Summary for April 2006

======================

HEADLINE: MILD OVERALL BUT CHILLY FIRST THIRD. VERY DRY UNTIL LAST DAY

(last updated: 01/1400 MAY)

 

Location: Tawfield/Wooden Hill area of SW Bracknell, Berkshire, UK

Altitude 80 m (other location details see elsewhere on web site.)

(temperatures [standard screen] degC; rainfall/melted snowfall mm; snow depths cm; )

=================================

TEMPERATURES ETC.

Highest day maximum (date):... 18.4(22)

Highest 24hr maximum (date):.. 18.4(22)

 

Lowest night minimum  (date):...-00.7(05)

Lowest 24hr minimum   (date):...-00.7(05)

 

Lowest overnight grass minimum (date):... -03.7(06)

[ number of days grass minimum < 0degC: ... 06 ]

 

[ Lowest day maximum  (date):...   08.3(11)]

[ Highest night minimum (date):... 09.9(27)]

 

A. Mean Day (09-18Z) maximum:   ... 13.4

A. Mean Night (18-09Z) minimum: ... 05.6

A. Mean of Day Max & Night min: ... 09.5

 

B. Mean 24hr maximum:... 13.4

B. Mean 24hr minimum:... 05.6

B. Mean of 24hr max & min:... 09.5 [+0.7 anomaly on eLTA of 08.8degC]

 

(data below relate to 24 hr day beginning 09Z on date given)

Nr of days minimum at 09UTC <0.0degC:02[dates: 05-06]

Nr of days maximum at 09UTC >=21degC:00

Nr of days maximum at 09UTC >=25degC:00

Nr of days maximum at 09UTC >=30degC:00

(Notes relating to temperature & allied observations:

none)

=================================

PRECIPITATION (PPN/mm)

Total rainfall/melted snow etc:... 40.8  [78% of eLTA of 52 mm]

Highest 24hr total:............... 11.9(30)

No. days PPN total >= 0.2:13

No. days PPN total >= 1.0:11

No. days PPN total >=10.0:01

No. days PPN total >=25.0:00

(Notes relating to precipitation & allied observations:

31st March / 1st April: rain early  night, with pr(R) 01/0630-0700Z .. all credited to March;

1st: pr(slight/moderate) ~1500/1510Z;

1st/2nd: r/R (travelling wave) ~2300 to ~0230Z;

2nd: pr(R) from ~10Z to ~15Z, with pR/h(<5mm dia.) ~1350Z;

3rd: pr(slight/few drops) 0830Z-0930Z;

7th: ir/pr(slight) early afternoon;

8th: ocnl r(slight)(r) 02-06Z; r(R) ~2000/2015Z;

9th: pr(slight ocnl moderate) from 1325Z until evening/overnight, as r(slight)/r, possibly with sleet phase as it died out by 10/04Z;

11th: r(slight), ocnl r from 1150Z, with periods r(R) until 18Z, then ir(slight) dying out by 1830Z;

14th: idr(slight) ~08Z; idr(slight), ocnl dr (poor vis.) until ~ midday;

14th/15th: id(very light) and/or w overnight = measured trace;

16th: r(slight), ocnl r 1425-1510Z; r(slight), tempo. r 1405-1510Z, ir(slight) then to ~1630Z;

18th: r(slight) from ~1620Z to ~1730Z;

20th: dr(slight), ocnl r, from ~0630Z through morning: pr(slight) PM, becoming dry by ~1530Z;

20th/21st: id/r(mainly slight) evening & early night;

23rd: r(slight) from 0445Z, ocnl r 09-12Z, dying out by 15Z;

23rd/24th: idr(slight), ocnl r(slight)/r evening & overnight;

24th: id(very light) until ~12Z;

25th: r(slight), isol r, 0950-11Z; id(slight) ~1635/40Z;

28th: pr(few droplets) ~1115Z;

30th: r(slight) from ~0655Z, ocnl r from 09Z, csd by 1015Z. pr/r(slight) ~1630/40Z;

30th/1st May: r(R) from late evening 30th to 0730Z (slight for last hour or so), then rapid post-frontal clearance; the rainfall for this period (12mm / ~9hr) represented nearly 30% of the full-month total.

=================================

OTHER TOTALS

Number of days thunder heard: (dates).. 00

Number of days hail < 0.5cm diameter:.. 01

Number of days hail >=0.5cm diameter:.. 00

Number of days snow/rain & snow:....... 00 (see note below)

Number of days snow lying at 09UTC:.... 00

Deepest snow cover (date,s):........... -

Number of days fog (visibility < 1km @ 09UTC).. 00

=================================

Additional comments on the weather in April, 2006

2nd: small hail amongst heavy rain ~1350Z – hail element small;

 

[thunder]

Nil.

 

[snow]

10th: there may have been a short 'sleet' phase as overnight PPN died away but as I didn't observe it, it is not recorded above.

