WEATHER REPORT FOR 2004

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MONTH BY MONTH ASSESSMENT

January

Headline: Generally mild, wet and windy. Cold snap in final week with signficant snowfall.

January began rather cold and drizzly. However, from the 4^th onwards pressure built over the south of the UK giving a very mild spell of weather. In fact, by the 6^th daytime maxima had risen to around 11C, several degrees above normal for early January. Accompanying the mild conditions was the inevitable drizzle and showery rain conveyed on a mainly south-westerly wind.

Deep depressions tracked across northern areas during the second week and their attendant frontal systems brought further spells of rain across the county. A particularly vigorous depression tracked across northern England on the 8^th bringing strong winds gusting to gale force at Pitsford Hall. Strong winds also ripped across the county on the 11^th again with gusts reaching gale force at Pitsford. Despite the wind and rain, it remained very mild with daytime maxima typically around 9 or 10C.

From the 19^th onwards, temperatures ameliorated and it became very mild once again, but not without further spells of rain tied into weak fronts which crossed the region. It remained generally cloud with no sunshine recorded at Pitsford until the 24^th. With the cloud came little change between daytime and night-time temperatures.

The final week saw a change to much colder conditions. An arctic airstream set in across northern Britain on the 26^th and reached the county on the 27^th bringing a light dusting of snow overnight. However, significant snowfall during the afternoon of the 28^th caused major traffic chaos in Northampton as commuters tried to rush home early before sufficient grit had been placed on the roads. The snowfall lasted no more than 2 hours but laid a good 5cm at Pitsford.

The cold snap came to an abrupt end as mild air was introduced across the region on strong winds on the 30^th and 31^st. In fact, the 31^st saw gusts reaching 54mph at Pitsford and power lines being brought down in several villages. The accompanying heavy rain also precipitated a flurry of calls to fire and rescue teams and several premises were flooded.

February

Headline: A very mild start with temperatures well above average for early February. Turning colder through the month, ending with snow showers in the final week.

February opened on a mild, wet and windy theme with low pressure dominating the scene to the north-west. Rainfall was particularly heavy in some parts of the UK triggering some floods, whilst the county escaped any significant totals until the 5^th and 6^th. By the 4^th daytime temperatures had reached 16.2C, the warmest February day in Northampton since 1998 (17.5C), the second warmest since 1990 (16.9C) and the third warmest since 1920 (15.7C).

A deep low tracked across the North Sea towards Denmark between the 6^th and the 10^th causing winds to swing round from a predominantly south-west to north or north-westerly direction. This brought a pool of very cold air across the region and whilst the county escaped any snowfall, overnight temperatures on the 9^th fell well below freezing. Mild conditions were reinstated on the 11^th as high pressure developed across the UK.

The 11^th to the 15^th was a generally cloudy period. No sunshine was recorded and it remained mild with night-time minima holding up above freezing, only falling below freezing on the grass on the 14^th. Mornings were generally misty, although fog was not recorded at Pitsford Hall.

Anticyclonic conditions persisted until the 21^st. Mild conditions gradually gave way to increasing cold with some spells of rain working in from the east coast. The transition to colder weather came with a change to a dominant north-easterly wind direction. As high pressure worked retreated westwards, the northerly airflow persisted allowing temperatures to fall still further. As low pressure developed over Scandinavia, the strength of this northerly wind increased introducing a significant wind chill. By the 25^th overnight frosts had become penetrating and snow showers were beginning to affect the county.

Further snow showers were reported across the county as the month came to a close, although accumulations here were only slight bearly measuring 1cm.

March

Headline: Generally rather cold, although some days saw temperatures climb substantially above average for the time of year. Travel was disrupted at times due to snow and gales.

The month opened with high pressure dominating the scene. The 1st and 2nd saw some good spells of sunshine, but clear skies overnight resulted in some particularly severe frosts (-4.0C on 1st, with -9.5C recorded on the ground). Thereafter, an unsettled spell followed with fronts bringing occasional spells of rain, culminating in some wintry showers (hail and snow) on the 7th.

