Category: Commentary

Saturday brought us 3 hours of sunshine, predominantly in the morning, before very heavy and frequent showers developed.

It was another mild day with the maximum 12.4C, which was 2.3C above average followed by a mild night with a minimum of 7.0C being 3.4C above average due to cloud cover.

It was a slightly calmer day with peak gusts to 25mph after the top 30s on Friday.

Heavy showers occurred early on Sunday morning that brought the total for the last twenty-four hours to 13.5mm and the November total to 45.0mm when the average is 91.4mm.

Sunday arrived to see the rain band and its associated cloud easing away to the east and sunshine triggering the recorder at 08.05.

Friday saw the approach of the vast area of low pressure from the Atlantic that gave us a predominantly cloudy day, just 43 minutes of sunshine. The thermometer reached a maximum of 12.1C which was 2C above average.

It was a windy day with winds frequently gusting over 30 mph and a peak of 38mph.

The first rain drops from the weather were recorded just after 17.15 that continued until just before 00.40 this morning.

The rain over the past twenty-four hours amounted to 14.3mm, making it the wettest day since 26th August, bringing the November total to 31.5mm when the average is 91.4mm. The total rainfall for January to October is almost 100mm below the average for this period, which is not surprising in that out of the ten months in 2018, eight have given us below average rainfall.

The temperature fell away during the evening to a minimum of 9.0C at 19.31 before rising again as the thicker cloud moved in. As the rain band cleared away to the east the thermometer fell again to a minimum of 7.6C at 05.24, almost 4C above average.

Saturday arrived with variable cloud and the initial sunshine reducing considerably as the cloud increased.

With a little sunshine on Thursday, 2.28 hours, the thermometer again rose above average to a maximum of 12.7C (+2.6).

It was another breezy day with a peak gust of 26mph in the brief and only shower of the day at 10.12, which produced just 0.2mm of rainfall.

A mild night followed, again due to thick cloud cover, that stopped the thermometer falling below 8.6C (+5.0C) , this had risen to 10.4C at the time readings were taken at 08.00.

Friday dawned gloomy with thick cloud as the next weather front edges in from the Atlantic.

Update on Friday at 18.15: the wind has been rising for the past nine hours, currently gusting to 35 mph with 10 minute average now 10mph. The first rain started to fall just after 17.15. Barometric pressure falling rapidly all day having dropped 11mb in the past 10 hours, currently reading 994mb.

Wednesday saw the barometric pressure building rapidly from the lowest pressure since 4th April (989.9mb) as a ridge built across the country. However, it was a predominantly cloudy day with just 16 minutes of sunshine.

The showery activity ceased late afternoon as the cloud thinned into the evening but commenced just after 04.30 this morning as several heavy showers arrived from the southwest. The rainfall for the past twenty-four hours amounted to 8.7mm bringing the November total to 17.0mm when the average is 91.4mm.

With initially clear skies the temperature dropped to its lowest for almost a week with a minimum of 4.6C at 02.15 but the arrival of cloud ahead of the next band of showers meant the thermometer began to rise again reaching 8.8C at 08.00.

Tuesday arrived with heavy showers until about 07.40. The sun began to break through gaps in the cloud just after 08.20 with a cessation of showers. The current barometric pressure is 1012.3mb, a rise of 22mb in 24 hours.

The southerly air flow from Spain and France again on Tuesday raised the temperature above the average (+3.1C) with a maximum 14.4C at 13.54.

There were glimpses of the sun between breaks in the fast moving clouds, almost 1.9 hours, pushed on by brisk winds. A peak of 30 mph was recorded at 07.01 this morning.

Overnight rain amounted to 6.1mm.

Wednesday arrived with the barometric pressure at its lowest since April 4th with a reading of 989.9mb at 06.39 this morning. A deep depression over the Irish Sea is producing the low pressure and driving the strong gusts of wind.

The thermometer did not fall below 11.3C overnight being almost 7C above average.

Update on Wednesday at 15.30. Wind eases down from peak of 35mph and showers fade away as barometric pressure builds rapidly. Maximum temperature of 12.1C (2.0C above average) at 10.21 during brief brighter period.