Category: Commentary

The weather on Sunday was best forgotten as the morning was dull with thick cloud from the nearby depression. The first spots of rain were observed at 12.02 but no measurable rain was recorded until just after 13.30 when it was almost continuous, heavy just before and after midnight, producing a daily total of 18.0mm. This additional rainfall took the monthly total to 56.3mm when the long-term average is 68.0mm. There was a period of heavy and continuous rain between 23.00 and 01.00 and another just after 05.00 today.

However, it was another mild day and night with the maximum of 10.6C logged at 12.43, just before the real rain started, being 4.3C above average and the minimum of 8.3C recorded at 06.59 early Monday being 6.4C above average.

The wind increased in strength during the afternoon and into the early evening with a peak gust of 33mph 18.57, before slowly dropping away.

Monday at first light saw the back end of the weather front, with its associated thick cloud, slowly edging eastwards. The rain stopped just after 07.30 and the cloud began to thin. The rain radar shows a narrow band of heavy rain, currently crossing mid-Wales, and possibly heading towards us on a southwesterly air flow, that might produce some precipitation around midday.

The day will improve as the cloud cover continues to thin and break. The barometric pressure charts show the likely hood of a temporary ridge moving in on Tuesday to give a fine day before sunshine and showers return on Wednesday.

The maximum of 13.8C on Saturday, thanks to the several hours of sunshine, made it the warmest day since 1st December (13.9C) and was 5.6C above the long-term average. The westerly wind was brisk with a peak gust of 15mph. The past night was the coolest for four days with a minimum of 5.3C at 21.44 late Saturday evening which was 3.7C above the average.

Sunday revealed another cloudy start to a new day with the wind brisk and the temperature having recovered to 8.6C by 08.00 with the wind having backed into the south for much of the days. The first rain band shown on the rain radar at 08.30 was just crossing Cornwall and about to reach Dartmoor with indications of heavy rain. The forecast is for the first rain to arrive here around midday.

The deep depression just off the west coast will continue its track northeastwards to be between Iceland and Scotland this evening and as it gets closer the wind will rise and substantial amounts of rain can be expected as the forecast shows two weather fronts crossing the country by evening. The barometric pressure rose 15mb over the past twenty-four hours but as the centre of the depression gets closer, by tonight the pressure will have dropped 15mb. As the depression relocates the wind, that for much of the day will come from the south, will veer a few degrees to come from the Southwest.

The intermittent sunshine over the last few days, and higher temperatures, has seen the first of the spring flowers opening, providing a splash of colour, the image is of crocuses in my patio garden.

The warmth built on Friday, thanks to the air stream coming from well down in the Atlantic, around the Azores area, which raised the maximum to 13.4C at 11.14 being exactly 5.0C above my long-term average. Just before midday cloud began to thicken and obscure the weak sunshine with the first rain drops being observed at 12.32 that continued all afternoon amounting to 4.2mm. Thinner cloud cover overnight allowed the thermometer to drop to a minimum of 8.1C at 07.46 being 6.2C above average but almost equal to the February average maximum. It was a windy morning, calming down in the afternoon, that saw a peak gust of 35mph 12.07.

The peak temperature of 13.4C made it the warmest day since 1st December when a maximum of 13.9C was recorded. The lowest barometric pressure all month was set at 14.17 with a reading of 1004.4mb.

Saturday after dawn revealed total cloud cover from the back edge of Friday’s weather fronts. However, there were signs of brightness as the thicker cloud edged eastwards so I am optimistic of some sunshine as the morning progresses. The cloud cover radar indicates that the cloud will begin to thin significantly after 13.00. As the depression approaches the wind will veer from south to west as Saturday progresses.

A deep depression has been developing in Mid-Atlantic that will head northeastwards over the next day or so that by tomorrow will see it centred between Iceland and Scotland. The low pressure system will result in stormy conditions on Sunday with strong wind gusts, likely greater than that on Friday also much rain later in the day.

The shrub shown in the picture, that has been flowering for several weeks, is Mahonia Japonica. It is much loved by bees but not at the moment, it also produces a very pleasant, strong scent. The recent warmth and sunshine has seen the first signs of crocuses (or croci) opening so tomorrow I will show some of the early colour in my garden as the first signs of Spring become evident.

The unusual warmth for February, brought from around the Azores region, had flooded the country by Thursday that saw the starting temperature of 11.2C rise to a maximum of 12.4C at 16.04 being 3.9C above my long-term average. However, it was a very wet day with thick,low,cloud that produced variable light rain on and off all day, combined with light showers overnight, that amounted to 3.0mm. The maximum gust of 30mph was the strongest since the 7th. Not surprisingly, the thick cloud overnight again provided a duvet to minimise loss of any warmth into the atmosphere so the temperature only dropped to 10.8C just after midnight at 00.26 being a significant 9.1C above the 40-year average. The maximum solar energy of 130 w/m2w as the lowest for five days. The maximum UV light was the lowest forever a week.

Friday revealed a cloudy start to the new day, yet again. The depression will throw another weather front across our region later in the morning, that from the current radar display, looks to have brief but heavy rain within it. The wind, gusty overnight and rising since just after midnight, is forecast to be very strong during the morning. The back end of the weather front will mean a cloudy end to the day.

The depression is slowly edging northeastwards towards Iceland that will see the wind veer from the south to southwest later today. The barometric pressure at 08.00 read 1008.9mb, the lowest pressure all month.

Saturday will bring a calmer day but another deep depression is developing mid-atlantic that is likely to bring very wet and windy weather, probably for later on Sunday.

The shrub shown in the picture, that’s been flowering for several weeks, is Mahonia Japonica. It is much loved by bees but not at the moment, it also produces a very pleasant, strong scent.

Slowly on Wednesday the temperature eased upwards during daylight hours reaching 8.0C in the afternoon. However, as the warmer air began to filter through after 20.00, and with the ground releasing some of its chill, there was a more significant rise to reach 11.2C at 08.00 on Thursday morning. Therefore, within twenty-four hours the thermometer had climbed from 0.2C to 11.2C with the highest temperature during the night rather than the daytime. There were spots of rain just after 21.00 but the main rain began just before 22.00 last night with the more continuous rain falling between 22.00 and midnight, further accumulations were recorded between 04.00 and 08.00 with a day total of 5.6mm. That additional precipitation took the monthly rainfall to 31.1mm compared to the long-term monthly average of 68.0mm. The UV level at the peak op the brightness rose to 1.4 again.

Thursday began dark and damp under low cloud ahead of the depression easing in from the west. As the depression began to take charge of our weather the wind has backed from the cold southeasterly to south and southwest today and will increase in speeded as the day progresses. A maximum gust of 21mph was recorded at 02.04 early Thursday morning. The barometric pressure had dropped again to read 1012.1mb at 08.00.

The rain radar shows bands of heaver rain moving in from the west associated with two weather fronts that will cross our region this morning. There were brief flashes of lightning over Exmoor earlier in the morning. One of the wetter periods today, indicated by the rain radar, will be just before and after mid-day as a narrow and more intense band of rain arrives. The deep depression in mid-Atlantic is dragging up the warmer air from around the Azores region, with the temperature continuing to climb as I write.

The soil temperature at a depth of 5cm, read at 08.00 each day, indicates that the recent chill in the ground has recovered quickly in the last twenty-four hours with the reading on each of the last four days being 0.9C, 0.1C, 1.0C and 8.9C respectively.

The shrub shown in the pictures for the next few days will be Mahonia Japonica, much loved by bees, it also produces a very pleasant, strong scent.