Summaries And Statistics For March 2011

[TonyH]

March 2011

Very dry and sunny, very warm spell late on. Plenty of frost.

A very dry month with only about a quarter of the average March rainfall. Overall rather mild, but this being made up of contrasting very mild maxima with cold nights, and whilst virtually no maxima were below average there were 14 air frosts, quite a high figure for March. No lying snow again, so none since early January now. Mean temperature a touch below that of February which was a very mild month.

1^st- 8^th: Hard frosts by night, mostly sunny days. Maxima slightly above average, but very cold nights as low as -6.9c on the 8^th, the lowest in March for quite a time. Minima averaged -4c in this period.

9^th-13^th: Light rain or drizzle at times, near average temperatures and breezy.

14^th– 21^st: Mostly dry and mild with sunny spells at times. Hard frost 19^th (-5c).

22^nd– 28^th:Very warm and mostly sunny, with some slight overnight frosts. Unseasonably high maxima for early Spring, peaking at 19c on the 24^th, including a run of 5 days topping 60f (15.6c), which is virtually unprecedented.

29^th- 31^st : Unsettled, breezy with rain at times, mild. Final night the mildest, minimum 8.5c.

Statistics

Total rainfall: 28.1mm

Wettest day: 10.6mm 30^th

Rain days >0.2mm: 10

Wet days >1.0mm: 7

Days of heavy rain >10mm: 1

Mean temperature: 6.8c

Mean Max: 12.6c

Mean Min: 1.0c

High max: 19.2c 24^th

Low Max: 8.9c 5^th

High min: 8.5c 31st

Low min: -6.9c 8th

Air frost: 14

Ground frost: 15

Mean RH: 83%

High RH: 99% 26^th

Low RH: 49% 23^rd

Predominant wind directions: NNW and SSE

Mean wind speed: 1.2mph

Mean pressure: 1021mbar

Max pressure: 1042mbar 23^rd

Min pressure: 994mbar 13^th

Days with:

Hail: 0

Sleet or snow: 0

Snow lying 0900: 0

Gale: 0

Thunder: 0

Fog: 2

Fog at 0900: 1

Note to graphs: Data loss 21st - 22nd

Some of maxima an estimated 1c too high due to solar exposure/ over sheltering, these have been adjusted for in the statistics and summary.

Edited April 1, 2011 by Tonyh

[Andy Bown]

March 2011 went from a cold start with frequent frosts and single figure maximums to having just 1 single figure maximum after the 8th

and the 3 warmest mins were the last 3 nights!

It had 20 dry days which was the most in any month since April 2010 and, of the 43mm of rainfall, almost half fell in around 45 minutes

last Saturday (the 26th) in a sudden, unforecast, thunderstorm!

The month was 1.3c warmer than March 2010 but is 0.11c cooler than March 2009.

Average max = 11.48c (Highest = 17.9c on the 25th)

Average min = 3.70c (Lowest = -3.7c on the 9th)

Mean = 7.59c

Dry days = 20

Precipitation days = 11 (of which wintry = 2)

Rainfall = 43mm

[johnholmes]

very dry and very mild here, only 2 days with 1.0mm or more

Mean temp=8.5C(5.9)

Avge Max=13.1C(9.5)

Avge Min=4.0C(2.3)

long term averages in brackets

Total rainfall=3.8mm, average=47.7mm, wettest day =29th with 1.2mm

Highest temp by day=20.3C on 23rd, lowest daytime max=7.2C on 2nd

Warmest night=9.1C on 21st and coldest -2.3C on 8th.

No snow/sleet/hail/thunder

2 fog at 0900 clock time

4 air frost and 6 ground frost, averages are 8 and 14 respectively.

[Terminal Moraine]

The mildest March since 2003 and the driest since 1993 here. Overall it was the 14th driest month of any in the last 34 years and equalled 1997 as the least snowy March on record with just one day with sleet falling ( the 13th )

Although there were gales on the 10th and 31st the mean wind speed for was the lowest on record in March.

Mean max'......9.1c ( +1.6c )

Mean min'......2.7c ( +1.0c )

Highest max'...15.8c ( 23rd )

Lowest max'.....2.3c (3rd )

Highest min'....7.8c ( 23rd )

Lowest min'.....-1.7c ( 8th )

Rainfall.............18.3mm ( 21% )

Wettest Day..........10.3mm ( 30th )

Rain Days.............10

Wet Days ( 1.0 mm or more)..4

Sunshine.............118.2 hrs ( 123% )

Sunniest Day...........10.0 hrs ( 24th )

Sunless Days............6

No' of Air Frosts.......5

No' of Ground Frosts....14

Days Sleet/Snow falling..1

Snow lying at 0900.......0

Days with Thunder........0

Days with Hail...........1

Mean wind speed at 0900...10.5 mph

Highest gust...............65 mph ( 10th )

Gale Days...................2

[cheeky_monkey]

Stats for my location

Mean Max -5.9c

Mean Min -15.5c

Highest Max +9.1c (31st)

Lowest Max -23.1c (2nd)

Highest Min -2.2c (29th)

Lowest Min -42.1c (1st)

Monthly Ave -10.7c

Number days of snow falling = 20

Number of days of lying snow = 31

Edited April 4, 2011 by cheeky_monkey

[johnholmes]

and many of us drooled over last December!

[Stargazer]

My statistics for central Reading in March 2011:

Average maximum: 12.7

Average minimum: 3.8

Average for month: 8.2

Highest maximum: 19.2 (March 25)

Lowest maximum: 4.7 (3)

Highest minimum: 9.9 (30)

Lowest minimum: -2.8 (8 )

Air frosts: 6

No snow or thunder recorded.

