Category: Commentary

After a brief shower in the early hours of Sunday the morning was dry but the approaching cold front brought increasing cloud and several hours of rain in the afternoon, intense between 15.15 and 14.30, amounting to 5.9mm. That brought the monthly total to 70.6mm, which is 78% of the 35-year average.

Temperatures by day and night, thanks to the cloud cover and south westerly breeze gusting to 24mph, were both above average with a maximum of 8.9C (+2.0C) and 4.7C (+3.6C).

Monday saw broken after dawn with the cloud base much higher.

Saturday game us the last of the very gloomy, dismal, damp days with the cloud base lowering in the afternoon restricting visibility to 2000m.

The barometric pressure has slowly been falling as the anticyclone eases away to the near continent. This resulted in the moment of air beginning to increase with early Sunday a gust of 18mph,the strongest since 17th January.

In the early hours of Sunday a rain band approached producing 1.2mm of precipitation between 05.30 and 06.00.

After dawn on Sunday the cloud from the earlier rain band could be seen moving off eastwards replaced by broken, higher cloud, thankfully not the thick, gloomy cloud of previous days. Waiting in the wings is another weather front that will bring rain in from the west later in the morning.

Friday was another of the recent dark, gloomy and still days being still under the influence of the anticyclone, but easing away. The strongest movement of air was just 7mph.

The thermometer eased upwards to a maximum of 7.1C, just above average whilst the minimum was almost exactly as the previous night with a minimum 4.7C.

There was no change on Saturday morning.

Thursday brought us another gloomy, grey day with the cloud even thicker obscuring any possible sunshine and no UV registered. It was another dry day, the sixth this month, with again very little and. The anemometer was stationery for many hours with the one gust struggling to reach 8mph.

With the air mass coming in from a north easterly duration it was not surprising to find the maximum temperature was depressed with a peak of only 6.6C (-0.4C). Cloud cover overnight meant no air frost and an above average minimum of 4.6C (+3.5C).

Friday arrived just as Thursday and Wednesday – thick cloud and still air conditions as the anticyclonic gloom continues.

Wednesday saw the anticyclonic gloom arrive with the fog and mist from low cloud taking until almost noon to lift. The intense high-pressure is beginning to slip away allowing moist, warm air from the Atlantic to circulate clockwise around it as the very light breeze, maximum gust of 11mph, veered into the north east.The drizzle produced 0.4mm of precipitation.

The maximum of 7.4C (+0.4C) was just above the January average whilst the warmer air under the cloud cover meant a frost free night with a minimum of 3.4C (+2.3C). Sadly no sunshine after the previous glorious days.

Thursday saw the thick cloud persisting but the cloud base was a little higher.