Monthly commentary
2003
January 2003
Rainfall was yet again above average: 150mm whereas the January average
is about 95mm. 110mm of the total fell on four days: the 1st (33mm),
18th (36mm), 19th (20mm) and 20th (21mm). There was only one other day
that reached double figures: the 31st (13mm). The overall average
temperature for the month was 5.3°C (December's average was
7.3°C). Most of January was mild, to say the least. The highest was
12.9°C on 26th, but there were six other days where the maximum was
into double figures. The lowest temperature was -3.9°C on the 7th.
The highest night temperature was a balmy 9.5°C on the 1st.
Certainly the plants and insects think it is almost Spring, but there is
lots of time for an icy blast before it really comes.
February 2003
The average rainfall for February is around 90mm, but it always seems
to vary wildly from year to year. Last year I recorded 163mm, but in
2003 we have had only 66mm, and Peter Cooper recorded in 1998 an amazing
9mm. There were 17 days with no rain in February 2003, and only three
days with 10mm or more: the 8th (17mm), 10th (12mm) and 28th (21mm).
Temperatures were generally on the mild side. There were only four
nights with an air frost: the 13th, 14th (the coldest with -0.9°C),
16th and 17th. The warmest nights were on the 26th and 27th with
8.5°C. The coldest day was the 16th with 2.6°C, and the warmest
the 24th with a Spring-like 12.4°C. The overall monthly average was
5.9°C against January's 5.3°C. March has started mild and
changeable, with no sign of a frost and all the Spring flowers out.
March 2003
Early April, and we seem to be in the middle of a drought! There has
been no significant rain since 7th March when we had 14mm. The only
other raindays in March were 1st (1mm), 3rd (9mm), 5th (13mm), 9th (2mm)
and 11th (1mm). So there were 25 days with no rain at all, with 20 of
them on the trot. April has started in the same way: 1st gave us a
paltry 5mm, hardly enough to lay the dust, and the rest to today no rain
whatever. Maybe we shall have the wettest summer on record -- or not.
Meanwhile the temperatures have been on the mild side, on paper at
least, though the wind has been cold. The warmest day was 25th
(17.9°C), the coldest 7th (8.6°C). The warmest night was a
sultry 10.5°C on 27th, the coldest 2.6°C on 13th. These are air
temperatures taken at about head-height and close to the house, where it
is warmer. It doesn't stop the pond being iced over or the hoar frost on
the grass. And they are forecasting sleet for some in the next few days.
Winter may not be done with us yet.
April 2003
The feature of the weather in April was of course the long period
without any rainfall. Following the 20 consecutive rainless days in
March, April gave us another 21 days with only the 1st producing a
negligible 5mm. So virtually 42 consecutive dry days. But April's total
rainfall was 77mm, close to the average, and all falling in the last 8
days, except the 5mm on the 1st. Temperatures varied from a daytime high
of 23.4°C on the 16th to a daytime low of 9.1°C on the 9th. The
nighttime high was 12.0°C, also on the 16th, to a low of 1.1°C
on the 8th. The overall monthly average was 11.0°C, with an average
high of 14.7°C and low of 7.3°C.
May 2003
Total rainfall for May was 66mm, very close to the average. There were
18 days without rain, and only three (1st, 12th, 16th) with 10mm or
more. So a very wet January followed by a dry February and March have
combined to produce an average rainfall for the first five months of the
year, just under 400mm. Daytime maximum temperatures never dropped below
double figures, the lowest being 12.9°C on 2nd, the highest
27.3°C on 30th. Nighttime temperatures varied from 6°C on 13th
to 17°C on 30th. The overall average for the month was 13.4°C.
June 2003
In a couple of words, warm and dry. There were only 10 days with
measurable rain, but only two of them gave us more than a drizzle:
6th (18mm) and 22nd (27mm). So those two days produced almost 75% of
the month's total of 62mm. Rainfall for the first six months of 2003
totals 461mm, well under half the expected rainfall of about 1050mm for
the whole year. Temperatures have been well up, never dropping below
double figures night or day. The warmest day was 15th (25.9°C), the
coolest 8th (17.9°C). The warmest night was 14th (16.1°C), the
coolest again 8th (11.6°C). The overall monthly average was
17.6°C. For comparison, the January 2003 overall monthly average was
5.3°C.
