Hyde Heath Weather reports by Gary Beynon from his own garden observations and measurements
January February
January February
January
It was a mild and wet January to start with a distinctly cold snap part way through and finishing somewhat milder again at the end.
More recently it has been unusual to see a sustained period of hard frosts; the third week of January gave us that with temperatures as low as minus 3.4° overnight.
It was a penetrating frost onto saturated ground making the surface hard and in many places rutted and difficult to walk on.
Almost as quickly as the cold came, it went although the strong breeze made it feel that bit chillier.
The first 2 weeks were wet with 95% of the month’s rainfall and as the end of December had also been wet, the ground was saturated as evidenced by the water on the roads and overflowing ditches.
Compared with last year, this January was colder and wetter.
February
The Met Office reported that this February was the driest for 30 years; as far as Hyde Heath is concerned it is the driest in the last 43 years(for as long as I have been keeping records).
Our next driest was in 1993 at 8.5mm followed by 1986 at 12.4mm so this last month at a mere 4.5mm is going to take some beating. The big danger I suspect is that we didn’t water some of the pots that we should have; I think I have killed a couple of my potted shrubs.
Our wettest February was in 2014 with 144.5 mm so quite a contrast from least to most; perhaps interestingly the trend over the last 43 years is actually upwards from 45 to 70 mm.
Compared with last year it was a marginally colder month on average but nevertheless mild for this time of the year. Somewhat at random, looking at 2013, we had 16 days with frost, 8 days of snow/sleet and a much lower average minimum temperature.
We do seem to be experiencing a milder winter season at the moment but all these things appear to be cyclical and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the near future reverts to more typical weather.
A milder February does not guarantee that the winter is over despite the fact that we have started the meteorological spring. We are apparently expecting a bitter period at the start of March. The one fact about the weather is that it is unpredictable.
Our next driest was in 1993 at 8.5mm followed by 1986 at 12.4mm so this last month at a mere 4.5mm is going to take some beating. The big danger I suspect is that we didn’t water some of the pots that we should have; I think I have killed a couple of my potted shrubs.
Our wettest February was in 2014 with 144.5 mm so quite a contrast from least to most; perhaps interestingly the trend over the last 43 years is actually upwards from 45 to 70 mm.
Compared with last year it was a marginally colder month on average but nevertheless mild for this time of the year. Somewhat at random, looking at 2013, we had 16 days with frost, 8 days of snow/sleet and a much lower average minimum temperature.
We do seem to be experiencing a milder winter season at the moment but all these things appear to be cyclical and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the near future reverts to more typical weather.
A milder February does not guarantee that the winter is over despite the fact that we have started the meteorological spring. We are apparently expecting a bitter period at the start of March. The one fact about the weather is that it is unpredictable.
