Not too hot, too cold or too wet! (From Gazette Series)

Not too hot, too cold or too wet!

LOOKING back on the weather in 2003 many may imagine that it was the driest year within recent memory, yet in fact with a rainfall of 31.55init was not as dry as 1996 when rainfall was slightly less with 31.33 inches. Going back even further, in 1975, the total rainfall was only 26.16 inches.

The past year will be remembered chiefly for its long dry spell lasting from August 2 to October 20 when a total of only 1.17in was measured during 81 consecutive days.

Dursley was able to boast only one day when the temperature reached 32?C (90?F) and that was on July 15 - St Swithin's Day. On August 10 at Gravesend a temperature of over 37?C (100?F) was recorded - the highest temperature ever recorded in Southern England. Dursley had to be content with a temperature of 28?C (84?F) on that day.

Rain in January amounted to 3.92in with the two wettest days the 1st and 2nd, both having more than three-quarters of an inch. There was a cold snap between the 5th and 9th with the day temperature remaining below freezing point on the 5th. There were ten night frost.

On only one day in February, the 11th, did rainfall exceed one third of an inch while the total for the month was 1.29in.

All the rain in March - 2.16in - was recorded on ten of the first 12 days of the month.

The dry spell from March 13 extended until April 22 except for the first two days of April. Rain during the last week of the month brought the total for April to 2.65in. The two warmest days in the month were the 15th and 16th when the afternoon temperature reached 23?C (76?F).

Rain was measured on 17 days in May with a warm spell during the last six days, the afternoon temperature climbing to 26?C (80?F) on the 31st. Rainfall for the month was 2.83in.

June was a drier month, rainfall amounting to 2.01in, with 0.83 being measured on the 23rd, the temperature reaching 21?C (70?F) or above on 28 days including three days when the temperature climbed above 26?C (89?F).

The first half of July was warm and dry and included the hottest day of the year, the 15th with a temperature of 32?C (90?F). There was a sudden change during the night of 16th/17th when 0.60in of rain was measured, followed closely by 0.62in on the 21st. Rain beginning on Thursday evening the 25th continued until midday on the 26th producing a measurement of 1.48 inches. The month's total was 4.71in making July the wettest month of the year.

August with only 0.67in of rain was the driest month, most of the rain being measured on the 29th. Eight days, from the 4th to the 12th, had temperatures in excess of 26?C (80?F). The hottest day was the 5th with a reading of 30?C (87?F), while only on the last three days did the temperature fail to top 19?C (66?F).

Rain was recorded on only six days in September, resulting in it being the second driest month of the year, with a rainfall of merely 0.72 inches. Gardeners had a shock on the morning of the 24th to find ground frost following two days when afternoon temperatures fell to 13?C (56?F), while the temperature only two days before had reached 22?C (72?F).

The first heavy rain since the end of July came on the last three days of October - 0.70in on the 29th and 0.67in on the 31st. With only slight rain earlier in the month the total rainfall in October was 2.39in.

Wet days featured more in November - 0.57in on the 2nd, 0.58 on the 14th, 0.78 on the 26th all helped to boost the rainfall to 3.78in. The warmest days were the 6th and 18th when temperatures reached 14?C (57?F).

Heavy rain began during the night of November 30 and continued until 3.30pm on December 1 bringing 1.65in in 18 hours. Rainfall for the month totalled 4.42in. Interspersed with damp weather were three cold snaps, the 7th to the 19th, 15th to 19th and 22nd to 23rd. There were 14 night frosts including the coldest night of the year on the 7th/8th when the temperature fell to -6?C (22?F).