High pressure became re-established on the 8th.  There were some sunny spells, but not as notable as some areas. The 9th probably saw the best of the sunshine with 5.3hrs. Northerly winds made it feel particularly chilly with overnight temperatures falling close to freezing. Snow showers were recorded on the 10th as the wind veered more north-easterly.

Fronts crossing the cold air on the 11th and 12th triggered further falls of snow. Snow on the 12th was substantial with 6cm recorded at Pitsford Hall. Several routes across the county were rendered extremely hazardous with numerous accidents reported in the morning rush hour, including an overturned car in Chapel Brampton. However, the snow was short-lived and a rapid thaw took place during the afternoon as milder air was swept in on south-westerly winds.

The county rested on the edge of a European high between the 15th and 17th. The south or south-westerly airflow was maintained allowing temperatures to rise and become notably mild by the 16th when a high of 17.5C was recorded at Pitsford. Some weak weather fronts did cross the region, but these gave only small or trace amounts of rainfall.

More unsettled conditions ensued from the 18th as a complex low drifted past the UK towards Scandinavia. Winds veered towards the north-west and north becoming strong at times. In fact gusts reached or exceeded 50mph on the 18th, 20th and 21st with particularly damaging gusts of 59mph on the 20th. A gust of 85mph was recorded at Brixworth. Trees were uprooted and dangerous driving conditions were reported on the county's roads. Several garden centres closed to ensure public safety and the Cobblers’ clash with Huddersfield was abandoned.  With the winds from the north it turned colder with a return of ground frosts overnight.

The 26th to the 29th was a generally dull period with little sunshine. A weak front brought some patchy rain on the 27th and 28th. However, as the month came to a close it became exceptionally mild and sunny. There was some early morning mist and fog, but this soon cleared. 19.2C was recorded on the 31st, well above the average for the end of March.

April

Headline: Changeable – periods of heavy rain alternating with dry spells. Warm during the penultimate week.

April opened with a depression dominating the weather over the first week. Frontal systems tracked eastwards across the county bringing showers and longer spells of rain. Conditions were thundery on the 2^nd and falls of hail were noted on the 5^th and 6^th. The month also began on a fairly warm note, but temperatures then fell as winds veered from south-west to north-west. Despite the rain there were a few days that saw some good sunshine, notably the 4^th and 7^th with over 7 hours.

A ridge of high pressure extended across the region from the mid-Atlantic in the second week. This brought a spell of settled weather, chilly at first with some air and ground frosts but then warming up. Winds were generally light and, although some good sunshine was recorded on the 9^th (9 hours) and 14^th (7.1 hours) the county kept a good deal of cloud in common with more northern areas.

A second spell of unsettled weather linked to a series of depressions tracking close to or across the region followed in the third week. Although warm at first, in fact temperatures reached 19C on the 16^th, a succession of fronts and fairly heavy rain brought temperatures tumbling on the 17^th and 18^th. Rainfall on the 18^th amounted to 16.5mm over 5.5hrs and, in parts of the Midlands, gave rise to localized flooding. As pressure built up from the 22^nd, a very warm spell of weather developed. Temperatures exceeded 20C on the 24^th and 25^th and with pretty lengthy sunshine (nearly 12 hours on 23^rd) the county enjoyed an early taste of summer.

The month ended with low pressure to the south. There were some heavy and persistent spells of rain, the 28^th recording 14.7mm over 20 hours, although the county escaped some of the problematic downpours and lightning strikes which affected many other areas.

May

Headline: Generally rather warm and dry although unsettled at the beginning and end.

The month opened with low pressure dominating the weather across the county. Showers, some heavy, broke out frequently. The 3rd was a particularly wet day with 8.1mm of rain recorded over 6.8hrs. Despite the showers and rain some days recorded appreciable sunshine, 6.5hrs on the 3rd and 7.7hrs on the 4th. For many places thunder accompanied the showers although no recording was made at Pitsford.

