January 2004
It was 'January fill dyke' instead of the usual February this year,
with over double the average rainfall at 192mm. There were only 11
days without rain, but over half the monthly rain fell on just three
days: the 7th (33mm), 11th (28mm) and 30th (39mm). As for
temperatures, the month scarcely settled down. We had a few days very
mild, followed by a few days cold, feeling even colder because of the
northerly gales. The daytime temperatures varied between 11.9°C
(10th) and 3.9°C (27th), while at night they ran from nearly double
figures at 9.2°C (again the 10th) to -0.4°C (28th). The overall
average for the month was 6.7°C.
February 2004
The rainfall pattern was extraordinary. The month's total was 85mm, of
which 91% (78mm) fell in the first week. So the last 22 days produced
only 7mm. This has brought the total so far this year to 277mm or
about 150% of the average. The temperatures also varied wildly, from
a mild 4th February, when it reached 13.2°C during the day and an
amazing low of 11.0°C at night, to the 26th/27th with a daytime high
of 3.4°C and a nighttime low of -1.9°C. The overall monthly average was 6.0°C.
March 2004
March was barely warmer than January and February. The average
temperature for the month was 7.5°C, compared with January's 6.7°C
and February's 6.0°C. Last year March came out at 9.2°C, with a
maximum daytime temperature of 17.9°C, against this March's maximum
of only 13.9°C. Those north winds were to blame. The rainfall of 84mm
in the month was around the average, with only three days of
double-figure rain and 15 days with none at all. The most was the
14mm on the 11th. The total for 2004 so far is 361mm, just under 150%
of the average.
April 2004
April showers is what we got. Two-thirds of the month's rain fell on just four days: 3rd (20mm), 17th (24mm), 21st (19mm) and 28th (12mm). The rest of the 120mm total was spread out over ten days, leaving sixteen days without any at all. The total for the year so far is close to the average, in spite of January's wet. Temperatures were slightly down on last year. We managed a 19.9°C on the 25th, against last year's 23.4°C. But it was quite bright, and with the days getting longer it was good to be able to sit out in the sun again, even if we had to wrap up against the cold winds.
May 2004
The rainfall for the year so far is just under the average. We had 23
days without rain in May, so the 53mm for the month fell on only
eight days. The long dry spell of 16 days from the 12th was broken by
15mm in the last four days of the month. The longest unbroken dry
spell since I have been collecting figures was in 2001, when there
were 27 days from 18th May to 13th June. The temperatures were quite
high: the warmest day was the 17th (23.9°C), and the daytime maximum
did not drop below 10°C for the whole month. The coolest night was
the 6th (6.0°C), and the average for the month was 14.5°C, compared
with 13.4°C last year.
June 2004
Nearly three weeks of zero rainfall started the month, and it looked
as though the total for the year so far was going to drop seriously
below the average. But a deluge of 42mm on the 22nd and 17mm in
showers on other days brought the total up to virtually 100%. So the
month gave us 59mm. But the dry spell brought with it some high
temperatures: the maximum during the day reached 28.4°C on the 15th
and hardly dropped below 20°C during the whole month. Nighttime
temperatures were also high, only two nights with 8.5°C letting us
sleep more easily. July has started with gales and heavy rain: in the
first eight days we have already had two-thirds of the average rain
for the whole month.
July 2004
My raingauge is quite high above the ground, so it does not register
dew and general moisture on the grass, of which there was lots in
July, with all the fog and grey skies. Of actual rainfall there was
about 20mm less than the average, and 22 days without any rain at
all. So the 76mm fell on nine days, with the most coming on the 7th
(29mm), the 1st (16mm) and the 2nd (15mm). The total rainfall this
year so far is 669mm, about 96% of the average. Temperatures were
quite well up, especally in the second half of the month. The lowest
daytime figure was 15.7°C on the 8th (the highest was 26.0°C on the
29th), and the lowest at night on the 9th (10.1°C). Indeed, the
temperatures at night seemed worse because of the high humidity,
which made sleeping a problem. The overall average was 17.6°C,
slightly down on last year's 18.6°C. August has started warm again,
with a high of 27.4°C on the 1st.
