PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION NORTHAMPTON, UNTIED KINGDOM MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT - APRIL 2003 Headline: Very dry with most of the rain falling in the final week. A particularly warm spell around mid-month. The month opened as an active frontal system tracked across the county. The 1st was particularly windy with blustery showers and gusts reaching 50mph. With the exception of some light showers on the 9th and sleet on the 10th, there followed a protracted dry period until the 20th. High pressure over Scandinavia became the dominant feature of the weather. By day it was sunny, although overnight from the 7th air and ground frosts were commonplace. From the 13th onwards temperatures began to recover and by the 16th had reached a very warm daytime maximum of 25.4C. The ground also became noticeably dry with cracking appearing in the bare patch at Pitsford unusually early in the year. Daily sunshine totals throughout this period were good with over 11hrs being recorded on consecutive days from the 16th to the 19th. The 19th saw something of a change in the weather. Low pressure moved up from the south bringing a good deal of cloud and noticeably cooler temperatures. Showers finally broke out on the 20th followed by a brief return of dry and sunny conditions until the 24th. The final week was mostly unsettled with lows tracking across or near to the county. 5.5mm fell in just under 2hrs on the 24th. In fact three-quarters of April's rain fell between the 24th and the end of the month with every day seeing either showers or more prolonged spells of rain. Showers on the 29th and 30 had thunder thrown in and just as the month started it also ended on a windy note. Overall this was Northampton's driest April since 1984. Air Temperatures The Highest Maximum: 25.4C on 16th The Lowest Maximum: 6.4C on 10th The Highest Minimum: 15.3C on 22nd The Lowest Minimum: -2.1C on 8th & 9th The Mean Maximum: 14.9C The Mean Minimum: 4.8C The Overall Mean: 9.9C Difference from the Monthly Mean: 1.2C Relative Humidity: Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 96.5% on 28th Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 61.9% on 23rd Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 78.9% Dew Point: The Highest Dew Point (at 0900): 11.5C on 25th The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): 0.2C on 7th The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 6.0C Rainfall: Total: 18.5mm Difference from the Monthly Mean: 35.2% Duration: 15.5hrs Highest 24 hour fall (from 0900): 5.5mm on 24th Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 9 Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 5 Sunshine: Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 177.6hrs Sunniest day: 11.6hrs on 16th Sunless days: 3 Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 4.2oktas (52.5%) Pressure (reduced to sea level): The Highest Pressure: 1032.2 mb on 5th The Lowest Pressure: 991.4 mb on 28th Mean Pressure (recorded at 0900): 1016.0 mb Winds Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 132.5 miles Mean daily wind speed: 7.2 mph Highest daily wind speed: 20.1 mph on 1st Run of wind (to date): 3973.8 miles Highest Maximum Gust: 50 mph on 1st Highest wind strength (at 0900): 28.8 mph on 2nd Mean wind strength (at 0900): 10.3 mph Winds from the Following Directions: N 4 NE 8 E 3 SE 4 S 4 SW 2 W 0 NW 5 Calm 0 Ground Temperatures: Lowest Grass Minimum: -6.0C on 9th Mean Grass Minimum: 1.7C Lowest Concrete Minimum: -3.3C on 9th Mean Concrete Minimum: 4.0C Lowest Bare Earth Minimum: -3.4C on 9th Mean Bare Earth Minimum: 4.0C Soil/Earth Temperatures: Surface mean: 10.0C 5cm mean: 8.2C 10cm mean: 8.6C 20cm mean: 9.1C 30cm mean: 9.3C 40cm mean: 9.1C 50cm mean: 9.3C 100cm mean: 8.3C Days with: Thunder: 2 Hail less than 0.5mm: 0 Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm: 0 Snow or snow & rain: 1 Fog 0 Air Frost: 5 Duration of Air Frost: 12hrs Ground Frost: 9 These statistics are generated daily by computer and are subject to verification. All observations relate to 0900 hours. Total Evaporation (tank) 66.26 mm