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The Weather in Combe Raleigh in 2017

We’ve just had the wettest Christmas since we started recording weather in Combe Raleigh ! But that’s not the full meteorological story of 2017. We’ve enjoyed high temperatures and sunshine in June and high winds in the autumn. Let’s look at the high’s and lows …

We had a dry year in comparison to the historical record, with 760.6mm annual rainfall, which is 131.2 mm less than 2016, at 891.8 mm. We had 197 days where it rained more than 0.2mm. The wettest month by volume was December, with 113.8 mm where it rained ( > 0.2mm) for 23 days, with the wettest day being the 25^th  (Christmas Day !) with 24.6 mm. The driest month was April, with 5 rain days and 28.8 mm. The Met Office yearly average for SW England was 1220.2 mm and 164.1 days where it rained more than 0.2mm.

Temperatures were up from last year, with the yearly average temperature rising to 10.7°C, from 10.6°C in 2016. The Met Office yearly average for SW England was 10.5°C. Over the year, temperature data recorded 22 days above 22°C, with no days dropping below -5°C. The lowest recorded temperature recorded was -4.8°C on 3^rd January, at 7:24 am. The highest recorded temperature was 30.0°C on 20th June at 3:40pm.

May and June were the peak months for Sunshine hours, with an annual total of 845.5 Hrs.

We had 35 ground frosts, with no Ice Days recorded (days where the temp did not rise above 0°C). The Met Office frost days for SW England was 29.8. 

Our weather recording equipment had a couple of failures this year, one due to a faulty backup battery and unfortunately a more expensive PCB failure on the Soil Temp module. The Temp/Humidity module also displayed a problem, however this part needs to be changed periodically so was not totally unexpected.

As predicted last year, the relocation of the anemometer has provided a much better indicator of wind speed and direction, resulting in a less sheltered and eddy-affected measurement. We recorded a record high wind speed in December of 43 Mph.

Summary daily data

Number of days where …

Max. Temp. exceeded/equalled 22 °C was 25.

Max. Temp. was lower than 0 °C was 0. (No Ice days)

Min. Temp. was lower than -5 °C was 0.

Precipitation exceeded/equalled 0.2mm was 197.

Precipitation exceeded/equalled 2.5mm was 96.

Recorded weather data

Average temperature     = 10.7°C

Average humidity        = 82%

Average dew point        = 7.2°C

Average barometer       = 1016.5 mb

Average wind speed       = 2.0 mph

Average gust speed       = 4.0 mph

Average direction       = 238° (WSW)

Rainfall for year       = 760.6 mm

Maximum rain per minute = 1.6 mm/min on day 25^th December at 6:27pm

Maximum temperature     = 30.0°C on 20th June at 3:40pm

Minimum temperature     = -4.8°C on 3^rd January, at 7:24 am

Maximum pressure        = 1038.4 mb on 1^st January at 0:37am

Minimum pressure        = 976.0 mb on day 1^st December at 07:36am

Maximum wind speed       = 23.0 mph  142°(SE) on 31^st January at 8:40am

Maximum gust speed      = 42.6 mph  221°(SW) on 29th^th December at 7:28am

Maximum UV Index= 9.3 on 12^th July at 1:31pm

Maximum Solar                    = 1329 W²m on 9^th June

Maximum Sunshine Hours             = 11.0 hrs on 18^th June

Total Sunshine Hours                     = 845.5 hrs

And I say it every year, Still no Snow !

Comparing with an average across the 6 years we have been recording weather here in Combe Raleigh, the following table shows how 2017 compared; 

The Weather in Combe Raleigh in 2016 - (Published in the Raleigh Rag)

Over 2016, the weather was very mild and the summer was quite warm. A sunny May and August and a dry July provided a good summer for once. If you remember August 2015, it was really wet and less than half of the sunshine of this year. It was nice to enjoy the sunshine in the garden for once !

 The Weather Station worked faultlessly this year, and we managed to re-locate the anemometer to a higher point, so wind indications for 2017 will show a more accurate value, in line with the flag waving on St Nicholas Tower ! There are some additional measurements we would like to make over 2017, including Cloud heights using our Ceiliometer and maybe finally install a Seismograph for earth movements.

 The annual rainfall over 2016 was 891.8 mm, compared with 2015 with 829.8 mm, a small increase. The wettest month by volume was January, with 132.2 mm where it rained ( > 0.2mm) for 28 days, with the wettest day being the 18^th with 22.4 mm. The driest month was July, with 11 rain days and 10.2 mm. Overall the distribution of rainfall was much more in-line with the long-term averages. The Met Office yearly average for England was 852.6 mm.

 Temperatures were down again from last year, with the yearly average temperature dropping to 10.6°C, from 10.8°C in 2015. The Met Office yearly average for England was 10.1°C. Over the year, temperature data recorded 36 days above 22°C, with no days dropping below -5°C. The lowest recorded temperature recorded was -4.3°C on 16^th February, at 6:05am. The highest recorded temperature was 28.7°C on 19^th July at 2:02pm.

