Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: Very mild with no snowfall recorded at Pitsford and only brief air frost. Above average rainfall.

The start of the new year saw the UK coming increasingly under the influence of an area of high pressure over Scandinavia. By mid-night on the 2nd pressure had risen to around 1060mb over parts of Finland and cold air was being fed in across the county from the south-east off a cold European continent. Daytime temperatures on the 3rd struggled to top 3C. Winds were fairly brisk at times and this added to the raw feel. There were some brief spells of sunshine on New Year’s Day and on the 2nd, although it remained overcast through the 3rd and 4th.

On the 4th a deep area of low pressure south-west of Iceland was beginning to gain some control over the

weather. A warm front moved up from the south introducing milder air and some moderate rain across the county as the wind veered more south-westerly. Whilst this low filled and moved fairly harmlessly passed the north of Scotland on the 6th, a second more active system approached from the south-west and introduced some strong winds across the county as the centre moved across northern parts on the 7th. Wind speeds reached 46mph at Pitsford. The strong airstream maintained the overall warming trend towards a high on the 8th of 10.7C.

A cold front then sank southwards and its arrival at Pitsford on the evening of the 8th was marked by a significant line squall. Heavy rain, strong winds and hail were reported, 3.4mm in the space of 45 minutes. The fall in temperature from 8C at 21:45 to 3.2C at 22:00 was dramatic. The wind picked up again into the 10th and as an area of low pressure developed south-west of Ireland and tracked through the region on the 11th the weather became particularly unsettled. 22.5mm of rain was recorded at Pitsford over a period of 10.8hrs and it remained fairly windy over the next few days as a second low worked in from the west.

High pressure extended across much of mainland Europe by the 13th and with little change in the positioning of this high over the next few days a log-jam developed over the UK and northern Europe as one Atlantic low pressure system piled into the next. Heavy rain began to fall across the county on the 15th prompting the Environment Agency to release flood warnings for several rivers across the county. At Pitsford 14.0mm of rain was recorded in the space of 4hrs. The weather continued on a cyclonic theme for the next few days with successive frontal systems delivering a fair amount of rain on a daily basis with the exception of the 16th which stayed mainly dry recording some sunshine. With low pressure dominating the picture, it remained mild with a clear absence of overnight frosts.

A frontal wave dogged the county from the 19th until the 21st delivering further spells of rain, and temperature-wise it became exceptionally mild for the time of year with daytime highs reaching 14.0C on the 20th. The following night temperatures did not fall below 10.1C. A ridge of high pressure built up from the south on the 22nd introducing some brief sunshine but a significantly colder night under clear skies as lows fell to 1.5C. High pressure though was short-lived as further frontal systems pushed eastwards on the 23rd. However, the high remained sufficiently close-by over France to ensure a dry spell of weather across the south including Northamptonshire for a fair few days.

Clear skies overnight into the 28th led to a particularly chilly start and as a cold front worked southwards on the 29th the county saw a small amount of rain during the evening. High pressure worked in from the south-west following the rain to give some prolonged spells of sunshine on the 30th. However, by the 31st a deep low had arrived across the far north-west driving some particularly strong winds across the county with gusts at Pitsford reaching 53mph during the morning. The wind was also accompanied by hailstorms. Wind speeds eased during the day, only to pick up again overnight into the start of February.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum:   14.0C on 20th
The Lowest Maximum:   3.0C on 3rd
The Highest Minimum:   10.1C on 21st
The Lowest Minimum:   -0.5C on 3rd
The Mean Maximum:   9.7C  
The Mean Minimum:   3.3C  
The Overall Mean:   6.5C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: +2.1C  
    
Black Bulb    
Maximum (at 0900):   12.5C on 20th
Mean (at 0900):    6.0C  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100.0% on 1st, 4th, 9th,11th & 28th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 71.1% on 7th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 90.0%  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900):  10.0C on 20th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -2.7C on 3rd
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900):  4.4C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total:     75.2mm  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 143.8%  
Duration:    50.2hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 22.5mm on 11th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):   17   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):   13   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 48.0hrs  
Sunniest day:    5.5hrs on 27th
No. of days without sunshine:  9   
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 108%  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900):  6.3oktas (78.8%)
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure:   1034.7mb on 28th
The Lowest Pressure:   980.5mb on 15th
Mean Pressure (recorded at 0900): 1011.2mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 195.5miles  
Mean daily wind speed:   10.6mph  
Run of wind (cumulative):  6061.0miles  
Highest Maximum Gust:   53mph on 31st
No. of gusts of 50mph or more:  2   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 46.1mph on 31st
Mean wind strength (at 0900):  10.4mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 1 NE 2 E 1 SE 1 S 14 SW 8 W 3 NW 1 Calm 0  
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum:  -2.2C on 7th
Mean Concrete Minimum:  1.9C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche     59.7ml  
Pan     9.88mm
     
Days with:    
Thunder:    0   
Hail <5mm:    2   
Hail >/=5mm:    0   
Snow or snow & rain:   0   
Snow lying:    0   
Fog:     3   
Air Frost:    2
Duration of Air Frost:	  14.0hrs   
Gales:     0


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.