Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: Bitterly cold first half with frequent heavy snowfalls. Mild, but dull second half.

It was a bitterly cold start to the month across Northamptonshire. High pressure over Scandinavia set up an easterly flow and low pressure over Iberia resulted in a series of weather fronts which tracked westwards on its northern edge bringing frequent snowfalls, not just to Northamptonshire but to a large part of the England and Wales. Snow arriving during the afternoon of the 2nd caused significant disruption. Many schools were closed and the entire fleet of county gritting lorries were on the roads. Daytime temperatures struggled at 0.6C on the 2nd and some hard frosts were recorded overnight, particularly the mornings of the 3rd and 4th when temperatures dropped below -5.0C.

Further heavy snowfalls were recorded on the 5th. Again these were associated with frontal systems linked to the Iberian low pressure centre as it was tracking closer towards the British Isles. The snow resulted widespread disruption to transport across the county. Most minor roads and country lanes were impassable with only the main roads accessible with caution. Bus services were suspended, rail services disrupted and jack-knifed lorries added to the problems on the M1. 15.0cm of lying snow was recorded at Pitsford at 0900. Yet more heavy snow on the 6th continued to cause traffic chaos across the county, including the closure of the M1. Most minor routes became paralysed and more remote communities became isolated. Rubbish collections were abandoned in Northampton and council facilities closed. 17.0cm of snow was recorded at Pitsford at 0900 the following morning making this the heaviest snowfall recorded for some 20 years.

Over the next few days the area of low pressure pulled away northwards across the North Sea only to introduce a northerly airstream and further pulses of snow. Heavy falls of snow occurred during the evening of the 8th resulting in treacherous conditions on untreated roads across the county the following morning. With an increase in wind strength, some parts of the county experienced blizzard conditions overnight on the 9th. A rainfall equivalent of 20.9mm was recorded at Pitsford Hall during the 24 hours up until 0900 on the 10th. Daytime temperatures during this period were high enough to result in some thawing of lying snow, but it was a slow process and continued hard frosts overnight simply led to the refreezing of any meltwater and treacherous conditions developed on the roads. Black ice was a problem on many roads overnight on the 10th and again on the 11th by which time rivers swollen with meltwater were threatening to flood parts of Brackley and Towcester. In fact, many parts of the county retained their snow cover for another week – the snow finally clearing from Pitsford on the 17th.

On the 15th an area of high pressure had become established over the southern half of the British Isles. Whilst this high brought significantly milder weather to the county with daytime temperatures for the first time in February reaching double figures and nights free of air frost, its centre retreated south-westwards over the next few days allowing frontal systems together with cloud and outbreaks of rain to drive into the county. The weather across the county continued to be influenced by this high to a greater or lesser extent right through to the end of the month. The settled conditions with fairly light winds at times did little to break up the cloud and it remained largely dull. However, there were a few days when the cloud did manage to break, including the 21st which saw a good 6.1 hrs of bright sunshine and some sunny spells were enjoyed later in the day on the 25th.

The mild second half of February generally compensated for the bitterly cold first half such that overall mean temperatures were just 0.2C below the average. However, the month was certainly wetter than normal with a little over one a half times the expected rainfall, much of this being delivered in the form of heavy snow between the 9th and 10th. The anticyclonic gloom of the second half reduced February’s sunshine total to about three-quarters of its usual amount.


Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum:    12.5 C on 27th
The Lowest Maximum:    0.6 C on 2nd & 6th
The Highest Minimum:    6.9 C on 24th
The Lowest Minimum:    -5.4 C on 3rd
The Mean Maximum:    6.5 C  
The Mean Minimum:    0.9 C  
The Overall Mean:    3.7 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean:  -0.2 C  
    
Black Bulb    
Maximum (at 0900):    8.8 C on 28th
Mean (at 0900):    3.9 C  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900):  100.0 % on 18th & 20th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900):  79.0 % on 22nd
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900):  92.5 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900):   7.0 C on 18th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900):  -4.9 C on 3rd
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900):   1.9 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total:      57.2 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean:  151.7 %  
Duration:     58.5 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900):  20.9 mm on 9th
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):    11   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):    8   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine:  46.9 hrs  
Sunniest day:     6.1 hrs on 13th
No. of days without sunshine:   10   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean:  76.4 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900):   6.6 oktas (82.5 %)
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900):  1032.1 mb on 21st
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900):   989.3 mb on 5th
Mean Pressure (at 0900):   1015.7 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs):  108.5 miles  
Mean daily wind speed:    5.9 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative):   3037.3 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust:   34 mph on 9th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more:   0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900):  26.5 mph on 1st
Mean wind strength (at 0900):   7.8 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 4 NE 2 E 1 SE 2 S 2 SW 2 W 4 NW 9 Calm 2
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum:   -6.7 C on 4th
Mean Concrete Minimum:   0.2 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche      37.2 ml  
Pan      13.38 mm      

Days with:    
Thunder:     0   
Hail <5mm:     0   
Hail >/=5mm:     0   
Snow or snow & rain:    10   
Snow lying:     16   
Fog:      2   
Air Frost:     11   
Duration of Air Frost:   98.0hrs
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.