4March
Weather
The winter's mild and wet motif continued, with some vigorous squalls on Wednesday, and almost two inches of the wet stuff falling between 6pm Friday and 6pm Sunday. February finished with over 165% of the average rainfall, and March has almost had half its quota already.
26 Mo sun 6/ 9, 2.0
27 Tu showers 3/12, 8.0
28 We squally showers 7/11, 6.5
01 Th sunny spells 4/ 9, 1.0
02 Fr sun to cloud 0/10
03 Sa rain o/n, sun 3/12,22.0
04 Su rain 2/10,11.5
Rainfall in February: 89½mm; Monthly average: 54mm.
Rainfall in March: 34.5mm; monthly average: 52.3mm.
Degree heating days: 411½
2005-6: 651½/808
2004-5: 566½/677½.
Next week will continue the mild and showery weather for most parts.
Weather
25February
Weather in week 8
It's been one of the easiest winters to summarise: wet and mild. There were cold weeks in late December and late January, and a week of snowfall earlier this month, but the vast majority of winter has been mild and wet.
19 Mo mist and cloud 6/10
20 Tu rain o/n, cloud 8/12, 4.0
21 We sun 7/11, 1.0
22 Th drizzle 8/10, 5.0
23 Fr cloud, rain late 7/11, 4.5
24 Sa sun, showers 7/11, 7.5
25 Su sun, showers 5/ 9, 6.0
Rainfall in February: 73mm; Monthly average: 54mm.
Degree heating days: 390½
2005-6: 597½/808
2004-5: 508½/677½.
Next week will continue the mild and showery weather for most parts.
Weather
18February
Weather in week 7
A typical week, perhaps less showery activity than we had expected, and one particularly cold night. The dominant feature was a growing area of high pressure over Scandinavia, pushing such Atlantic storms as there were to the south.
12 Mo showers, sun late 6/ 8, 4.5
13 Tu cloud, rain pm 5/ 7, 1.0
14 We sun 6/ 9, 1.5
15 Th sunny spells 0/11
16 Fr rain 6/ 7, 6.0
17 Sa sun 4/ 8
18 Su sun 3/ 9
Rainfall in February: 45mm; Monthly average: 54mm.
Degree heating days: 381½
2005-6: 547½/808
2004-5: 443½/677½.
The thing to watch next week is the Scandinavian high. So long as it stays in place, it will bring mild and mostly settled weather to the UK. A move to the west looks distinctly possible, and that would bring arctic air and cold temperatures, initially to the north and east, but possibly spreading to all parts. So do wrap up.
Weather
11February
Weather in week 6
A cold snap dominated proceedings for the first half of the week, with the two coldest nights of the winter occurring on Tuesday and Wednesday. As the cold air met a warm front moving up from the south, there was a prolonged fall of snow, from 5am to 6pm on Thursday, resulting in accumulations of 10cm of snow across large parts of the Midlands. A further, and not well-forecast, fall took place between 11am and 6pm on Friday, giving a further 5-10cm of snow. The warm front eventually gained control, leaving Saturday wet, and Sunday returned to the mild weather that has dominated proceedings all winter. Even this mild winter has respected the traditional snowy snap in mid-Feb.
05 Mo cloud -2/ 5
06 Tu sun -6/ 3
07 We sun -8/ 4
08 Th snow -2/ 0, 3.0
09 Fr snow -1/ 1, 5.5
10 Sa drizzle 1/ 5,12.5
11 Su sun 5/ 9,11.0
Rainfall in February: 32mm; Monthly average: 54mm. (We've converted the snowfall to rainfall as 1cm of snow = 1mm of rain.)
Degree heating days: 356
2005-6: 522½/808
2004-5: 398/677½.
The forecast for next week is mild, with wet and windy spells for all parts, so do wrap up.
Weather
4February
Weather in week 5
A front cleared away the air on Tuesday, bringing a brief spell of sun before more cloud arrived. That melted away during Friday, resulting in clear skies, night frosts, and warm days.
29 Mo cloud 7/ 9
30 Tu cloud 6/ 7
31 We sun 1/12
01 Th cloud 10/11
02 Fr sun 8/10
03 Sa sun 1/ 9
04 Su sun -1/10
Rainfall in January: 75mm; Monthly average: 74mm.
