In mid
March, the daffodils are up and the spring solstice is nearly here.
Although we think of our year beginning on the first of January and
lasting 365 days, the solar year begins and ends with the spring equinox
and lasts for 365 days five hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds.
 |
| There
is always something different to look forward to with British
weather |
Its
a good point at which to begin a look at our changing weather through
the year because this is when our weather undergoes its biggest
changes.
As
winter high pressure over Europe breaks down and before the Azores
high pressure system moves up from the south our weather is at its
most unpredictable.
March
is the wettest of the winter and spring months whilst in April temperatures
can reach as high as 24 degrees but only three years ago we had
drifting snow on the Mendips.
The
biggest jump in temperatures occurs between April and May - the
month when we can begin to say goodbye to the cold weather. And
then we're into summer.
So
which is the best month of summer? It always used to be June but
over the last 20 years July has been sunnier.
Dog
days
The
hottest part of the summer is during Dog Days 3rd July to 11th August.
July is our hottest month but the highest temperatures ever recorded
in the region were on 3rd August 1990 34 degrees in Bristol, 35
in Yeovil and 37 degrees in Gloucester.
The
autumn equinox in late September signals the arrival of autumn and
those weather patterns start to break down again. The first of the
autumn storms usually appears in October - remember The Great Storm
of 1990.
The biggest jump in temperatures occurs between April and May
- the month when we can begin to say goodbye to the cold weather.
And then we're into summer. |
| Richard
Angwin |
November
is the month for fog and frost. But the winter solstice around 21st
December marks the true beginning of winter. And December is probably
the worst of the winter months - its certainly the wettest and dullest,
although January is the windiest. And for coldness, rain and winds
combined February takes some beating.
Which
brings us back to March and another spring equinox and another year
has gone by. The weather year has changed in nature over the last
half century.
The
seasons don't follow the same patterns as they used to. Spring often
starts later, summers are warmer, autumn and winter months are wetter
and windier. But that is the beauty of our weather - always something
different to look forward to.
by
Richard Angwin
|
