Category: Commentary

It was a delight to see the sun again yesterday with 2.43 hours after so many dull and overcast days.

The thermometer hovered around 5 – 6C for most of the day and rose again in the evening to a maximum of 7.2C as the next weather front and associated cloud arrived.

Rain began lightly early afternoon and intensified early evening. However, the maim rain and snow fell later in the night producing 21.2mm of precipitation, consisting mostly of rain but sleet and driven wet snow. This was the wettest day since 11th July. It was not possible to get an accurate depth of level snow due to the strong winds, but it was up to 3cm deep where it had drifted.

The wind gained strength in the early hours with gusts regularly from 30- 40 mph and a peak gust of 41mph at 05.25 this morning. During the course of twenty-four hours the wind backed from southwest to southeast and after midnight came from the north.

The back edge of the weather front meant that precipitation stopped just after 07.30 with the cloud thinning. The thermometer had recovered to 1.3C at 08.00 after a minimum of 0.6C was reached at 03.51 this morning. The wind chill with 40mph winds and temperatures of 1C meant it felt more like -4.3C.

It was not a ‘white Christmas’ but a rather wet one. The thermometer rose a little during daylight hours to a maximum of 10.3C at 15.00.

The temperature began to fall significantly from 8pm and was reading just 4.4C at 22.00.

This morning there is the suggestion of a ground frost with the thermometer falling to a low of 2.6C at dawn.

Drizzle and rain showers occurred from mid-morning but the real deluge started just after 8pm when the heavens opened and during the course of the next couple of hours the total reached 12.3mm. This was the second wettest day in December following the very wet day on the 9th with 14.8mm. That brought the December total to 68.6mm, still 20mm short of the 33-year December average.

As the vigorous rain band approached in the evening the wind became very strong with a peak gust of 40mph at 20.02. The barometric pressure, having fallen steadily all day, began to build rapidly from a low of 992.8mb at 20.10.

I have installed three slider pictures of Marlborough in the snow as we did not get a ‘white Christmas’!

On Christmas Eve the wind backed into the south, the first time for nearly a month, and lifted the temperature to a maximum of 9.6C, almost 2C above average.

Occasionally there was a little moisture in the air but not measurable.

The minimum yesterday of 7.4C was at 08.00 as the thermometer slowly climbed to around 9C all day and to 9.4C at 08.00 today.

Although we have not experienced a ‘white Christmas’ I have put snow scenes of Marlborough on the three sliders.

Saturday was a repeat pf previous days with thick cloud and mild, moist air. The maximum was 8.2C, down 2C on Friday’s maximum, but just above average.

Overnight the thick cloud persisted that restricted the temperature drop to a minimum of 7.4C, down 0.5C on Friday’s minimum but still 5C above average.

Not surprisingly, there was no sunshine yesterday, the fourth consecutive day also no UV was registered.

This morning the barometer reading (1026mb) indicates that pressure has been dropping for over twenty-four hours, after the persistent high pressure of recent days, indicating a change in the weather is on the way. The still conditions at dawn of recent days is changing also as there is a modest breeze at 08.00

Friday was like Thursday like Wednesday – moist, mild air and murky and sunless.

The maximum was again well above average at 10.2C (+2.4C) and the minimum of 7.9C (+6C) was likewise well above average.

There was a little drizzle from time to time in the morning but only amounting to 0.3mm.