January
Despite a cold start to the month with snowfall during the first week, January was an unremarkable month from a weather view with temperatures and rainfall around average for the time of year.
The highest temperature recorded was 12.2°C at 13:05 on the 13th, with the lowest temperature being -4.6°C at 04:54 on the 21st. The average temperature for the month was 3.5°C, 2.3°C warmer than 2010.
Precipitation was recorded on 16 days, the same as 2010, with a month total of 31.8 millimeters, 1 millimeter more than 2010.
Winds were light with a maximum wind speed of 20.7 mph from the south west at 12:45 on the 15th. The maximum gust speed was 33.3 mph from the south south west at 20:49, also on the 15th. The average wind speed for the month was 3.8 mph, with the average gust speed being 6.1 mph.
The maximum barometric pressure was 1040.4 millibars at 23:06 on the 21st, with the minimum being 984.8 millibars at 06:51 on the 8th. The average barometric pressure was 1016.8 millibars.
Frost was recorded on 13 days and up to 7 centimeters of snow lay on the ground in the first week.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
February
February 2011 can best be described as wet, windy and mild.
Temperatures peaked at 13.1°C at 14:14 on the 24th, only falling to a low of -2.0°C at 00:59 on the 1st. The average temperature for the month was 6.0°C, 3.9°C higher than 2010. There were only two recorded frost days.
Rainfall was 60.4 millimeters for the month on a total of 22 days. The wettest day was the 5th when 11.4 millimeters fell.
Winds were high, especially during the first week of the month when a station record gust of 47.1 mph was recorded from the west south west at 13:55 on the 4th. The highest wind speed of 31.0 mph was recorded from the same direction on the same day.
The average wind speed for the month was 6.4 mph and the average gust speed was 9.5 mph. The average wind direction was south westerly.
The maximum barometric pressure was 1035.4 millibars at 23:53 on the last day of the month. The minimum was 986.1 millibars recorded at 21:44 on the 15th. The average pressure over the month was 1011.2 millibars.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
March
March 2011 was an exceptionally dry month with some warm spells and very little frost.
Only four frost days were recorded, with the lowest temperature being -1.8°C at 06:00 on the 8th. The highest temperature was 16.9°C at 15:23 on the 24th and the monthly average was 6.6°C.
Rainfall was recorded on only 10 days, a station record. The monthly total of 10.8 millimeters, easily a station low, was almost 35 millimeters less than March 2010. Most of the rain, 7.2 millimeters, fell in the final three days of the month.
Winds were generally light with an average wind speed of 3.4 mph and an average gust speed of 5.2 mph. The highest gust was 41.4 mph from the west recorded at 14:52 on the 10th. The maximum wind speed was also on the 10th at 14:16 with a speed of 25.3 mph, also from the west.
The maximum barometric pressure was 1041.0 millibars at 09:38 on the 23rd, with the lowest being 994.5 millibars at 03:28 on the 13th. The average barometric pressure was 1021.3 millibars, a station record.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
April
April 2011 was an exceptionally warm and dry month - the warmest since records began in the Unted Kingdom.
The maximum temperature recorded was 24.4°C at 15:24 on the 23rd and the lowest recorded was 2.5°C at 03:15 on the 13th. The average temperature for the month was 11.6°C. There was no recorded frost.
Rain was recorded on only four days - a station record. The monthly total of 6.8 millimeters was a ststion low, beating the previous record low set in March 2011. 6.6 millimeters fell in the first five days, leaving only 0.2 millimeters, recorded on the 15th, to fall in the last 25 days.
Only 17.6 millimeters of rain fell in March and April 2011, compared to 66.6 millimeters in the same period in 2010.
The average wind speed was 4.0 mph with the average gust speed being 6.5 mph. The maximum wind speed was 18.4 mph from the west south west at 16:58 on the 4th. The maximum gust speed was 26.4 mph from the south west at 06:09 on the 5th.
The average barometric pressure was 1018.6 millibars, with the maximum being 1028.5 millibars on the 12th at 13:36. The lowest barometric pressure was 1002.7 millibars on the 2nd at 08:41.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
May
May was wetter than 2010 with 37.8 millimeters being recorded on 15 days, but Spring 2011 was still the driest on record in most of the country. In the three months of Spring, March, April and May, 56 millimeters of rain were recorded, compared to 92.2 millimeters in 2010.
The maximum temperature recorded was 21.6°C at 17:42 on the 6th, with the minimum being 2.2°C at 05:20 on the 4th. Although the maximum temperatue in May was lower than April, the average temperature for the month was 11.7°C, 1.1°C warmer than 2010 and 0.1°C warmer than last month.
