January

Cold Start to 2008, with predicted snow on the 3rd, which resulted in a couple of flakes !! Weather was fairly mild, with a couple of days of frosty mornings. Sunshine now on the Temp sensor, so a Stevenson Screen has been installed.

Average temperature = 6.5 C
Average humidity = 89 %
Average dewpoint = 4.4 C
Average barometer = 1026.0 mb
Average windspeed = 1.8 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.7 mph
Average direction = 236 ( SW)
Rainfall for month = 92.4 mm
Rainfall for year = 92.4 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 7.4 mm on day 02 at time 00:09
Maximum temperature = 28.9 C on day 27 at time 15:01
Minimum temperature = -0.5 C on day 27 at time 08:12
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 31 at time 11:49
Minimum humidity = 4 % on day 02 at time 00:09
Maximum pressure = 1008.0 mb on day 02 at time 00:09
Minimum pressure = 1000.7 mb on day 03 at time 14:12
Maximum windspeed = 15.0 mph from 00 ( N ) on day 02 at time 00:09
Maximum gust speed = 26.5 mph from 248 (WSW) on day 31 at time 06:55
Maximum heat index = 28.1 C on day 27 at time 15:01
Max soil temperature= 9.4 C
Min soil temperature= Error Value

February

A dry February, with many dry and sunny spells. Stevenson Screen and a new Humidity sensor was installed to fix the faulty readings, as can be seen by the more stable temperature ranges from the middle of the month. A few frosty mornings this month, but nothing too bad.

Average temperature = 6.7 C
Average humidity = 90 %
Average dewpoint = 5.0 C
Average barometer = 1024.9 mb
Average windspeed = 1.8 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.7 mph
Average direction = 242 (WSW)
Rainfall for month = 27.1 mm
Rainfall for year = 119.5 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 0.3 mm on day 04 at time 22:58
Maximum temperature = 27.8 C on day 09 at time 14:22
Minimum temperature = -3.4 C on day 02 at time 07:29
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 29 at time 19:32
Minimum humidity = 25 % on day 06 at time 14:59
Maximum pressure = 1044.5 mb on day 16 at time 09:31
Minimum pressure = 989.1 mb on day 03 at time 16:57
Maximum windspeed = 13.8 mph from 225 ( SW) on day 03 at time 17:19
Maximum gust speed = 29.9 mph from 203 (SSW) on day 03 at time 17:07
Maximum heat index = 27.6 C on day 09 at time 14:23
Max soil temperature= 7.9 C
Min soil temperature= 2.6 C

March

March started off with a storm !! On the 9th - 10th, high winds hit the southwest, where the station hit 37.1 MPH maximum gust. The NRT plot below shows the low pressure and the wind paths. The MET plot shows the deep depression coming across the atlantic.

March saw some rain, and a handful of frosty mornings. This month saw the install of more soil sensors and unfortunatly a sensor malfunction. By the end of the month, the temperatures were increasing and soil temp was rising.

Average temperature = 7.1 C
Average humidity = 81 %
Average dewpoint = 3.8 C
Average barometer = 1010.5 mb
Average windspeed = 3.2 mph
Average gustspeed = 6.1 mph
Average direction = 282 (WNW)
Rainfall for month = 92.8 mm
Rainfall for year = 212.3 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 2.0 mm on day 01 at time 11:03
Maximum temperature = 18.6 C on day 27 at time 15:58
Minimum temperature = -3.5 C on day 05 at time 07:38
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 31 at time 10:05
Minimum humidity = 11 % on day 01 at time 10:02
Maximum pressure = 1041.4 mb on day 05 at time 08:59
Minimum pressure = 963.6 mb on day 10 at time 11:50
Maximum windspeed = Error Value
Maximum gust speed = 36.8 mph from 270 ( W ) on day 10 at time 20:18
Maximum heat index = 26.0 C on day 27 at time 15:57
Max soil temperature= 18.8 C
Min soil temperature= Error Value

April

A fairly routine April, with typical april showers !! -

A cooler and wetter april than last year, however as history shows the following summer was a wash-out. Perhaps with a more routine start, the summer will be one to remember.

