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MARCH 2008 March has a reputation for strong winds and March 2008 certainly lived up to it with frequent spells of wet and windy weather and severe gales at times. Indeed the month started on quite a stormy note, as March came in ‘like a lion’ and a gust of 50mph was recorded on my anemometer on the 1st, which is sufficient to cause structural damage. The first part of the month was typically Atlantic driven, with wind and rain alternating with sunnier, drier interludes. Some sharp frosts occurred at night whenever clear skies prevailed. This is again quite common at this time of year as we begin the transition from winter to spring. One particularly deep depression on the 10th battered southern coastal areas of England and sent my barometer off the scale. I had to make a guess at the reading which I recorded at about 970mb. The middle part of the month brought a spell of prolonged and heavy rain on the night of the 15th and the following day, when over an inch fell in 24 hours – the actual total being 25.7mm. As Easter approached the weather changed, with an Arctic blast of northerly winds flooding down across the UK. Snow fell on three days in a row between the 22nd and 24th inclusive, but as seems the norm now here in Nottingham, it lasted no more than a few hours with many parts of the region escaping with just a dusting. The Gale Force northerly winds made for one the coldest Easters I can remember. It was actually milder in January! Strong winds again featured in the final half of the month with frequent gusts in excess of 40mph, as the Atlantic continued to fire vigorous depressions towards the British Isles. However, the month ended on a much more spring-like note, with temperatures at last moving into the warmer mid-teens Celsius. The warmest day of the month was the 30th when we managed to reach 15°C or 59°F. Contrast that to just a week previous when we had the coldest day of the month on the 23rd with the mercury only climbing to 6.2°C or 43°F . Such are the huge contrasts at this time of year. The rainfall total for the month of 55.1mm or 2.2 inches makes it about average or just a bit above. Colin Harwood |
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