The cold snap which began in April has continued into May. The temperature at 04:43 today (5th) dropped to 0.4°C. This was the lowest May temperature ever recorded at this station, beating the previous lowest of 0.7°C set on May 13th 2010.
The average temperature so far this month is just 7.4°C, well down on the average of 10.9°C, but with the warmer part of the month still to come.
April 2012 was the wettest month ever recorded at Bracken House, and also the coldest April. The rainfall total was a whopping 153.0 millimeters, beating the previous highest of 118.4 millimeters set in November 2009. The record for most precipitation in a day was broken on the 4th, when 36.4 mm of rain, sleet and snow fell, beating the previous best of 35.4 mm set on September 6th 2010. At one point, the snow was lying 4 cms deep, although this soon started to thaw and was gone by the next day. Rain fell on a total of 21 days, with in excess of 10 millimeters being recorded on four occasions. The yearly total at the end of the month stood at 223.2 millimeters, compared to 111.2 in 2011.
Temperatures were very disappointing in April, following the record highs in March. The average temperature for the month was a paltry 6.5°C, 3.7°C lower than the climate average, pushing the mean month temperature down to 9.0°C. We had to wait until 15:44 on the last day of the month to record the highest temperature, 16.3°C. The lowest temperature recorded was -1.0°C at 03:16 on the 16th, making it the lowest April temperature ever recorded at Bracken House. This was the third sub-zero temperature recorded in the month, a station record for April. The average daily maximum high was 10.3°C, 2.3°C lower than March, with the average daily minimum being 3.6°C, the same as March. There were 77.7 hours of sunshine in the month, with the 1st being the sunniest day with 10.8 hours.
Winds were a little above average for the month with the average wind speed being 4.4 mph, and the average gust speed 7.2 mph. The maximum recorded wind speed was 19.6 mph from 090° (E) on the 25th at 13:00. The maximum gust speed was 34.5 mph from 045° (N) at 09:53 on the 29th. The total windrun for the month was 3101.2 miles.
The average barometric pressure for April was 1003.1 millibars, with the highest being 1026.2 millibars at 23:47 on the 15th. The lowest pressure recorded was 977.1 millibars at 15:50 on the 18th.
The highest temperature for April 2012 was set at 15:43 on the last day of the month when the thermometer reached 16.3°C. This easily beat the second warmest day which was back on the first day of the month, when the temperature reached 13.2°C.
These were the only two days in the month when the temperature exceeded 13.0°C, which means that the lowest average temperature for April will be easily beaten when the details for the month are compiled.
In the early evening of the 25th, April 2012 became the wettest month recorded at Bracken House, beating the 118.4 millimeters set in November 2009.
On the 25th, 22.2 millimeters of rain fell, the third time in the month that a total in excess of 20 millimeters was recorded. This is the first time this has occurred.
So far this month, there has been precipitation recorded on 17 of the 26 days, also a record for April.
With another four days to go, the most rain in a month record is likely to be pushed higher, and it looks like April 2012 will be colder than March 2012. Another unusual event in this remarkable month.
At 03:13 this morning (16th April 2012), the temperature dipped to -1.1°C making it the lowest April temperature ever recorded at Bracken House.
This is the third sub-zero temperature recorded this month, a station record for April, but it isn’t the latest an air frost has been recorded, that record was set in 2010 when the temperature reached -0.1°C on April 21st.
April 2012 looks on course to be the coldest April recorded at the station. The current average temperature for the month is 5.6°C, well short of the all time average of 9.3°C, but we still have the warmest part of the month to come – or do we?
The record breaking temperatures of March soon disappeared as April arrived. Although reaching a high of 13.2°C on the 1st, the temperature had fallen to -0.7°C at 07:14 – the first April frost since 2010.
Average temperatures continued to fall over the next three days, although no further air frost was recorded. By the 4th, the average daily temperature was down to 2.0°C.
Also on the 4th, the record for most precipitation in a day was broken when 36.4 mm of rain, sleet and snow fell, beating the previous best of 35.4 mm set on September 6th 2010. At one point, the snow was lying 4 cms deep, although this soon started to thaw and was gone by the next day.
The cold weather outside did allow me to make changes to the weather site. I finally finished updating the home page, although I will probably make a few minor tweaks over the coming days. I have also updated the sun and moon page to include more information, and more colour.
Finally, I have added a new dials page which is not driven by Flash. This page will be visible to iPad and iPhone users and will give a choice to readers viewing the site on their computers.
March 2012 broke many records throughout the country for warm temperatures and was easily the warmest March recorded at this station. There was only one brfief spell of cold weather towards the end of the first week, when the temperature fell to -0.9°C at 07:13 on the 6th – the only time that an air frost was recorded. At the other extreme, the maximum temperature recorded was 21.2° C at 16:38 on the 28th, making it the warmest temperature since October 3rd 2011. The average temperature for the month was 7.9°C, beating the previous March best of 6.6°C. The mean temperature for the month is now 6.7°C. The average daily maximum high was 12.6°C, with the average daily minimum being 3.6°C.
Rainfall for the month was a mere 20.2 millimeters, 5.1 millimeters below the month average, continuing the ongoing dry conditions. Rain fell on 13 days with the most falling on the 4th – 8.4 millimeters. The rainfall total for the first three months of 2012 was 34.8 millimeters, well down on last year’s total of 103.0 millimeters for the same period.
Winds were again light with the average wind speed being 3.2 mph and the average gust speed was 5.3 mph. The maximum wind speed recorded was 20.7 mph from 293° (WNW) at 17:29 on the 7th. The maximum gust speed was 29.9 mph from 270° (W) at 15:48 on the same day.
The barometric pressure average was 1026.5 millibars, with the maximum being 1037.5 millibars at 12:18 on the 26th and the minimum being 1007.5 millibars at 08:32 on the 7th. The average humidity was 82%, with the minimum being 30% at 16:31 on the 27th – a station low for March.
The record breaking weather continued as the thermometer reached 21.2° C at 16:38 yesterday. The average for the day was 12.9°C and there was 10.2 hours of sunshine.
The maximum heat index was 25.2°C at 13:54, easily beating the March best of 19.9° C set the day before.
The warm spell continued with the temperature reaching 19.9° C at 15:09 yesterday, the warmest day since October 3rd when the temperature was 25.6° C. The average temperature for the day was 12.2°C.
Yesterday (March 26th 2012) the temperature reached 17.5° C at 15:33, making it the warmest day of the year so far, and the highest ever March temperature. The average temperature for the day was 11.0° C, comparable to May averages. There were 11.2 hours of sun for the second day in succession.
In the night sky, the crescent Moon and the planet Venus were at their closest, being just 2° apart. Although appearing very close together, Venus is actually 260 times further away from the Earth.