Category: Commentary

Monday gave us 2.7 hours of sunshine but the thermometer resolutely refused to get near a normal temperature for late January with a maximum of 4.4C, which was 2.6C below average.

During the evening a rain band arrived with precipitation starting just after 22.00, although there was a brief shower at 18.40, with a rainfall total of 6.7mm. This was the wettest day since 20th December and raises the January rainfall to 14.8mm, still 77mm below the January 35-year average.

As the rain band cleared in the early hours of Tuesday, and the cloud eased away to the east, the temperature dropped to -0.4C at 07.47 giving a brief frost.

Tuesday morning saw the sun shining at dawn with the promise of more from, at the moment, a mainly clear sky.

Update Tuesday at 13.50:-
Sleet mixed with rain started to fall at 13.20 followed by heavy snow with large flakes at 13.45 – 14.10 leaving light covering.

Update at 15.20: snow melted on hard surfaces but lingering on grassed areas with temperature currently 1.9C.

After a foggy start on Sunday, with visibility down to 100m, by 09.00 the visibility had improved markedly to 1,000m. The morning brought hazy sunshine that broke through strongly after midday. The thermometer struggled to reach a maximum of 3.8C, which was 3.2C below average.

Maximum movement of air was just 8mph, which cannot be called a gust of wind.

There were 5.2 hours of strong sunshine and the UV level was again the highest for the month at 0.7.

It was another dry day with the January rainfall total of 8.1mm being just 9% of the 34-year average or 83mm below.

Monday arrived with misty conditions and still air under the high pressure after an air frost early in the morning as the thermometer dropped to a minimum of -1.1C at 00.53. By 08.00 the temperature had risen back above zero again with a reading of 1.4C.

Update on Monday at 15.00: another cold day when the maximum was below average with a peak reading of 4.4C (2.6C below). Again little air movement under the high pressure, which is beginning to slip away, with a gust of only 10mph during daylight hours.

Another of the gloomy days on Saturday, sunless and no UV light registered. The thermometer struggled to a maximum of 5.8C being 1.2C below average in the cool south easterly breeze gusting to 16mph.

Overnight the temperature dropped to -1.1C just before dawn with fog having formed.

Sunday dawned with thick fog in evidence with visibility limited to 100m due to the slack pressure gradient that meant still wind conditions. By 08.40 the fog had thinned with visibility increased to 500m.

Update on Sunday at 15.10: after morning frost the thermometer slowly rose to a maximum of just 3.8C at 12.53, which was 4.2C below the January average. Sun slowly thinned morning fog to break through strongly just after noon with over five hours of strong sunshine.

Saturday brought another 4.72 hours of sunshine, predominantly in the morning. However, the brisk wind from the south east, not seen since 15th December, meant the temperature was pegged back to a maximum of 5.8C, being 1.2C below average.

The thermometer maintained a steady temperature of around 4C (+3C above average) until just after 02.00 when it rose as thicker cloud arrived, so that by 08.00 today had risen a little to 4.6C.

Saturday morning brought us thick, low cloud that produced a shower just after 05.00 and started again just before 07.00 but only amounting to 0.4mm.

Sunshine all the way on Thursday with 6.72 hours, the sunniest day since 13th November. However, it was not a warm day as the brisk northerly breeze pegged back the temperature to a maximum of just 4.2C, which was 2.8C below average.

The rainfall total for January stands at 4.5mm whereas the evaporation from ground sources and any plant life is equivalent to 4.86mm of rainfall.

Initially overnight the sky was clear producing a frost with the thermometer down to -2.2C at 02.38. At this time cloud began to ease in from the west so that by 08.00 today, Friday, the thermometer read -0.6C.

Friday morning arrived with broken cloud and the early possibility of bright periods before the cloud builds heralding the arrival of another weather front.

Update on Friday at 17.50: another dry and cool day with a maximum temperature of 5.8C, being 1.2C below average, with four hours of sunshine.