Wednesday 1st April
The forecast for Tuesday was obviously way-out as the cloud did unexpectedly break up allowing strong sunshine to raise the temperature to a peak of 19.3C at 16.11. The maximum was a significant 8.4C above my long-term average making it the warmest day since 6th October. It was a warm night with a temperature of 9C at midnight and a minimum of 8.3C at 07.03 early Wednesday, which was 5.7C above average.
Wednesday arrived with the cloud having drifted across during the night on a very light westerly breeze. It is likely these conditions will persist all day, with minimal sunshine, if any.
We have two more days under the influence of the ridge of high pressure, however, by Friday it will have given way to a deep low-pressure system arriving near Iceland. This is likely to result in a windy day from a strong southwesterly that is forecast to carry with it light rain followed by a cloudy but dry day on Saturday. There is hope that the rest of the Easter break will be mainly dry with variable sunshine and temperatures recovering by Easter Monday, but that is a long way ahead for any confidence in a forecast.
March 2026 Review
The very mild weather continued into the first week of March with both maxima and minima well above average. In fact, the peak of 16.8C on the 5th, in very welcome sunshine, was a significant 6C above my long-term average and made it the warmest day since 6th October.
The second week brought light winds and dry conditions with temperatures continuing above average although there was fog after dawn on the 8th and 9th.
Two cold fronts traversed our area during the evening and overnight of the 12th that produced the wettest twenty-four-hour period for a month when 15.4mm was recorded, mostly during a couple of squalls around 23.00 accompanied by gusty winds peaking at 34mph.
The cold fronts were aptly named as they brought a much cooler air stream behind them, originating from near Iceland, that meant a maximum of 7.4C on the 13th was 3.4C below average and made it the coldest day since 19th February. This was followed by a cool night with the first air frost since 14th February when the temperature briefly dropped to -0.5C, being 3.1C below average.
An anticyclone arrived on the 18th that resulted in springlike weather under clear skies and wall to wall sunshine. As a result, the thermometer rose to a peak of 18.7C being, a significant 7.9C above average. Also significant, was the equivalent loss of rainfall due to evaporation from ground sources and plant life, of 2.4mm, the highest since 6th October.
The barometric pressure began to build during the last week of the from a ridge associated with the Azores high. The weather was predominantly dry, a couple of light showers with small hail very briefly observed on the 25th. The wind coming from the north-west on several days was brisk and thus meant maxima were around average for late March.
Indications that the sun was getting stronger, between the variable cloud, was a maximum UV value of 4.2 on the 31st that placed the peak well into the ‘Moderate’ level, which was the strongest since 19th September.
The last day of the month did not turn out as forecast. The cloud did in fact break up resulting in a very warm, pleasant day under a brisk westerly breeze. The maximum of 19.3C was logged at 16.11 being a significant 8.5C above average that made it the warmest day since 6th October.
The mean temperature for March was 1.2C above my long-term average due to several very warm days at the beginning of the month and the last two days. There were only five days when an air frost occurred, mostly minimal, other than a low of -3.2C in the early hours of the 22nd.
It was a very dry month following the very wet months of January and February. The monthly rainfall total was 32.8mm, being 53% of my 42-year record or 28.7mm below. That is only part of the story as the equivalent loss of rainfall, due to evaporation from ground sources and plant life, amounted to 42.6mm, thus resulting in a monthly deficit of almost 10mm.
The average rainfall over 42 years for the three-month period January to March is 223.5mm, whilst the average for that period in 2026 was 333.1mm.
Fog was observed around dawn on four mornings whilst small hail was observed very briefly at 13.20 on the 25th.