WEATHER REPORT FOR 1966
| JANUARY | ||||||||
| The year began with 2 wet days to be followed by a dry spell from the | ||||||||
| 5th to the 10th. Snow showers fell on the 11th and 12th followed by slight | ||||||||
| falls on the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 20th. Maximum day temperature | ||||||||
| during this period was under 40, the minimum night air temperature of | ||||||||
| the 18/19th being the coldest with 7 recorded at Sudborough, 13 at | ||||||||
| Bugbrooke, 16 at Northampton and Upton Lodge. Snow was Iying | ||||||||
| from the 15th to the 24th, clearing completely on the 25th with a day of | ||||||||
| continuous rain--the wettest day of the month, 0.30" recorded at North- | ||||||||
| ampton. Only 28 hours of sunshine were recorded at Raunds, 37 hours | ||||||||
| at Wittering. There were 11 consecutive sunless days from the 19th to | ||||||||
| the 29th. Despite this, it was warmer on the 27th and the sun eventually | ||||||||
| broke through on the 30th giving a spring-like day. 54 was recorded | ||||||||
| at Raunds and Northampton, 53 at Bugbrooke and Wittering. A lunar | ||||||||
| corona was observed on the 6th at 20.00 hrs. G.M.T. (H.B.). | ||||||||
| FEBRUARY | ||||||||
| February was generally wet, a wintery spell being sandwiched between | ||||||||
| warm weather at the beginning and end of the month. The first 8 days | ||||||||
| were mild, the 5th being the warmest day of the month with 59 recorded | ||||||||
| at Northampton and 57 at Raunds. With the wintery spell which | ||||||||
| followed, night air and ground temperature dropped below freezing point. | ||||||||
| On the night of the 13/14th 22 air temperature was recorded at Sud- | ||||||||
| borough, 27 at Raunds. At Upton Lodge the minimum ground temperature | ||||||||
| recorded was 18 on the night of the 18/19th and 22 at Raunds and Wittering. | ||||||||
| Snow fell over a wide area from the 9th to the 15th with 1.00" depth | ||||||||
| recorded at Bugbrooke and Wittering on the 9th, 3.00" on the 11th at | ||||||||
| Wittering, 2.00" at Duston. Ice pellets were recorded at Wittering at 09.00 | ||||||||
| hrs. G.M.T. on the Ioth and at 13.00 hrs. G.M.T. on the 18th, also freezing | ||||||||
| drizzle on the Ioth at Wittering and Upton Lodge. Snow was lying from | ||||||||
| the 10th to the 16th, finally dearing on the 18th with a day of continuous | ||||||||
| slight rain. The last 4 days were warmer with maximum day temperature | ||||||||
| over 50, but still remaining wet. It was the wettest February recorded | ||||||||
| at Raunds since 1958. A lunar halo was observed on the 2nd at 2200 hrs. | ||||||||
| G.M.T. (H.B.). A lunar corona was observed on the 4th at 2200 hrs. | ||||||||
| G.M.T. (H.B.) also on the 5th at 21.00 hrs. G.M.T. and on the 7th at 00.55 | ||||||||
| hrs. G.M.T. (E.N.). | ||||||||
| MARCH | ||||||||
| The first 12 days of March were unsettled although the amount of | ||||||||
| rainfall was small; sunny periods maintained the maximum day tempera- | ||||||||
| ture above 50. A lunar corona was observed on the 7th at 21.00 hrs. | ||||||||
| G.M.T., it was partly obscured by moving cloud (E.N.). The 13th began | ||||||||
| a colder and dry spell; there were 10 consecutive days without rain. On | ||||||||
| the 20th, with 10.2 hrs. of sunshine recorded at Wittering and 9 hrs. at | ||||||||
| Raunds, the highest maximum day temperatures were recorded, 58 at | ||||||||
| Raunds and Upton Lodge, 57 at Northampton. A wintery spell of | ||||||||
| weather started on the 23rd, snow falling on each day from the 24th to the | ||||||||
| 28th, mainly in showers. At Wittering 0.50" was recorded on the 26th, but | ||||||||
| soon thawed. S.W. gales were recorded on the 27th. A lunar corona | ||||||||
| was observed on the 31st at 20.20 hrs. G.M.T. (H.B.). A lunar halo was | ||||||||
| also observed at Wittering on the 31st at 21.00 hrs. G.M.T. (R.A.). | ||||||||
| APRIL | ||||||||
| April was generally dull, wet and cool. Only 86.5 hours of sunshine | ||||||||
| were recorded at Raunds with 12 sunless days, 88.8 hours at Wittering with | ||||||||
| 11 sunless days. Only 5 days were recorded without precipitation at Upton | ||||||||
| Lodge. The dullest and wettest April on record at Wittering. Snow was | ||||||||
