You'd think we were all in the middle of a cold March, from the daily
weather forecasts and press reports. No doubt some places are but not
here.

After the last two days with temperatures exceeding 10.0 deg C, I
have calculated the averages for Solent MRSC for the last week and
the last two weeks (thanks to Keith Harris's www.southendweather.net)
- they are closest enough to mid month to give a rough comparison.

Unfortunately there is no long term record for Solent MRSC or my own
location but there is for nearby Bognor Regis - which has a similar
seaside exposure as Lee-on-the-Solent. Comparisons are therefore with
the March averages for Bognor (taken from the Met Office website).

Feb 14 to Feb 20 2006 (Solent compared to Bognor monthly averages)

Mean Max 8.1; long term mean max 9.0; deficit 0.9 deg C.
Mean Min 2.4; long term mean min 3.5; deficit 1.1 deg C.
Overall mean deficit 1.0 deg C.

Feb 7 to Feb 20 2006 (Solent compared to Bognor averages)

Mean Max 7.7; long term mean max 9.0; deficit 1.3 deg C.
Mean Min 3.0; long term mean min 3.5; deficit 0.5 deg C.
Overall mean deficit 0.9 deg C.

The last week or two has been nowhere near what I'd describe as a
March cold spell - not down here anyway. How cold has it been
elsewhere?

--
Dave
Fareham.

Bracknell (Tawfield) ... March (so far, up to 0900 GMT readings 20th)
Mean 24hr maximum:... 07.0 [-2.9 anomaly on eLTA 1971-2000]

Mean 24hr minimum:... 00.6 [-2.8 anomaly on eLTA 1971-2000]

Mean of 24hr max & min:... 03.8 [-2.9 anomaly on eLTA 1971-2000]

Been cold enough here ;-)

Martin.

--
Martin Rowley: data via -
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/booty.weather/metindex.htm
Bracknell (Wooden Hill/Tawfield), Berkshire
NGR: SU 854 667 Elev: 80m
Lat: 51DEG23MIN30SEC(N): Long: 00DEG46MIN28SEC(W)

Feb 7 to Feb 20 2006 (Solent compared to Bognor averages)

Mean Max 7.7; long term mean max 9.0; deficit 1.3 deg C.
Mean Min 3.0; long term mean min 3.5; deficit 0.5 deg C.
Overall mean deficit 0.9 deg C.

The last week or two has been nowhere near what I'd describe as a
March cold spell - not down here anyway. How cold has it been
elsewhere?

--
Dave
Fareham.

After an excursion to the dizzy heights of 9.9°C yesterday (with strong
thermals as well-apparently)it's back to colder conditions here with a Tmax
of 5.0° late morning and then settling at 4.0° most of the afternoon. Still
on to be the coldest March on record here (since 1979) with a monthly mean
of 3.1°(-3.3LTA). Mean max 6.4°, mean min -0.3°,precipitation 23.8mm (50%)
and sunshine 77hrs (72%) so far.

All the best
--
George in Epping, West Essex (107m asl)
www.eppingweather.co.uk
www.winter1947.co.uk

Been cold here in Penzance

I've only ever recorded a Max Temp of 6 degrees in March on 7
occasions (records start 1992), 3 were this year. This included 5.0 on
17th, my coldest March day on record.

It's also currently my coldest March on record, by a fair margin, and
-1.3 from the 1971-2000 LTA

Graham

20/03/2006 17:15:03
Dave Ludlow wrote in message


You'd think we were all in the middle of a cold March, from the
daily
weather forecasts and press reports. No doubt some places are but
not
here.

After the last two days with temperatures exceeding 10.0 deg C, I
have calculated the averages for Solent MRSC for the last week and
the last two weeks (thanks to Keith Harris's www.southendweather.
net)
- they are closest enough to mid month to give a rough comparison.

Unfortunately there is no long term record for Solent MRSC or my
own
location but there is for nearby Bognor Regis - which has a similar
seaside exposure as Lee-on-the-Solent. Comparisons are therefore
with
the March averages for Bognor (taken from the Met Office website).

Feb 14 to Feb 20 2006 (Solent compared to Bognor monthly averages)

Mean Max 8.1; long term mean max 9.0; deficit 0.9 deg C.
Mean Min 2.4; long term mean min 3.5; deficit 1.1 deg C.
Overall mean deficit 1.0 deg C.

Feb 7 to Feb 20 2006 (Solent compared to Bognor averages)

Mean Max 7.7; long term mean max 9.0; deficit 1.3 deg C.
Mean Min 3.0; long term mean min 3.5; deficit 0.5 deg C.
Overall mean deficit 0.9 deg C.

The last week or two has been nowhere near what I'd describe as a
March cold spell - not down here anyway. How cold has it been
elsewhere?

