January
The new year started with a continuation of the mild weather seen in the latter part of 2011. It was also very windy at times with a brief cold snap around the middle of the month before the month closed with high pressure which brought in very cold weather from Siberia.
The maximum temperature recorded was 11.4°C on the 3rd at 07:35, with the minimum being -2.6°C on the 14th at 08:06. There were only seven frost days, with the first one of the year on the 13th. No measurable snow was recorded. The average temperature in the month was 4.9°C, compared to 2011's January average of 3.5°C. The mean for the month is now 3.2°C. The average daily maximum temperature was 7.7°C, while the average daily minimum temperature was 2.4°C.
Rainfall for the month was 36.4 millimeters, slightly more than the average of 33.0 millimeters. Rain fell on 20 days, with the 3rd being the wettest day with 8.4 millimeters recorded.
January 2012 was very windy at times with the strongest gust being 41.4 mph from 293° (WNW) on the 5th at 12:09. The highest wind speed was 28.8 mph from 293° (WNW) on the 22nd at 10:52. The month average gust speed was 9.0 mph and the month average wind speed was 6.0 mph.
The average barometric pressure was 1018.0 millibars, with the highest being 1033.5 millibars on the 13th at 11:12 and the lowest 985.4 millibars on the 3rd at 08:57.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
February
February 2012 was a month which started off with vey cold temperatures and ended with a very mild spell of weather. The thermometer touched -7.2°C at 06:57 on the 11th, making it the coldest temperature of the winter, and the coldest February temperature ever recorded at this station. On the 23rd, the temperature reached 15.6°C making it the warmest February day recorded at this station. The average temperature in the month was 3.9°C, just 0.1°C below the February mean. The average daily maximum temperature was 6.8°C, while the average daily minimum temperature was 1.0°C.
The first measurable snowfall of the winter occured when 9 centimeters fell between 15:00 and 22:00 on the 4th. The total rainfall in the month was only 14.6 mm, the third lowest monthly total ever recorded at this station. Rain fell on 15 days, with the wettest day being the 5th (snow melt) with 3.4 mm. The total rainfall so far in 2012 is 65.6 mm, compared to 92.2 mm at this time last year.
Winds were light in February, with the average wind speed being 4.2 mph. The average gust speed was 6.4 mph. The maximum wind speed was 20.7 mph from 225° (SW) on th293°Ce 2nd at 12:15. The maximum gust speed was 33.4 mph from 248° (WSW) on the 18th at 10:24.
The average barometric pressure for the month was a station record of 1027.9 mb. The highest pressure was 1044.6 mb at 22:18 on the 7th, also a station record high. The minimum barometric pressure for the month was 1003.3 mb at 11:31 on the 18th, a record lowest maximum.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
March
March 2012 broke many records throughout the country for warm temperatures and was easily the warmest March recorded at this station. There was only one brief spell of cold weather towards the end of the first week, when the temperature fell to -0.9°C at 07:13 on the 6th - the only time that an air frost was recorded. At the other extreme, the maximum temperature recorded was 21.2°C at 16:38 on the 28th, making it the warmest temperature since October 3rd 2011. The average temperature for the month was 7.9°C, beating the previous March best of 6.6°C. The mean temperature for the month is now 6.7°C. The average daily maximum high was 12.6°C, with the average daily minimum being 3.6°C.
Rainfall for the month was a mere 20.2 millimeters, 5.1 millimeters below the month average, continuing the ongoing dry conditions. Rain fell on 13 days with the most falling on the 4th - 8.4 millimeters. The rainfall total for the first three months of 2012 was 34.8 millimeters, well down on last year's total of 103.0 millimeters for the same period.
Winds were again light with the average wind speed being 3.2 mph and the average gust speed was 5.3 mph. The maximum wind speed recorded was 20.7 mph from 293° (WNW) at 17:29 on the 7th. The maximum gust speed was 29.9 mph from 270° (W) at 15:48 on the same day.
