PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM MONTHLY WEATHER REPORT - FEBRUARY 2005 Headline: A mild first half, but turning significantly colder from the 18th with frequent snow showers. March opened with high pressure dominating the scene to the west of Ireland. The first few days were dry and mild despite the mainly northerly breeze. A cold front worked in from the west on the 5th and 6th but produced very little rain by the time it had reached the county. Throughout the first week it remained generally rather cloudy with 2 hours sunshine at most recorded on the 6th. A ridge of high pressure extended towards the UK from Scandinavia on the 7th and 8th and this introduced some decent sunshine on the 8th, although the county generally received half the amount of areas further east and south. Temperatures remained generally mild for the time of year thanks to the predominantly southerly breeze. Some unsettled weather was introduced from the 9th onwards. The 10th turned out to be a very wet day with 12.7mm of rain falling over 15.5 hours. Further rain fell on the 11th and 12th, the latter associated with a passage of a cold front which was to introduce much colder air, temperatures never really recovering for the rest of the month. The transition to colder weather also saw the invasion of a strong northerly airflow. Gusts reached 58mph on the 12th and 50mph on the 13th. Some snow showers were also fed in on the front but with little accumulation. High pressure built in from the south-west on the 15th encouraging some hard frosts overnight as winds fell very light. Temperatures started to fall even more significantly from the 18th as a cold front introduced a stream of Arctic air. Snow began to fall on the 21st with more substantial snow showers working in a north-easterly wind throughout the period until the 26th. On the 23rd heavy snowfall during the morning rush hour led to treacherous conditions on the roads and schools closing. 7cm of snow was recorded at Pitsford. Schools remained closed on the 24th as warnings of significant travel disruption were heeded. Some good spells of sunshine separated the snow showers, apart from the 24th which was moderate snowfall for much of the day. Cold weather continued to the end of the month, although the county escaped the snow showers present in many eastern and central areas. Air minima overnight on the 27th/28th fell to -4.0C with a hard ground frost down to -8.7C. Air Temperatures The Highest Maximum: 11.4C on 11th The Lowest Maximum: 1.2C on 24th The Highest Minimum: 6.4C on 1st The Lowest Minimum: -4.0C on 28th The Mean Maximum: 6.7C The Mean Minimum: 1.3C The Overall Mean: 4.0C Difference from the Monthly Mean: -0.7C Relative Humidity: Highest Relative Humidity (at obs): 100.0% on 7th, 11th, 23rd & 28th Lowest Relative Humidity (at obs): 69.1% on 14th Mean Relative Humidity (at obs): 90.1% Dew Point: The Highest Dew Point (at obs): 8.6C on 12th The Lowest Dew Point (at obs): -4.0C on 27th The Mean Dew Point (at obs): 1.9C Rainfall: Total: 41.5mm Difference from the Monthly Mean: 110.1% Duration: 59.2hrs Highest 24 hour fall (obs to obs): 12.7mm on 10th Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 17 Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 10 Sunshine: Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 75.2hrs Sunniest day: 8.0hrs on 27th Days without sunshine: 7 Cloud cover (mean at obs): 6.7oktas (83.8%) Pressure (reduced to sea level): The Highest Pressure: 1036.3mb on 3rd The Lowest Pressure: 1000.1mb on 12th Mean Pressure (recorded at obs): 1021.7mb Winds Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 143.1miles Mean daily wind speed: 7.8mph Highest mean daily wind speed: 18mph on 12th Run of wind (to date): 4006.3miles Highest Maximum Gust: 58mph on 12th Other Days with Gusts >/=50mph: 50mph on 13th Highest wind strength (at obs): 26.5mph on 12th Mean wind strength (at obs): 8.6mph Winds from the Following Directions: N 5 NE 3 E 0 SE 2 S 4 SW 1 W 1 NW 10 Calm 2 Ground Temperatures: Lowest Grass Minimum: -8.7C on 28th Mean Grass Minimum: -2.3C Lowest Concrete Minimum: -5.4C on 28th Mean Concrete Minimum: -0.7C Lowest Bare Earth Minimum: -1.8C on 16th & 20th Mean Bare Earth Minimum: 1.1C Soil/Earth Temperatures: Surface mean: 3.5C 5cm mean: 3.5C 10cm mean: 3.8C 20cm mean: 4.5C 30cm mean: 4.7C 40cm mean: 4.7C 50cm mean: 5.1C 100cm mean: 5.6C Days with: Thunder: 0 Hail less than 0.5mm: 0 Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm: 0 Snow or snow & rain: 8 Snow lying: 5 Fog 5 Air frost: 9 Duration of air frost: 64.0hrs Ground frost: 20 Gales: 0 Total Evaporation (tank) 21.46 mm