Rainfall: no data available for this site; Reading University shows around 15mm for the month, which is very dry.

A very dry month overall, with daytime temperatures well above average and night time temperatures near average. Up to the 17th there was no more than trace rainfall, and most of the month's rain fell on one day, the 18th. There was a long spell of settled springlike weather, mostly with with above average temperatures although with a few hard frosts, for most of the month, with only the wet day on the 18th and the changeable end to the month being the exceptions.

I don't have any sunshine data for this area, but it appears that for the area to the west of London March 2011 was the first month with above average sunshine since June 2010, finally ending a notable dull spell (see Philip Eden's figures for Hampstead).

[Evening thunder]

Some slightly late monthly statistics..

March 2011 Stats

A colder start and a warmer end, although perhaps what might be expected to some extent in March. The month was pretty dry for March with the highest daily fall being 7.8mm on the 30th. There was a rather cold day on the 5th with a max of 5.1C, and later in the month in a pleasant spring spell, there was a max of 16.9C (slightly warmer further inland). In the last 3rd of the month there was some quite large daily temperature ranges typical of sunny anticyclonic spells here. This partly meant the mean max was more above average than the mean. It was a sunnier than average month and the Met Office maps show us under the '130%-150% of normal' colour and a total of about 160 hours, though another quite near website site that records sunshine shows 189.5 hours.

Note most data recorded midnight-midnight except 'highest/lowest overnight min which is adjusted.

Highest max: 16.9°C, 62.5°F (5th)

Lowest max: 5.1°C, 41.1°F (28th)

Highest overnight min: 9.8°C, 49.6°F (night of 30th-31st)

Lowest overnight min: -4.2°C, 24.4°F (14th)

Highest daily mean:13.4°C 56.1°F (31st March)

Lowest daily mean: 0.2°C, 32.4°F (5th March)

Mean max: 11.9°C 53.4°F

Mean min: 1.8°C, 35.3°F

Mean: 6.9°C, 44.4°F - average to slightly above average

Wettest day: 7.8mm (30th)

Monthly total: 26.8mm - far below average (a very small amount dew or frost melt)

Days of rain over 2.0mm: 4

Days of falling sleet/snow: 0

Days of thunder heard: 0

Average wind speed: 4.0mph

Max gust: 33mph (10th)

Graph of temp, dew point and rain:

[reef]

Hedon, East Yorkshire.

March 2011

Warmest Max: 16.8°C (on 23/03/11)

Coldest Max: 4.9°C (on 03/03/11)

Warmest Min: 8.9°C (on 31/03/11)

Coldest Min: -1.5°C (on 14/03/11)

Average Max: 10.8°C (+0.9°C Above 1971-2000 Average)

Average Min: 4.0°C (+0.9°C Above 1971-2000 Average)

Overall Average: 7.4°C (+0.9°C Above 1971-2000 Average)

Rain: 5.6mm (12% of Normal)

Wettest Day: 31st (2.2mm)

Sunshine: 130 hours (124% of Normal)

Air Frosts: 2

Sleet/Snow Falling: 0 days

Snow lying at 0900: 0 days

Dry Days: 19

Wet Days: 12

Days With Rain >1.0mm: 2

Thunderstorms: 0

Year 2011 So Far (Jan - Mar)

Warmest Max: 16.8°C (on 23/03/11)

Coldest Max: 2.2°C (on 03/01/11)

Warmest Min: 9.5°C (on 04/02/11)

Coldest Min: -3.3°C (on 21/01/11 & 29/01/11)

Average Max: 8.8°C (+0.7°C Above 1971-2000 Average)

Average Min: 3.2°C (+1.1°C Above 1971-2000 Average)

Overall Average: 6.0°C (+0.9°C Above 1971-2000 Average)

Rain: 76.0mm (56% of Normal)

Wettest Day: 05/02/11 (11.6mm)

Sunshine: 246 hours (106% of Normal)

Air Frosts: 12

Sleet/Snow Falling: 3 days

Snow lying at 0900: 0 days

Dry Days: 35

Wet Days: 55

Days With Rain >1.0mm: 19

Thunderstorms: 0

The driest March Ive ever recorded. Despite being a rather sunny month compared to the average, it was actually the dullest since 2006. Temperatures were cool in the first half, but very warm during the second, resulting in the month being the joint 2nd warmest since 1999. Like 1997 and 2003, it was also completely snowless.

The month started dull, overcast and cool with easterly winds. It then turned brighter but windier in the second week, with a gust of 44mph on the 10th. After a brief cooler and cloudier spell again mid-month, it became warmer in the final 10 days. The 21st-24th was a particularly pleasant period, with temperatures surpassing 15°C, light winds and plenty of sunshine. This weather continued until the end of the month, but an easterly drift meant it was slightly cooler and cloudier. The final day was then wet and windy with a 43mph gust and the 2.2mm of rain - the wettest day of the month. It was also the warmest day overall with a mean temp of 12.8°C.

[Osbourne One-Nil]

Better late than never...unless you're the Ebola virus.

Average daily maximum; 9.6C

Highest daily maximum; 15.7C (25th)

Lowest daily maximum; 5.6C (7th)

Average daily minimum; 0.8C

Highest daily minimum; 7.6C (31st)

Lowest daily minimum; -4.8C (8th)

Mean monthly temperature; 5.2C (13yr mean 5.5C)

Number of air frosts; eleven

Total rainfall; 49.2mm

No of wet days (0.2mm or above); eleven

Wettest day; 19.8mm (11th)

Highest wind gust; 49mph (31st)