Incredibly Low Maxima In Unbroken Strong March Sunshine!

[Eugene]

Well to me highs of 1C to 3C in parts with unbroken strong March sunshine is incredible you usually need cloud cover and very cold strong easterly winds for colder maxs than that in March, yesterday the 850`s weren't even that cold and winds light.

The low level cold was remarkable for the temps it gave and extremely low dewpoints that froze parts of canals and ponds when i was out walking yesterday, night mins of -8C for a town area and for Birmingham airport is remarkable, out in a nearby valley it reached -14C colder than anything i have seen this past winter, -7C is usually the coldest i have recorded in winters months so -8C in early March is remarkable i don't care what early March 1947 reached in Coventry as i wasn't born then.

[Derp Patrol]

I think that some people have not understood the title - it says in the sunshine! Of course low temperatures in early March aren't rare, but to be reaching below 5C in many areas in unbroken sunshine is quite amazing.. you usually need a very cold air source, or extensive cloudcover with a cold air source in place. When temperatures recover up to about 11C where they should be at this time of year, people will be in for a shock.

[Cheese Rice]

I think there needs to be some evidence to prove these temps are "amazing" or "incredible", by looking at past records. I really don't see what is that exceptionally about these temperatures, if this was the last week of February i can't imagine there been this thread but as it is officially spring there is a thread dedicated to it.

[Ben_Cambs]

I couldnt say today was exceptionally cold for March, but it was defiently like a cold winters day. Last night's minima was -5.6C, and today Maxima was 4C, way below the average for this time of year, when temperatures on average should reach 10C for the South and 7-8C for the North, plus the wind made it feel even colder than 4C!

[Snowyowl9]

Last winter 2008/09 gave a lowest min of -6.5c that was in January last night it made -6.6c one of the coldest march nights I`ve recorded,the lowest goes to March 2001 by 2 or 3c lower.

Max of 3.8c today so not as low as yesterday,wind has moved to the NE,cloud in to the east.

Currently -0.3c

[AderynCoch]

I think that some people have not understood the title - it says in the sunshine! Of course low temperatures in early March aren't rare, but to be reaching below 5C in many areas in unbroken sunshine is quite amazing.. you usually need a very cold air source, or extensive cloudcover with a cold air source in place. When temperatures recover up to about 11C where they should be at this time of year, people will be in for a shock.

If one thing's unusual about this week it's the low humidity, which is allowing temperatures to drop like a sack of bricks after nightfall. Even the spring sun can only heat things up so much.

[I remember Atlantic 252]

Sadly last day of March sun for my area this far East, miserable from tomorrow maybe even wet, had a minimum of -5.9C today, and a max of 8.9C

shame to see regional threads go, should really just be renamed like the Welsh thread was,

[J07]

I think that some people have not understood the title - it says in the sunshine! Of course low temperatures in early March aren't rare, but to be reaching below 5C in many areas in unbroken sunshine is quite amazing.. you usually need a very cold air source, or extensive cloudcover with a cold air source in place. When temperatures recover up to about 11C where they should be at this time of year, people will be in for a shock.

Yes, it seems a few people missed the point about it being in unbroken sunshine.

I would counter it by saying that the sun in March is nowhere near as strong as people like to pretend it is. Obviously compared to the last few months it is "strong", but in its own terms it's pretty darn weak.

I mean the UV index (which is not a bad measure of sun strength) is 1 under clear skies. 1. Come on, please, this does not warrant the now traditional "strong March sunshine" theory.

[picog]

Despite constant unbroken sunshine and little wind, we reached just 5C on Sunday 7th, and 6.4C yesterday. Yesterday, the frost was present throughout the day in the grass in shaded spots, presumably because the frosts were so severe on both Sat and Sun nights (-7C). Fantastic weather though. Location is south Shropshire.

[Thundery wintry showers]

It's unusual to get widespread maxima below about 2-3C in early March in unbroken sunshine, but the recent maxima- mostly between 3 and 6C- are not particularly exceptional, and they happened quite widely in sunshine in the early March cold spells in 2001 and 2006.

Re. average daytime highs of 11C, by mid March this would represent the 1971-2000 average in the London area and other parts of S England, but in early March the long-term averages range from just 8C in many parts of the north to 10C in the south. Correspondingly, maxima often haven't been far off normal for the time of year.

On the other hand, the minima are a different story- the recent run of very low overnight minima in many parts of the country has been very unusual, and these have certainly helped to keep the CET well down.

[Costa Del Fal]

Sadly last day of March sun for my area this far East, miserable from tomorrow maybe even wet, had a minimum of -5.9C today, and a max of 8.9C

shame to see regional threads go, should really just be renamed like the Welsh thread was,

So no more sun in Stafford for 21 more days?

Your comments are very negative sometimes-they need not be!

Here had much more sun than expected today. Clear blue skies this morning. Cloudy now but the sun returning later on tomorrow. Looks possile that it will eventually turn very mild or even slightly warm in a week or two.

Plenty of time for change though.

[Summer of 95]

Despite constant unbroken sunshine and little wind, we reached just 5C on Sunday 7th, and 6.4C yesterday. Yesterday, the frost was present throughout the day in the grass in shaded spots, presumably because the frosts were so severe on both Sat and Sun nights (-7C). Fantastic weather though. Location is south Shropshire.

Yes, I saw ice persist all day yesterday in a few shaded spots- despite 7-8C tempsin the afternoon. Was strange how much warmer it was this morning than yesterday (-2 vs -6), in what seemed like the same conditions.