The barometric pressure average was 1026.5 millibars, with the maximum being 1037.5 millibars at 12:18 on the 26th and the minimum being 1007.5 millibars at 08:32 on the 7th. The average humidity was 82%, with the minimum being 30% at 16:31 on the 27th - a station low for March.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
April
April 2012 was the wettest month ever recorded at Bracken House, and also the coldest April. The rainfall total was a whopping 153.0 millimeters, beating the previous highest of 118.4 millimeters set in November 2009. The record for most precipitation in a day was broken on the 4th, when 36.4 mm of rain, sleet and snow fell, beating the previous best of 35.4 mm set on September 6th 2010. At one point, the snow was lying 4 cms deep, although this soon started to thaw and was gone by the next day. Rain fell on a total of 21 days, with in excess of 10 millimeters being recorded on four occasions. The yearly total at the end of the month stood at 223.2 millimeters, compared to 111.2 in 2011.
Temperatures were very disappointing in April, following the record highs in March. The average temperature for the month was a paltry 6.5°C, 3.7°C lower than the climate average, pushing the mean month temperature down to 9.0°C. We had to wait until 15:44 on the last day of the month to record the highest temperature, 16.3°C. The lowest temperature recorded was -1.0°C at 03:16 on the 16th, making it the lowest April temperature ever recorded at Bracken House. This was the third sub-zero temperature recorded in the month, a station record for April. The average daily maximum high was 10.3°C, 2.3°C lower than March, with the average daily minimum being 3.6°C, the same as March. There were 77.7 hours of sunshine in the month, with the 1st being the sunniest day with 10.8 hours.
Winds were a little above average for the month with the average wind speed being 4.4 mph, and the average gust speed 7.2 mph. The maximum recorded wind speed was 19.6 mph from 090° (E) on the 25th at 13:00. The maximum gust speed was 34.5 mph from 045° (N) at 09:53 on the 29th. The total windrun for the month was 3101.2 miles.
The average barometric pressure for April was 1003.1 millibars, with the highest being 1026.2 millibars at 23:47 on the 15th. The lowest pressure recorded was 977.1 millibars at 15:50 on the 18th.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
May
May 2012 was a month of two halves, the first half being cold and wet and the second half being warm, sunny and dry. Combined, the month was a typical average May.
On the 5th of the month, the temperature dropped to 0.4°C at 04:43. This was the lowest May temperature ever recorded at this station, beating the previous lowest of 0.7°C set on May 13th 2010. This was in stark contrast to the 24th of the month when the temperature reached 25.7°C at 15:04. This was the highest temperature of 2012 so far, and the highest since October 1st 2011 when 27.4°C was reached. Overall, the average for the month was 11.4°C, slightly higher than the mean of 11.3°C. There were 143.9 hours of sunshine recorded in the month.
Rainfall for the month was 39.8 millimeters, bringing the total for the year so far to 264.0 millimeters. The average for the year to date is 178.8 millimeters, making 2012 85.2 millimeters wetter than usual. Rain fell on 14 days, 11 in the first half of the month. This was 5.6 millimeters more than the average for the month. The wettest day was the 9th when 11.4 millimeters of rain fell.
Winds were light with the average wind speed for the month being 3.9 mph and the average gust speed 6.6 mph. The highest wind speed was 19.6 mph from 270°(W) on the 11th at 10:52, with the highest gust speed being 29.9 mph from 293°(WNW) also on the 11th at 12:09. The total windrun for the month was 2802.8 miles.
The average barometric pressure for the month was 1016.0 millibars, with the highest being 1037.8 millibars at 12:28 on the 12th. The lowest barometric pressure was 1000.6 millibars at 05:32 on the 10th.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
June
In a sentence, June 2012 was cold, wet and windy. The temperature never rose above 23.4°C, rainfall was 127.2 millimeters, the second highest monthly total recorded at the site, and winds were well above average for June.
The highest temperature of 23.4°C was recorded at 18:06 on the 28th, and the minimum temperature was 5.8°C recorded at 03:11 on the 4th. The average temperature for the month was 12.8°C, 1.8°C lower than average for the month. The mean temperature for June is now 13.9°C and there were only 50.3 sunshine hours, compared to 143.9 last month.
