Weather Report for 2006

WEATHER REPORT FOR 1965

JANUARY

The year began on a bright note with 5 sunny days. The day
temperature was low and there were moderate night air and ground frosts.
The night of the 4th was the coldest of the month with 17 at Sudborough
and 22 at Bugbrooke. The minimum ground temperature was 13.3
at Wittering and 18 at Raunds.

The month from the 6th to 27th was unsettled. At Raunds and
Wittering 21 rainy days were recorded; 20 at Upton Lodge and Preston
Deanery. It was the wettest month since June I964. All rainfall stations
except Sudborough, recorded the gth as the wettest day; 0.52" at Welling
borough, 0.32" at Wittering. Sudborough's wettest day was the 21st with
0.39".

A Thunderstorm was recorded at Wittering on the 16th at 23.57, and
	a SW Gale on the 17th.

Snow and sleet showers were widespread from the 18th to 27th (TNP);
a fall of 2.00" on 21st at Wittering, 1.50" at Duston.

The warmest day of the month was the 11th with maximum temper-
ature ranging from 51-53. The last few days were similar to the first,
the 31st being the sunniest of the month; 7.7 hours recorded at Wittering,
7 hours at Raunds.

A Luna Halo was observed at Wittering at 05.00 on 16th, at 22.50 on
19th, both at Wittering and Hackleton (TNP).

FEBRUARY

A generally dull and cold month. Only 31.5 hours of sunshine were
recorded at Raunds with 15 sunless days and 39.1 hours at Wittering with
12 sunless days.

Maximum day temperatures were low. Northampton General
Hospital recorded 51 on 13th the only station to record over 50
during the month. The night of the 2nd/3rd was the coldest with 18
at Sudborough, 16 at Bugbrooke, 17 ground minimum at Raunds and
Wittering.

Snow and sleet were recorded over a wide area on 18th, 19th, 20th
and 21st. 1.00" depth at Wittering on the 29th, 1.50" at Duston on 21st.
Conditions were too wet for snow to settle. Hail was recorded on 24th
and 25th at Preston Deanery, also at Raunds on 24th.

Continuous snow began at approximately 17.00 at Preston Deanery
on 28th, to reach 3.75" deep by 09.00 on 1st March. 1.50" was recorded at
Duston. This fall was not recorded at Wittering.

MARCH

A mixture of winter, spring and summer weather. Snow fell in
scattered areas from the 1st to the 6th. On the 1st, 4.00" were recorded at
Wittering and 1.00" at Bugbrooke; 1.00" on the 3rd and 4th at Duston; 3.00" at
Bugbrooke on the 4th. Showers elswhere. During this pericd, there were
night air and ground frosts, the night of the 2nd/3rd being the coldest.
1 degree recorded at Sudborough, 9 at Raunds and 2 ground minimum at
Wittering. These were the lowest minimum March temperatures since
records began at Sudborough and Raunds.
period of spring-like weather with maximum day
temperatures in the 50's, but unsettled wet weather returned on 17th.
There were 10 rainy days to follow, the 20th being the wettest day of the
month, everywhere a day of continuous moderate rain. 1.00" was recorded
at Northampton and 0.88" at Preston Deanery. Snow was also recorded
on the 20th, 21st and 22nd. 2.00" fell on 20th at Bugbrooke and 1.50" at
Wittering on the 21st.

On the 26th the barometric pressure started to rise rapidly, also the
maximum day temperature and on the 28th and 29th, we had a taste of
summer. 75 was recorded at Northampton and Sudborough on 29th.

At Sudborough to quote; "On the 28th, max. 75 followed by a min.
of 22, to be followed by a max. of 75. The biggest daily range I have
recorded in 35 years. Also 1 degree is the lowest and 75 the highest March
temperatures." "29th warmest March day on Wittering records." At
Raunds, "29th the highest March temperature for 36 years."

On the 5th at 17.20, a sunpillar was observed in the western sky. The
sun was setting behind a cloud, the pillar was golden colour and lasted only
a few minutes (EN).