The start of the second week saw the centre of the low track eastwards giving rise to a predominantly northerly airflow. Showers continued to mark the weather with the first completely dry day in May not being reached until the 10th.

From the 11th the Azores high extended across much of the UK. A fine settled spell of weather ensued with temperatures climbing. By the 17th daytime maxima had topped 24C. Daily sunshine totals progressively increased exceeding 12hrs on 16th, 18th and 19th. The high finally receded westwards by the 20th allowing a cold front to slip southwards producing a marked downturn in the temperatures. In fact, temperatures had fallen so much by the 22nd to produce the only ground frost recorded in May at Pitsford. Spells of rain also accompanied the front.

High pressure had gained control again by the 23rd resulting in a return to fine settled weather. There were some good sunny days, although showery outbreaks on the 26th produced over 7mm of rain and a fairly dull and cool day. However, the warming trend resumed the following day.

The month ended as it had begun with low pressure dominating the scene pushing a system of fronts across the county bringing showers on the 29th. The Bank Holiday was essentially dry, warm and sunny with the rain earlier forecast not reaching the county until overnight and through the 31st. In fact nearly 12mm were recorded over a little over 9hrs at Pitsford.

June

Headline: Dry and warm for the first fortnight then turning cooler with showers and longer spells of rain.

June opened with a ridge of high pressure extending across the county. Some weak fronts pushed southwards on the eastern side of the UK giving some light rain on the 1st and 3rd, but otherwise it was mostly dry with temperatures steadily climbing with daytime maxima in the high teens to low 20s.

By the second week high pressure had become well established over continental Europe and this fed in some very warm air across the UK. Daytime temperatures reached 30C in Northampton on the 8th and continued to reach the mid 20s right through to the 16th. During this period many places caught some thunderstorms, but it remained dry in Pitsford right through to the 18th. In fact, the protracted dryness encouraged the local media to run articles on dry Junes of the past given that only 3% of the normally expected rainfall had fallen between the 1st and 18th.

The 17th saw the arrival of a cold front which brought a change to much fresher weather. Temperatures fell markedly to an overnight low of 4.2C on the 19th with a grass minimum of 1.2C. In fact, some areas of England even caught an air frost and ground frosts were widespread.

The third week saw a deep low track to the north of the county. One of the deepest lows to affect the UK during June, it brought a significant amount of rain to the county with 14.1mm falling in 7.4 hours at Pitsford. The barometric pressure in Northampton fell to a low of 986.7mb  at 11:10 BST on the 23^rd. Winds were particularly strong with gusts at Pitsford reaching 40mph (force 8). However, the county escaped the damaging gusts recorded along the south and east coasts.

A second low tracked past the county on the 26th giving another wet day, although the main weather event associated with this low occurred on the 27th. A freak 'gale' (possible 'gust front') passed through Pitsford and neighbouring villages at around 18:30 BST. Winds gusted to 40mph and temperatures dropped dramatically from 17.1C at 18:20 to 12.2C at 18:50.

As the month came to a close there were further outbreaks of rain on the 29th, but essentially the weather settled back down with sunny periods and temperatures recovering to daytime maxima of 20C.

In Northampton this was the warmest June since 1996 and the driest June since 2002 (24.3mm).

July

Headline: Changeable at first but becoming more settled and warmer.

The first few days of July saw a depression tracking to the north of the county bringing a spell of unsettled weather marked by sunny spells and occasional showers. The 2nd saw particularly heavy and thundery showers with 3.9mm falling in a little under an hour. A second low tracked to the south of the county on the 4th maintaining the unsettled conditions.

The 5th and 6th were particularly fine days across the county thanks to high pressure extending in from the west. Both days saw more than 10 hours of sunshine. However, from the 7th onwards a deep depression worked up from the continent bringing a spell of wet and windy weather more typical of autumn. 29.1mm fell over 10hours at Pitsford on the 7th and winds gusted to 42mph. With a mainly north or north-westerly airflow temperatures remained fairly depressed.