Rainfall for the month was 127.2 millimeters, second only to April 2012 when 153.0 millimeters were recorded. June now becomes the wettest month on average with 79.0 millimeters, beating November's previous record of 72.1 millimeters. There were 23 rain days with the wettest being the 15th with 23.6 millimeters. The first half of the year has now seen 391.2 millimeters of rain, 134.6 millimeters more than average. There have been 102 rain days in 2012.
June was also a windy month for the time of year with the average wind speed being 5.0 mph and the average gust speed being 8.0 mph. The highest gust was 29.9 mph from 270°(W) on the 9th at 00:45 and the highest wind speed was 20.7 mph from 113°(ESE) on the 15th at 02:29. The total windrun for the month was 3480.7 miles.
Low pressure dominated the month pushing the average pressure down to 1009.1 millibars, a record low for June. The highest barometric pressure was only 1019.7 millibars at 11:51 on the 1st, another record low, whilst the lowest barometric pressure was 984.2 millibars at 06:14 on the 8th, also a month low.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
July
Although July was the warmest month of 2012 so far, the average temperature of 14.8°C was 0.7°C lower than the mean for the month. The temperature reached 27.7°C at 16:46 on the 24th, making it the hottest day of the year so far. This beat the previous highest temperature of 25.7°C recorded on May 24th, by 2°C. The lowest temperature recorded was 7.2°C recorded at 03:34 on the 12th. There were 93.0 hours of sunshine recorded, 42.3 hours more than June, but well down on May's 144.1 hours.
July 2012 was the fourth wettest month at the location with 91.8 millimeters of rain falling on 20 days. 16.8 millimeters fell on the 6th, the wettest day, and 12.6 millimeters on the 4th. Three of the four wettest months have occured in the four months between April and July 2012. The average rainfall for July is now 53.6 millimeters. In the first seven months of the year, 446.8 millimeters of rain have fallen, more than the whole of 2011 when 421.2 millimeters fell. The maximum rain per minute in the month was 2.4 millimeters on the 5th at 18:46, a station record.
Winds were normal for the time of year, the average wind speed being 3.2 mph, and the average gust speed 5.6 mph. The maximum wind speed was 15.0 mph from 270°(W) on the 17th at 18:33, and the maximum gust speed was 25.3 mph from 270°(W) at 17:16, also on the 17th. The total windrun for the month was 2312.6 miles.
The average barometric pressure for the month was 1011.8 millibars, with the highest being 1025.4 millibars on the 22nd at 01:45, and the lowest 999.2 millibars on the 13th at 18:44.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
August
August 2012 was wetter and warmer than average. The average temperature for the month was 15.8°C, 0.9°C higher than the average. The highest temperature recorded was 24.2°C on the 19th at 15:22, which was well below the record August high of 26.2°C, set in 2011. The lowest temperature recorded was 4.1°C on the 31st at 06:42, the lowest temperature since May 16th 2012 and the lowest ever recorded in August, beating the previous low of 6.7°C set in 2010. The average temperature was boosted by a run of 14 consecutive days when the high was above 20°C, equalling a record set on July 4th 2010. The temperature didn't drop below 10°C until 20:25 on the 30th of the month. The mean temperature for August is now 15.2°C. There were 80.2 sunshine hours, lower than July's 93 hours, but better than June's paltry 50.7 hours, meaning that the total sunshire for Summer 2012 was 223.9 hours.
Rainfall for the month totalled 80.2 millimeters, well above the average of 64.5 millimeters, and easily the wettest ever August. Rain fell on an August record of 22 days, with the wettest day being the 25th when a whopping 29.2 millimeters fell, mostly in 50 minutes during an afternoon thunderstorm. This storm caused flash flooding on roads in the area and damage to Bracken House's gardens. At 15:31, 3.0 millimeters of rain fell in the minute, a station record. In the year up to the end of August, 527.2 millimeters of rain fell, 185.7 millimeters more than the average for this time of year.
