Category: Commentary

Although the sun was partially obscured between noon and 2pm there were 4.5 hours of sunshine on Wednesday that boosted the thermometer to a maximum of 8.7C, being 2C above the 33-year average.

The temperature began to drop late afternoon reaching freezing point just after 8pm and a minimum of -0.6 at 01.35 this morning. After that time the temperature recovered to 1.6C a 08.00

This morning as dawn arrived there was blue sky with the fog having lifted but just before 08.00 the fog drifted back again from the east.

Tuesday gave us anther overcast, dull day with occasional drizzle, only slightly less gloomy than Monday.

During the evening the temperature began to rise reaching a maximum of 8.1C, being 1.3C above the average, at 02.21 this morning. The temperature then fell away to a reading of 5.4C at 08.00.

The rise in temperature occurred as the wind veered again, this time from the southeast into the south. with the consequent warming effect and accompanied by rain falling between 1am and 3am, totalling 1.9mm.

The last of the cloud associated with the weather front overnight is clearing away to the east at 08.00 leaving broken cloud with the promise of a much brighter day today. Thankfully, the heavy, low cloud of the last two days is being replaced by an improved air mass.

Sunday: blue cloudless skies, 5.8 hours of sunshine and UV of 0.6
Monday: thick low cloud, no sun, no UV

Monday was such a depressing day after Sunday as the thick, low cloud, produced fog as it settled over the Marlborough Downs and the lowest solar energy for many years.

This morning similar conditions exist with the visibility further reduced and light drizzle falling at 08.00. There is a very slack wind flow this morning with hardly a movement of air, now having veered from the northeast into the east after midnight.

The thermometer record shows that the temperature yesterday varied little over the past twenty-four hours just rising and falling a degree or two. It slowly rose to a maximum of 2.6C during the morning before falling back late afternoon/evening with a minimum of 1.6C then rising again overnight to reach 2.5C at 08.00. To have a variation of just 1C during one day is quite exceptional.

After so many dull, gloomy days it was a pleasure to see the sun on Sunday with 5.83 hours, the sunniest day for ten days.

However, although it was very sunny the very strong northeasterly winds, gusting to 33mph just after noon, meant that the temperature was pegged back to a maximum of just 3.7C, being 3C below the 34-year January average and down a degree on Saturday. The strong wind and low temperature meant that wind chill for most of the day made it feel more like -3C.

The past twenty-four hours have been dry although the humidity has crept up this morning from 88% at 08.00 yesterday to 92% this morning as a blanket of cloud has drifted in from the North Sea. This resulted in the thermometer, having fallen to a minimum of 0C at 23.25, lift a little to reach 1.6C at 08.00.

Sunday morning 08.00:
Temperature 1.3C
Wind chill -3.9C
Wind gust 28mph

The North-easterly wind strengthened yesterday and again this morning currently producing a wind chill that makes it feel more like -3.9C than the ambient temperature of 1.3C.

Saturday was the coldest day this month with a maximum of only 4.7C being 2.1C below the January average.

This morning the barometric pressure has been rising for two days, now reading 1025mb, the highest for two weeks. The high pressure to the north of the country and low pressure over Spain is producing a steep pressure gradient between the two systems over our area with the isobars close together, hence the strong winds.

The north-easterly winds are much drier than of late so that humidity at 08.00 was 88%, the second driest this month.