Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: Windy at either end of the month, but mainly anticyclonic and very dry. The driest February since 1998.

February began with a deep low positioned off the north-east coast of Scotland. This drove some particularly strong winds across the British Isles and peak gusts at Pitsford Hall reach 48mph. Over the next few days this low tracked towards Scandinavia only to be replaced by another low pressure system on the 3rd. Winds remained strong across the county with spells of rain (7.2mm on the 3rd) through to the 5th. Temperatures started off about average for early February and with the exception of an air frost on the 2nd, the strong wind and spells of sunshine saw daytime temperatures rise to 12.0C on the 5th. The payoff though for sunshine at this time of year was some cold nights, although minima remained just above freezing.

A ridge of high pressure built across the region on the 6th ensuring a calmer day with some good sunshine. Frontal systems skirted the county to the north on the 7th introducing cloud, but the day remained dry. By the 8th an extensive area of high pressure had become resident across much of mainland Europe and this would come to influence the weather across the south-east, Northamptonshire included, for the next week. The county enjoyed some prolonged sunshine during the daytime and winds remained very light . Daytime temperatures were exceptionally mild for the time of year reaching 13.4C on the 9th and 10th and staying warm through to the 13th. However, the clear skies did see night-time temperatures fall markedly, but again no air frost was recorded at Pitsford although ground frosts during the early morning were commonplace together with mist and fog.

An area of high pressure north-east of Iceland extended towards the UK on the 13th joining forces with the extensive European anticyclone. As it did so some weak frontal system became caught up in the high resulting in an overcast day on the 14th with a small amount of rain. Temperatures struggled at 4.4C, slowly recovering over the next few days as the sunshine returned. The centre of this extensive area of high pressure was located over southern Norway on the 15th and over the next few days it drifted southwards into France and Germany. The UK, however, remained under the influence of a ridge which fed a very cold easterly airstream across the county. Whilst daytime temperatures were close to normal at night there were several hard frosts, (-4.9C on the 17th). The very light breeze also saw spells of morning mist and fog from the 18th through to the 20th. In fact such was the fog on the 19th that daytime temperatures only reached 0.9C.

A notable change was ushered in on the 21st as a warm front accompanied by freshening south-westerly winds worked southwards. There was little rain on the front, although daytime temperatures recovered significantly as did the overnight lows by the 22nd. The weather would remain cyclonic from now until the end of the month. A succession of low pressure systems tracked past the north of Scotland driving frontal systems through the county. Winds remained strong on the 25th and 26th gusting to 37mph and most days saw some rain. Nevertheless, it wasn’t completely overcast: there were some good spells of sunshine on the 26th and 27th. As the month came to a close on the 29th a particularly deep low passed close to the British Isles driving some exceptionally strong winds through the county. Peak gusts reached 60mph as we moved into the start of March.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum:   13.4C on  9th & 10th
The Lowest Maximum:   0.9C on 19th
The Highest Minimum:   8.1C on 24th
The Lowest Minimum:   -4.9C on 17th
The Mean Maximum:   9.5C  
The Mean Minimum:   1.3C  
The Overall Mean:   5.4C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: +0.7C  
    
Black Bulb    
Maximum (at 0900):   11.5C on 10th
Mean (at 0900):    6.0C  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100.0% on 4th, 18th, 19th &  20th.
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 74.3% on 3rd
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 88.6%  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900):  8.0C on 23rd
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -3.0C on 19th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900):  2.1C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total:     18.0mm  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 47.7%  
Duration:    12.3hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 7.2mm on 3rd
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):   7   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):   6   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 109.2hrs  
Sunniest day:    7.4hrs on 18th
No. of days without sunshine:  7   
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 177.9%  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900):  4.7oktas (58.8 %)
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure:   1044.8mb on 16th
The Lowest Pressure:   995.3mb   on 5th
Mean Pressure (recorded at 0900): 1022.7mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 136.1miles  
Mean daily wind speed:   7.4mph  
Run of wind (cumulative):  3947.0miles  
Highest Maximum Gust:   60mph on 29th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more:  1   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 17.3mph on 7th
Mean wind strength (at 0900):  6.3mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 0 NE 1 E 6 SE 1 S 8 SW 8 W 1 NW 1 Calm  3   
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum:  -8.5C on 17th
Mean Concrete Minimum:  -1.0C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche     46.1ml  
Pan       22.87 mm   
 
Days with:    
Thunder:    0   
Hail <5mm:    0   
Hail >/=5mm:    0   
Snow or snow & rain:   1   
Snow lying:    0   
Fog:     2   
Air Frost:    7
Duration of Air Frost:   66.0hrs   
Gales:     0   

All data © Pitsford Hall weather station.


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.