Wind direction and average speeds in mph for 2005

Temperature

Night temperatures were broadly similar to last year, the exceptions being February (1.5º C lower), August (3ºC lower) and November (2ºC lower). In the last ten years the average night temperature rose steeply in 1995 and 1996. Since then they have remained fairly steady. Overall they were very slightly down on last year. The average daytime temperatures have fluctuated more but have been rising since 2003. As with the night temperatures they were broadly similar to the previous year. The exceptions were June (4ºC higher) and October (6ºC higher). Overall, daytime temperatures were slightly up on last year.

With all the talk of global warming it is all too easy to look for trends and evidence in annual figures. I have data for only twelve years and I can only say that nothing stands out over such a short period. Figures have fluctuated wildly in some years but mainly they have remained steady.

Summary of the Previous Four Months

October 2005

Temperatures were higher than last year with the highest day temperature reaching 21ºC. 14ºC was the night-time high. It was one of the five warmest Octobers on record. In 1959 the air temperature reached 28ºC at Mildenhall during the first week of the month.

80mm of rain fell over 15 days giving an average of 2.6mm. One quarter of this fell on one day and most of it fell between the 19th and 21st. There were some windy days with gusts up to 20mph from a southerly direction. In fact the wind stayed in the South for most of the month.

November

The month started warm but temperatures tumbled to give a taste of winter by the end. Night temperatures fell from 12ºC to –2ºC. Day temperatures ranged from 17ºC to 4ºC.

Rain was spread fairly evenly with 32.5mm in total and an average of 1.08mm. We can expect 63mm normally so the year was well below average. Only 1994 and 1995 were lower than this over the past 10+ years. We had some foggy days and these yielded a fair amount of precipitation (0.5mm each day).

The October winds continued and increased. Wind direction was evenly divided between North and South and even some of the foggy days were fairly breezy! The highest gusts reached 60mph with others recorded at 50mph and 25mph. Barometric pressure varied noticeably swinging from 991 to 1039 millibars.

The autumn was the mildest for two decades. It was the sunniest November for 9 years giving 40% more sun than normal. It was also the driest for 6 years.

December

Winter starts here - or did it? The start was wet and windy but it was mild. Temperatures ranged from 12ºC to 3ºC by day and 5ºC to –4ºC by night. By the end of the month temperatures were beginning to rise. Over the whole region there were daytime lows of 3ºC and night lows of –5ºC, so Ringshall was about average. In 1906 the air temperature at Woodbridge dropped to –16ºC on the 30th of the month! Rainfall was again spread out with fog accounting for a lot of the precipitation. There was one blip on a fairly even rainfall graph when just over two-thirds of the total fell in two days as snow.

Just over half the windy days saw a southerly air stream. Three days brought gusts of 30mph and four days were totally calm.

January 2006

Night temperatures, at 1.48ºC av. this month were about 1ºC above the norm for East Anglia. In parts of the county the lowest was -5ºC but Ringshall was really warm as the lowest here was only - 4ºC.

Daytime temperatures averaged 7.4ºC, which, again, is about 1ºC up on the East Anglia average. The variation was quite large as temperatures fluctuated from 11ºC down to just 2ºC. Some of the days felt really chilly as the breeze picked up, made worse by a lack of sunshine. We seemed to suffer many cold, grey days, which are typical of this part of the country. Sunny days, when they came, were even more welcome this year. There were some wonderful sunsets but I am not too sure what happened at sunrise.

We should expect an average of 1.6mm of rain this month but over the last ten years it has been consistently lower and only climbed above 2mm in two of those years. The trend continued this year with an average of 0.6mm. The wettest day added only 3mm to the total of 18mm, which fell in dribs and drabs over 15 days. All this added to a rather dreary month with little rain and little sun.

In 1976 on the 2nd of the month a hurricane struck parts of the region with wind speeds of 100mph. but the wind did little to liven January this year, which was much quieter with variable winds. The highest gust I recorded was 12.3 mph. and there were eight days with zero wind at the time of checking. This must be close to a record for Ringshall.

Calling All Gardeners
I should be grateful if anyone with a max/min thermometer would let me know the coldest and warmest outside temperature each month. If you have a rain gauge I should love to know how much rain fell on your wettest day. This will help to give a broader picture of the variations within the county. I should be grateful for any records and you can send them to the editor of White Admiral.

Andrew Toomey