Philip

Don't believe the Hurn figure is accurate. I have recorded 60mm here about
3miles from Hurn and nearer to 95% of average.
For several days at the end of the month, Hurn was reporting a "Trace" of
rain when i have reported Several mm from Frontal Rain Bands.

Believe the Hurn AutoStation has inaccurately reported rainfall too low.

Believe the MetOffice should investigate.

Kind Regards
Paul
pblightukATyahooDOTcoDOTuk

"Philip Eden" philipATweatherHYPHENukDOTcom wrote in message
...
For those who like to view Britain's weather through the flawed
prism of the NAO index, that index during March was negative,
very very negative, more negative even than any calendar month
since Feb 1986.

And yet there was much mobility over the Atlantic Ocean and
western Europe south of latitude 50 degN, and this mobility
penetrated across the whole of the British Isles during the second
week of March and again from the 24th onwards, resulting in an
outstandingly wet month in many parts of the UK ... exactly
what one is supposed to get with a -ve NAOi month, right?

More available:
Charts: http://www.climate-uk.com/monpre/0603.htm
The Monthly Review is already up at:
at: http://www.climate-uk.com/monthly/0603.htm
Graphs: http://www.climate-uk.com/graphs/0603.htm and
http://www.climate-uk.com/graphs/200603.htm
Not The Long Range Forecast will be uploaded on Apr 3 to
http://www.climate-uk.com/page4.html

The mean sea-level chart shows that the Icelandic Low is
displaced far to the southwest of its normal position, with
the main centre 999mbar just ESE of Newfoundland, but a
marked trough extends ENE-wards across the Atlantic and
the British Isles to the central North Sea. A weak Azores
High (1018mbar) is displaced to Madeira, while abnormally
high pressure (1030+ mbar) sits over northern Greenland.
The mean flow is SW-ly over England, Wales, both parts of
Ireland, and southern Scotland, but E-ly over north Scotland.

The main features of the sea-level pressure anomaly field
are the big departures over Greenland (+ve) and mid-
Atlantic (-ve) and the extensive zone of anomalous E-ly
gradient between. The main centres a
+13mbar over Greenland
-12mbar between the Azores and Newfoundland
-7mbar over Romania
Over the British Isles pressure anomaly ranges from zero over
Shetland and -8mbar at Valentia.
The anomalous flow is E-ly over Scotland, Northern Ireland
and northern England, but S-ly over the bulk of England and
Wales.
CET (after Manley) 5.0°C (-1.4 degC wrt 1971-2000)
CET (after Hadley) 4.95°C (-1.45 degC)
and by this measure it was the coldest March since
1996, although only marginally colder than March 2001.
E&W Rain: 87.1mm (119% of 1971-2000 mean)
making it the first month with above-average rainfall
since November, and also the wettest March since 2001.
E&W Sunshine: 106.3 hr (94% of 1971-2000 mean)
It was outstandingly dull after the first six days which
were exceptionally sunny.
CScotT: 4.1°C (-1.7 degC)
ScotRain: 98.8mm (141%)
ScotSun: 83.6 hr ( 80%)

NIT: 5.7°C (-1.1 degC)
NI Rain: 91.8mm (147%)
NI Sun: 101.2 hr ( 91%)

Rainfall totals ranged from 403.0mm at Capel Curig
(Snowdonia) to 20.3mm at Southend (Essex). Percentages
ranged from 277 at West Freugh (Galloway) to 49 at
Hurn (Dorset).

Sunshine totals ranged from 156.0hr at St Helier (Jersey)
- a CS recorder - to 56.5hr at Kinloss (Moray) - a KZ
sensor. Percentages ranged from 109 at Cromer
(Norfolk) to 48 at Kinloss.

(c) Philip Eden