Rainfall was 12.8 millimeters higher than 2010 with the maximum rainfall per minute being 1.4 millimeters at 14:05 on the 23rd.
May was a very windy month. The average wind speed for the month was 5.8 mph and the average gust speed was 8.8 mph. The maximum wind speed recorded was 20.7 mph from the west south west at 15:05 on the 22nd. The same day also saw the maximum gust speed of 32.2 mph at 13:03, also from the west south west.
The average barometric pressure was 1016.6 millibars with the highest being 1026.2 millibars at 22:04 on the 24th. The lowest barometric pressure was 1001.1 millibars recorded at 12:02 on the 26th.
At 15:01 on the 1st of the month, humidity was at 26% - a station record low.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
June
A station record temperature of 28.6°C was recorded at 13:00 on the 27th, but some low temperatures in the middle of the month meant that the average temperature was only 14.2°C, 1.1°C cooler than 2010.
Other records broken were highest heat index (30.0°C at 12:03 on the 27th) and highest average barometric pressure (1021.5 mb).
The lowest temperature recorded was 4.4°C at 05:04 on the 11th. The average daily maximum temperature was 18.5°C with the minimum being 9.3°C.
Rainfall was well down on 2010 at 43.2 millimeters, with rain falling on 17 days. 17.2 millimeters of rain fell on the 12th and the maximum rain per minute was 1.6 millimeters at 13:04 on the 22nd.
Winds were normal for the month with the average wind speed being 3.8 mph and the average gust speed being 6.0 mph. The maximum wind speed recorded was 15.0 mph from the west on the 16th at 18:02, with the maximum gust speed being 27.6 mph from the south west on the 21st at 18:03.
The highest barometric pressure was 1034.9 millibars on the 3rd at 06:20 and the lowest was 995.4 millibars on the 18th at 03:04.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
July
July's weather was fairly typical, but with some chilly nights which reduced the average temperature to 15.21. On the 23rd at 05:31, the temperature dipped to 6.9°C, a station low for July.
The highest temperature recorded was on the last day when 24.3°C was reached at 16:30. The average daily maximum was 19.8°C, 0.9°C lower than 2010, while the average daily minimum was 10.8°C, 1.8°C lower than 2010.
Winds were light with the highest wind speed being 16.1 mph from 248° (WSW) on the 17th at 18:27. The highest gust speed was 25.3 mph from 293° (WNW) on the 23rd at 16:22. The average wind speed was 2.9 mph and the average gust speed 5.0 mph.
Rainfall was lower than 2010 at 31.2 millimeters, well down on last year's total of 45.8 millimeters. The wettest day was the 16th when 10.2 millimeters fell, and 8.0 millimeters fell on the 7th. Rainfall was recorded on 9 days.
The average barometric pressure for the month was 1012.2 millibars, with the highest being 1026.1 millibars on the 1st at 10:22 and the lowest 987.9 millibars on the 17th at 18:29.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
August
August 2011 was an average and uneventful month. It was a drier and warmer month than last year with light winds.
The maximum temperature was 26.4°C recorded on the 3rd at 15:15. The lowest temperature was 8.0°C at 05:31 on the 15th. The average temperature for the month was 15.1°C, 0.1°C lower than July 2010, but 0.5°C warmer than August 2010. The average daily maximum temperature was 19.5°C and the average daily minimum temperature was 11.3°C.
Rainfall was 46.0 millimeters, well down on the 67.0 millimeters recorded in 2010. Rainfall in the year to August 31st was 268.0 millimeters, compared to 337.6 millimeters recorded last year. The wettest day was the 25th when 13.0 millimeters fell. Another 11.0 millimeters fell on the following day.
Winds were light with the average wind speed being 3.2 mph. The average gust speed was 5.3 mph. The maximum gust was 27.6 mph from 293° (WNW) on the 8th at 18:48. The maximum wind speed was 18.4 mph from 248° ;(WSW) on the 10th at 12:37.
The average barometric pressure for the month was 1011.2 millibars, with the maximum being 1024.9 millibars on the 9th at 21:36, and the minimum pressure being 997.8 millibars on the 7th at 04:45.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
September
September 2011 will be remembered for the record temperatures in the final few days of the month. A European high pressure block kept the Atlantic lows at bay and drew warm air up from Spain and North Africa.
On the 27th, the temperature reached 22.4°C and peaked at 27.8°C on the 30th at 15:50, beating the previous September high by 4.6°C. This unseasonal warmth boosted the month average to 14.7°C, 1.4°C higher than 2010.