| recorded over a wide area on the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 20th, but did | ||||||||
| not settle. The minimum night air temperature recorded at Sudborough | ||||||||
| was 24 on the night of the 3rd/4th, 25 at Bugbrooke. The maximum | ||||||||
| day temperature on the 14th at Upton Lodge was only 35. Hail was | ||||||||
| recorded at Wittering on the 7th, 8th and 18th. The last three days of the | ||||||||
| month were, however, fine and warm. On the 30th, the highest maximum | ||||||||
| day temperature was 74 at Sudborough, 71 at Upton Lodge. | ||||||||
| MAY | ||||||||
| The fine and warm weather continued for another 3 days. 84 was | ||||||||
| recorded at Sudborough, 80 at Northampton on the 1st, which was the | ||||||||
| hottest day of the month. The 4th began an unsettled period; thunder- | ||||||||
| storms were recorded on the 5th, 6th and 12th, accompanied by hail on the | ||||||||
| 5th and 6th. From the 13th to the end of the month, apart from occasional | ||||||||
| slight rain, the weather was again settled. It was the sunniest month | ||||||||
| recorded since June 1962 at Raunds, 195.7 hours with only one sunless day. | ||||||||
| There were 218 hours at Wittering with the sun shining every day and 14 | ||||||||
| hours recorded on the 30th. On the 20th a 22 degree solar halo was first observed | ||||||||
| at 07.50 hrs. G.M.T. It was strongly developed with four colours visible, | ||||||||
| red being nearest to the sun. The upper arcs of contact were visible at | ||||||||
| 08.50 hrs. G.M.T. This halo was visible throughout the partial eclipse of | ||||||||
| the sun and finally faded at 11.14 hrs. G.M.T. (G. Bolland). | ||||||||
| JUNE | ||||||||
| The month was generally wet and warmer than average. Although | ||||||||
| the sun shone every day at Raunds, the total number of hours recorded was | ||||||||
| lower than average. Apart from heavy showers of rain on the 15th, the | ||||||||
| first 9 days were fine and warm, 86 was recorded at Sudborough, 82 | ||||||||
| at Northampton. The 10th began an unsettled period. A local thunder- | ||||||||
| storm with heavy rain in the Northampton area on the 10th produced 0.96 | ||||||||
| rainfall at Bugbrooke, 0.72" at Northampton. Another local thunderstorm | ||||||||
| on the 12th at Sudborough produced 0.83" rainfall, 0.76" falling in 15 | ||||||||
| minutes. On the 22nd continuous rain began during the afternoon and | ||||||||
| fell throughgut the night. This was general and widespread and the | ||||||||
| wettest day, 1.40" recorded at Sudborough, 1.39" at Wittering, 0.96" at | ||||||||
| Bugbrooke. The last three days were fine and warm. | ||||||||
| JULY | ||||||||
| The fine and warm weather continued for another 3 days. 83 was | ||||||||
| recorded at Sudborough on the 3rd. The 4th began an unsettled period | ||||||||
| which lasted for the rest of the month. There were a few days without | ||||||||
| precipitation. Thunderstorms were recorded on the 5th, 17th, 29th and | ||||||||
| 31st, hail accompanied the heavy rain on the 5th at Wittering. During this | ||||||||
| period the maximum day temperature reached 70 only twice, The 22nd | ||||||||
| and 23rd when 77 was recorded at Bugbrooke, 76 at Raunds. Although | ||||||||
| only 2 days were recorded sunless at Raunds, the 139 hours total was below | ||||||||
| average. | ||||||||
| AUGUST | ||||||||
| Generally cool, unsettled weather with rainfall 50% above average | ||||||||
| and sunshine lower than average. S.W. gales were recorded on the 3rd | ||||||||
| and the 9th during the period of the first 12 unsettled days. The 13th | ||||||||
| began a fine and dry spell, 85 was recorded at Sudborough on the 18th, | ||||||||
| 83 at Upton Lodge, 80 at Raunds and Northampton on the 19th. | ||||||||
| Adjacent lightning was observed on the 20th in the Northampton area, | ||||||||
| this was followed on the 21st by another unsettled period which remained | ||||||||
| to the end of the month. The 29th was the wettest day and the 2.10" | ||||||||
| rainfall at Northampton, 1.67" at Upton Lodge, 1.34" at Raunds was | ||||||||
| attributed to heavy thunderstorms. Only 167.3 hours of sunshine were | ||||||||
