WEATHER REVIEW - March 2008

Headline: Unsettled. Frequently very windy with outbreaks of rain, hail, sleet and snow.

The transition from February to March was particularly windy across the county. A deep area of low pressure was working past the north of Scotland. A gust of 60mph was recorded at Pitsford on 29th February and the wind remained strong on 1st March with gusts reaching 50mph. Despite the strong north-westerly wind it was mild for the start of March and highs reached around 12C on the 1st and 2nd. Although the north of the UK remained under the influence of low pressure over the next few days, high pressure began to work in from the south-west bringing with it some good sunshine during the day, although overnight lows fell with air frosts recorded on the 4th and 5th.  A warm front worked southwards on the 5th introducing cloudier skies and some light showers the following day.

A deep low began to develop south-west of Iceland on the 6th and frontal systems tied into this worked their way through the county on the 8th bringing outbreaks of rain and a strengthening south-westerly wind. This wind strengthened still further over the next few days with gusts reaching 47mph on the 10th and 54mph on the 11th. Further frontal systems continued to deliver a fair amount of rain, especially on the 10th which saw some quite heavy bursts linked to one of the deepest depressions on record. By the 11th a fairly complex area of low pressure had developed north of the UK with a number of discrete foci. As one of these centres worked across northern England on the 12th the county once more received some particularly strong winds.

Low pressure loosened its grip on the UK from the 13th for a short period. It remained dry, albeit rather cloudy with some mist around during the early morning. However, a new low moved in towards the south-west of Ireland on the 15th driving frontal systems northwards through the county. Some fairly persistent rain fell which lasted right through the night into the 16th delivering 25.7mm of rain by 09:00 at Pitsford Hall. Once more strong winds were also recorded as the centre of this low tracked close-by with gusts reaching 47mph on the 16th.

High pressure which had been developed over Iceland since the 14th finally extended southwards towards the UK on the 17th.  This drew in a much colder northerly airflow and temperatures consequently fell especially overnight  giving some particularly chilly mornings on the 18th and 19th.

By the 20th this high had started to pull away to the south-west and as low pressure passed the north of Scotland outbreaks of rain and a strengthening north-westerly wind were felt across the county. The overnight period into the 21st was particularly windy and gusts reached 60mph at Pitsford. A notable squall was also recorded later the same afternoon. As this low remained over Denmark and northern Germany over the next couple of days it maintained a cold northerly wind across the UK which brought in snow showers between the 22nd and 24th. The 23rd (Easter Sunday) saw 6cm of lying snow at Pitsford at 09:00.  As this low began to fill further fronts were driven in off the Atlantic over the next few days and the weather remained unsettled with showers and outbreaks of rain.  However, there were some spells of sunshine, notably the 28th with nearly 9hrs.  The region remained under the influence of low pressure to the north until the end of the month. Some rain was recorded associated with the passage of a frontal system overnight on the 29th into the 30th, but from then on until the close of March it remained dry.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum:   13.6C on 31st
The Lowest Maximum:   5.0C on 24th
The Highest Minimum:   7.4C on 2nd
The Lowest Minimum:   -2.6C on 5th
The Mean Maximum:   9.7C  
The Mean Minimum:   2.4C  
The Overall Mean:   6.1C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: -1.4C  
    
Black Bulb    
Maximum (at 0900):   16.2C on 2nd
Mean (at 0900):    7.6C  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100.0% on 31st
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 60.5% on 25th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 82.9%  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900):  9.2C on 15th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -6.0C on 25th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900):  2.6C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total:     66.3mm  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 147.3%  
Duration:    59.2hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 25.7mm on 15th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):   15   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):   12   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 121.9hrs  
Sunniest day:    8.8hrs on 4th
No. of days without sunshine:  2   
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 130.2%  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900):  5.2oktas (65%)
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure:   1035.9mb on 5th
The Lowest Pressure:   965.8mb on 10th
Mean Pressure (recorded at 0900): 1006.1mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 170.3miles  
Mean daily wind speed:   9.2mph  
Run of wind (cumulative):  5278.6miles  
Highest Maximum Gust:   60mph on 20th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more:  6   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 32.3mph on 12th
Mean wind strength (at 0900):  12.0mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    
N 5 NE 0 E 0 SE 1 S 6 SW 3 W 8 NW 7 Calm 1   
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum:  -5.4C on 5th
Mean Concrete Minimum:  0.4C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche     47.9ml  
Pan     108.71mm 
    
Days with:    
Thunder:    0   
Hail <5mm:    3   
Hail >/=5mm:    0   
Snow or snow & rain:   4   
Snow lying:    1   
Fog:     1   
Air Frost:    5
Duration of Air Frost:   21.0hrs   
Gales:     0

All data © Pitsford Hall weather station.
Click here to view the full climatological register for March 2008.

Click here to view the weather diary for March 2008. 

Click here to view the full AWS weather record for March 2008.
Click here to view the statistical summary for 2008.

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.