Winds in August were light with the average wind speed being only 2.9 mph and the average gust speed being 5.3 mph. The maximum wind speed was 17.3 mph from 135° (SE) on the 15th at 11:32, and the maximum gust speed being 27.6 mph from 135° (SE) also on the 15th at 11:04. The total windrun for the month was 2033.9 miles.
The average barometric pressure for the month was 1012.5 millibars, with the highest being 1029.5 millibars on the 31st at 09:47, and the lowest being 997.1 millibars on the 25th at 05:50.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
September
September 2012 started off warm and dry, with no measurable rainfall for the first ten days - a record for this location. The first rainfall was recorded at 00:51 on the 11th. However, for the 11th onwards, low pressure systems dominated and a September record of 17 rain days were recorded by the end of the month.
The warmest temperature recorded was 24.4°C on the 9th at 15:48, with the lowest temperature being 3.2°C on the 22nd at 07:25. A ground frost was noted on this date, which was also the lowest recorded September temperature at Bracken House. This was the lowest temperature recorded since May 16th 2012, when the temperature fell to 2.6°C. The average temperature for the month was 12.2°C, 1.2°C lower than the mean of 13.4°C for September. In the month, there were 98.9 sun hours, up on August's total of 80.2 hours, and the highest since May 2012.
After the dry start to the month, a series of bands of heavy rain crossed the area. In a 72 hour period between the 23rd and 26th, a total of 40.8 millimetres fell, taking the final total for the month to 50.2 millimetres. The wettest day was the 24th when 23.0 millimetres fell and the average for the month is now 38.0 millimetres. In 2012, 613.4 millimetres of precipitation has been recorded, 191.6 millimetres more than the average for the year up to the end of September.
Winds were light for the month with the maximum wind speed being 18.4 mph from 270°(W) on the 14th at 01:51, the lowest maximum wind speed recorded in September. The maximum gust speed was 28.8 mph from 293°(WNW) on the 14th at 13:33, also the lowest ever recorded in September. The average windspeed for the month was 4.3 mph, with the average gust speed being 6.9 mph. The total windrun for the month was 2906.4 miles.
The average barometric pressue was 1012.9 millibars, with the highest being 1029.4 millibars at 21:32 on the 5th. The lowest barometric pressure recorded was 981.2 millibars at 06:26 on the 25th, a September record low.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
October
October 2012 was the wettest, coldest and least windy October on record. The 26 rain days equalled the record set in November 2009. In the closing minutes of the month, the barometric pressure fell to 976.1 millibars, the lowest ever recorded in October.
The warmest temperature recorded in the month was a mere 15.7°C on the 18th at 15:45. This is the lowest maximum temperature ever in October, beating the previous low of 18.2°C set in 2010. The lowest temperature recorded in the month was 0.6°C on the 27th at 02:07, making it the lowest temperature since May 6th when the thermometer fell to 0.4°C. The average temperature for the month was 8.7°C, a full 1°C below the previous lowest average set in 2010. The mean temperature for October is now 10.3°C. There were 67.1 hours of sunshine in the month, well down on the September figure of 98.7 hours.
Rainfall totalled 57.4 millimeters for the month, beating the previous October record of 56.6 millimeters. This brings the yearly total to 670.8 millimeters, 204.5 millimeters higher than the year to date average. Rain fell on 26 days, with the wettest days being the 12th and the 31st when 7.0 millimeters fell. At 19:24 on the final day of the month, 0.8 millimeters of rain fell in the minute, another October record. The average rainfall for October is now 44.2 millimeters, making October the 7th wettest month of the year. A light dusting of snow fell on the 27th, the first snow fall of the season.
Winds were again light with the average wind speed being only 3.4 mph. The average gust speed was 5.9 mph. The maximum wind speed was 20.7 mph from 293°(WNW) on the 16th at 13:36, with the maximum gust speed being 32.2 mph from 270°(W) on the 16th at 13:02. The total windrun for the month was 2416.9 miles.
