PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT - NOVEMBER 2002 Headline: Persistent Atlantic lows and associated fronts made for a largely wet and mild month with south or south- westerly winds. November opened on a wet and mild note as a succession of fronts tracked across the county. Rainfall on the 2nd was particularly heavy (9.7mm) lasting a good 6 hours. A brief window on the 3rd and 4th was followed by a further run of very wet and windy weather which lasted right through to the 14th. Atlantic lows dominated the picture and with the vigorous south or south-westerly wind it remained mild with overnight lows holding up fairly handsomely (10.1C on the 6th). Ground frosts were slight, just -0.2C on the 7th and -0.6C on 13th. As the wet and windy weather drew to a close on the 14th, pressure fell markedly with the accompanying strengthening wind gusting to 44 mph. The pressure at Pitsford Hall had fallen to 965.8mb by 0900hrs on the 14th, one of the lowest recorded values since observations commenced at the site in 1998. The period from the 15th to the 18th saw the first significant downturn in temperatures with daytime maxima remaining in single figures. The recovery in pressure saw winds slackening off markedly and mist and fog became commonplace in the mornings. Sunshine totals, already low due to the cloud and rain earlier in the month, continued to be fairly modest. An unsettled spell commenced again on the 19th as low pressure deepening west of Ireland flung a succession of frontal systems across the region. Some days were particularly wet, but totals remained low compared to those recorded during the first two weeks. Outside the region, flooding had by this time become a serious problem in the south-west which had been bearing the brunt of the wet weather. Apart from a mostly dry but largely dull interlude on the 24th and 25th, unsettled weather continued until the end of the month. Climatological and Agro-Meteorological Statistics Air Temperatures The Highest Maximum: 14.7C on 2nd The Lowest Maximum: 6.4C on 18th The Highest Minimum: 10.1C on 6th The Lowest Minimum: -0.5C on 18th The Mean Maximum: 11.0C The Mean Minimum: 5.4C The Overall Mean: 8.2C Difference from the Monthly Mean: 1.3C Relative Humidity: Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100.0% on 16th, 25th & 26th Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 89.4% on 27th Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 96.6% Dew Point: The Highest Dew Point (at 0900): 12.9C on 6th The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -0.2C on 18th The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 7.0C Rainfall: Total: 92.3mm Difference from the Monthly Mean: 173.1% Duration: 69.8hrs Highest 24 hour fall (from 0900): 13.0mm on 12th Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 22 Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 18 Lowest rainfall acidity (pH): 5.17 on 14th Sunshine: Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 48.4hrs Sunniest day: 7.2hrs on 7th Sunless days: 11 Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 6.9oktas (86.3%) Pressure (reduced to sea level at 0900): The Highest Pressure: 1021.2mb on 5th The Lowest Pressure: 965.8mb on 14th Mean Pressure: 1003.6mb Winds Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 124.5miles Mean daily wind speed: 6.7mph Run of wind (to date): 3734.8miles Highest Maximum Gust: 44mph on 14th Highest wind strength (at 0900): 31.1mph on 14th Mean wind strength (at 0900): 8.3mph Winds from the Following Directions: N 0 NE 0 E 2 SE 6 S 14 SW 1 W 0 NW 2 Calm 5 Ground Temperatures: Lowest Grass Minimum: -1.8C on 18th Mean Grass Minimum: 2.5C Lowest Concrete Minimum: -0.2C on 18th Mean Concrete Minimum: 3.7C Lowest Bare Earth Minimum: 0.6C on 18th Mean Bare Earth Minimum: 4.8C Soil/Earth Temperatures: Surface mean: 7.7C 5cm mean: 7.3C 10cm mean: 7.8C 20cm mean: 8.5C 30cm mean: 8.8C 40cm mean: 8.7C 50cm mean: 9.4C 100cm mean: 10.0C Days with: Thunder: 0 Hail less than 0.5mm: 0 Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm: 0 Snow or snow & rain: 0 Fog 7 Ground Frost: 6 Air Frost: 2 Duration of Air Frost: 0.7hrs Total Evaporation (tank) 23.78 mm