SEVERE WEATHER RECORD 1999
A
summary of severe weather warnings
and other notable weather extremes for
Northamptonshire since February 1998.
12 January First snow of the winter recorded at Pitsford Hall. Depth of lying snow <0.5cm. 19 January 18.8mm rainfall lasting 10.25 hours. Reports of localised flooding around Towcester. Nene catchment heavily saturated. 7 February Sunniest day since 12 October 1998. 5.3 hours recorded (5.9 hours on 12 Oct). 8 February Second significant snow of the winter recorded at Pitsford Hall. Intensity: beginning light around 0900 hours, turning moderate by 1400 hours. Maximum air temperature: 0.7C. 9 February Depth of lying snow at 0830 hours: 2cm. Rainfall equivalent: 2mm. Slight snow flurry again at 1730 hours lasting 15-30 mins. Coldest night of the year. Overnight minimum recorded at 4.4C. 21-22 February Strong winds batter the county. Maximum gust recorded at Pitsford Hall 52mph on 22nd. Highest maximum gust so far this year. 17 March Warmest day of the year so far. Daytime maximum 18.2C. Overnight minimum on the 18th: 8.4C. Also, sunniest day of the year so far with 7.9 hours recorded. 1 April Warmest day of the year so far. Daytime maximum 18.5C. Previous high was 17 March (18.2C). Also sunniest day of the year so far, 9.3 hours recorded. 20-23 April Heavy rains affect much of the county. Total on 20th: 9.6mm over 11 hours; total on 23rd: 10.5mm over 8.5 hours. 27 April Sunniest day of the year so far: 11.1 hours recorded. 30 April Warmest day of the year so far. Daytime maximum 21.3C. Previous highs: 18.5C on 1 April, 18.2C on 17 March. 3 May Warmest day of the year so far. Daytime maximum 21.8C. Previous highs: 21.3C on 30 April, 18.5C on 1 April. Sunshine recorded on the 3rd: 8.1 hours. 7 May Heavy showers recorded during the afternoon. Total 15.5mm over 4.25 hours. Maximum intensity recorded at 1500 hours: 22.4mm per hour. 14 May Reports of a tornado and funnel cloud in the Corby area. Software engineer, Tom Bayes, photographed the cloud at around 2pm on the A6003 between Corby and Kettering. The cloud was also reported at the Abington Road playing fields in Corby.(* information supplied by Jeremy Borrett).
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27 May Torrential rain, thunder and lightning affect much of the county. 4.5mm rain fell in 30 minutes at Pitsford Hall. 29 May Further torrential rain, thunder and lightning affect much of the county. 17mm rain recorded over 2.5 hours at Pitsford Hall. 2 June Flooding, lightning strikes and power cuts throughout the county. Leisure centre in Rushden, East Northants, closed due to flooding. 170 storm-related calls made to the Fire Brigade. 180 businesses throughout Northants were without power during the day. Emergency phones on the M1 and A45 were without power. Northamptonshire was one of the worst effected areas in the eastern counties. 6 June Thunder heard in highly localised areas, including Crick and Creaton, at around 2pm with reports of associated 'green lightning'*. The afternoon passed peacefully despite a few showers at Pitsford Hall. 7 July Warmest day of the year so far. 28.0C recorded at Pitsford Hall. 5-12 July 8 consecutive days without rain. Substantial cracks developing on the bare earth in the ground enclosure. Earth temperatures rising to 20.9C at 50cm depth. 11 July Sunniest day recorded so far this year: 12.6 hours (Campbell-Stokes recorder). 24 July Warmest day of the year so far: 28.5C, beating last year's highest maximum. Followed by warmest night of the year: 16C, also higher than last year's highest minimum. 31 July Warmest day of the year so far: 29.5C. Culmination of the driest July in the UK since 1911. July rainfall at Pitsford saw only 12.2mm, 24.7% of the monthly average. 1 August Hottest day of the year: 30.8C recorded, followed by night-time minimum of 15.3C. Maximum on the 2nd: 30.5C, culminating in thundery activity at 18.00 hours, but no rainfall. Cumulonimbus development at morning observation on the 2nd. 3 August Warmest night of the year: 17.3C recorded at morning observation. Relative humidity recorded at 90%, visibility reduced to 2km owing to dense haze. 8 August 13.8mm rainfall recorded leading to localised flooding in Northampton on the 9th in the Bedford and Cliftonville Road areas. Rainfall in Northampton substantially less than that recorded in other parts of the Midlands and East Anglia where 24 hour totals up to 60mm were recorded. 11 August 94.20% partial solar eclipse at 11.19BST. Significant effects on local weather patterns from first contact at 10.03am. Phase of maximum eclipse saw drop in temperature (1.8C), increase in relative humidity (9%), reduction in light intensity (1.8% of pre-eclipse levels), variations in cloud types and cover (notable absence of convective cumulus and development of high level clouds), reduction in barometric pressure (0.4mb), reduction in wind speed and sudden reversal of wind direction prior to maximum eclipse. A full eclipse weather report is available on this web site.