 May and August were the peak months for Sunshine hours, with an annual total of 788.8 Hrs. This was down again this year, but could have been affected due to the location move of the station last year, as we enjoyed some long sun days this summer.

 Still no significant snow, and none recorded as accumulated on the ground however it did precipitate snow on the 18^th November at around 9am. Will I ever build a Snowman in Combe Raleigh ? We had 47 ground frosts, with no Ice Days recorded (Days where the temp did not rise above 0°C).

 Comparing with an average across the 5 years we have been recording weather here in Combe Raleigh, the following table shows how 2016 compared;

Recorded weather data

Average temperature     = 10.6°C

Average humidity        = 87%

Average dew point        = 8.5°C

Average barometer       = 1015.8 mb

Average wind speed       = 1.2 mph

Average gust speed       = 2.8 mph

Average direction       = 200° (SSW) 

Rainfall for year       = 891.8 mm

Maximum rain per minute = 1.0 mm/min on day 20^th November at 12:22am

Maximum temperature     = 28.7°C on 19th July at 2:02pm

Minimum temperature     = -4.8°C on 16^th February, at 7:14 am

Maximum pressure        = 1044.5 mb on 2^nd December at 8:49pm

Minimum pressure        = 969.4 mb on day 1^st November at time 12:40pm

Maximum wind speed       = 16.1 mph  208°(SSW) on 28^th March at 1:28am

Maximum gust speed      = 35.7 mph  145°( SE) on 6^th February at 2:29pm

Maximum UV Index             = 8.6 on 27^th June

Maximum Solar                    = 1350 W²m on 3^rd July

Maximum Sunshine Hours             = 10.5 hrs on 19^th July

Total Sunshine Hours                     = 788.8 hrs 

Maximum Radiation Exposure = 14.71 cpm ( 0.13 µSv) on 7^th March

Minimum Radiation Exposure = 7.5 cpm ( 0.06 µSv) on 1^st November

It was a fairly quiet meteorological year, where we experienced a fairly warm but moist summer and very few frosts over the winter. We are currently having warm weather over Christmas and New Year, which is quite unseasonal.

A review of the measured data points shows that 2015 has been warm, and slightly dryer than previous years, not that it feels that way at the moment!

Our weather monitoring has been reliable this year, after some preventative maintenance and moving of the measurement station prior to our building work over the summer. This has had a small effect on the measurements taken, but nothing worth noting. I really must move the Anemometer to a higher position, to get a better reading for wind strength and direction, which is affected by the church tower and the woodland.

The annual rainfall over 2015 was 829.8 mm, compared with 2014 with 1115.2 mm, so moderately less rainfall. The wettest month by volume was August, with 132.6 mm where it rained for 15 days. December was notable with 29 days of rainfall. The driest month was April, with 9 rain days and 20 mm. The Met Office yearly average for England was 883 mm.

Temperatures were down from last year, with the yearly average temperature dropping to 10.8°C, from 11.1°C in 2014. The Met Office yearly average for England was 10.2°C. Over the year, temperature data recorded 15 days above 22°C, with no days dropping below -5°C. The lowest recorded temperature recorded was -4.3°C on 2^nd February, at 7:14 am. The highest recorded temperature was 26.9°C on 30^th June at 3:45 pm.

The Met Office confirmed that December was the warmest December since records began in 1910.

April and June were the peak months for Sunshine hours, with a total of 881.4 Hrs. This was down from last year’s value of 951.9 Hrs.

Again, we had no snow recorded but 35 ground frosts. Interestingly, there were no frosts in December because of the unseasonal warm weather.

Comparing with an average across the 4 years we have been recording weather here in Combe Raleigh, the following table shows how 2015 compared;

Recorded weather data

Average temperature     = 10.8°C

Average humidity        = 87%

Average dewpoint        = 8.5°C

Average barometer       = 1017.4 mb

Average windspeed       = 1.6 mph

Average gustspeed       = 3.4 mph

Average direction       = 188° ( S )

Rainfall for year       = 829.8 mm

Maximum rainfall per minute = 1.2 mm on 22^nd August at 3:40 pm

Maximum temperature     = 26.9°C on 30^th June at 3:45 pm

Minimum temperature     = -4.3°C on 2^nd February at 7:14 am

Maximum pressure        = 1042.6 mb on 1^st February at 12:51 am

Minimum pressure        = 978.5 mb on 11^th January at 5:28 am

Maximum windspeed       = 16.1 mph  180°( S ) on 31^st December at 11:57 am

Maximum gust speed      = 36.8 mph  180°( S ) on 14^th January at 11:07 am

Maximum UV Index             = 8.6 on 6^th July

Maximum Solar                    = 1294 W²m on 9^th June

Maximum Sunshine Hours             = 11.5 hrs on 7^th June

Total Sunshine Hours                     = 881.4 hrs

Maximum Radiation Exposure = 14.71 cpm ( 0.13 µSv) on 7^th March

Minimum Radiation Exposure = 7.5 cpm ( 0.06 µSv) on 1^st November

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