Year 2014

A dazzling start to 2014 with sunshine out of over Lyme Bay shining down on the historic beach at Beer, Devon on New Year's Day.

Summary for 2014
Mean Max: 16.4ºC (+1.8ºC)
Mean Min: 7.9ºC (+0.5ºC)
Mean: 12.1ºC (+1.2ºC)
     
High Max: 29.1ºC 23 Jul
Low Max: 5.2ºC 30 Jan
High Min: 17.3ºC 18 Jul
Low Min: -5.6ºC 29 Dec
Mean Grass Min: 5.6ºC  
Grass Min: -8.7ºC 29 Dec
Days  >25°C 21 Days  
Days  >20°C 114 Days  
Days  >10°C 322 Days  
Days  <-5°C 1 Days 29 Dec
Rain Total (gauge): 1036.2 mm  
Rain Total (tipping bucket): 1023.3 mm  
Rain Days >0.2 mm: 169 Days  
Rain Days >1.0 mm: 143 Days  
Max 24 hrs: 30.7 mm 16 Nov
Days without any rain: 196  
Air Frost: 18 Days  
Grass Frost: 74 Days  
Snow Falling: 0 Days  
Snow (50%) @ 9am: 0 Days  
Ice Days: 0 Days  
Thunder Heard: 21 Days  
Hail <5 mm: 11 Days  
Hail >5 mm: 0 Days  
Fog @ 9am: 7 Days  
Total Annual Sunshine: 1959.8 Hours 108%
Most Sunshine in a Day: 15.6 Hours 20 Jun
Average Daily Sunshine: 5.4 Hours  
Sunless Days: 34 Days  
Cloudless Days: 38 Days  
Total Possible Sunshine: 4478 Hours  
Percentage of Total Sun: 44%  
Maximum UV Index: 10.0 14 Jul
     
Time of Max UV:   13:00
Mean Soil Temp @ 30 cm: 14.1ºC  
Min Soil Temp @ 30 cm: 6.6ºC 21 Jan
Max Soil Temp @ 30 cm: 21.3ºC 27 Jul
Mean Soil Temp @ 100 cm: 14.4ºC  
Min Soil Temp @ 100 cm: 9.3ºC 15 Feb
Max Soil Temp @ 100 cm: 19.6ºC 01 Aug
Ave 10 Min Wind >39 mph: 0.00 Days  
N: 78.6 Days  
NE: 11.2 Days  
E: 23.1 Days  
SE: 35.6 Days  
S: 85.3 Days  
SW: 35.2 Days  
W: 12.9 Days  
NW: 58.0 Days  
Calm: 25.1 Days  
Wind Chill Low: -8.0ºC 29 Dec
Mean Wind: 4.0 mph  
Max Gust: 56 mph 14 Feb
Mean Cloud Cover: 50%  
Mean RH @ 9am: 91%  
Rain >0.1mm/hour: 492 Hours  
Frost Duration: 144 Hours  
Air Frost in a Day: 17.5 Hours 29 Dec
Mean Sea Temperature: 13.6ºC (+0.7ºC)
Annual Average: 12.9ºC  
Max Sea Temperature: 20.8ºC 25 Jul
Min Sea Temperature: 8.8ºC 06 Feb
Mean Pressure @ 9am: 0.0 hPa  
Mean Pressure: 1011.9 hPa  
Max Pressure: 1042.6 hPa 29 Dec
Min Pressure: 970.3 hPa 14 Feb
Max Change in 24 hours: 31.2 hPa 15 Feb
Radiation Daily Mean: 4.73 MJ/m²  
Max Daily Value: 32.35 MJ/m² 12 Jun
Min Daily Value: 0.15 MJ/m² 24 Jan
Number of Days with Data: 365 Days  
1-Hour Maximum: 1237 W/m² 03 Jun
Starting Time of the Hour:   13:00
Max Dewpoint: 20.3ºC 05 Aug
Min Dewpoint: -6.4ºC 29 Dec
Mean Dewpoint: 9.3ºC  
Max Humidity: 100% 21 Jan
Min Humidity: 35% 07 Aug
Mean Humidity: 84%  
A Weather Diary of 2014

This year was the warmest in my record that started in 2005 and had an annual mean temperature of 12.1°C, that is 1.2°C above my estimated long term average. To put that into context, my coldest year was 2010 and that had an annual mean temperature of just 10.0°C.

The year started mild, windy and very wet with January being one of the wettest months I have ever recorded with 195 mm of rain. This remarkable stormy spell of weather that started in December 2013 continued through February culminating in a very windy and wet spell around the middle of the month. As with January, February was mild and very wet. The wild weather lasted right up until the end of February then with a change of month came a sudden, big change in the weather as spring arrived bringing calmer, sunnier and drier conditions.

A sunny and warm March led into a sunny and warm April dominated by benign, pleasant days. This warmth continued into May and then things got even better with a very sunny and dry June.

The icing on the cake was July. A beautifully warm, dry and sunny month making those wet and cool Julys of just a few years ago, a distant memory. This July also brought a return to my childhood memories of summer with endless humid, sunny afternoons and the excitement of a thunderstorm to end the day. And how the summer was warming the sea in Lyme Bay with off-shore temperatures reaching 21°C and even warmer along along the coast itself. A BBQ summer it was most definitely turning out to be.

It was such a shame that this would not last as into August it cooled down a little and became wetter and less sunny, though the month was not a right-off by any means. But summer was about to redeem itself with one of the finest, sunniest and warmest Septembers I have ever known with the summer warmth persisting right up until the very end of the month. Rain fell on only one day out the entire month and that was from a thunderstorm during a very warm, tropical-like night on the 19th.

October was another warm and sunny month with summer-like warmth lasting until the 20th though it was much wetter than our parched September. Autumn proper arrived finally in November with wet and windy weather but the temperature stubbornly stayed on the warm side and did not drop down to anything near average until the 17th of the month. Things cooled down significantly in December to around average temperatures and there was a even a rare cold and frosty end between Xmas and the New Year. Unusually for December being one of our wetter months, it actually ended up being a relatively dry month with only 37 mm of rain

All-in-all, 2014 was a year that started wild, wet and windy but very mild and then arrived a warm and sunny spring and summer that lasted right through until the latter part of October before autumn finally managed to arrive and change what was a very long trend of above average temperatures. Not only was it a warm year, it was also generally a sunny year but overall much wetter than normal.

What will 2015 have in store for us weather-wise? Well, the trend to ever-warmer winters seems to have resumed after a run of colder winters culminating in the severe December of 2010 when Devon resembled a foreign, snow-laden land. I suspect that a mild winter will lead into an early spring and then a warm start to summer. But there has been an increasing tendency for the summer weather to deteriorate during July only to recover during September. Will 2015 go the same way, I do know know! I suspect 2015 will be another warmer than average year overall though I doubt it will be as warm as this year. An emerging El Niño may help though.

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