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21 August Small whirlwind observed today on the A508 Northampton to Market Harborough Road between Pitsford and Brixworth at around 12.45pm. Small vortex carrying leaves/straw etc. up to 10m height and following the main carriageway southwards. Cars slowed down to watch. 25 August Torrential rainfall accompanied by moderate thunder and lightning causes traffic chaos in Northampton. Two major downpours (15.50- 16.45BST and 17.25-17.45BST) causes localised flooding on major commuter routes out of town and reduced visibilities to 15m. Maximum rainfall intensity recorded at Pitsford Hall 23.2mm/hr. Total rainfall (0830 on 25th to 0830 on 26th) 24.2mm, 21.6mm falling between 15.50 and 17.45BST. 19 September 22.9mm rainfall recorded at Pitsford Hall, rainfall lasting for 11.5 hours. Highest daily total since 25 August. Rainfall continuing at morning observation (8.30BST) giving a total of 9.5mm on 20 September. 22-26 September 5 consecutive wet days (daily rainfall in excess of 1mm). Highest totals recorded on 24 September (11.5mm) and 26 September (8.9mm). On 24th September, 6.6mm of rain fell between 19.20 and 20.05BST. On 26th September, 8.3mm of rain fell between 23.00 and 3.25BST, of which 6.7mm fell in two hours between 1.00 and 3.00BST, and 3.4mm fell between 2.20 and 2.55BST. 5 October First ground frost of the autumn recorded at Pitsford Hall, -1.4C. Overnight air minimum 2.5C. Earth temperatures now falling fast. Comparison of temperatures between 1st and 5th October: 10.6C to 5.4C at 5cm; 15.5C to 13.6C at 100cm. 24 October Five consecutive days of heavy rain: 3.4mm (20th), 10mm (21st), 4.8mm (22nd), 6.4mm (23rd), 7.7mm (24th) result in widespread localised flooding across the county. 18 November Harshest ground frost of this autumn so far: -4C (grass min), rep- resenting the 10th ground frost since 5 October. Min air temperature on 18th: 0.6C. 24-28 November Strong south-westerly winds buffet the county, gusting up to 43mph on 25th, 42mph on 26th and 41mph on 28th. Mean wind speed at observation (0830hrs) on 26th: 25mph. No gales or significant reports of structural damage received. 31 November Total rainfall for November: 23.5mm, 42% of the November average. Pitsford Hall is recorded as the driest COL station. 3 December High winds gusting up to 53mph and rain lash the county during the morning. Mean wind speed recorded at observation (0830GMT) at Pitsford Hall: 33mph. Pressure trend over the 3 hours prior to 0830GMT: -6mb. Reports received of a lorry careering out of control down an embankment on the A14 and of power losses and train delays on the Northampton line. 13-14 December Significant snowfall. Snow lying until 16th. Depth of lying snow on 14th: 1.5cm, decreasing to 1cm on 15th and 16th. Snow on 13th beginning as sleet and contributing to 8.6mm rainfall equivalent. 20 December Coldest day of the year so far. Air minimum -4.9C. Grass minimum -8.8C. Temperatures at observation (0830GMT): air -4.9C, bare earth -1.9C, earth 5cm -0.8C. Daytime maximum on 19th: 0.9C, on 20th: 2.3C. 21 December Further snow showers, quickly turning to sleet and rain during the morning. 1cm lying snow at 0830GMT. Overnight minimum -4.1C. Air at 0830GMT 0.9C. Widespread traffic disruption around the county as fresh snow falls on gritted roads. Several accidents reported on both minor and major routes. 23-24 December Strong winds and driving rain affect much of the county. Winds gusted up to gale force at Pitsford Hall (47mph on 23rd, 57mph on 24th). A saturated catchment and two days of heavy rain result in an amber alert being issued for the River Nene on Christmas Eve. 30 December Widespread black ice on untreated roads around the county results in several accidents. Despite an air minima of 0.4C, overnight rain had frozen onto freezing surfaces. Grass and concrete minima: -5.0C and -3.7C respectively. An absence of hoar frost in many areas left many drivers unaware of the hazard.
The weather extremes documented here are generally only those observed at Pitsford Hall Weather Station. Reports received of extreme events in other parts of the county are indicated by *.