Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: Initially mild and very wet. Turning particularly cold towards the end of the third week before recovering to above average temperatures in the last week.

The month began with a fairly unsettled theme. A series of fairly deep depressions tracked across the UK bringing spells of rain and strong winds across the county. The 2nd was a particularly wet day with 19.5mm of rain falling over 10 hours at Pitsford and a deep and complex low between the 5th and 6th saw gusts reaching 43mph. Temperatures by day though were warmer than average for the time of year with highs climbing to 13.5C by the 6th with no overnight air frosts, winds mainly coming in from the south-west.

Frontal systems continued to bring spells of rain to the county until the 10th when an area of high pressure over Europe tended to push northwards into the southern half of the UK. Whilst many northern areas continue to see rain, the county enjoyed a dry spell with some decent spells of sunshine by day. The remnants of a frontal system worked south through the county on the 12th introducing a fair amount of cloud although it stayed dry. Temperatures continued to remain above average for the time of year right through to the 17th with winds from the south at first, veering more westerly on the 16th.

The high which had brought the protracted period of dry settled weather finally retreated from the UK on the 17th. A particularly deep low tracked past the north of Scotland between the 17th and 18th bringing strong winds across a large part of the UK. At Pitsford gusts reached 51mph on the 17th and remained strong until the 20th. As the low moved towards Scandinavia and high pressure developed over the North Atlantic, a strong northerly airstream introduced a much colder spell of weather. There were frequent showers of granular snow and hail, even accompanied by thunder on the 18th. The cold northerly airstream gave rise to some late air frosts on the 21st and 22nd, the only occasions during March when overnight minima fell below freezing. A warm front working in off the Atlantic on the 22nd brought a fall of snow across the county during the morning, but this quickly melted away by the afternoon. High pressure over Scandinavia extended to cover the UK on the 24th. In fact this high remained fairly stationary over the UK maintaining a settled spell of weather with light winds and some good spells of sunshine through to the 28th. This sunshine allowed temperatures to recover and by the 26th daytime highs were reaching a very mild 15C.

As the month came to a close, the Scandinavian high had started to lose its grip on the UK and a frontal system introduced some rain on the 29th. However, on the 30th a discrete area of high pressure had formed over Iceland and this was to extend southwards across the UK on the 31st producing a warm day with some good sunshine. This high was to remain fairly stationary across the British Isles into the first week of April.


Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum:   15.7 C on 11th
The Lowest Maximum:   6.3 C on 20th
The Highest Minimum:   6.4 C on 12th & 31st
The Lowest Minimum:   -2.0 C on 21st
The Mean Maximum:   11.5 C  
The Mean Minimum:   2.8 C  
The Overall Mean:   7.2 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: -0.3 C  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 98.6 % on 26th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 56.0 % on 18th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 86.5 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900):  9.0 C on 17th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -3.8 C on 21st
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900):  4.2 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total:     52.3 mm  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 116.2 %  
Duration:    39.3 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 19.5 mm on 2nd
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):   14   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):   9   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 170.9 hrs  
Sunniest day:    9.4 hrs on 13th
No. of days without sunshine:  3   
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 182.6 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900):  4.4 oktas 55 %
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure:   1036.1 mb on 14th
The Lowest Pressure:   989.0 mb on 1st
Mean Pressure (recorded at 0900): 1016.2 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 150.5 miles  
Mean daily wind speed:   8.2 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative):  4666.9 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust:   51 mph on 17th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more:  2   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 23.1 mph on 20th
Mean wind strength (at 0900):  8.3 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 4 NE 2 E 0 SE 1 S 5 SW 4 W 5 NW 4 Calm 6
    
Ground Temperatures:     
Lowest Grass Minimum:   -6.4 C on 22nd
Mean Grass Minimum:   -1.0 C  
Lowest Concrete Minimum:  -3.4 C on 21st
Mean Concrete Minimum:  1.5 C  
Lowest Bare Earth Minimum:  -2.0 C on 21st
Mean Bare Earth Minimum:  2.1 C  
    
Soil/Earth Temperatures:     
Surface mean:    5.6 C  
5cm mean:    5.4 C  
10cm mean:    5.7 C  
20cm mean:    6.4 C  
30cm mean:    6.8 C  
40cm mean:    6.7 C  
50cm mean:    7.0 C  
100cm mean:    7.0 C  
    
Days with:    
Thunder:    1   
Hail <5mm:    2   
Hail >/=5mm:    0   
Snow or snow & rain:   4
Snow lying:    1: 22nd   
Fog:     2   
Air Frost:    2
Duration of Air Frost:   19.0hrs
Ground Frost:    20   
Gales:     0   
    
Total (Pan) Evaporation:  47.67 mm


All data © Pitsford Hall weather station.

The weather station publishes a full Monthly Weather Report (ISSN 1741-4733) which is distributed to libraries across Northamptonshire. This report comprises a full UK weather diary, reports of extreme weather events across the county, statistics from Pitsford Hall's affiliated stations across the county as well as news from the weather station itself. Individuals may download this report for £2 or take out an annual subscription for the paper-based report for £25. Click here for further details.