It took a while for the sun to burn back the cloud on Thursday beginning to breakthrough around 10.00 and then strongly after 11.00. The maximum of 15.9C was logged at 16.48 in the strong late afternoon sunshine being 1.8C above my long-term average. Overnight was a repeat of previous evenings with the temperature falling steadily. The thermometer logged freezing air (-0.1C) at 05.23 early Friday and getting back above freezing at 06.48 after the sun got to work. The minimum of -0.4C was recorded at 06.07 being 4.1C below average. Although the cloud limited the morning sunshine the high solar pf 737W/m2 was the second highest all month after the peak of 835W/m2 on the 4th. The peak gust of just 9mph made it the equal calmest day this month.
Thankfully, no cloud drifted across from the east overnight so the sun shone strongly after it had lifted above the horizon raising the temperature to 4.9C by 08.00. It has been a remarkably calm start to the new day with the anemometer stationary for long periods, in fact there was a movement of just 1mph just before 23.00 last night and nothing again until a movement of 2mph at 04.31, 04.32 and 04.33 early this morning then calm again.
The barometric pressure charts show the anticyclone beginning to move eastwards over the next day or two, towards the Mediterranean, with the depression to the west getting closer. The barometric pressure has already dropped a significant 7mb since yesterday. This signals the change to a more unstable weather pattern with the wind on Sunday projected to come from a more westerly direction after the cool easterly quarter that has plagued us all month but offset by the strong sunshine. At the moment the forecast charts don’t show any significant rainfall over the next few days although two weather fronts are likely to cross the country on Sunday.
The apple trees are showing signs of the buds beginning to open so over the next week I will include images of the various stages as the blossom begins to fully open attracting the bees.