Average temperature = 8.4 C
Average humidity = 81 %
Average dewpoint = 5.1 C
Average barometer = 1012.2 mb
Average windspeed = 2.2 mph
Average gustspeed = 4.4 mph
Average direction = 297 (WNW)
Rainfall for month = 62.3 mm
Rainfall for year = 274.6 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 17.5 mm on day 05 at time 11:26
Maximum temperature = 21.4 C on day 03 at time 14:30
Minimum temperature = -3.9 C on day 08 at time 06:58
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 30 at time 09:20
Minimum humidity = 30 % on day 17 at time 16:58
Maximum pressure = 1033.9 mb on day 03 at time 10:19
Minimum pressure = 988.0 mb on day 30 at time 04:13
Maximum windspeed = 12.7 mph from 270 ( W ) on day 30 at time 16:23
Maximum gust speed = 25.3 mph from 225 ( SW) on day 11 at time 21:37
Maximum heat index = 26.2 C on day 24 at time 16:05
Max soil temperature= 13.6 C
Min soil temperature= 6.2 C

May

From a cold begining, the sun came out and we enjoyed 29 degree heat for a couple of days !! A little bit of rain in the middle of the month, then more to see the month out. Flash floods in Somerset due to the large amounts of rain in the last week. The Stevenson screen is really showing it's worth against the temperatures from the last two years, with a reduction of radiated heat.

Average temperature = 14.7 C
Average humidity = 80 %
Average dewpoint = 11.0 C
Average barometer = 1014.8 mb
Average windspeed = 1.5 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.4 mph
Average direction = 88 ( E )
Rainfall for month = 103.7 mm
Rainfall for year = 378.3 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 0.5 mm on day 29 at time 17:35
Maximum temperature = 29.3 C on day 11 at time 14:28
Minimum temperature = 4.5 C on day 21 at time 05:23
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 31 at time 09:55
Minimum humidity = 33 % on day 12 at time 18:06
Maximum pressure = 1026.3 mb on day 05 at time 15:11
Minimum pressure = 1001.7 mb on day 01 at time 00:59
Maximum windspeed = 11.5 mph from 045 ( NE) on day 24 at time 23:17
Maximum gust speed = 26.5 mph from 068 (ENE) on day 26 at time 09:31
Maximum heat index = 29.7 C on day 11 at time 14:22
Max soil temperature= 19.1 C
Min soil temperature= 9.2 C

June

Dry, but average temperatures and nothing really of note. Quite showery, with many overcast days.

Average temperature = 14.8 C
Average humidity = 80 %
Average dewpoint = 11.0 C
Average barometer = 1018.3 mb
Average windspeed = 1.4 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.1 mph
Average direction = 289 (WNW)
Rainfall for month = 53.1 mm
Rainfall for year = 431.4 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 1.0 mm on day 12 at time 02:49
Maximum temperature = 29.7 C on day 10 at time 16:55
Minimum temperature = 4.6 C on day 17 at time 05:36
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 30 at time 08:40
Minimum humidity = 38 % on day 08 at time 17:08
Maximum pressure = 1027.5 mb on day 09 at time 01:35
Minimum pressure = 1005.2 mb on day 19 at time 01:40
Maximum windspeed = 9.2 mph from 293 (WNW) on day 25 at time 13:11
Maximum gust speed = 19.6 mph from 248 (WSW) on day 22 at time 17:21
Maximum heat index = 30.5 C on day 10 at time 16:56
Max soil temperature= 20.9 C
Min soil temperature= 13.9 C

July

Long periods of sunny warm weather, with big rainfall inbetween !! More rain than in 2007, so does'nt bode well for a good summer. Rainfall up over 100mm on last year.

Average temperature = 16.5 C
Average humidity = 85 %
Average dewpoint = 13.7 C
Average barometer = 1014.4 mb
Average windspeed = 1.7 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.9 mph
Average direction = 247 (WSW)
Rainfall for month = 97.6 mm
Rainfall for year = 529.0 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 2.3 mm on day 12 at time 16:37
Maximum temperature = 29.7 C on day 27 at time 17:06
Minimum temperature = 6.2 C on day 04 at time 04:57
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 31 at time 23:59
Minimum humidity = 40 % on day 23 at time 15:47
Maximum pressure = 1028.9 mb on day 22 at time 09:08
Minimum pressure = 997.1 mb on day 07 at time 06:17
Maximum windspeed = 10.4 mph from 023 (NNE) on day 20 at time 16:18
Maximum gust speed = 23.0 mph from 225 ( SW) on day 05 at time 12:44
Maximum heat index = 30.2 C on day 27 at time 17:02
Max soil temperature= 21.7 C
Min soil temperature= 15.5 C

August

Summed up by one word - WET !!! with 30mm more rain than last year, it really was !! The showery nature of this month was mostly due to the jet stream bringing moist atlantic air into the Southwest. Temperatures were quite warm, but not what would be expected for this month.