 

... these data can also be viewed at:-

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/booty.weather/metinfo/wxdata/climintro.htm

    Tn    Tx    Tg    RR      Tn    Tx    RR       RR24hr  Remark code (below)

    (09Z) (09Z) (09Z)(18-09Z) (18Z) (18Z) (09-18Z) (from 09Z today)

01  08.2  12.4  06.8  02.8    09.4  13.8  tr       03.6     -

02  05.2  11.5  03.2  03.6    08.7  12.6  03.1     03.1

03  05.2  11.1  03.1  tr      07.8  12.2  tr       tr  

04  00.6  09.9 -02.4  -       04.8  08.9  -        -   

05 -00.7  07.2 -03.4  -       04.0  10.5  -        -   

 

06 -00.1  04.6 -03.7  -       06.2  12.0  -        -  

07  03.4  09.8  01.0  -       08.7  12.2  tr       01.1

08  05.4  09.2  03.4  01.1    07.2  11.4  -        tr  

09  01.0  09.6 -01.2  tr      05.1  11.9  02.6     07.0     A

10  01.0  05.1 -00.9  04.4    04.4  10.0  -        -   

 

11  01.0  08.1 -02.3  -       05.7  08.3  04.1     04.3

12  03.3  08.4  01.2  00.2    08.4  13.1  -        -        BC

13  08.8  11.5  07.4  -       11.5  14.3  -        tr  

14  06.7  12.4  03.8  tr      10.3  14.8  02.5     02.5

15  07.5  14.3  06.4  tr      09.5  14.9  -        -   

 

16  08.2  12.6  04.7  -       11.6  16.4  01.5     01.5

17  05.0  12.2  01.5  -       10.5  14.8  -        -   

18  04.8  12.8  04.0  -       09.9  14.5  00.1     00.1

19  07.2  11.3  05.9  -       10.9  14.0  -        00.2

20  09.8  12.6  09.3  00.2    10.7  12.8  01.1     01.4

 

21  08.6  11.6  07.9  00.3    11.4  17.3  -        -  

22  07.6  16.1  07.5  -       08.9  18.4  -        01.2

23  08.2  16.8  07.3  01.2    09.7  12.6  01.2     02.0

24  09.3  12.5  09.2  00.8    09.7  14.8  tr       tr  

25  07.6  14.1  04.7  -       11.1  14.4  00.7     00.7

 

26  07.4  14.3  04.9  -       11.9  16.0  -        -  

27  09.9  14.4  08.3  -       13.5  16.4  -        -   

28  05.2  14.2  03.1  -       10.7  14.6  tr       tr  

29  07.3  12.7  07.0  -       10.1  13.7  -        00.1

30  04.9  12.0  03.3  00.1    06.7  11.6  00.1     12.0       D

 

Readings taken at 0900 and 1800 UTC. Where the NIGHT maximum or DAY minimum are significantly different from 24hr values, this will be noted in the listing against a 'Remarks' letter. There are two mean temperatures shown: the first is the mean of the average day maximum and average night minimum (A), and the second is the average of the 24hr maximum and 24hr minimum (B) .. the anomalies are shown for this latter figure from 1971-2000 estimated Long Term Averages. Rainfall is credited to the 24hr day beginning 0900 UTC.

 

 

Remarks:

A. (Screen cleaned / paintwork re-touched 0900-1200: 'true' maximum temperature captured just after midday.)

B. night max.(8.4), also 24hr max. 11th, occurred 12/09Z

C. day min.(8.4), also 24hr min. 13th, occurred 12/09Z

D. day min.(6.7), also 24hr min. 1st May, occurred 30/09Z

 

Number of occasions (24hr periods) THIS YEAR (2006)

maximum temperature >= 21degC (70degF) = 00

minimum temperature >= 16degC (61degF) = 00

 

Rolling 12 month temperature anomaly: +0.4 (was +0.4 end last month)

 

Rolling 12 month rainfall anomaly: 85% (was 88% end last month)

Rolling 24 month rainfall anomaly: 83% (was 87% end last month)

 

[RAINFALL]

 

The total rainfall for this station for April 2006 = 40.8mm (78% eLTA 1971-2000). Until the night of the 30th April / 1st May, this would have been one of the driest such-named months in a composite record for this location (since 1971); with the final rainfall, which fell late-evening 30th to 0730Z 1st May, there is nothing particularly remarkable about the month's total, being well outside the 'top-10' lowest in the past 35 years.

 

Dry Aprils are tabulated below:-

 

In a composite record (Easthampstead Park / Tawfield) since 1971, the following are the 'top-10' driest Aprils in that record:-

 

<dry Aprils/1971-2006>

Rank  Year        Total

1.    1984:       2.9mm

2.    1997:       10.8mm

3.    1976:       11.7mm

4.    1982:       16.0mm

5.    1980

& 1974:     19.8mm

7.    1988:       29.5mm

8.    1995:       30.8mm

9.    1985:       31.5mm

10.   1996:       31.6mm

 

Total rainfall this year (2006) so far: 175.6mm (82 % of eLTA). Last year by the same time, we had had a total of 155.2mm. In the composite record since 1971, the lowest total for these first four months of the year occurred in 1976 with 69.2mm, followed by 1997 with 101.8mm, so we are some way from any sort of record.

 

[TEMPERATURE]

 

Maximum temperature achieved: 18.4 (22nd).  This is the lowest April maximum in our short record (7 years): the previous lowest was 18.8 (29th April, 2000).

 

From 2002 to 2005, the 21degC 'threshold' has been achieved in April, but not this year. Previous failures to reach '70degF' occurred in 2000 & 2001, but in marked contrast to this year, these Aprils were notably (exceptionally for 2000) wet. In 2000, 21degC was not reached until 6th May, and in 2001 we had to wait until the 10th May.

 

The overall mean anomaly +0.7, mean min +0.9, mean max +0.5. This was the first month since October last year with a positive anomaly >0.5C, though the anomaly was largely a function of the relatively mild nights for much of the month, rather than notably warm days. 

 

Martin.