Winter 2007/08
Shiny shist rock reflecting the February sunshine.
Shiny schist rock reflecting warm February sunshine on the south Devon coast.
Summary for Winter 2007/08
Mean Max: 10.1 oC  
Mean Min: 3.4 oC  
Mean: 6.6 oC  
       
High Max: 15.0 oC 12th Feb
Low Max: 2.3 oC 11th Dec
High Min: 12.1 oC 19th Jan
Low Min: -4.1 oC 14th Dec
Mean Grass Min: -0.2 oC  
Grass Min: -7.5 oC 17th Feb
     
Rain Total (gauge): 142.3 mm  
Rain Total (tipping bucket): 180.0 mm  
Rain Days >0.2: 42 Days  
Rain Days >1.0: 31 Days  
Max 24 hrs: 16.6 mm 15th Jan
Days without any rain: 40 Days  
     
Air Frost: 16 Days  
Ground Frost: 52 Days  
Snow Falling: 0 Days  
Snow (50%) @ 9am: 0 Days  
Thunder Heard: 1 Days 5th Jan
Hail <5 mm: 0 Days  
Hail >5 mm: 0 Days  
Fog @ 9am: 0 Days  
     
Total Monthly Sunshine: 272:00 h:m  
Total Monthly Sunshine: 272.0 Hours  
Most Sunshine in a Day: 09:44 Hours  
Average Daily Sunshine: 02:59 Hours  
Sunless Days: 15 Days  
Cloudless Days: 13 Days  
Total Possible Sunshine: 814:02:54 h:m:s  
Percentage of Total Sun: 33 %  
     
Mean Soil Temp @ 30 cm: 6.5 oC  
Min Soil Temp @ 30 cm: 3.6 oC 20th Dec
Max Soil Temp @ 30 cm: 10.2 oC 6th Dec
Mean Soil Temp @ 100 cm: 7.6 oC  
Min Soil Temp @ 100 cm: 6.5 oC 22nd Dec
Max Soil Temp @ 100 cm: 9.8 oC 7th Dec
     
Mean Wind >39 mph: 0.00 Days  
N: 3.01 Days  
NE: 15.42 Days  
E: 10.40 Days  
SE: 9.95 Days  
S: 16.13 Days  
SW: 15.47 Days  
W: 12.98 Days  
NW: 4.20 Days  
Calm: 12.16 Days  
Mean Wind: 4.9 mph  
Max Gust: 43 mph 7th Jan
     
Mean Cloud Cover: 57 %  
Mean RH @ 9am: 84 %  
Rain Duration >0.1mm/hour: 112.5 Hours  
Frost Duration: 84.5 Hours  
Max Frost Duration in a Day: 13.5 Hours 11th Dec
     
Mean Sea Temperature: 9.8 oC  
Normal for Month:   oC  
Max Sea Temperature: 11.8 oC 6th Dec
Min Sea Temperature: 8.6 oC 19th Feb
     
Mean Pressure @ 9am: 1017.8 hPa  
Mean Pressure: 1017.9 hPa  
Max Pressure: 1040.5 hPa 16th Feb
Min Pressure: 976.8 hPa 15th Jan
     
Max Dewpoint: 11.4 oC 6th Dec
Min Dewpoint: -6.5 oC 2nd Feb
Mean Dewpoint: 3.3 oC  
     
Max Humidity: 88 % 26th Dec
Min Humidity: 46 % 12th Feb
Mean Humidity: 79 %  

 

Another winter with temperatures warmer than normal. December was only slightly above the 1970-2000 monthly normal but January and February were in the very warm category with February actually being warmer than Feb 2007.
Rainfall was below average with February being very dry.
As with Winter 2007, there was no snow lying or falling at any point in throughout the 3 winter months. Only 16 air frosts for the entire winter and the majority of these were only slight (i.e., between -0.1C and -1.5C). There were 52 grass frosts, this reflected the high incidence of calm, starry nights.
Sunshine levels were above normal with many places reporting their sunniest winter on record. February was exceptionally sunny. There were only 15 days when the sun failed to shine at some point during the day.
Soil temperatures remained relatively constant throughout the winter and were above normal.
December and February were generally settled but January was dominated by a wet, westerly cyclonic regime with frequent windy spells.
Only 84.5 hours had temperatures below 0.0C despite the prevalence of calm, clear nights.
Sea temperatures remained above normal throughout the winter and actually rose slightly during January after dipping towards the end of December.
Mean pressure was above normal.
Notably low dewpoints caused by dry air from the nearby Continent during February.
Relative humidity was below normal.
Graphs for Winter 2007/08
 
Figure 1. Temperature and Rainfall for Winter 2008.
Figure 2. Sunshine, air pressure and mean wind speed for Winter 2008.
Figure 3. Wind direction for Winter 2008.
Figure 4. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) for Lyme Bay for Winter 2008.