Average temperature = 16.1 C
Average humidity = 91 %
Average dewpoint = 14.5 C
Average barometer = 1011.3 mb
Average windspeed = 1.5 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.7 mph
Average direction = 252 (WSW)
Rainfall for month = 100.6 mm
Rainfall for year = 629.6 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 1.3 mm on day 12 at time 04:22
Maximum temperature = 27.7 C on day 25 at time 17:05
Minimum temperature = 5.7 C on day 15 at time 06:32
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 31 at time 12:27
Minimum humidity = 47 % on day 22 at time 15:44
Maximum pressure = 1023.9 mb on day 26 at time 22:19
Minimum pressure = 986.9 mb on day 12 at time 04:50
Maximum windspeed = 10.4 mph from 270 ( W ) on day 12 at time 17:12
Maximum gust speed = 21.9 mph from 225 ( SW) on day 18 at time 12:47
Maximum heat index = 29.1 C on day 25 at time 17:04
Max soil temperature= 19.6 C
Min soil temperature= 14.8 C

September

Warm month, and very settled at the end of the month, with little rain. Sunshine too !!

Server was unavailable at the end of the month, due to a power feed failiure, which resulted in no power to the server room. The feed has now been upgraded to a higher amperage feed, and returned to service. No data was lost, and the UPS ensured graceful shutdown to the VMWare Server.

Average temperature = 13.6 C
Average humidity = 89 %
Average dewpoint = 11.7 C
Average barometer = 1016.0 mb
Average windspeed = 1.3 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.0 mph
Average direction = 338 (NNW)
Rainfall for month = 100.6 mm
Rainfall for year = 730.2 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 4.6 mm on day 11 at time 17:00
Maximum temperature = 25.1 C on day 21 at time 17:39
Minimum temperature = 5.1 C on day 20 at time 07:11
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 22 at time 08:37
Minimum humidity = 46 % on day 21 at time 17:51
Maximum pressure = 1034.8 mb on day 26 at time 06:14
Minimum pressure = 983.1 mb on day 05 at time 19:18
Maximum windspeed = 11.5 mph from 180 ( S ) on day 05 at time 10:26
Maximum gust speed = 26.5 mph from 203 (SSW) on day 05 at time 10:25
Maximum heat index = 25.9 C on day 21 at time 17:39
Max soil temperature= 17.3 C
Min soil temperature= 12.4 C

October

The Big Flood !!!

Over the night of the 29th - 30th October, Lightning and Hail lashed Ottery, weather of the like I have never seen, and a white covering to everything at dawn. Rainfall calculated looked initially to be an error, however after calibration to check, it is the true amount of rainfall. This peaked at 1.8mm/min which is quite a lot of rain !!

It was also a good tryout for the new Lightning Sensor, which has now shown that it can identify real lightning from electrical noise. Unfortunatly, this was the last thing recorded by the 1-wire bus, which has now failed. The USB Host Adapter has failed, probably due to the close strike, so no extra data points will be recorded until this is replaced. I have ordered 2 host adapters from Hobbyboards.

The Met Office Report into this weather has now been published - HERE

Average temperature = 9.7 C
Average humidity = 93 %
Average dewpoint = 8.6 C
Average barometer = 1016.5 mb
Average windspeed = 1.5 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.4 mph
Average direction = 262 ( W )
Rainfall for month = 154.3 mm
Rainfall for year = 835.3 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 1.8 mm on day 30 at time 00:34
Maximum temperature = 22.0 C on day 12 at time 16:05
Minimum temperature = -1.4 C on day 29 at time 08:01
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 30 at time 18:05
Minimum humidity = Error Value (Sensor Failiure)
Maximum pressure = 1032.9 mb on day 25 at time 01:50
Minimum pressure = Error Value (Sensor Failiure)
Maximum windspeed = 12.7 mph from 023 (NNE) on day 03 at time 06:55
Maximum gust speed = 25.3 mph from 225 ( SW) on day 20 at time 05:03
Maximum heat index = 25.4 C on day 08 at time 18:07
Max soil temperature= Error Value (Sensor Failiure)
Min soil temperature= Error Value (Sensor Failiure)

November

A drier month than last month !! and less eventful. The end of the month became cold, with morning frosts and generally cold days. Comparison with the last two years shows a big difference in temperature this year, up to 10 degrees lower.

