Monthly Weather Review - Pitsford Hall

Headline: Wet at the start, but then a protracted dry spell broken only by drizzle later in the month. Warmer than usual.

September began with some very unsettled weather across Northamptonshire. A deep depression tracked north-eastwards across the British Isles bringing outbreaks of rain and a fairly strong wind during the first few days. The 1st and 2nd were particularly wet with 6.0mm and 7.6mm of rain recorded on both days respectively and winds gusted to 38mph on the 3rd. Temperature-wise it was also fairly cool for early September with daytime highs typically reaching around 17.0C.

Anticyclonic conditions developed over mainland Europe from the 5th and pressure consequently rose across this region. Temperatures began to climb reaching a high of 23.8C on the 8th, although sunshine totals were disappointing on some days, the 6th being particularly dull. Nonetheless, the cloud preventing overnight temperatures falling too sharply. In fact, lows did not fall below 15.0C at Pitsford on the night of the 7th/8th.

Pressure rose still further from the 9th onwards. A fairly stationary anticyclonic became resident across the UK and whilst its position drifted firstly northwards across Scotland and then south again, this high would result in the protracted dry spell across the county which would last from the 3rd right through to the 22nd. Some good sunshine was logged early in this period, although from the 13th onwards the days became noticeably cloudy at times and sunshine totals were disappointing. Many days only saw a few hours sunshine. With the centre of the high consistently west of the region, most days a mainly north or north-easterly airstream kept daytime temperatures pegged back in the high teens.

Spells of light rain were briefly recorded on the 22nd and 23rd as a weakened weather front worked its way very slowly through the county. Once this front had cleared, high pressure continued to hold sway across Northamptonshire and dry conditions continued. Some good spells of sunshine followed the front and clearer skies at night saw temperatures fall quite smartly. Some mist was recorded for the first time this autumn in the early mornings and it became noticeably chilly to start the day. As the month came to and end, no significant rain (i.e. in excess of 0.2mm) had been recorded at Pitsford for 27 consecutive days making this the driest September in Northamptonshire since 1959.

Air Temperatures    
The Highest Maximum: 23.8 C on 8th
The Lowest Maximum: 16.0 C on 17th
The Highest Minimum: 15.0 C on 8th
The Lowest Minimum: 6.9 C on 27th
The Mean Maximum: 18.9 C  
The Mean Minimum: 10.5 C  
The Overall Mean: 14.7 C  
Difference from the Monthly Mean: +0.8 C  
    
Solar Radiation    
Maximum (at 0900): 470.0 W/m^2 on 10th
Mean (at 0900): 245.8 W/m^2  
    
Relative Humidity:    
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 95.5 % on 2nd
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 59.6 % on 10th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 79.5 %  
    
Dew Point:    
The Highest Dew Point (0900): 16.3 C on 8th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): 7.2 C on 25th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 10.8 C  
    
Rainfall:    
Total: 14.3 mm  
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 25.5 %  
Duration: 9.7 hrs  
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 7.6 mm on 2nd
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 3   
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 2   
    
Sunshine:    
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 130.4 hrs  
Sunniest day: 8.9 hrs on 9th
No. of days without sunshine: 0   
Percentage of the Monthly Mean: 84.1 %  
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 5.2 oktas (65 %)
    
Pressure (reduced to sea level):    
The Highest Pressure (at 0900): 1038.8 mb on 11th
The Lowest Pressure (at 0900): 994.2 mb on 3rd
Mean Pressure (at 0900): 1022.8 mb  
    
Winds    
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 106.7 miles  
Mean daily wind speed: 5.8 mph  
Run of wind (cumulative): 3093.7 miles  
Highest Maximum Gust: 38 mph on 3rd
No. of gusts of 50mph or more: 0   
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 17.3 mph on 3rd
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 9.6 mph  
    
Winds from the Following Directions:    

N 6 NE 3 E 2 SE 0 S 4 SW 6 W 3 NW 6 Calm 0
    
Concrete     
Lowest Concrete Minimum: 3.9 C on 16th
Mean Concrete Minimum: 9.6 C  
    
Evaporation    
Piche 84.4 ml  
Pan 64.25 mm    
  
Days with:    
Thunder: 1   
Hail <5mm: 0   
Hail >/=5mm: 0   
Snow or snow & rain: 0   
Snow lying: 0   
Fog: 0   
Air Frost: 0   
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.