The average barometric pressure was 1008.8 millibars, with the highest being 1025.8 millibars on the 23rd at 12:01. As mentioned above, the lowest barometric pressure was 976.1 millibars on the 31st at 23:52.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
November
Despite widespread flooding in the country, including the East Midlands, in the latter half of the month, November's rainfall was slightly below average for the month. Winds were also lighter than normal and temperatures were slightly down on the mean for the month.
The highest temperature recorded was 13.3°C on the 20th at 14:09, the lowest maximum temperature so far recorded at Bracken House in November. The lowest temperature recorded was -2.2°C at 05:23 on the last day of the month. The average temperature for the month was 6.0°C, which is 0.8°C below the mean. In the year so far, seven of the eleven months have shown below average temperatures. There were 57.2 hours of sunshine in the month, a total which beat the June total of 50.7 hours. The first air frost of the autumn was recorded on the 18th when the temperature dipped to -0.3°C. There were three air frosts in the month - the others being on the last two days of the month.
The rainfall total for November 2012 was 70.6 millimetres, well up on 2011's total of 25.2 millimetres. The mean for the month is now 71.7 millimetres, making November only the third month of the year so far with lower than average rainfall - the other months being February and March. Rainfall was recorded on 23 days with the wettest being the 21st, when 12.0 millimetres fell. The two main reasons for the extensive flooding was that 91% of the month's rain fell in the second half of the month and water tables were high following above average rainfall through the summer. There has been 741.4 millimetres of rain so far in 2012, 207.6 millimetres more than normal for this time of the year.
Winds were again light with the maximum wind speed being 21.9 mph from 225° (SW) on the 22nd at 17:11. The maximum gust speed was 35.7 mph from 203° (SSW) also on the 22nd at 17:29. The average wind speed for the month was 3.6 mph, with the average gust speed being 6.1 mph. The monthly wind run was 2442.7 miles.
The average barometric pressure was 1007.3 millibars, with the maximum being 1026.0 millibars on the 14th at 09:52, and the minimum being 973.6 mb on the first at 05:15, the lowest pressure reading of 2012.
Autumn (September to November) figures show that the season was much colder than average at 8.9°C, well below the season average of 10.0°C. Rainfall was 177.8 millimetres, much higher than the average of 152.7 millimetres.
Weather Underground History | Weather Underground Graph
December
December 2012 was mild and wet with strong winds at times. The average temperature in the month was 4.2°C, thanks mainly to a mild end to the month which saw double figure temperature on five days in the final ten days of the year. The highest temperature recorded was 12.1°C on the 23rd, surprisingly at 03:50. The lowest temperature was -3.9°C on the 6th at 06:00, the lowest temperature in the autumn / winter period so far. The mean temperature for December is now 3.0°C.
There were 54.2 hours of sunshine in the month, three hours less than November. December 12th was the coldest day with the maximum temperature being only -0.9°C at 21:35, the lowest maximum temperature since December 21st 2010. The minimum temperature was -3.3°C at 09:34 and the average temperature for the day was -2.0°C.
The rainfall total for the month was 86.2 millimetres, 27.8 millimetres more than the month average of 58.4 millimetres. There was precipitation on 27 days - a station record. The wettest day was the 20th when a whopping 23.4 millimetres fell.
Winds were slightly higher than average, the maximum wind speed being 25.3 mph from 270°(W) on the 23rd at 06:22. The maximum gust speed was 33.4 mph from 248°(WSW) on the 29th. at 01:29. The average wind speed for the month was 5.0 mph and the average gust speed was 7.8 mph. The monthly wind run was 3581.6 miles.
On December 14th at 18:01, the barometer fell to 970.7 millibars surpassing the yearly low of 973.6 millibars set on 1st November by 2.9 millibars. This is the lowest pressure since the all time low of 966.9 millibars set on November 8th 2010. The highest barometric pressure was 1030.6 millibars at 09:17 on the 11th. The average barometric pressure for the month was 1005.3 millibars.
Evapotranspiration is now being recorded by the station. Evapotranspiration is a term used to describe the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the Earth's land surface to the atmosphere. In December, the total for the month was 10.2 millimetres., the lowest since data was collected in March 2012.