From the 12th anticyclonic conditions developed across the south of the UK and winds swung round to a warmer south or south-westerly direction. It became rather cloudy at times and a fairly stationary frontal wave gave rise to spells of rain on the 13th and 15th. Some nights became rather close as temperatures on the 16th and 17th held up at around 15.8C.

High pressure remained in place until the 19th following which fairly slack conditions prevailed across much of the UK. Winds were very light or calm at times. Although some good spells of sunshine were recorded (12.8 hours on the 23rd), there were occasional showers sometimes thundery.

During the last week, high pressure built up again across much of the UK. As it drifted eastwards some warm and humid air was drawn in from the continent. Daytime temperatures climbed to the mid to high 20s peaking at 28.2C on the 29th. Whilst weak frontal systems moved in to affect mainly the northern half of the UK, with the exception of some very light showers on 29th, the month of July ended on a warm and dry note across the county.

August

Headline: Very warm during the first week, but then largely unsettled with heavy downpours. The wettest August in Northampton since 1992 and the wettest on record for many sites within the county.

August opened with a couple of fine sunny days, but the weather turned increasingly unsettled during the course of the first week. Heavy showers and thunder were noted on the 5th, although the county escaped some of the downpours experienced elsewhere, such as at High Wycombe where over 40mm of rain was recorded over an hour on the 3rd. Despite the unsettled conditions, daytime maxima climbed consistently becoming very warm with 30.8C recorded on the 8th. The very warm spell also saw some pretty humid nights, in fact overnight minima at Pitsford did not fall below 19.4C on the 9th making this one of the warmest nights on record.

The second week saw a succession of slow moving frontal systems tracking across the county. These brought with them prolonged heavy rain and thundery  showers. The 9th was a particularly wet day with 27.7mm recorded over 16.4 hours at Pitsford and 118mm at Oundle. Overloaded storm drains in Northampton saw a street collapse into a five foot hole. In fact with the exception of a trace recording on the 14th, rain was recorded every day until the 19th with a second set of Atlantic fronts working in from the south-west. Many parts of the UK were affected by flooding, notably Boscastle in Cornwall where over 200mm fell in the space of 24 hours causing devastation.

September

Headline: Fine and settled during the first week, but then turning unsettled with frequent blustery showers and outbreaks of rain. Generally warm throughout. 

September began on a fine and settled note. The first week saw some decent sunny spells with respectable temperatures. Daytime maxima were generally in the mid 20s with a high of 26.4C on the 5th.  Many parts turned rather dull and cloudy on the 6th including the county with some patchy light rain or drizzle. However, the following few days saw a return to drier and brighter weather although the mornings saw some fairly extensive mist and patchy fog.

The weather became more unsettled from the 10th onwards. In fact some notable rainfall amounts were noted especially on the 12th which saw 8.1mm recorded in just under 5 hours. Despite the cloud and rain most days had some respectable sunshine totals. It also became fairly windy with peak gusts exceeding 30mph every day between the 11th and 14th.

October

Headline: Very wet with more than twice the normal rainfall for October. Occasionally very windy.

October began on a very unsettled note. Rain fell on most days during the first week with quite substantial falls during the opening three days including 13.6mm over nearly 11 hours on the 3rd. It was also fairly windy at times, especially on the 3rd with peak gusts reaching 36mph (force 7). However, the county escaped the worst of the rain felt in areas further west.

With high pressure becoming established across a large part of the UK the weather entered a quieter mode during the second week. There were some pleasant sunny spells and the period from the 9th to the 11th was the only time during the month when no rain at all was recorded.

From the 12th onwards a second phase of unsettled weather began marked by a succession of several areas of low pressure. Rainfall was particularly heavy between the 12th and 15th, 12.2mm falling over 5.2 hours on the 12th and 14.2mm over 4.7 hours on the 13th. In fact the torrential rain on the 13th led to enforced speed restrictions on the M1 and overflowing storm drains in Towcester. The 17th and 18th saw a brief lull before a vigorous front delivered 17.6mm of rain in the space of 8.7 hours on the 19th.

