Summary
Anticyclonic and dry at the start and end. Unsettled south-westerly mid-month.
Diary of Highlights
1st to 8th
Pressure rose across Europe and high pressure became established near the Baltic, giving southerly winds over Scotland. The weather was dry but cloudy with temperatures falling slowly from a mild start. On the 8th the cloud cleared and the overnight temperature fell to -9 °C at Aboyne.
9th to 20th
The high pressure retreated to the southeast and depressions moved northeast from the Atlantic to the Norwegian Sea. Over Scotland the weather was unsettled with fronts and strong south-westerly winds bringing mild and wet conditions on 9th/10th, 12th/13th and 18th/19th. On the 9th/10th, 69 mm of rain fell at Sloy, the wind gusted to 85 mph at Lerwick and the temperature reached 14 °C at Machrihanish. On the 12th, 30 mm of rain fell at Tulloch
Bridge and gusts reached 78 m.p.h. at South Uist. On the 18th/19th, 66 mm of rain fell at Aultbea and temperatures reached 14 °C at Aviemore and some other stations. On other days the weather was more showery and a ridge of high pressure gave a fine day on the 14th.
21st to 31st
High pressure re-established itself over Russia until the 24th and then transferred to be near Scotland. The weather was again dry and mostly cloudy with temperatures falling slowly after a mild start. On the 29th the cloud cleared from the south and overnight temperatures fell to -12 °C in Highland Glens. Fog formed in the central lowlands and southwest with a maximum temperature of -3 °C at Eskdalemuir on the 30th. However, most places retained sunny skies by day with temperatures rising to 10 °C on the mountain tops.
Statistical details
| Scotland Mean Temperature Series (series began in 1914). |
The initial value for the month was 3.7 °C |
1.3 °C above the 1961-1990 average, which is in the well above average category. |
| Scotland Rainfall Series (series began in 1914). |
The total for the month was 99.5 mm |
64 % of the 1961-1990 average, which is in the below category. |
| Scotland Sunshine Series (series began in 1929). |
The total for the month was 35.3 hours. |
102 % of the 1961-1990 average, which is in the above average category. |
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