Category: News

Yesterday was a day of contrasts, weather wise. The barometric pressure dramatically dropped 29mb from 0800 to 2300, called an ‘Explosive Cyclogenisis’, (a fall of at least 24mb in 24 hours) or as in the press headlines – a ‘weather bomb’. An hour before midnight the pressure started to rise, the wind veered into the northwest and the air temperature, which had been rising steadily all day, fell very rapidly from 8c to 2C. Just before and after midnight the wind strength grew with several gusts to 35mph.
Over the course of a very wet day the accumulated rainfall measured 14.8mm, which is the wettest day this month. The rain ceased just before midnight and the strong wind, with reduced humidity, dried up the evidence of the considerable rainfall. The accumulated precipitation for December is now 60% of the 30-year average.

The last two days brought lower temperatures with maxima close to the average for December. There was the bonus of several hours of sunshine, 3.5 hours and 4.6 hours respectively, for the 24th and 25th.
The rainfall for December, with a total of 41mm, is 44% of the 30-year average.

With just 39mm of rainfall up to 23rd it has been the driest first three weeks of December since 2010. However, by that date in 2010 we had experienced five mornings with freezing fog and snow on the ground for eight mornings. The average rainfall for December over the last thirty years is 93mm.
The mild spell has continued for nine days with maxima well above the average for December with four days at least 4C above the 30-year average.

Today I registered the greatest daily solar energy for this month. The sunshine was quite high at 4.8 hours but not the highest this month as on the 6th we received 6.2 hours but we are very close to the shortest day.
The recent mild weather brought three days with maxima greater than 11C with the highest on the 18th with a maximum of 11.9C. These days were all greater than 4C above the 30-year average for December.

With a rise of over 11C in the last twenty-four hours the temperature at 0800 was 10.3C, which is 3C above the long-term average for December. The overnight rainfall amounted to 12.2mm, which brings the total for December so far to 30.7mm, abut one third of the 30-year average.
After a foggy start yesterday with valley fog drifting around, the day brought 4.38 hours of sunshine.