If today stays sunless it will be my 14th day this month without sun,
which doesn't tell the complete story. 1 day with 0.01 hours, 1 day
with 0.03 hours, and one day with 0.06 hours, so as good as 17 sunless
days.

And I thought it was just me feeling SAD!!!

Keith (Southend)
http://www.southendweather.net
"Weather Home & Abroad"

"Keith (Southend)G" wrote in message
...
If today stays sunless it will be my 14th day this month without sun,
which doesn't tell the complete story. 1 day with 0.01 hours, 1 day
with 0.03 hours, and one day with 0.06 hours, so as good as 17 sunless
days.

And I thought it was just me feeling SAD!!!

Keith (Southend)
http://www.southendweather.net
"Weather Home & Abroad"

I feel for you Keith. One of the things I noticed when I moved up to
Dartmoor 8 years ago was how cloudy the place is. Everyone told me that
Devon was sunny, but that is only on the coast, in the hills we get endless
cloud and fog sometimes. But Keith, it *will* end and when the sun comes out
again, I tell you you will feel so energised that it will feel great to be
alive once more. I remember a few years back after over a week of cloud/fog
and drizzle the sun poked through and the skies cleared, I dashed out into
the garden and starting singing literally - it gets to you!
Come on bright arctic air, get a move on :-)

Will
--

On Dec 31, 12:01*pm, "Will Hand" wrote:
"Keith (Southend)G" wrote in message

...

If today stays sunless it will be my 14th day this month without sun,
which doesn't tell the complete story. 1 day with 0.01 hours, 1 day
with 0.03 hours, and one day with 0.06 hours, so as good as 17 sunless
days.

And I thought it was just me feeling SAD!!!

Keith (Southend)
http://www.southendweather.net
"Weather Home & Abroad"

I feel for you Keith. One of the things I noticed when I moved up to
Dartmoor 8 years ago was how cloudy the place is. Everyone told me that
Devon was sunny, but that is only on the coast, in the hills we get endless
cloud and fog sometimes. But Keith, it *will* end and when the sun comes out
again, I tell you you will feel so energised that it will feel great to be
alive once more. I remember a few years back after over a week of cloud/fog
and drizzle the sun poked through and the skies cleared, I dashed out into
the garden and starting singing literally - it gets to you!
Come on bright arctic air, get a move on :-)

Will
--

Yet digging into my records a little further I was surprised to find
that my dullest December was 2002 with a total of 26.7 hours of
sunshine and 19 sunless days, compared to a total of 48.11 hours for
2010. 2002 was also a mild month.

How our memories get short.

Keith (Southend)
http://www.southendweather.net
"Weather Home & Abroad"

On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 03:56:14 -0800, Keith (Southend)G wrote:

And I thought it was just me feeling SAD!!!

Thankfully we escaped a sunless Ramsgate for Christmas week -- to a
glorious Northumberland.

Walking on Deadwater Fell Christmas Eve:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1127109/IMAG0132.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1127109/IMAG0135.jpg

And after a snowfall on Boxing Day:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1127109/IMAG0194.jpg

:-)

Sadly, the nice weather ended with the thaw and we were plunged into very
dense fog.

About 2-3 inches of snow remained yesterday up at Kielder -- though it had
completely gone by the time we reached Hexham (roughly 20 miles south).

On Dec 31, 12:14*pm, Simon Bennett wrote:
On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 03:56:14 -0800, Keith (Southend)G wrote:
And I thought it was just me feeling SAD!!!

Thankfully we escaped a sunless Ramsgate for Christmas week -- to a
glorious Northumberland.

Walking on Deadwater Fell Christmas Eve:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1127109/IMAG...9/IMAG0135.jpg

And after a snowfall on Boxing Day:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1127109/IMAG0194.jpg

:-)

Sadly, the nice weather ended with the thaw and we were plunged into very
dense fog.

About 2-3 inches of snow remained yesterday up at Kielder -- though it had
completely gone by the time we reached Hexham (roughly 20 miles south).

Hi, Simon,
Sshhhh. Keep it quiet - we like to be far from the madding crowd up
here.
Pleased you enjoyed the break,
Ken,
Copley, Teesdale

On Fri, 31 Dec 2010 04:46:44 -0800, Ken Cook wrote:

Pleased you enjoyed the break,

;-)

Many thanks again for the links Ken. Proved very useful.

.... Marked lack of sunshine here in darkest (!) Dorset (and completely
at odds with the 'nationwide' figure as indicated he
http://www.climate-uk.com/ )

.... using the Hurn Kipp & Zonen (KZS) record, then although the month
hasn't yet ended - the resolutely grey sky outside would suggest that
today is going to be yet another '0.0h' day.

For December 2010:
No. of days 0.0h (i.e. no sunshine above the threshold of the
instrument) = 19, with three periods of 4 or 5 days completely sunless.

No. of days 1.0h = 4

Therefore, 23 days (~ 3/4 of the month) experienced no appreciable sunshine.

Total sunshine by that sensor = 27.2h (~52% of the estimated 1971-2000 LTA)

Hurn published record (Met Office web site) for sunshine starts in
December 1968. In that record, the dullest December occurred in 1978
with 28.3h (Campbell-Stokes Recorder/CSR). Although the two records
can't be directly equated, the 'correction' factor found by Kerr &
Tabony relating the two types of recorder would suggest that we're
within a whisker of the older record.

It looks as if this December is therefore the second-dullest December in
the Hurn record (Dec 1968 on), and the third-dullest *any* month in that
record; the month with the least sunshine was January 1973 with 27.0h (CSR)

A preliminary look at the mean temperature for the month for Hurn (and
using a notional maximum of 7°C for today) gives a mean 24hr temperature
for December 2010 of +0.3°C, -5.4degC anomaly on 1971-2000 series. It is
*easily* the coldest such-named month in the 1957-on record for Hurn,
beating the previous coldest (1981 / 2.2°C) out of sight.

However, there are several months in this record which were notably
colder: e.g. Jan & Feb 1963, Feb 1986.

Martin.

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

In article
,
"Keith (Southend)G" writes:
If today stays sunless it will be my 14th day this month without sun,
which doesn't tell the complete story. 1 day with 0.01 hours, 1 day
with 0.03 hours, and one day with 0.06 hours, so as good as 17 sunless
days.

And I thought it was just me feeling SAD!!!

Interestingly, ISTR that the coldest December of all, 1890, was also
exceptionally dull. IIRC, Manchester managed a total of 15 minutes of
sunshine for the entire month! Of course that was in the days before the
Clean Air acts, and no doubt smoke pollution played a part.
--
John Hall
"I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly,
will hardly mind anything else."
Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-84)