Category: Commentary

Monday was predominant gloomy with much cloud although the southerly wind lifted the temperature to 10.3C this was still more than 4C below the early April average.

Showers occurred during daylight hours and continued overnight producing 3.7mm of rain.

The thermometer did not drop below 8C overnight rising to 9.6C by 08.00 thanks to the southerly winds and total cloud cover.

Tuesday update at 14.00: the milder air on the southerly wind, with brief glimpses of sunshine, has raised the maximum to 12.2C, the warmest day for nearly three weeks but still 2C below the April average. The strong winds, gusting to 24mph, are also tempering the temperature.

March 2018 Summary

What a month as more records broken – cold, wet and windy with considerable snow.

The lack of sunshine and frequent strong winds, with many days from the northeast, meant that temperatures were depressed. The mean temperature for the month was 1.6C below the 34-year average but it was not the coldest March on record as that occurred in 2013 when the mean was 3.7C below the average. My records show that a colder March occurred in the years 1984-1987, 1996 and as mentioned 2013.

The month began with record low daytime temperatures for the dates of the 1st and 2nd. On the 1st the thermometer never got above freezing with a maximum of -2.0C. It is not surprising that the following night was the coldest of the month with a minimum of -6.1C . This cold spell followed the coldest end to February on record for those last two days.

The intense low temperatures by day and night meant that the cold percolated into the ground so that on the 1st the ground temperature at a depth of 5mm was -1.3C. There were 10 air frosts throughout the month being just above the average frequency

There was considerable snow in the strong northeasterly winds that meant considerable drifting occurred. Snow fell on both the 1st and 2nd also 17th – 19th. With snow around our bungalow, varying from 1cm to over 40 cm, obtaining the equivalent rainfall total for each day was not straightforward.

I thought it might be of interest to describe the recommended technique to obtain the equivalent rainfall on such days. As little snow remained in the rain gauge that could be melted due to the wind blowing across the mouth of the gauge, a different technique had to be employed. The standard 5 inch Meteorological Office rain gauge (or 12.5cm) was removed from the ground. The inverted funnel was inserted vertically into a representative area of lying snow, avoiding drifts or areas where snow had been removed by strong winds, to obtain a ‘snow core’ sample down to ground level. As far as possible, all of the snow in the area enclosed by the rain gauge funnel was collected in the funnel, after placing a thin piece of wood under the funnel at ground level. This snow was placed into a suitable receptacle and the procedure repeated twice. The container with the resulting accumulated snow was placed in a bowl of warm water to slowly melt and then measured in the standard graded glass measuring jar. The resultant liquid was then divided by three to get the best guestimate of the equivalent rainfall total.

The equivalent rainfall for the month came to 130.9mm, which was a record for this station that commenced recording in 1984. This total was 228% of the 34-year average or 73.5mm above and was considerably more than the previous record of 113.7mm set in 2001. We don’t need to be reminded that there were only 4 dry days in March!

It was not a sunny month. There were just 55.3 hours of strong sunshine. This total was only 2 hours more than that recorded in January and only half of that which we enjoyed in the very sunny February. It was not a surprise to find that the highest UV level during the month was the lowest since this instrument was installed in 2010.

Such a miserable month was due to the frequent depressions crossing the country, born out by the barometric pressure data being a significant 18mb below the long-term average.

We all hope that the new month will bring much warm sunshine although on the 1st April the maximum temperature was only 7.3C, which was almost 7C below the average for April and that was not a joke!

Sunday morning gave us 1.85 hours of sunshine before cloud bubbled up then thicker cloud from the next weather front obscured the sun.

Rain returned again in the evening starting at 19.40 and continued into Monday morning, slowly easing away. The past twenty-four hours have produced 18.2mm of rain, the wettest April day since 2014.

The thermometer struggled to reach 7.3C on Sunday due to the minimal sunshine but predominantly from the wind that had moved back into the northeast for the majority of the day before veering into the southeast in the evening.

Monday arrived with the hang back of cloud and light rain from the extensive weather front now slowly departing to the east. The thermometer, fell to its lowest point at 00.09 early this morning with a minimum of 1.3C before recovering to 7.2C at 08.00 as the wind backed slightly, now into the south as the milder air slowly moves north.

Monday update at 17.00: throughout the day we have been plagued by low cloud delivering light showers of drizzle. Late afternoon the cloud thinned and the sky brightened with limited hazy, week sunshine. However, the thermometer has still been depressed with a maximum of 10.3C when the April average is 14C.

March 2018 Summary

What a month as more records broken – cold, wet and windy with considerable snow.

The lack of sunshine and frequent strong winds, with many days from the northeast, meant that temperatures were depressed. The mean temperature for the month was 1.6C below the 34-year average but it was not the coldest March on record as that occurred in 2013 when the mean was 3.7C below the average. My records show that a colder March occurred in the years 1984-1987, 1996 and as mentioned 2013.

The month began with record low daytime temperatures for the dates of the 1st and 2nd. On the 1st the thermometer never got above freezing with a maximum of -2.0C. It is not surprising that the following night was the coldest of the month with a minimum of -6.1C . This cold spell followed the coldest end to February on record for those last two days.

The intense low temperatures by day and night meant that the cold percolated into the ground so that on the 1st the ground temperature at a depth of 5mm was -1.3C. There were 10 air frosts throughout the month being just above the average frequency

There was considerable snow in the strong northeasterly winds that meant considerable drifting occurred. Snow fell on both the 1st and 2nd also 17th – 19th. With snow around our bungalow, varying from 1cm to over 40 cm, obtaining the equivalent rainfall total for each day was not straightforward.

