Cloudy and mild

Note for Wednesday 24th

Today was another cloudy and mild day. Only a few weeks ago it seemed like the temperature would never reach double figures again.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Tuesday 23rd

Cloudy again
It was cloudy for most of the day. We did have some sort spells of sunshine and with light winds it was quite pleasant. Like yesterday we had some light rain in the early evening.
Some of our later rhubarb is now ready to burst into growth.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Monday 22nd

Cloudy
The day started off with a little sunshine which didn’t last and by midmorning the cloud arrived. The afternoon was dull with bits of drizzly rain. In the early evening we had a couple of short sharp showers.

Last week was a warm week for March and it lifted the average temperature for the month by about 2°C from a rather cold 3.8°C on the 14th to 5.7°C by the 21st of the month.

From 2010 Weather 1

 

 

Back to sunny

Note for Sunday 21st

For the first day of spring it was a pleasant day with some long sunny periods.
Our potatoes in the cold greenhouse have survived the severe frosts of the beginning of March and are now starting to sprout.

From 2010 Weather 1

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Saturday 20th

Rain
It rained for most of the day. This was our first really wet day of the month as we had not had any prolonged rain since the end of February. With the rain came a drop off in the above average temperatures of the past few days.

Note for Friday 19th

Pleasant then rain
We had another very pleasant morning with lots of sunshine. In the afternoon it clouded over again like yesterday but it remained mild. The rain arrived as forecast in the early evening.

Note for Thursday 18th

Sunny morning
A very pleasant sunny morning followed by a cloudy afternoon with spits and spots of rain. The temperature continued on its upward trend this week and very welcome it is too. It looks like it will be a warm week for March with the weeks average temperature above the expected. How quickly the weather can change.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Wednesday 17th

Mostly cloudy but mild
It remained cloudy for most of the day. There were a few fleeting glimpses of hazy sunshine and it was our mildest day since 19th November. It was excellent day for digging down on the plot as the soil is in good condition for digging, breaking up into a fine tilth ready for sowing and planting next month.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Tuesday 16th

Sunny periods
There were some decent sunny periods today, especially in the afternoon which lifted temperatures to their highest values of the year. It’s not just the flowers that are late developing this year. The pictures below are of the same root of rhubarb in the allotment. The top picture was taken on 1st March this year and the lower picture the same date last year.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Monday 15th

Cloud and wind

It was windy today which took the edge off the temperature. It’s a while since we had a windy day. It was cloudy all day but we missed any showers that were around. I’m hoping that we’ve seen the last of the severe frosts of last week. The daffodils are coming on in leaps and bounds now.

From 2010 Weather 1

 

Continuing milder

Note for Sunday 14th

Today’s temperature was about normal for the time of year. The temperatures have risen steadily through the week. The forecast is for this to continue as we move into the second part of March. It might tempt me into sowing some broad beans in pots in the greenhouse for transplanting into the allotment next month.

From 2010 Weather 1

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Saturday 13th

Double digits
Today was the warmest day of the year with the temperature reaching 11.1°C. Perhaps at last we are out of the cold spell which started in the middle of December and has persisted ever since.

Note for Friday 12th

Dull
The sun disappeared today and we had a dull cloudy day with light showers or periods of drizzle. Not enough rainfall to record on the rain gauge. The day’s average temperature was the highest of the year 6.5°C. It was early December when we last achieved this temperature.

Note for Thursday 11th

More sunshine
It was another pleasant day with long sunny periods after another overnight frost. The sunny weather brings out the flowers to brighten the garden up.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Wednesday 10th
Sunny spells
Some pleasant sunny spells throughout the day. The last couple of days have been the mildest since the 10th December when the mercury hit 9.1°C.

We went to the allotment and dug over a bed ready for some shallots. The ground had dried out well from the heavy rain at the end of February. Our allotment thermometer recorded a low of -6.5°C relating to the frost of Sunday and Monday.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Tuesday 9th

Milder night
A much milder night although we did still have a frost. A lovely sunny morning followed by a cloudy afternoon.

I checked through the data from the Met Office Hadley Centre to compare just how cold last week was in comparison with the same 7 days in previous years. It ranks 48th out of 239 years as the coldest first 7 days of March. Does the mind play strange tricks? The figures show that the same 7 days were colder in 2006, 2005 and 2001. Perhaps it because this year the cold spell started in the middle of December and hasn’t really let up since!