August 2004
August was wet (111mm) at 150% of the month's average, bringing up the
total for the year so far (780mm) to just over 100% of the year's
average at this time. So all the wet months and dry months so far
this year have averaged out. But we have the wettest months still to
come. There were 13 days with no rain and only four with 10mm or
more: the 11th (17mm), 2nd (16mm), 24th (12mm) and 22nd (11mm). At
the same time it was quite warm. The highest temperature was on the
1st (27.4°C), and the highest night temperature was 18.4°C on the
7th. At the end of the month, though, it was much cooler. The 31st
could only produce 17.9°C and 10.5°C as the high and low. The overall
average for the whole month was 18.0°C. Last August it was 19.7C.
September has started warm and dry, with temperatures up to 24.9°C
and no rain in the first week.
September 2004
It just goes to show how the past does not foretell the future.
September 2003 gave 8mm of rain. The average for the month is about
53mm. This year we had 100mm. But there were 20 days without a drop,
3 days with 79mm (17th with 43mm, 12th with 26mm and 9th with 10mm)
and so 21mm scattered through the remaining 8 days in drizzle and
showers. But it was mild. The daytime temperatures were still well
into double figures, with a maximum of 24.9°C on the 5th and a
minimum during the day of 13.9°C on the 24th. At night the
temperature dropped below 10°C only twice: 8.3°C on the 15th and
8.7°C on the 24th, with a very warm 16.8°C on the 6th. The overall
average for the month of 15.8C compares with 13.1°C last September.
October has started wild and very wet. The 89mm on the 3rd alone was
more than the rainfall for the whole month last year and must be the
highest in 24 hours for several decades. Thank goodness it was rain,
not snow!
October 2004
Real meteorologists delight in bad weather, rather as hypochondriacs enjoy ill-health. Some weather experts were crowing at the end of October, boasting that their rainfall for the month had reached the magic figure of 1ft (12in, 304.8mm). Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Evershot's 290mm failed by 14.8mm or 0.6in. But in layman's language it was wet, mild, gloomy, often stormy, damp when it was not actually raining and thoroughly miserable. Several houses had to mop up after the storm on the 3rd, when 89mm (3.5in) of rain fell in the 24 hours. This is the most I have recorded in a single day, and much more than most of us need. But there was also 35mm (27th), 29mm (23rd), 25mm (28th) and four other days with more than 10mm. The total rainfall this year so far is 1170mm, or 113% of the average, with still a couple of usually wet months to come. Temperatures ranged from 15.9°C to 10.4°C during the day, and from 13.5°C to 6.0°C at night. The overall average for the month was 11.4°C (last year it was 10.0°C). November has started with more of the same, but frosts are likely in the next week or so.
November 2004
The last four Novembers have given us a huge variety of rainfall:
232mm in 2000, 74mm in 2001, 368mm in 2002 and 219mm in 2003.
November 2004 turned out to be the driest across the country for 20
years, and Evershot was no exception, with a mere 39mm. This brings
the overall rainfall for the year so far to 99% of the average. The
most rain, though only 9mm, fell on the 20th. Temperatures were quite well up for the time of year. There were only eight days when the maximum was below 10°C during the day, the highest being 13.4°C on the 3rd and the lowest 6.9°C on the 13th. The
lowest temperature at night was 3.0°C on the 11th. The overall average for the whole month was 9.1°C (2002 was 10.4°C, 2003 was 9.5°C). December started chilly, but in the first week has turned milder again and still quite dry.
December 2004
December was yet another dryish month. Only 102mm of rain fell, and
there were 18 days with no rain at all, the sort of figure we might
expect in summer, but not in winter. But then 2004 was an odd year
all round. Nearly 7% of the annual rain fell on one day, 3 October,
the day of the deluge. Indeed, almost a quarter of the year's rain
fell in October. The total for the year was 1311mm (51.6in) or 95.3%
of the average, when it seemed at one time that we would break all
records. Temperatures in December were on the mild side yet again, with just a
few days of ice and snow around Christmas. The warmest day was the
15th, when the thermometer stayed above 10°C day and night. The
coldest was Boxing Day: the highest temperature was only 4.5°C. The
average for the whole month was 7.2°C, virtually the same as 2002,
but higher than the 6.7°C of 2003. January 2005 has started damp, stormy and very mild. But winter has a long way to go yet!