I thought it might be of interest to describe the recommended technique to obtain the equivalent rainfall on such days. As little snow remained in the rain gauge that could be melted due to the wind blowing across the mouth of the gauge, a different technique had to be employed. The standard 5 inch Meteorological Office rain gauge (or 12.5cm) was removed from the ground. The inverted funnel was inserted vertically into a representative area of lying snow, avoiding drifts or areas where snow had been removed by strong winds, to obtain a ‘snow core’ sample down to ground level. As far as possible, all of the snow in the area enclosed by the rain gauge funnel was collected in the funnel, after placing a thin piece of wood under the funnel at ground level. This snow was placed into a suitable receptacle and the procedure repeated twice. The container with the resulting accumulated snow was placed in a bowl of warm water to slowly melt and then measured in the standard graded glass measuring jar. The resultant liquid was then divided by three to get the best guestimate of the equivalent rainfall total.

The equivalent rainfall for the month came to 130.9mm, which was a record for this station that commenced recording in 1984. This total was 228% of the 34-year average or 73.5mm above and was considerably more than the previous record of 113.7mm set in 2001. We don’t need to be reminded that there were only 4 dry days in March!

It was not a sunny month. There were just 55.3 hours of strong sunshine. This total was only 2 hours more than that recorded in January and only half of that which we enjoyed in the very sunny February. It was not a surprise to find that the highest UV level during the month was the lowest since this instrument was installed in 2010.

Such a miserable month was due to the frequent depressions crossing the country, born out by the barometric pressure data being a significant 18mb below the long-term average.

We all hope that the new month will bring much warm sunshine although on the 1st April the maximum temperature was only 7.3C, which was almost 7C below the average for April and that was not a joke!

Saturday gave us another 0.7mm of rainfall in the morning bringing the March total to 130.9mm, which was 228% of the 34-year average or almost 74mm above.

The rain stopped mid-morning but other than a quick flash of sunshine for less than a minute it was another sunless day with thick cloud and depressed temperatures due to the north westerly winds giving a maximum of only 6.3C, being 4.3C below the March average.

Overnight the temperature ebbed away to a minimum of 2.4C just before dawn, just above average.

Sunday started with glorious sunshine shortly after dawn as the sun cleared cloud on the eastern horizon, triggering the sunshine recorder (100w/sq.m) just before 08.00 when the thermometer had risen to 3.7C.

A full review of March will appear on Monday.

Sunday update at 09.30: two hours of sunshine this morning then the clouds bubble up – but that is more than the total for the last three days!

Sunday update at 18.50: rain returns yet again (18.45) so no dry day although there were a couple of sunny hours first thing. However, thermometer only reached 7.3C, almost 7C below the early April average.

FACT: Sunshine in March of 55 hours was only 2 hours above the January total and half the glorious February total.

The rain started just before 11.30 on Friday. I went to bed with it raining and I have got up today and it is still raining. The daily total for the past twenty-four hours was 15.2mm, which brings the total for March to 130.2mm, a record for this station since it started recording in 1984, being 227% of the 34-year March average or 73mm above the past record set in March 2001.

The depression that sat over the UK for all of Saturday, day and night, just slowly revolved anticlockwise, and only gradually moved just a little north, which in the late afternoon meant that the wind backed from the Northeast into the Northwest.

With no sun on Friday, thick cloud and a wind from the Northeast for much of the daylight hours it was not surprising to find that it was a cold day with the thermometer not getting above 6.6C, almost 4C below the March average and that does not take into account the wind chill, which meant for much of the day it felt more like 4C.

Saturday has dawned with thick, low cloud giving misty conditions and light rain.

No surprises to find that the sunshine in March so far has been approximately half of that recorded in February and only one hour more than that recorded in January.

Saturday update at 14.15: NOT holiday weather as thermometer struggled to reach maximum of 6.3C at 14.00, 4.2C below average. Now fallen away to 5.9C with wind chill making it feel like 3C as northwesterly wind has been increasing, gusting to 20mph. Sporadic light rain in morning now ceasing.

Saturday update at 16.30: although the rain has stopped for the past few hours it is so dark the solar panels have temporarily shut down.

Thursday was another depressing day with much cloud and frequent showers that included small hail. This brought the March total to 115.0mm, which is a record for this station started in 1984. The previous wettest March was in 2001 with 113.7mm.

The brisk southeasterly wind and little sunshine, just half an hour all day, pegged back the temperature to a maximum of just 7.0C that occurred in the early evening at 18.00, which was 3.5C below the March average.

During the evening there were intermittent clear skies that let the thermometer drop to 1.1C at 06.53 this morning, causing a very slight ground frost for a short while.

Friday has dawned dull and wet with light rain starting again at 07.40.

Friday update at 12.00: temperature of 5.9C but bitter north easterly wind makes wind chill, so it feels like 4C. Drizzle now turning to light rain.

Friday update at 16.30: temperature just 5.2C with wind chill making it feel like 2C and maximum temperature only 6.6C at 13.48, which was 4C below average. Five hours of continuous rain and much more to come.

Friday 22.00: what a dreadful day? 10 hours of continuous rain bringing in excess of another 11mm of rainfall and current temperature of 3.1C due to wind backing into northwest.