV level into the ‘Moderate’ band. Due to the sunshine, that was hesitant during the frost part of the morning, the temperature rose to 11.2C, exactly the same as on Sunday and 0.7C above the 37-year average.

Clear skies in the evening saw the thermometer fall away steadily so that by 23.00 a temperature of 0.8C was observed and fell below zero just after midnight. The minimum of -0.8C was reached just after 05.00 on Tuesday. However, by 06.00 no evidence of an air frost was visible and by 08.00 the thermometer had risen to 4.1C.

The change has been due to the high pressure sinking southwards and eastwards to now be centred over France. That meant the air mass on Monday and into Tuesday began to arrive from the Atlantic. which is from a warmer direction than of late and full of moisture, thus the overcast sky on Tuesday morning and recovery of the temperature to above freezing.

As the anticyclone began to fill and move southwards away from the west of Ireland the wind on Sunday backed a little and came predominantly from the northwest and was much lighter with a maximum gust of 16mph. The day was dry with 3 hours of sunshine. The UV level rose to its highest this year with a peak reading of 3.5, which was in the middle of the “Moderate’ range and not reached since 22nd September. The maximum temperature was a little higher than the two previous days with a maximum of 11.2C, which was 0.7C above the average.

The skies cleared late evening and overnight that meant a cool night with a minimum of 1.1C at 06.29 on Monday. This low was 1.3C below the long-term average.

Monday got off to a good start with hazy sunshine that triggered the sunshine recorder at 07.24. Conditions after dawn were misty that limited visibilty to approximately 1,000m. Cloud began to drift across the sky just before 08.30 totally obliterating the welcome sunshine. The anticyclone continues to lose pressure with a reading of 1027.7mb at 08.00 as it fills with the centre currently having relocated to the English Channel, just off Jersey.