APRIL

The month was generally cool and dull with average rainfall. Despite
the cloudy tendancy, the sun shone every day for short periods on most
days. 9.4 hours were recorded at Raunds on the 18th and 11.4 hours on
13th at Wittering.

The hottest days of the month were on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th; 70
recorded at Northampton on the 3rd and 67 at Duston on the 4th.

There were 7 night air frosts recorded at Sudborough; 12 ground
frosts at Raunds. On the night of the 1st/2nd, 20 ground minimum was
recorded at Raunds, 25 air minimum at Bugbrooke and this was followed
by widespread fog.

Thunder was recorded at Raunds on the 26th and 27th, at Wittering
on the 19th, at Duston on the 26th and at Preston Deanery on the 11th and
26th. Hail showers were also recorded at Preston Deanery on the 11th,
I8th and 19th, at Duston on the 11th and 19th, at Raunds on 11th and 27th,
at Wittering on the 12th, 17th and 19th and at Ailsworth on the 28th (RVC).

A Lunar Halo was observed at 21.15 to 21.30 on the 13th at Northamp-
ton (GWP).

MAY

The first 8 days of the month were unsettled and rain fell on most of
them. Thunder was recorded on the 4th at Raunds, Duston and Wittering
With the 9th, began a period of hot weather and on the 14th, the hottest
day, 88 was recorded at Sudborough, 81 at Raunds and Upton Lodge.
Over 13 hours of sunshine was recorded on 12th. This, however, was
short lived and from the 16th to the end of the month it was cool unsettled.
A slight night air and ground frost was widespread on the night of the
19th/20th.
A Solar Halo was observed at Wittering at 16.50 on the 1st and at 1O.OO
on the 21st. Mock Suns were also seen on the 21st at 1450 (RA).

JUNE
The month began with 5 fine, warm days, the maximum day temper-
ature reaching the 70's, the night air temperature dropping sharply. On
the night of the 2nd/3rd, 36 was recorded at Bugbrooke and 34 at
Sudborough.
Fog was recorded on the 4th at Duston and Wittering.
	The rest of the month was unsettled, and out of the 24 days, only 10
were recorded without precipitation although amounts were small.
Maximum day temperatures remained over 60. 75 was recorded at
Raunds on the 11th, 14th and 30th, 74 at Wittering on 11th, 77 at
Upton Lodge on the 3rd and 83 on the 11th at Sudborough.

A thunderstorm was recorded at Wittering on 23rd, a solar halo on
13th at 1700-1800, with faint mock sun; a faint solar halo at 1100 on the
14th and a moderate to strong solar halo at 0900-1100 on the 21st (RA).

JULY

July was generally dull, cool and wet. Only 89.4 hours of sunshine
were recorded at Raunds, the lowest July record since 1943. A ground
frost 30 was recorded at Raunds and Wittering on the night of 3rd/
4th. Also on that night at Sudborough, there was a night air frost 30
enough to cut beans and potatoes. The coldest mean temperature for
July since the war. The only day during the month when the temperature
exceeded 70 was the 19th, with 82 at Sudborough and 73 at Raunds,
Wittering and Upton Lodge.

Thunderstorms were reported over a wide area on 19th, 20th and 21st
(RCV). At Duston, during a thunderstorm on 19th, heavy rain amounted
to 0.98" from 20.00-21.54. These storms made a considerable difference to
the rainfall recorded, Upton Lodge and Bugbrooke being the wettest areas
with 4.23"-4.55", Northampton, Wellingborough, Preston Deanery,
Raunds, Sudborough and Wittering 2.26"-2.63". At Duston on the 14th,
0.31" of rain was recorded in 20 minutes during a heavy shower, and on
23rd a hailstorm was recorded. Despite this, Pitsford and Ravensthorpe
reservoirs were very low and the Water Board issued urgent warnings about
using less water.