Note for Monday 8th

Severe frost again
Another severe frost overnight with the temperature falling to -5.1°C again. We visited the new winter garden created by the National Trust at Dunham Massey in Cheshire. We crossed the Pennines via Woodhead one way and Saddleworth Moor on the return journey. There’s still some snow about over the tops. It was a beautiful sunny day with sunshine over the tops a bonus.

From 2010 Weather 1

Severe frost

Note for Sunday 7th

A severe overnight frost as the temperature fell to -5.1°C, the coldest I’ve recorded since a low of -6.5°C on the 22nd December 2009. Winter goes on for the gardener.
It was a beautiful sunny day but very cold. Having put our potatoes to chit in our cold but what I hoped was a frost free greenhouse last Friday my maximum/minimum thermometer recorded a low of -2.5°C.

From 2010 Weather 1

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Saturday 6th
Dull and drizzly

The sun disappeared today and we had a dull and cloudy day with outbreaks of drizzle in the morning. It was brighter in the afternoon. It turned much colder as darkness fell.

Note for Friday 5th
More sun
Another cold and frosty start followed by a lovely sunny day. Still remaining on the cold side for the time of year.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Thursday 4th

Sunny
A cold and frosty start to the day. Still some snow remained from Monday's dusting.

From 2010 Weather 1

There was plenty of sunshine which brought out the flowers and whilst it was pleasant in the sunshine it remained cold all day all.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Wednesday 3rd

Remaining cold

The weather still remains cold, even more so when there is little sunshine like today. The forecasters seem to offer little change over the next couple of weeks. Some of the light dusting of snow which fell yesterday still remains on the garden.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Tuesday 2nd

Snow then sun

There had been a dusting of snow overnight.

From 2010 Weather 1

The sun soon came out and the day was lovely and sunny but cold. Even though it was only a light dusting of snow some remained all day despite the sunshine. Spring seemed tantalising close but not with us yet and certainly too cold to start sowing seeds.

From 2010 Weather 1

I’ve updated the weather page on the web site click here.

I’ve added below the temperatures in my cold greenhouse for February along with the daytime temperatures for comparison.

Note for Monday 1st

Decent start
The weather made a decent start to March. We had some sunny periods and it felt like spring might be on the way. The sunshine brought our snowdrops into flower at last.

From 2010 Weather 1

Temperatures however still remain below average.

I’ve added the charts below to compare our weekly temperatures this year with those of last year and the coldest and warmest temperatures for this week. The figures are mean temperatures for each day.

Table produced using data from the Met Office Hadley Centre. The data covers the period 1772 to 2009

Dull again

Note for Sunday 28th

Much the same as yesterday as February came to an end. Not one day reached the expected average high for February. I hope that March is better.

From 2010 Weather 1

Note for Saturday 27th
Dull, damp and dreary
Another dull, cold and dreary February day. There is now just one day remaining this month for the temperature to reach the expected average maximum for the time of year. The last time this happened was the 27th January.
Note for Friday 26th
Rain
The wettest day of winter. I had thought that February might be below average for rainfall but that’s all changed now as 50% of the expected rainfall for February arrived in one day. I’m really glad it didn’t fall as snow.
Note for Thursday 25th
Milder
It was milder today but cloudy with rain or drizzle most of the day.
Note for Wednesday 24th

Out from the cold
Today started off cold with snow still on the ground.

From 2010 Weather 1

Throughout the day the temperature kept rising steadily and by mid-afternoon up to 6°C remaining around this mark for the rest of the day.
Note for Tuesday 23rd
Continuing cold
The snow which fell on Sunday morning is hanging around. Despite a thaw on Sunday a covering remains over the garden.

From 2010 Weather 1

There were some snow flurries early evening but not enough to cover the ground. With 1 week of winter temperatures remaining to be collected it looks like this winter will be the coldest for around 30 years. The coldest since the winters of 1981/82 or 1978/79.
Note for Monday 22nd

Last week of winter
I began last weeks blog with a picture of snowdrops which I expected to be in flower by now. I’m still waiting for the flowers. The garden is in freeze mode as we move from winter to spring.

From 2010 Weather 1

This week marks the end of winter meteorologically speaking as December, January and February make up the 3 winter months. It’s now time to start checking the record books to see how bad this winter has been.

I’ve added the charts below to compare our weekly temperatures this year with those of both cold and warm winters. The figures for 1980 represent an average week based on the period 1772-2009.  The figures are mean temperatures for each day.

Table produced using data from the Met Office Hadley Centre. The data covers the period 1772 to 2009