WEATHER REPORT FOR 1981

         JANUARY Mild and dry
         The month began mild, with the month's highest temperatures
         gcnerally occurring on the 2nd. The first half was changeable wlth night
         frosts as a series of frontal systems passed over, giving quite frequent
         light wet snow in many places. The third week was particularly mild with
         the development of a quiet settled spell which persisted until the last two
         days of the month . The month closed with frost and fog Although
         temperatures were above average, sunshine was below average, with up
         to 15 sunless days Rainfall was also below average.
         FEBRUARY Cold and dry
         February opened mild and unsettled with westerly winds and frontal
         systems, Colder weather became established with mainly easterly winds,
         and both air and ground frosts were common occurrences for the rest of
         the month. Snow and sleet showers fell quite widely in the last week but
         overall precipitation was again below average, as were temperatures.
         Sunshine was slightly below average, with fog varying considerable
         during the second half of the month.
         MARCH  Mild, dull and very wet
         Rainfall totals for March were generally twice the average or more,
         and included some snow showers early and mid month, but snow only lay
         on the morning of the 5th. The heaviest rain was on the 9th, with up to
         18 mm (0.71 ins). The dominance of south westerly winds brought very
         mild conditions with minimum temperatures markedly above average,
         and very few night frosts. Sunshine totals were well below average, with
         up to 13 sunless days. The persistence of wet conditions had brought
         flooding to parts of the county by the end of the month.
         APRIL Changeable and cool
         April was a month of contrasts, beginning dry and mild, with
         temperatures over 21°C on the 10th. It then became cooler but remained
         quite dry until the last ten days. Winds had been from between north and
         east for most of the month, and from the 24th to 27th they brought rain
         followed by unusually severe April blizzards across the county. This very
         wet spell gave most of the month's total precipitation, which varied
         across the county with a tendency for more in the east, but was generally
         above average. Temperatures were below average, as also was sunshine,
         the latter being down to 50°C or less of average.
         MAY Dull and wet
         An unbroken spell of unsettled weather characterised May, a month
         which was dominated bv frontal systems. It became thundery in the
         second half of the month and this was sometimes accompanied by hail.
         Several stations had their heaviest falls on the 24th, again some with hail.
         Rainfall totals for the month were above average, with sunshine yet again
         below average. The generally unsettled conditions kept maximum
         temperatures noticeably down, but minima were above average, giving
         an overall temperature slightly below average for the month.
         JUNE Cool, cloudyand dry
         'l'he thundery character of May continued into early June when a
         line of thunderstorms moved north from France in the early hours of the
         2nd, Northamptonshire being  in the line of heaviest rainfall. At
         Desborough 46 mm (1.8 ins) fell between 4 a m. and 7 a.m. Conditions
         remained unsettled until the 11th and then became much drier, and also
         warmer for a few days, It soon turned cool again in the third week, and
         there were even some very late ground frosts in the last week. This was
         the fifth June with below average temperatures. It was also unusually
         cloudy, with below  average sullshine. Rainfall varied from below average
         in the west of thc county to average and above in the east. In all areas,
         most of the total had fallen on the night of lst/2nd.
         JULY  Dull and dry
         The month began cool but a brief warmer spell began on the 7th and
         ended with thunderstorms and localised heavy rain on the 9th. The 16th
         again had heavy rain and thunderstorms which tended to be local in
         character. The month continued cool and widespread rain, heavy in
         places, occurred on the 22nd and 23rd, followed by a very cool day on the
         24th as winds turned  northerly (maxima of 13.9°C in Desborough
         14.4°C at Moulton Park). Temperatures, sunshine and rainfall were all
         below average for the month.