| recorded at Raunds. | ||||||||
| SEPTEMBER | ||||||||
| The first 5 days of the month were unsettled, but the 6th began a fine, | ||||||||
| warm and sunny period. Maximum day temperature on the 5th and the | ||||||||
| 9th reached 73 at Raunds, 74 at Sudborough on the 10th. There | ||||||||
| were 11 hours of sunshine on the 6th. The 11th began a cooler, wet period | ||||||||
| with precipitation each day until the 15th. This was followed by 13 days | ||||||||
| of fine and warm weather; 75 was recorded at Upton Lodge, 72 at | ||||||||
| Bugbrooke on the 21st. Fog was recorded on the 19th and the 26th. The | ||||||||
| last 2 days were wet; 0.86" rainfall at Sudborough, 0.95" at Wellingboro', | ||||||||
| 0.65" at Raunds on the 30th, which was the month's wettest day. | ||||||||
| OCTOBER | ||||||||
| October was wet, dull and cool. Only 3 days were recorded without | ||||||||
| precipitation during the first 22 days of the month at Upton Lodge. Fogs | ||||||||
| were widespread on the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 16th, thunderstorms on the | ||||||||
| 18th, also with hail at Wittering. A strong rainbow and secondary was | ||||||||
| observed immediately following the storm. (R.A. & E.N.). Adjacent | ||||||||
| lightning was also observed at Raunds. The 13th was the wettest day of | ||||||||
| the month a day of continuous rain and intermittent heavy rain. | ||||||||
| The heavy rain was local, Bugbrooke, Upton Lodge and Northamp- | ||||||||
| ton recording 0.75" to 0.89" rainfall, whilst Wellingborough and Raunds | ||||||||
| recorded 0.52" to 0.40" and Wittering only 0.03". Only 84 hours of sun- | ||||||||
| shine were recorded at Raunds, 85 hours at Wittering. The 3rd was the | ||||||||
| warmest day with 67 recorded at Bugbrooke and Raunds, 66 at | ||||||||
| Wittering. It was also the wettest day at Wittering with 0.70" rainfall | ||||||||
| recorded. A lunar corona was observed at Northampton on the 24th at | ||||||||
| 843 hrs. G.M.T. also a weak corona at 20.48 hrs. G.M.T. (H.B.). | ||||||||
| NOVEMBER | ||||||||
| November was traditionally dull. 12 days were sunless at Raunds | ||||||||
| with a total of only 42.5 hours, 5.4 hours on the 9th being the sunniest. It | ||||||||
| was generally unsettled and 21 days were recorded with precipitation at | ||||||||
| Wellingborough and Wittering, 20 at Raunds and Sudborough. The | ||||||||
| total amount however was below the normal November average. Maximum | ||||||||
| day temperature reached 50 only on a few occasions, 57 recorded at | ||||||||
| Raunds on the 7th, 56 at Northampton. Night air temperature in con- | ||||||||
| trast fell below only on a few occasions, 12 nights in Sudborough's frost | ||||||||
| hollow, 9 at Bugbrooke and 6 at Raunds. There were 12 ground frosts | ||||||||
| recorded at Wittering and 11 at Raunds. Fog was widespread on the 4th. | ||||||||
| 6th, 8th, 9th, and 24th. At Wittering there were hail storms recorded on | ||||||||
| the 1st and the 15th, snow showers on the 28th, lightning on the 15th, a | ||||||||
| lunar halo on the 1st at 00.01 to 01.00 hrs. G.M.T. and 03.00 to 05.00 hrs. | ||||||||
| G.M.T. on the 4th (R.A.). A lunar corona was observed with faint | ||||||||
| secondary at 19.40 hrs. G.M.T. on the 24th, and a strong corona visible for | ||||||||
| most of the evening on the 30th. (H.B.). | ||||||||
| DECEMBER | ||||||||
| It was a wet and dull month with temperature above average. Only | ||||||||
| 4 days were recorded without precipitation at Upton Lodge, 20 days had | ||||||||
| more than 0.04" at Bugbrooke. Only 32.7 hours of sunshine were recorded | ||||||||
| at Raunds with 12 sunless days, 45.3 hours at Wittering, 10 days sunless. | ||||||||
| s4øF was recorded at Wittering and Raunds on the 29th, 53 at Bugbrooke | ||||||||
| and Upton Lodge. An unusual hail and sleet storm was recorded on the | ||||||||
| 1st, snow showers on the 3rd, sleet showers on the 8th, 14th, 15th and 24th. | ||||||||
| The barometric pressure was extremely low on the 2nd. Lunar coronas | ||||||||
| were observed on the 1st at 2230 hrs. G.M.T.(E.N.) and on the 18th at 21.00 | ||||||||
| hrs. G.M.T. (H.B.). A lunar corona with secondary was observed on the | ||||||||
| 24th at 1935 hrs. G.M.T. | ||||||||