Temperatures continued to fall on Wednesday as the Arctic air was still in place along with total cloud cover that prevented any sunshine, however weak. The thermometer eventually struggled to a maximum of 0.8C at 14.56 and stayed there until late evening, this low being a significant 6.3C below my 40-year average. The two weather fronts that had been lurking off the coast of France and the English Channel decided to move northwards across Southern England in the afternoon, the cloud thickened with the first light drizzle and sleet observed at 16.00 that initially triggered the automatic rain gauge with 0.2mm but as the temperature dropped and more consistent snow began to arrive at 17.50 the moisture began to freeze.
The total melted precipitation amounted to 1.2mm.
First light on Thursday saw the remnants of the cloud from the two weather fronts disappearing over the eastern horizon that had kept the overnight low to around -0.5C, which then dropped to -1.5 by 07.00 and -2.9C at 08.00 under clear skies.
The wind direction has changed from an easterly to north-west today, and later west, that will continue to feed cold air over the UK being directed between a depression over Scandinavia with air circulating anticlockwise and an anticyclone in the Atlantic with air circulating clockwise. The thermometer eventually fell to -3.3C at 08.46 and any further drop arrested by the arrival of weak sunshine.
2024 Annual Survey
Maximum Day Temperature 30.7 19th July
Minimum Day Temperature 0.7 19th December
Maximum Night Temperature 18.1 2nd December
Minimum Night Temperature -6.3 19th January
Last Air Frost – Spring -0.7 25th April
First Air Frost – Autumn -0.4 11th October
Number Air Frosts 28
Total Precipitation 1126.8
Maximum Daily Rainfall 43.4 23rd September
No. Days with Snowfall 1
No. Days with Thunder 4
No. Days with Small Hail (<5mm) 5
No. Days with Large Hail (>5mm) 0
No. Days with fog at 08.00 25
Soil Temperature (av at depth at 5cm) 10.3
Max Soil temperature at 5cm depth 22.2 1st August
Min Soil temperature at 5cm depth -2.9 19th January
Wettest Month 221.4 September
Driest Month 25.0 June
Maximum Wind Gust 45 7th December
Maximum Barometric Pressure. 1040.0 11th January
Minimum Barometric Pressure 976.1 2nd January
Wind Directions
20 N
34 NE
22 E
29 SE
47 SE
87 SW
80 W
47 NW
N.B. Temp in C: Rainfall in mm: Wind Speed in mph: Barometric Pressure in mb
