.... (31/2030Z MAY 2011):
With little sign of any rain before the morning, here a preliminary
look at Hurn rainfall figures for the spring. The 'series' covers 1957
to date, available as below.

Mar = 19 mm (5th driest)
Apr = 7 mm (3rd driest)
May = 25 mm (provisional based on my logging of SYNOP data)
Spring total = 51 mm (~31% 1957-2010 mean)

Easily beats the previous driest spring of 1976, when 61 mm was
recorded over those three months, which was similar (within a few
tenths) to the spring of 1990.

The big difference between 1976 and this year is that in the period
October 1975 - February 1976, Hurn only recorded 151 mm (35% of the
all-series mean), whereas this time around (2010/11) rainfall (and
melted snowfall) over those same months represented ~93% of the
all-series mean. In the 1989/90 event, the previous October-
February period was significantly wet, with 650 mm or ~150% of the
all-series mean.

[ all data based on Met Office records available on web site at:-
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/stationdata/ ]

Martin.


--
Martin Rowley
West Moors, East Dorset (UK): 17m (56ft) amsl
Lat: 50.82N Long: 01.88W
NGR: SU 082 023