The weather until the end of the month remained generally cyclonic. A persistent low lay across the UK from the 20th onwards delivering further spells of rain. It also became very windy once again and gusts reached 42mph on the 21st and 44mph on the 22nd (force 8). Following 13.7mm of rain on the 23rd there were numerous reports of localized flooding across the county.

Warnings of severe weather were released on the 27th as an intense area of low pressure developed to the south-west of the British Isles. Fortunately for the county, the worst affects of this low were confined to parts of Wales, Devon and Cornwall as it made very little ingress inland. In fact, the strong winds never materialized in Northampton with peak gusts generally below 20mph.

October came to a close on a quiet note with high pressure building in from the west. Light winds and clear skies overnight led to some dense fog, especially on the 30th.

In general, this was the wettest October recorded in Northampton since 2002 (117.8mm) and the second wettest October since 1987 (125.2mm). Some more rural sites in the county actually recorded the wettest October since 1960. Temperatures were above average.

November

Headline: A grey month with sunshine totals well below normal. A cold snap introduced some early snow and sharp frosts.

The month began mild with high pressure in charge. However, the high moved eastwards during the first week to allow an active front to slip southwards through the county bringing outbreaks of rain. Following the front high pressure gained ground once again. With the exception of a rather chilly night on the 5th temperatures were generally respectable with daytime maxima typically around 12C. However, it remained very grey and overcast. Only the 4th saw any appreciable sunshine.

The 12th saw the high retreat westwards making way for a cold front to sweep southwards and introduce much colder air across the county. Pressure built up again giving rise to some pleasant sunshine by day, but some sharp frosts overnight. The first air frost of the new season at Pitsford was recorded on the 13th (-0.5C) and the 14th saw a particularly hard frost with grass minima falling to -6.1C.

Milder air was introduced on the 16th as the winds swung round from the south, but this was short-lived as fronts worked southwards on the 17th introducing much colder Artic air. Heavy rain on the leading edge of one of these fronts turned to snow on the evening of the 18th with some 2cm of accumulation recorded on the morning of the 19th.  Temperatures on the 20th only reached 3.1C falling away readily to -1.9C with a hard ground frost (-6.8C). Although further light flurries were noted on the 20th there was no accumulation. Rather like the start of the month it remained pretty dull with very little sunshine.

Milder air was introduced from the west on the 21st preceded by rain giving rise to some icy stretches overnight. The milder weather lasted until the 27th by which time there was a return to more wintry conditions as the winds veered north-westerly. Daytime maxima remained in single figures and, whilst the county escaped an air frost, ground frosts returned. Only a few days saw any significant sunshine.

December

Headline: Grey but dry for the first half, turning increasingly unsettled later. A cold and snow-less Christmas period.

A dry start to the month. Although a front edged southwards through the first three days, it produced little more than trace amounts of rainfall at Pitsford. Temperatures were about average, turning colder on the 3rd and 4th due to the presence of persistent fog. As winds backed more south-westerly on the 4th temperatures began to recover reaching 10.5C on the 5th, although a second weak front brought plenty of cloud and drizzly spells. In fact, the 5 days between the 4th and 8th, saw no recorded sunshine at Pitsford.

High pressure over continental Europe maintained a dry theme from 10th through to the 13th. The wind turned east or south-easterly on the 12th feeding in cold air off the continent. It became rather grey and misty once again. With the exception of a few hours of sunshine on the 9th, the total recorded sunshine for the month up until the 16th was a pitiful 13.3 hrs.

By the 14th the wind had turned westerly bringing an improvement in the temperatures. The milder air also brought with it spells of rain. A discrete area of low pressure tracked through the county on the 17th bringing strong winds gusting to 48mph at Pitsford. Showers on the 18th gave way to rain in many areas on the 19th although much of the county escaped dry.

As high pressure developed on the 20th, clear skies overnight brought a sharp frost.  The air minimum at Pitsford fell to -3.6C whilst a ground frost of -8.1C was also recorded. Over the next few days it turned milder with an increasingly strong westerly airflow. By the 23rd daytime temperatures had become positively balmy for the time of year with highs of 12.7C with an exceptionally mild night to follow (8.6C).

