WEATHERFRONT

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FEBRUARY

This was a grey, cold month overall and became very windy towards the end. A typical February is mild and stormy, occasionally producing heavy snow. It is known as “February filldyke” but this has become a misnomer: when the dykes are full in February later droughts are very unlikely.

The daytime temperatures were at their lowest at each end of the month whilst in the middle they climbed to 13ºC. The long term average for the month is 7.5ºC and strangely enough that was the average this year. This year we had the average number of frosts, which is twelve. Night time temperatures averaged 1.25ºC, which is just about normal and they followed the daytime pattern by being higher in the middle of the month. The highest temperature was not that high at 4ºC. In 1947 they fell to a low of -5ºF, which is very cold!

Rain has been in short supply this winter. Most places were below average but Ringshall squeezed 1 mm above the average with a total of 40mm. This fell over 16 days and on the surface looked reasonable. However, seven of the days produced only 0.5mm and I feel that evaporation (even in February) may have rendered this useless.

February completed three months which were the driest since 1988-9. Some places had no rain for 15 days which is considered a drought in winter. Abberton reservoir was at only 67% of capacity at the end of the month.

The wind came from the North-east for twelve days with an average speed of 6.5mph. It came from the North-west for only four days but the average then rose to 10mph. I recorded six days that began with no wind.

MARCH

If everyone thinks that the British weather is changeable, this month proved it. We endured the coldest March for a decade during a month that also produced some unusually high temperatures.

The month started in a very chilly vein with daytime temperatures falling to only 4ºC. By the 7th temperatures had risen sharply to 12ºC and we had four days of much needed rain. This was speedily followed by some snow as everything cooled down again. There followed a long cold spell until the 22nd when temperatures rose once more as the rain returned. Such a cold spell usually arrives in February but as it was a month late it had a dramatic effect on the countryside. Spring bulbs flowered for a much longer period than usual and other flowers were late in showing. It was a splendid year for primroses and they flowered late enough to be out with the cowslips! Next year should be good for a large number of ‘primslips’ (hybrids to you and me). The night time temperatures fell as low as –5ºC at the beginning of the month and again on the 21st. The average temperatures at night were 1.3ºC against the normal of 2ºC. Day time averages were about normal at 9.8ºC. This shows how big the swings were. Between the showers there was a lot of sunshine to cheer, if not warm, us up.

As mentioned above, the rain fell in two parts of the month, near the start and at the end. There were 14 wet days producing 40mm of rain which was just 1mm up on the average. The period November-March was the driest for 20 years with only 77% of the average rainfall.

Strong breezes at the end of the month were a problem for some parts of East Anglia. The dryness of the season meant that the soil in the Fens was very dry. It was blown about like a desert sandstorm creating what is known as the ‘Fen Blow’. In Ringshall only five days started with no breeze. The South East and North West shared the greatest number of windy days. However the strongest winds came from the South West at an average speed of 12.1mph.

APRIL

This is the second month of spring and has a reputation for bringing showers. You may be surprised to know that traditionally this is one of the drier months. For those who like unusual facts here is one about April - in 1884 on the 22nd there was a severe earthquake in Colchester which did much damage in Essex and Suffolk. Fortunately there was nothing that drastic this April.

A chilly start gave way to warmer and more spring like weather and then temperatures rose to the dizzy heights of 23ºC. At least our weather is not predictable. The average temperature by day was 0.7ºC above the average for the area at 14.7ºC, which shows how averages do not give the whole picture. It is said that Mr Average has his head in the freezer and his feet in the oven! Night temperatures followed the daytime pattern until the end of the month when day time temperatures soared whilst night time temperatures remained fairly low. They ranged from 8ºC to –2ºC whilst the daytime temperatures ranged from 8ºC to 23ºC. Overall this has been the coldest start to a year for a decade.

Rainfall again was about average and again I recorded 40mm over 14 days. It seems that my rain gauge is stuck at 40mm. Again five days were less than 1mm and with warmer temperatures that soon evaporated. Rainfall for the month was 10mm below average until the last day when 11mm fell making a surplus of 1mm. I don’t know why the water companies are making such a fuss!

It was a three way split for the dominant wind direction between the North West, South West and South East. The average wind speeds were about equal but the strongest gusts I recorded came from the South West. There were only four calm days.

MAY

We have arrived at the last month of spring. Many of us regard it as the start of summer, but beware; we can still have frosts cold enough to damage your begonias! Having said that, the last sub-zero temperature I recorded in May was in 1997. Nevertheless, May has been an eventful month to say the least. It will be remembered for the rainfall but it did have other features.

Temperatures by day were below average despite some really warm days in the middle of the month. Just when we thought summer had arrived we suffered a nasty shock. Temperatures fell away so that we finished the month feeling very chilly indeed. In fact those who went to the Suffolk Show will remember that it wasn’t warm enough to sit around at all. Temperatures at the end of the month made gardeners a little twitchy. The daytime average of 22ºC was up on the average for the region whilst the night time temperature was just one degree up on an average of 8ºC. The real deal was the rain. 120mm fell over 19 days. To put this in perspective I would point out that we can expect 38mm of rain normally. My records go back to 1994 and during that period the highest rainfall that I have recorded is 67mm in 2002 and that was double the highest for the previous years. The trend has been for wetter weather in May but this is head and shoulders above the lot. An interesting fact about precipitation in May comes from a book written in1698. It states that on the third of the month snow fell in Norfolk from two o’clock in the afternoon until six o’clock in the evening.

Another feature of this May was the wind. It blew strongly and frequently. I recorded average speeds of 16.4mph from a South Westerly direction and I know that it increased during the day. The wind came from the South for 18 days and switched from easterly to westerly during that time. It moved round to the North at the end of the month and this helped to bring the temperatures down. There were six calm days and these were very welcome.

A town and country comparison

I am very grateful to Doug Harper from Ipswich for sending me his records for this period. Doug is a keen gardener and keeps records of temperatures and rainfall. His figures give us a chance to see how, if at all, things vary between town and country. The average minimum temperature for this period is about 0.5ºC warmer in the town which is what I would expect. However the average maximum temperature has been up to 3ºC warmer in my exposed and windswept plot. The exception was April when the town won by 0.5ºC.

Ringshall won the rain stakes convincingly. I list Doug’s figures below with my own in parenthesis. Temperatures are average ºC, whilst rainfall is the total in mm.