Also this month, the site was featured in the local paper, Ottery Herald.

Average temperature = 7.8 C
Average humidity = 92 %
Average dewpoint = 6.6 C
Average barometer = 1016.0 mb
Average windspeed = 2.1 mph
Average gustspeed = 4.3 mph
Average direction = 355 ( N )
Rainfall for month = 55.2 mm
Rainfall for year = 798.1 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 0.5 mm on day 10 at time 10:34
Maximum temperature = 15.0 C on day 19 at time 15:09
Minimum temperature = -2.1 C on day 26 at time 01:33
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 29 at time 12:01
Minimum humidity = 61 % on day 25 at time 15:11
Maximum pressure = 1035.8 mb on day 16 at time 23:31
Minimum pressure = 992.8 mb on day 29 at time 14:18
Maximum windspeed = 13.8 mph from 293 (WNW) on day 09 at time 20:51
Maximum gust speed = 27.6 mph from 045 ( NE) on day 28 at time 11:01
Maximum heat index = 15.0 C on day 19 at time 15:09
Max soil temperature= 10.1 C
Min soil temperature= 5.0 C

December

Brrrr, it was a cold December 2008.The Start of the month was below zero on most mornings which made travel interesting !! Overcast cloud coming in at dawn sometimes caused constant low temperatures across the day.

On the 12th - 13th Overnight, a downpour created some flash flooding. This did not cause the issues of the previous month, but some localised flooding occured. The Rain Graph can be seen below.

Average temperature = 4.1 C
Average humidity = 93 %
Average dewpoint = 3.0 C
Average barometer = 1017.6 mb
Average windspeed = 1.5 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.2 mph
Average direction = 357 ( N )
Rainfall for month = 63.2 mm
Rainfall for year = 861.3 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 1.8 mm on day 16 at time 22:00
Maximum temperature = 14.5 C on day 26 at time 15:01
Minimum temperature = -4.7 C on day 31 at time 07:09
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 23 at time 14:55
Minimum humidity = 48 % on day 01 at time 15:04
Maximum pressure = 1035.1 mb on day 26 at time 23:50
Minimum pressure = 978.8 mb on day 05 at time 05:19
Maximum windspeed = 13.8 mph from 203 (SSW) on day 13 at time 02:29
Maximum gust speed = 32.2 mph from 203 (SSW) on day 13 at time 02:29
Maximum heat index = 14.5 C on day 26 at time 15:01
Max soil temperature= 7.5 C
Min soil temperature= 2.2 C

2008

The year has been a wet one, with lower temperatures than normally would have been experienced. May and June gave some warm spells and promised a normal summer, although in August it rained, lots !!

Averages/extremes to date for the year 2008
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average temperature = 10.7 C
Average humidity = 87 %
Average dewpoint = 8.4 C
Average barometer = 1015.9 mb
Average windspeed = 1.8 mph
Average gustspeed = 3.9 mph
Average direction = 300 (WNW)
Rainfall for year = 861.3 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 17.5 mm on day 05 at time 11:26 month 4
Maximum temperature = 29.7 C on day 10 at time 16:55 month 6
Minimum temperature = -4.7 C on day 31 at time 07:09 month 12
Maximum humidity = 100 % on day 23 at time 14:55 month 12
Minimum humidity = 0 % on day 10 at time 09:00 month 10
Maximum pressure = 2008.0 mb on day 26 at time 23:50 month 1
Minimum pressure = 566.9 mb on day 05 at time 05:19 month 10
Maximum windspeed = 107.0 mph 068 (ENE) on day 01 at time 10:02 month 3
Maximum gust speed = 36.8 mph 270 ( W ) on day 10 at time 20:18 month 3
Maximum heat index = 30.5 C on day 10 at time 16:56 month 6
Total Growing T-Sum= 3943.4 C
Growing degrees days :46.5 GDD
Total windrun = 14320.2miles

Let's look forward to the new year, 2009. Hopefully some snow in Jan - Feb, a traditional Spring, and a Hot Summer !!

For the Station, I will be working on the stability of the server, adding some more sensors to cover UV, and Cloud detection and Air Quality. These have been on the drawing board for a long while, but should be realised in 2009.

Thanks to all the visitors to the site over 2008. I hope that you have enjoyed viewing the data, and hope to see you visiting in 2009.