A cold front worked south-eastwards in the run up to the festive period. Further fronts moving southwards brought snow showers to many western areas on Christmas Day, although the county was not to experience a white Christmas. However, it was particularly cold with highs of just 3.5C falling close to freezing overnight. The cold weather continued into Boxing Day which was also bright with some 6.1hrs of recorded sunshine.

As the month came to a close a succession of Atlantic fronts and westerly winds maintained a mild, wet and occasionally windy theme. The 27th saw 7.9mm falling over nearly 5 hrs. The highest recorded temperature came near the end of the month with 12.7C being recorded on the 30th . Despite the mild conditions by day, clear spells overnight still produced some frosts, moreso early on in the period.

Climatological Statistics - 2004

Air Temperatures:
The Highest Maximum: 30.8C on 8th August
The Lowest Maximum: 3.0C on 20th December
The Highest Minimum: 19.4C on 9th August
The Lowest Minimum: -5.4C on 29th January
The Mean Maximum: 14.7C
The Mean Minimum: 6.7C
The Overall Mean: 10.7C

Difference from the 1971-2000 mean: +0.4C

Relative Humidity:
Highest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 100% on 14th, 29th, 30th October, 21st, 
25th November, 3rd, 4th, 8th & 21st December
Lowest Relative Humidity (at 0900): 47.2C on 24th May
Mean Relative Humidity (at 0900): 85.1%

Dew Point:
The Highest Dew Point (at 0900): 19.6C on 8th August
The Lowest Dew Point (at 0900): -5.7C on 28th & 29th January
The Mean Dew Point (at 0900): 8.2C


Rainfall:
Total: 681.9mm
Duration: 487.2hrs
Highest 24 hour fall (from 0900): 29.1mm on 7th July
Rain Days (>/=0.2mm): 182
Wet Days (>/=1.0mm): 130

Difference from the 1971-2000 mean: 104.5%

Sunshine:
Total Duration of Bright Sunshine: 1455.3hrs
Sunniest day: 14.2hrs on 7th August
Sunless days: 72
Cloud cover (mean at 0900): 5.8 oktas (72.5%)

Pressure (reduced to sea level at 0900):
The Highest Pressure: 1038.2mb on 14th November
The Lowest Pressure: 976.6mb on 5th May
Mean Pressure: 1014.8mb

Winds
Run of wind (mean over 24 hrs): 120.5 miles
Mean daily wind speed: 6.5 mph
Run of wind: 44032 miles
Highest Maximum Gust: 59mph on 20th March
Other Gusts >/= 50mph: 50mph on 8th February & 21st March,
54mph on 31st January & 55mph on 7th February

Highest wind strength (at 0900): 34.6mph on 19th March
Mean wind strength (at 0900): 7.5mph

Winds from the Following Directions:
N 43 NE 22 E 11 SE 27 S 95 SW 25 W 36 NW 91 Calm 13



Ground Temperatures:
Lowest Grass Minimum: -9.7C on 26th February
Mean Grass Minimum: 3.6C
Lowest Concrete Minimum: -7.4C on 26th February
Mean Concrete Minimum: 5.6C
Lowest Bare Earth Minimum: -3.0C on 26th February
Mean Bare Earth Minimum: 6.6C

Soil/Earth Temperatures:
Surface mean: 10.8C
5cm mean: 10.2C
10cm mean: 10.6C
20cm mean: 11.0C
30cm mean: 11.3C
40cm mean: 11.2C
50cm mean: 11.5C
100cm mean: 11.0C


Days with:
Thunder: 10
Hail less than 0.5mm: 4
Hail greater than/equal to 0.5mm: 0
Snow or snow & rain: 12
Snow lying: 9
Fog 17
Air Frost: 39
Duration of Air Frost: 255hrs
Ground Frost: 98


To view the full annual register for 2004, click here.