         AUGUST Warm, dry and sunny
         The first few days saw a short heat wave, with temperatures over
         26°C widespread. This was ended on the 6th by thunderstorms moving
         north from France bringing heavy rain, e.g. 116 mm (4.6 ins) at Byfield
         on the 5th and 6th, and 44.8 mm (1.8 ins) at Desborough. It then
         remained sunless until the 10th. Dry conditions prevailed until it became
         unsettled on the 19th to 22nd. A short sunny and warm spell developed
         on the 25th to 28th, then temperatures again exceeded 26°C quite
         widely. Sunshine hours were above average for the first time in the year
         but rainfall was very variable, from below to twice the average.
         Temperatures also varied from slightly below to slightly above average.
         SEPTEMBER Warm and wet
         The first ten days were dry, sunny and warm, with temperatures
         over 25°C in places. Rain from a cold front on the 11th ended a four week
         dry spell and began a more unsettled period ~ hich was to last until early
         November. Temperatures rose again behind a warm front on the 14th.
         The 18th was a day of heavy rain with thunder and hail, followed by
         strong to gale force winds and locally heavy rain on the 19th (30.7 mm in
         4.5 hours at Higham Ferrers). It was then quieter until another unsettled
         spell began on the 23rd, with gales, heavy rain and thunder again on the
         25th. Although rainfall totals were up to twice the average, much fell at
         night and was of high intensity rather than duration. Both temperatures
         and sunshine were slightly above average
         OCTOBER Cold and unsettled
         The month began fairly mild and wet but turned cold on the 10th
         following gales on the evening of the 9th. The first ground frost was
         recorded on the 13th, and the first air frost on the 14th during a drier
         spell. Rain returned on the 17th to 20th, and there was a general change
         to cold, showery weather before more continuous rain on the 26th. It
         remained unsettled until the end of the month. There were many ground
         frosts for October and average temperatures, particularly maxima, were
         well below average. Sunshine was a little above average, and rainfall
         varied from slightly below to slightly above average.
         NOVEMBER MIiId and dry
         The unsettled spell which had begun in early September finally
         ended on the 3rd. A high pressure system became established from the
         4th to 10th bringing dry, cold, sometimes sunny weather, with the coldest
         night frosts of the month. The first two weeks were generally dry but the
         15th began another unsettled period with active fronts. The 19th to 22nd
         was a slightly milder interlude then the 23rd saw a very active line squall
         pass through with winds gusting to Force 8 and a fall in temperature of
         6.5°C in 15 minutes in Kettering. There was some snow and sleet on the
         25th. Temperatures for the month were above average, but rainfall was
         well below average. Sunshine was slightly below average and there were
         no significant fogs.
         DECEMBER Exceptionally cold and snowy
         December began mild but the 8th began three weeks of prolonged
         severe weather. With temperatures below freezing at 9 a.rm., rain turned
         to snow which was to lie for the next 23 days in some places! Freezing
         fog kept temperatures low in some places on the 10th, while snow fell
         again on the 11th, and blizzard conditions with strong winds and heavy
         drifting occurred on the 13th. The 13th also saw record low temperatures
         e.g.-17.2°C in Desborough, -20.8°C at Higham Ferrers. Maxima were
         frequently below freezing during these three weeks. Widespread snow
         occurred again on the 20th and 21st. Desborough had a maximum of
         15 cm undrifted snow over the period. The 22nd to 25th was a period of
         severe freezing fog in most places, but milder air moved in from the south
         on the 26th and 27th, bringing snow  which turned to rain and assisted
         the thaw, leading to extensive flooding. While temperatures were well
         below average, precipitation was about average with most of it as snow,
         and sunshine was also about average despite the fact that almost half the
         days had no sun at all. An unusual month indeed !
         EXTREMES FOR 1981
                    Recorded  Date     Station
         Hottest day            31°C    30 July   Westone
         Coldest night          --20.8°C 13 December    Higham Ferrers
         Wettest day            70.2 mm 5 August  Byfield
         Wettest month          124.1 mm     August    Byfield
         Driest month           23.6 mm June Stoke Bruerne
         Sunniest month         181.6 hr     August    Moulton Park
         Dullest month          15 sunless days  January/ December     Byfield