The minimum temperature was 6.3°C on the 18th at 03:26. The average daily high was 19.1°C and the average daily low was 10.9°C. The mean September temperature is now 13.9°C.
Rain fell on 15 days, but only amounted to 30.4 millimeters. Rainfall for the year to date was 298.4 millimeters, well down on the average of 355.70 millimeters. The wettest day was the 10th when 6.4 millimeters fell.
Some strong winds in the second week of the month boosted the average wind speed to 5.2 mph and the average gust speed to 8.4 mph. The maximum wind speed was 26.5 mph from 248° (WSW) on the 12th at 11:51 and the maximum gust speed was 39.1 mph from 248° (WSW) also on the 12th at 16:21.
The average barometric pressure for the month was 1010.4 millibars with the maximum being 1027.3 mb on the 27th at 21:38. The minimum pressure was 992.1 millibars on the 12th at 08:42.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
October
October 2011 was much warmer than average, especially at the beginning of the month when the high pressure block over Europe, established in September, continued until temperatures returned to normal on the 4th.
The highest temperature recorded was 27.4°C on the 1st at 16:30, easily beating the preivous highest October temperature of 19.0°C set in 2009. This was the third highest temperature of the year. There was no air frost recorded in the month, although the temperature dropped to 0.8°C on the 20th at 02:00. The average temperature for the month was 12.0°C.
The average daily high was 15.7°C and the average daily low was 8.9°C. The mean October temperature is now 10.8°C.
Rainfall was again below average with only 24.8 mm being recorded. Rain fell on 15 days with 5.0 mm being recorded on both the 8th and 27th. Rainfall for the year up to the end of October was 323.2 mm, well down on the 465.0 mm in 2010.
Winds were high at times throughout the month with the maximum wind speed being 24.2 mph from 270° (W) on the 18th at 12:38, The maximum gust speed was 35.7 mph from 270° (W) also on the 18th at 12:37. The average wind speed for the month was 5.7 mph and the average gust speed was 8.8 mph.
Barometric pressures were normal with the average being 1014.2 mb. The maximum pressure was 1030.9 mb on the 14th at 10:39, with the minimum being 991.0 mb on the 25th at 01:32.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
November
The mild weather of recent months continued into November with the month average temperature being 8.9°C. In the abnormal weather of 2010, the November average temperature was 4.8°C.
The highest temperature recorded was 15.7°C on the 3rd at 13:06, this is 0.5°C lower than in 2010. The minimum temperature was 1.2°C on the 28th at 05:43, meaning that there were no air frosts recorded.
The average daily high temperature was 11.4°C, with the average daily low temperature being 6.3°C. The mean temperature for November is now 7.1°C
Rainfall was well down on average with only 25.8 mm falling on 18 days. In 2009, there was 118.4 mm and in 2010, 72.6 mm. Yearly rainfall up until the end of November was 349 mm, compared to 535.8 mm in 2010.
Winds were normal for November with the average wind speed being 4.8 mph. The average gust speed was 8.2 mph. The maximum wind speed was 23.0 mph from 248° (WSW) on the 27th at 02:35. The maximum gust speed was 34.5 mph from 293° (WNW) on the 29th at 15:26.
The average barometric pressure for the month was 1015.2 mb, with the maximum being 1029.4 mb on the 13th at 08:56. The minimum pressure was 988.9 mb on the 4th at 04:07.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
December
December 2011 was another very mild, but also very windy month as the recent warm spell continued. As the last seconds of the year ticked by, the temperature stood at 10.8 °C.
The average temperature for the month was 5.2°C, a stark contrast to 2010's average of -0.2°C. This warm end to the year enabled the yearly average temperature to close at 10.3°C, easily a station record.
The highest recorded temperature was 12.9°C on the 26th at 11:56, with the lowest being -2.9°C on the 18th at 04:22.
The wind was the other notable weather event in the month. The average wind speed was 7.0 mph and the average gust speed was 10.7 mph, both station records.
The highest wind speed recorded was 23.0 mph from 293° (WNW) on the 29th at 16:47. The highest gust speed was 36.8 mph from 270° (W) on the 7th at 04:27.
December was also the wettest month in 2011 with a total of 70.8 millimeters falling on 25 days.
The average barometric pressure for the month was 1007.5 millibars, with the highest being 1031.5 millibars on the 27th at 09:51, and the lowest being 977.3 millibars on the 13th at 03:16.
There was no lying snow recorded and only four frost days, easily the best for December.
A remarkable end to a remarkable year.
