Yesterday gave us 6.59 hours of strong sunshine making it the sunniest day since 11th October 2016, also the UV light level was the highest this month. The thermometer struggled to a maximum of 5.2C just after 2.30pm but dropped almost continuously to a minimum of -5.9C at 06.35, making it the coldest night since 2nd December. There was more of a breeze yesterday with a maximum gust of 18 mph just before 2pm, unlike the calm of previous days.
The thermometer usually continues to drop following a hard frost until a while after the sun rises so the minimum almost two hours before sunrise today was unexpected. At 08.00 the temperature had recovered to -4.2C, still a hard frost.
The drier air has increased the evaporation from ground and plant sources again. The rainfall this month, so far, is only 44% of the long-term mean for January. With two previous very dry winter months, it is of concern that there is no substantial rainfall in the forecast as the aquifers have not refilled after the summer. It is not surprising that the Rivers Og and Kennet are currently running very low as they pass through Marlborough.
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