July 2003
July looked as though it was going to be one of the driest months ever.
The first two weeks produced only 2mm of rain, hardly enough to settle
the dust. And hot: the 14th gave us the highest temperatures this year,
30.8°C during the day, while that night the thermometer did not drop
below a steamy 19.0°C. But, though the temperatures stayed quite
well up, the rainfall managed another 108mm before the end of the month,
making over twice the average rainfall for July. Altogether there were
six days with 10mm or more, with the highest, 21mm, on the 24th. The
lowest temperatures were on the 29th (17.9°C) during the day and the
5th (12.1°C) at night. The overall monthly average, 18.6°C,
compares with 17.6°C in June.
August 2003
There was an amazing coincidence in the rainfall this month: the first
fifteen days' rain was virtually identical to the same period of July!
Each month had 2-3mm on the 1st, then no rain till the 15th when there
was another 3mm. Extraordinary! But the rainfall was completely
different thereafter. The second half of July was wet, as we have seen,
while August produced only another 16mm, making 22mm for the month. The
temperatures were well up: there was a 30.2°C on the 6th and only
four days when the maximum fell below 20°C. The lowest daytime
maximum was 17.4°C on the 29th. the highest minimum was 19.5°C
on 10th and 11th, and the lowest minimum was 10.0°C on the 29th and
30th.The highest daily average was 24.2°C on the 11th, the lowest
13.7°C on the 29th and the overall monthly average was 19.7°C.
September 2003
We have been thinking of 2003 as a very dry year, but a look at the
figures gives a different picture. If you add up the monthly rainfall
for 2003, the total at the end of August was 593mm. Doing the same with
the average rainfall for 1995-2003, the total at the end of August was
560.5mm, over 30mm less than the 2003 figure for the same period. In
fact, September is the first month that the actual 2003 figure drops
below the average: 601mm against an average of 661.5mm. So appearances
are deceptive. All the same, September's 8mm, all on one day (22nd), is
small by any standards, only beaten by Peter Cooper's 2.3mm for the
whole of July 1999. The average maximum temperature was a pleasant
19.1°C, the average minimum still in double figures at 11.8°C,
and the overall average was 15.5°C.
October 2003
The first three weeks continued the dry spell that started at the
beginning of August. During those three weeks only 9mm of rain fell,
making a total of 39mm for the months of August, September and the first
three weeks of October. But the spell broke in the last ten days of
October, when we had 75mm, most of it on the 22nd (23mm) and the 30th
(34mm). November has continued the wet trend with 45mm in the first
week. So perhaps October, November and December will make up 2003's
deficit so far of about 100mm. It started getting colder, too, with
nighttime temperatures only reaching 2.5°C on the 20th and 26th.
The average maximum for the month was 13.1°C, the average minimum
was 6.9°C and the overall monthly average was 10.0°C. But
November is starting very mild again, though with the odd chillier
night to remind us we are supposed to be in winter.
November 2003
November brought us enough rain to satisfy almost anyone. The 219mm has
virtually knocked the 2003 deficit on the head: we were over 90mm short
of the average at the end of October, but only 10mm short at the end of
November. There were 9 days without rain in the month and 8 days with
10mm or more, the wettest being the 25th (a real deluge at 45mm) and the
1st (31mm). Temperatures were quite seasonal, the highest being the
14.9°C on the 6th and the lowest the 2.5°C on the 24th and 26th.
The monthly average was 9.5°C.
December 2003
The December rainfall, 131mm, brought the total for the year to
1035mm, against a nine-year average of 1025.7mm. So the above-average
rain in January, July, November and December balanced out the
below-average August, September and October. A couple of oddities in
2003's rainfall: it turns out that Friday, Saturday and Sunday were
the wettest days of the week, while Tuesday was the driest, and there
was no rain at all on the 14th of any month during the year. I wonder
if there are any other years with a similar record.
The temperatures overall were not unusual: January and February were
the coldest, as we might expect, while July and August were the
warmest. July produced a 30.8C on the 14th, which my pineapple will
have enjoyed even if few of the rest of us did.
Back to the top