AUGUST

The unsettled conditions continued for two days to be followed by
brighter, warmer weather. On 13th, maximum day temperatures reached
83 at Sudborough, 79 at Northampton and over 12 hours of sunshine
was recorded at Raunds and Wittering. This was the hottest and sunniest
day. Fog was recorded on 10th at Duston and Preston Deanery and on
16th at Wittering. The 18th brought the return of the wet, unsettled
weather and rainfall was recorded from some stations every day for the
rest of the month.

The 31st was the coldest night with 36 recorded at Sudborough and
41 at Upton Lodge.

It was a wet month, but Pitsford reservoir had the lowest water level
since it was built, the shallow end being almost dry and a crop of wheat
growing on the normally flooded area.

SEPTEMBER

The month began with a sunny day though rather cool, to be followed
on the 2nd by the start of a period of wet weather. Rain fell most of the
day on 3rd and on 4th a thunderstorm was recorded at Upton Lodge with
heavy rain (0.73"). The 8th was another day of continuous rain with
1.25" recorded at Sudborough and 1.10" at Wittering. There was a
thunderstorm on 5th.

A SE gale was recorded on 18th (TNP), at the start of a few fine days.
The highest maximum day temperature reached was 73 at Sudborough
and 70 at Northampton, Raunds and Wittering on the 22nd. Over 10
hours of sunshine were recorded at Wittering on 19th, 21st and 22nd.
There was thick fog in the Nene valley on 20th and 21st and a shallow fog
on 22nd (TNP).
With the 24th began another wet period and rain fell every day for the
rest of the month. 1.17" was recorded at Bugbrooke on 25th and 1.12" at
Preston Deanery, 1.13" at Wellingborough, 1.10" at Northampton and
1.09" at Upton Lodge.

It was the wettest September at Wittering since 1960.

At Thrapston on the 19th a rainbow of strong intensity, with a fainter
secondary, was observed at 15.15. (HB).

OCTOBER

October was cool and dry with more than average fog.
The first 5 days were showery but sunny. The highest maximum day
temperature was reached on the 5th with 73 at Upton Lodge and 72
at Northampton.

There were 16 fogs recorded at Wittering, 11 at Raunds, 8 at Upton
Lodge and Preston Deanery and 7 at Earls Barton and Hackleton (TNP).

A night air frost was recorded on the night of the 16/17th at Bugbrooke
(27) and at Sudborough 26 was recorded on the night 16th/17th and
also 22nd/23rd.

A SW gale ended the month, the 31st being the wettest day with 0.39"
recorded at Wellingborough. In all an exceptionally low rainfall ranging
from O.16"-0.39".

NOVEMBER

The SW gales and showers of the previous month continued for one
more day, giving way to 5 bright and sunny, though rather cold, days.
From the 6th to the 15th, the first five days were wet and the following four
days again sunny and fine. With the 16th, began another unsettled,
wintery period which lasted for the rest of the month. It was the coldest
and sunniest November recorded at Raunds since I947, with 75.8 hours of
sunshine.

The highest maximum day temperature for the month was 57
recorded on the 1st and 8th. On the 15th and 16th, the thermometer stayed
below freezing point all day and freezing fog patches and sleet showers
were reported on the 15th. 1.00" of snow was recorded at Wittering on the
22nd and 0.50" on the 26th and 30th. Many sleet and snow showers were
recorded during this period.

DECEMBER

A very wet and cold month, but with no reports of snow.
The rainfall stations all recorded over 4.00" of rain and Pitsford reservoir
was once again almost full. The 9th was the wettest and windiest day of
the month with 0.70" rainfall recorded at Upton Lodge and gusts of wind
of up to 65 m.p.h. recorded at Wittering from 23.15 to 03.25 on the 10th.
The 17th and 18th were the warmest days with 76 recorded at Raunds,
Bugbrooke and Wittering.

The end of the month was particularly cold, and on the night of the
27th/28th, 12 was recorded at Sudborough, 19 at Northampton and
Raunds, 17 at Bugbrooke. 13 ground minimum was recorded at
Raunds.