Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: A month of alternating unsettled and settled weather although becoming overall drier, warmer and sunnier than normal.

The weather was very unsettled at the beginning of March. Depressions crossed the British Isles on numerous occasions bringing wet and, at times, windy conditions across Northamptonshire. The 3rd was a particularly wet day across the whole of the UK and 7.8mm was recorded over 5 hours at Pitsford with winds gusting to 40mph. It also became fairly cold during the first week, daytime temperatures fell consistently from the 1st to the 5th and air frosts were recorded overnight into the 5th and again into the 6th. The development of a fairly consistent south-westerly airstream from the 7th allowed temperatures to recover through to the end of the second week, although wet and windy conditions interrupted this trend on the 9th. 5.0mm of rain was recorded with winds again gusting to 40mph.

From the 11th onwards the weather across Northamptonshire was influenced by high pressure. From the 14th to the 22nd inclusive it remained completely dry. Most days recorded good periods of sunshine with several days achieving over 7.0hrs, the sunniest being the 16th with 7.9 hours. The sunshine made for pleasantly warm afternoons with highs typically between 12 and 15C. However, clear skies overnight resulted in some low overnight temperatures although no air frosts were recorded at Pitsford; the lowest temperature during this period being 1.1C overnight into the 21st.

From the 22nd, high pressure retreated from much of the UK. This allowed a cold front to work eastwards across the UK, although by the time it reached Northamptonshire it had largely broken down delivering just a little over 1mm of rain. However, this front ushered in a different spell of weather. It became very windy at times and temperatures generally fell as the wind direction remained generally north-westerly. Outbreaks of rain were recorded on most days. The 3-day period from the 23rd to the 25th was particularly windy with peak gusts reaching 49mph in the 23rd and 50mph on the 25th. By the 28th it was cold enough for showers of hail, some of which were particularly heavy with hail stones exceeding 5mm at Pitsford and other locations.

As March came to a close, high pressure became established once more across the UK. It remained dry across Northamptonshire and although rather cloudy at times daytime temperatures recovered. However, overnight lows still fell sharply to around freezing overnight into the 30th.

Overall, although this March was significantly warmer than average and warmer than March 2008, it was marginally cooler than March 2007 (by 0.1C). With high pressure dominating so much of the month, it is unsurprising that rainfall was significantly below average. A total of 19.2mm made this the driest March since 2000 when 12.8mm was recorded. The month was also one of the sunnier Marches on record for Northampton, although not exceeding the 170.9 hours recorded in March 2007.


Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum:    15.3 C on 16th
The Lowest Maximum:    6.6 C on 5th
The Highest Minimum:    6.5 C on 31st
The Lowest Minimum:    -1.0 C on 6th
The Mean Maximum:    11.2 C  
The Mean Minimum:    2.9 C  
The Overall Mean:    7.1 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean:  +0.6 C  
    
Black Bulb    
Maximum (at 0900):    13.9 C on 14th
Mean (at 0900):    8.2 C  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900):  100.0 % on 13th
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900):  63.5 % on 8th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900):  83.0 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900):   6.9 C on 26th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900):  -1.0 C on 5th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900):   3.4 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total:      19.2 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean:  42.1 %  
Duration:     16.0 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900):  7.8 mm on 3rd
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm):    8   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm):    6   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine:  148.4 hrs  
Sunniest day:     8.6 hrs on 9th
No. of days without sunshine:   1   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean:  129.8 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900):   4.6 oktas (57.5 %)
    

Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900):  1036.1 mb on 17th
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900):   982.6 mb on 4th
Mean Pressure (at 0900):   1015.3 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs):  126.9 miles  
Mean daily wind speed:    6.9 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative):   3932.5 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust:   50 mph on 25th
No. of gusts of 50mph or more:   1   
Highest wind strength (at 0900):  27.7 mph on 28th
Mean wind strength (at 0900):   9.9 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 2 NE 1 E 2 SE 2 S 6 SW 5 W 6 NW 6 Calm 1
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum:   -3.0 C on 6th
Mean Concrete Minimum:   1.5 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche      76.9 ml  
Pan      44.61 mm      

Days with:    
Thunder:     0   
Hail <5mm:     1   
Hail >/=5mm:     1   
Snow or snow & rain:    1   
Snow lying:     0   
Fog:      3   
Air Frost:     2  
Duration of Air Frost:    3.0hrs 
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.