--
Dave
Fareham.
Some of us are. Coldest March (1st-20th) on Fair Isle since records
began way back in 1974! Daily mean temp has crept up to 3.1C (3.2C
1987), but this is still 1.6C below the LT mean.
We've had a snow drift lying at sea level, at the foot of steep ENE-
facing cliffs for three weeks now!
Dave
Fair Isle

"Dave Ludlow" wrote in message
...

Unfortunately there is no long term record for Solent MRSC or my own
location but there is for nearby Bognor Regis - which has a similar
seaside exposure as Lee-on-the-Solent. Comparisons are therefore with
the March averages for Bognor (taken from the Met Office website).

Ooooh, I think that's something of a leap of faith. So far this month
the mean max at Lee/Solent is 7.8°C, at Thorney Island, 7.0°C, and
at Bognor 6.8°C. I'd always had a feeling that Lee was a particularly
warm spot without ever being quite interested enough to investigate ...
but now, looking at the geological map, I note that Lee sits on marine
gravels while there are patches of boulder clay above chalk at
Thorney Island and boulder clay above London clay at Bognor.
Fareham looks geologically complex so without knowing exactly
where you live it's not possible to say whether you're more like
Lee or Thorney.

Philip

Its been cold here in Coulsdon. One of the reasons for all the media
discussion is the fact that over the past 20 years or so March has been
favoured with a good deal of mild weather. My own daffodil guide bears this
out with the date steadily becoming earlier for the first flower although
March 1996 bucked the trend. It is currently March 12th and there is no sign
at the moment nor likely to be for some time yet.
This month has come as quite a shock to the public who especially in
southern England expect March to be a fairly mild month.
Way back in time March could be a real winter month with minus 5C a max
temperature in many parts of Surrey mid month 1845. In fact the 1850s and
1860s had some really cold Marches as did the 1880s and of course the great
March blizzard of 1891 would be in the headlines for weeks if it occurred
today.
The coldest March 1785 would be considered a severe winter spell by today's
standards.

Ian Currie-Coulsdon
www.Frostedearth.com


"Dave Ludlow" wrote in message
...
You'd think we were all in the middle of a cold March, from the daily
weather forecasts and press reports. No doubt some places are but not
here.

After the last two days with temperatures exceeding 10.0 deg C, I
have calculated the averages for Solent MRSC for the last week and
the last two weeks (thanks to Keith Harris's www.southendweather.net)
- they are closest enough to mid month to give a rough comparison.

Unfortunately there is no long term record for Solent MRSC or my own
location but there is for nearby Bognor Regis - which has a similar
seaside exposure as Lee-on-the-Solent. Comparisons are therefore with
the March averages for Bognor (taken from the Met Office website).

Feb 14 to Feb 20 2006 (Solent compared to Bognor monthly averages)

Mean Max 8.1; long term mean max 9.0; deficit 0.9 deg C.
Mean Min 2.4; long term mean min 3.5; deficit 1.1 deg C.
Overall mean deficit 1.0 deg C.

Feb 7 to Feb 20 2006 (Solent compared to Bognor averages)

Mean Max 7.7; long term mean max 9.0; deficit 1.3 deg C.
Mean Min 3.0; long term mean min 3.5; deficit 0.5 deg C.
Overall mean deficit 0.9 deg C.

The last week or two has been nowhere near what I'd describe as a
March cold spell - not down here anyway. How cold has it been
elsewhere?

--
Dave
Fareham.

It's been an exceptionally cold and snowy March here.

Statistics for the 1st to 20th March:

Mean max: 4.1C
Mean min: 0.1C
Overall mean: 2.1C

Snow/sleet falling days: 13, snow lying(50%) :11

1971-2000 averages for Dyce are 8.3C, 1.7C and 5.0C (for the whole
month) with 8 days snow falling and 2 lying.

Temperature has not reached 10C once - highest 9.2C on the 8th. Last
time March failed to reach 10C was in 1964. In fact only 4 Marches
since 1989 have not reached 15C (1994, 1996, 2001 and 2004).

If anything the mean will drop over the next few days so looks certain
to be the coldest March locally since 1969 possibly even 1962.

Also I would imagine that the accumulated snow depth I currently have -
162cm - is more than any other March, since the war, with the exception
of 1947 and possibly 1958. It's also likely to have been the highest of
any month since at least January 1984.

Richard Slessor,
Hazlehead, Aberdeen (98m. a.s.l.)

Ian Currie wrote:

The coldest March 1785 would be considered a severe winter spell by
today's standards.


1674 was colder, was it not?


--
Brian Wakem
Email: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/b.wakem/myemail.png

In article ,
Brian Wakem writes:
Ian Currie wrote:

The coldest March 1785 would be considered a severe winter spell by
today's standards.


1674 was colder, was it not?


March, 1674 had a CET of 1.0C to the nearest half degree, the data for
the earliest years of the CET not being sufficient to be any more
precise. So it was probably colder than March, 1785, which was 1.2C, but
it's not certain.
--
John Hall
"Hegel was right when he said that we learn from history
that man can never learn anything from history."
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)