WEATHER REPORT FOR 1968

         JANUARY
         
         On January 1st snow fell during the early morning. There was fog
         on the 2nd and snow these night with ground and air frost. It was warmer
         on the 4th and 6th, but became increasingly colder from the 6th, with
         night air and severe ground frost, with 11 ground minimum at Raunds
         on the night 8th/9th. That night there was a moderate fall of snow
         that averaged 8.00" in depth. This was followed, after the 13th, by a rapid
         thaw with three warm days, the 14th being the warmest. The remainder
         of January was cool, dull and unsettled with small amounts of rainfall,
         occasional air and ground frosts and fog on the 20th and 21st.
         
         FEBRUABY
         
         The cold and unsettled weather continued. There were 28 days with
         precipitation at Moulton, 27 at Raunds and 25 at Upton Lodge, although
         amounts of rainfall were small. Snow and sleet showers were recorded
         on the 5th, 9th, 12th, 17th, 22nd, 23rd and 26th, fog on the 7th, 8th
         16th, 20th and 29th, and freezing fog on the 20th, persisting all day.
         There were 8 collsecutive sunless days at Raunds from the 7th to 14th.
         
         MARCH
         
         Generally a very dry, windy and sunny month. The first 3 days were
         dry and cold with maximum day temperature near freezing point, with
         night air and ground frost. On the 6th were recorded N.W. gales, and
         intermittent sleet on the 7th. The wet period was from 13th to the 25th
         but amounts of rain were small, it was windy with S.W. gales on the 20th
         and sleet on the 21st. There was thunder on the 16th and hail recorded at
         Raunds on the 25th. The 22nd to the 31st was warmer, the 29th being
         the hottest, and a record maximum for March.
         
         APRIL
         
         The 1st continued warm, followed by ten cold days with night air
         and ground frosts. The night of the 7th/8th being the coldest with 13
         ground minimum at Raunds, and the lowest April air temperature ever
         recorded at Sudborough. It was dry from the 6th to the 15th, fog on the
         10th and warmer from the 18th, with the hottest day on the 21st. The
         remainder of the month was unsettled with thunderstorms on the 17th
         18th, 20th, 21st, 23rd and 29th. R. W. Panther reported seeing the
         Northern Lights on the 5th.
         
         MAY
         
         May was mainly dull and cool. During the first 22 days the maximum
         day temperature reached 60 only on two occasions. From the 4th to the
         19th it was particularly unsettled with thunderstorms on the 6th and 17th.
         Owing to local heavy showers of rain it was the wettest day on the 17th
         at Bugbrooke with 0.37"; on the 4th at Wollaston 0.55", Wellingborough
         0.48" and Moulton 0.43"; on the 25th at Raullds 0.67", Sudborough
         0.72" and Upton Lodge 0.30"; and on the 27th at Northampton 0.56".
         The 31st, was the hottest day.
         
         JUNE
         
         The fine warm weather continued for 2 days. This was followed by
         6 unsettled days. A local thunderstorm with heavy rain on the 3rd resulted
         in the wettest day in the Northampton area, yielding 1.12" at Upton
         Lodge 0.97" at Moulton and 0.92" at Northampton General Hospital.
         The 9th to the 18th was a more settled period with maximum day tem-
         peratures reaching 70 and over. It was again unsettled from the l9th
         to the 30th with local storms and heavy rain, the wettest day at Raunds
         being the 26th with 0.62", and at Sudborough and Wollaston on the 28th
         with 0.58". A hailstorm was recorded at Wollaston on the 20th.
         The hottest day was the 30th.
         
         JULY
         
         It was occasionally wet, dull and cool for July. Showers of rain on
         the lst were accompanied by Sahara Dust; it was also the hottest day.
         Two dull and cool spells followed, 2nd to 6th and 24th to 30th, with a wet
         period in between. There were thunderstorms on the 8th, 10th and 11th.
         The 10th, with the highest rainfall ever recorded in 24 hours, yielded
         2.28" at Northampton General Hospital, 2.33" at Moulton, 2.50" at
         Bugbrooke, 2.58" at Upton Lodge, 3.10" at Wellingborough, 3.30" at
         Sudbborough, 3.61" at Wollaston and 3.97" at Raunds.
         
         AUGUST
         
         A mainly wet, dull And cool month, beginning and continuing with a
         wet period which lasted 19 days, with thunderstorms on the 9th and
         17th and N.E. winds persisting for the first 11 days. The 8th was the
         wettest, with periods of continuous rain. Local storms produced heavy
         rain, the wettest, areas being 1.55"  and Wellingborough 1.43"
         A spell of fine warm weather began on the 20th during which the 22nd
         and 23rd were the hottest days. The 22nd was also the sunniest, 12.1
         hours at Raunds and 11.2 at Moulton. The 12th was the only other day
         with more than 10 hours sunshine. There was early morning fog on the
         23rd.
         
         SEPTEMBER
         
         The fourth successive wet month, the ground completely saturated
         and the normal average rainfall already recorded. There were at Raunds
         only 3 days with more than 9 hours of sunshine. It was the hottest day
         on the l0th. The amount of rainfall varied, but the wettest day was on the
         1st, except for Sudborough nnd Wollaston which had, on the 15th, 0.76"
         and 0.73" respectively. There were thunderstorms on the 23rd and 29th.
                   
         
         OCTOBER
         
         This month wns milder but still unsettled, amounts of rainfall being
         small except for the 8th the wettest dny. The Raunds, Sudborough,
         Wellingborough and Wollaston areas were the wettest, with rainfall
         ranging from 0.71" to 0.85" Bugbrooke, Northampton and Moulton
         areas  ranged from 0.56" to 0.69" The maximum day temperature did not
         fall below 61, and the hottest days were on the 4th and 21st. The night
         air temperature was above average, running from 43 to 55. with no
         ground frosts; the night of 14th/15th was the coldest. At Moulton the
         average soil temperature at 4.00" depth was 51ø, and for the last 7 days
         55. Fog ocrurred on the 19th, 22nd and 23rd, lasting most of the day.
         
         NOVEMBER
         
         The 1st of the month was the wettest day, it was also the warmest,
         and rainfall in the Bugbrooke, Northampton, Moulton, Wellingborough
         and Wollaston areas ranged from 1.07" to 1.21". Raunds and Sudborough
         areas recorded only 0.65" to 0.80". Then followed n cold spell lasting until
         the l9th. There were slight air and ground frosts and mainly northerly
         winds, freezing fog on the 5th, and fog developing during the day of the
         9th. The 20th to the 27th was a very dull and unsettled period. From the
         l6th to the 30th there were 12 sunless days, including 6 consecutive days
         from the 25th. The last 3 days were cooler, with fog on the 28th.
         
         DECEMBER
         
         December was dull until the 15th and, except for 1 hour of sunshine
         at Raunds on the 12th, not recorded at Moulton, there were 21 consecutive
         sunless days from 25th November. The wettest period was from the
         15th to the 24th but amounts of rainfall were small. The 13th and 14th
         were coldest with slight air frosts and freezing fog each day and severe
         air and ground frosts each night. Ground minimum was 18 at Upton
         Lodge and 17 at Moulton and Raunds on the night of the 14th/15th.
         Slightly warmer weather followed until the 24th when about 2.00" of snow
         fell during the night. Snow and sleet showers fell on the 28th and 29th
         with Ynow lying from the 25th to 31st.