PITSFORD HALL WEATHER STATION

PITSFORD, NORTHAMPTON, UK

REVIEW OF MARCH 2008

Headline: Unsettled. Frequently very windy with outbreaks of rain, hail,
sleet and snow.

The transition from February to March was particularly windy across the
county. A deep area of low pressure was working past the north of Scotland.
A gust of 60mph was recorded at Pitsford on 29th February and the wind
remained strong on 1st March with gusts reaching 50mph. Despite the strong
north-westerly wind it was mild for the start of March and highs reached
around 12C on the 1st and 2nd. Although the north of the UK remained under
the influence of low pressure over the next few days, high pressure began to
work in from the south-west bringing with it some good sunshine during the
day, although overnight lows fell with air frosts recorded on the 4th and
5th. A warm front worked southwards on the 5th introducing cloudier skies
and some light showers the following day.

A deep low began to develop south-west of Iceland on the 6th and frontal
systems tied into this worked their way through the county on the 8th
bringing outbreaks of rain and a strengthening south-westerly wind. This
wind strengthened still further over the next few days with gusts reaching
47mph on the 10th and 54mph on the 11th. Further frontal systems continued
to deliver a fair amount of rain, especially on the 10th which saw some
quite heavy bursts linked to one of the deepest depressions on record. By
the 11th a fairly complex area of low pressure had developed north of the UK
with a number of discrete foci. As one of these centres worked across
northern England on the 12th the county once more received some particularly
strong winds.

Low pressure loosened its grip on the UK from the 13th for a short period.
It remained dry, albeit rather cloudy with some mist around during the early
morning. However, a new low moved in towards the south-west of Ireland on
the 15th driving frontal systems northwards through the county. Some fairly
persistent rain fell which lasted right through the night into the 16th
delivering 25.7mm of rain by 09:00 at Pitsford Hall. Once more strong winds
were also recorded as the centre of this low tracked close-by with gusts
reaching 47mph on the 16th.

High pressure which had been developed over Iceland since the 14th finally
extended southwards towards the UK on the 17th. This drew in a much colder
northerly airflow and temperatures consequently fell especially overnight
giving some particularly chilly mornings on the 18th and 19th.

By the 20th this high had started to pull away to the south-west and as low
pressure passed the north of Scotland outbreaks of rain and a strengthening
north-westerly wind were felt across the county. The overnight period into
the 21st was particularly windy and gusts reached 60mph at Pitsford. A
notable squall was also recorded later the same afternoon. As this low
remained over Denmark and northern Germany over the next couple of days it
maintained a cold northerly wind across the UK which brought in snow showers
between the 22nd and 24th. The 23rd (Easter Sunday) saw 6cm of lying snow at
Pitsford at 09:00. As this low began to fill further fronts were driven in
off the Atlantic over the next few days and the weather remained unsettled
with showers and outbreaks of rain. However, there were some spells of
sunshine, notably the 28th with nearly 9hrs. The region remained under the
influence of low pressure to the north until the end of the month. Some rain
was recorded associated with the passage of a frontal system overnight on
the 29th into the 30th, but from then on until the close of March it
remained dry.

Air Temperatures
The Highest Maximum: 13.6C on 31st
The Lowest Maximum: 5.0C on 24th
The Highest Minimum: 7.4C on 2nd
The Lowest Minimum: -2.6C on 5th
The Mean Maximum: 9.7C
The Mean Minimum: 2.4C
The Overall Mean: 6.1C
Difference from the Monthly Mean: -1.4C

Black Bulb
Maximum (at 0900): 16.2C on 2nd
Mean (at 0900): 7.6C

Relative Humidity:
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100.0% on 31st
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 60.5% on 25th
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 82.9%

Dew Point:
The Highest Dew Point (0900): 9.2C on 15th
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -6.0C on 25th
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 2.6C

Rainfall:
Total: 66.3mm
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 147.3%
Duration: 59.2hrs
Highest 24 hour fall (0900 to 0900): 25.7mm on 15th
Rain Days (/=0.2mm): 15
Wet Days (/=1.0mm): 12

Sunshine:
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 121.9hrs
Sunniest day: 8.8hrs on 4th
No. of days without sunshine: 2
Difference from the Monthly Mean: 130.2%
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 5.2oktas (65%)

Pressure (reduced to sea level):
The Highest Pressu 1035.9mb on 5th
The Lowest Pressu 965.8mb on 10th
Mean Pressure (recorded at 0900): 1006.1mb

Winds
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 170.3miles
Mean daily wind speed: 9.2mph
Run of wind (cumulative): 5278.6miles
Highest Maximum Gust: 60mph on 20th
No. of gusts of 50mph or mo 6
Highest wind strength (at 0900): 32.3mph on 12th
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 12.0mph

Winds from the Following Directions:
N 5 NE 0 E 0 SE 1 S 6 SW 3 W 8 NW 7 Calm 1

Concrete
Lowest Concrete Minimum: -5.4C on 5th
Mean Concrete Minimum: 0.4C

Evaporation
Piche 47.9ml
Pan 77.91mm

Days with:
Thunder: 0
Hail 5mm: 3
Hail /=5mm: 0
Snow or snow & rain: 4
Snow lying: 0
Fog: 1
Air Frost: 5
Duration of Air Frost: 21.0hrs
Gales: 0

All data © Pitsford Hall weather station.