Rainfall in February: 0mm; Monthly average: 54mm.
Degree heating days: 293
2005-6: 487½/808
2004-5: 369½/677½.
We can reasonably suggest that we're over the half-way mark in terms of degree-heating days this winter, and in spite of the looming cold snap, it looks like we'll escape with not much more than 500 DHDs. That should relieve the pressure on the gas market, and cause prices to drop... right?
The clear skies will last well into next week, and by next week-end, the country will be back in the grip of a south-westerly, showery, airflow. It's the transition that could be awkward, with snowfalls north of the Thames valley a distinct possibility, and most likely around Thursday. Any snow will not last long, it's coming on the back of a warm front, so do wrap up.
Weather
28January
Weather in week 4
A cold and frosty week; Tuesday morning's was the sharpest frost of the winter by three clear degrees. The weather warmed up after a front passed early on Friday, leaving a settled spell.
22 Mo cloud 5/ 9, 0.5
23 Tu sun -4/ 2
24 We snow flurries 1/ 4, 1.0
25 Th sun -1/ 4
26 Fr cloud 1/ 8
27 Sa cloud 6/ 9
28 Su sunny spells 5/10
Rainfall this month: 75mm; Monthly average: 74mm.
Degree heating days: 269½
2005-6: 436/808
2004-5: 347½/677½.
The settled spell is set to continue, though there is likely to be light rain for most parts around the middle of the week. It's quite possible that next week-end will see a return to colder weather.
Weather
21January
Weather in week 3
The week was dominated by a sustained period of strong winds on Thursday, with gusts of up to 55mph in the Birmingham area felling trees and causing significant damage. Aside from that, the week continued in the pattern established since the end of December, with warm south-westerly winds, though somewhat less rain than we've seen of late.
15 Mo cloud 5/ 9
16 Tu rain o/n, bright 8/10, 3.5
17 We rain o/n, sun 7/ 9, 2.5
18 Th rain o/n, wind 5/12,14.0
19 Fr cloud 9/12
20 Sa sun 4/ 7, 3.0
21 Su sun 4/ 7, 1.5
Rainfall this month: 73.5mm; Monthly average: 74mm.
Degree heating days: 229
2005-6: 378½/808
2004-5: 305/677½.
The forecast for next week sees a change - a front will pass through on Sunday night, bringing rain, turning to snow, possibly leaving an accumulation in many parts. The cold weather will drift off towards the continent during the week, introducing warmer weather to the north and west first. It's not clear whether this milder air will reach all parts by the end of the working week, or if the cold airflow will continue in the south and east. So do wrap up.
Weather
14January
Weather in week 2
A wet, windy, and mild week. Friday was the first day without rain since 26 December.
08 Mo cloud 4/12, 2.5
09 Tu cloud, rain pm 11/13, 9.5
10 We rain o/n, sun 10/10,15.0
11 Th wind and rain, sun 7/12, 4.0
12 Fr cloud 8/13
13 Sa cloud 10/11
14 Su rain o/n, sun 4/ 8, 1.0
Rainfall this month: 52.5mm; Monthly average: 74mm.
Degree heating days: 212½
2005-6: 358/808
2004-5: 269½/677½.
The south-westerly airflow will continue for much of the week, bringing showers and strong winds to all parts. It looks likely that there will be a brief interruption around Thursday, when winds will briefly switch to the north-west, which would bring significantly lower temperatures. Any cold snap will be short lived, lasting no more than a couple of days.
Weather
7January
Weather in week 1
A wet, windy, and mild week.
01 Mo sun, showers 5/10, 2.5
02 Tu cloud 4/ 8, 2.0
03 We cloud, showers 4/10, 2.0
04 Th cloud 8/10, 2.0
05 Fr mostly cloud 8/11, 2.0
06 Sa light rain 4/ 7, 4.5
07 Su showers 6/10, 5.5
Rainfall this month: 20.5mm; Monthly average: 74mm.
Degree heating days: 206
2005-6: 326½/808
2004-5: 246½/677½.
Next week will be wet and windy in all parts, possibly becoming more quiet in the south and east towards the week-end, so do wrap up.
