MONTHLY CLIMATOLOGICAL SUMMARY for MAR. 2001 NAME: Ferryhill CITY: Ferryhill STATE: Co. Durham ELEV: 394 feet LAT: 54deg 41min N LONG: 1deg 33min W TEMPERATURE (°C), RAIN (mm), WIND SPEED (mph) HEAT COOL AVG MEAN DEG DEG WIND DOM DAY TEMP HIGH TIME LOW TIME DAYS DAYS RAIN SPEED HIGH TIME DIR ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 -1.5 0.8 14:30 -2.9 8:00 19.8 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 2 -2.4 0.6 15:00 -5.7 4:00 20.6 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 3 -3.0 1.9 15:30 -6.6 5:30 21.2 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 4 -2.3 2.1 15:00 -5.7 5:30 20.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 5 0.1 5.8 15:00 -4.4 4:00 18.1 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 6 2.2 5.3 15:00 -1.4 2:00 16.1 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 7 7.7 13.1 15:00 3.9 0:30 10.6 0.0 4.8 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 8 7.5 10.9 15:30 4.9 8:00 10.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 9 7.9 11.1 15:00 5.6 5:30 10.4 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 10 9.2 11.9 14:00 6.8 3:00 9.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 11 8.5 10.9 15:00 4.9 24:00 9.8 0.0 2.2 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 12 5.0 9.1 14:30 1.8 24:00 13.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 13 4.5 8.3 15:30 0.3 4:00 13.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 14 5.8 10.5 15:30 3.3 23:30 12.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 15 4.2 6.8 13:30 1.3 7:00 14.1 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 16 3.5 6.0 14:30 1.4 5:30 14.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 17 3.1 5.2 13:00 1.1 23:00 15.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 18 1.3 2.9 11:00 0.0 24:00 17.0 0.0 2.8 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 19 2.1 6.3 16:00 -0.8 7:30 16.2 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 20 2.1 5.1 15:00 -0.4 7:30 16.1 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 21 2.6 4.2 14:00 1.5 22:00 15.6 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 22 3.2 4.2 12:30 1.7 0:30 15.1 0.0 5.2 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 23 4.9 6.1 13:00 3.7 0:30 13.4 0.0 0.8 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 24 4.2 4.7 12:30 3.2 22:00 14.1 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 25 3.0 3.4 15:30 2.1 24:00 15.3 0.0 1.6 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 26 3.0 4.5 15:00 2.0 0:30 15.3 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 27 3.8 5.5 13:00 2.1 4:00 14.4 0.0 6.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 28 6.0 8.3 15:00 4.3 0:30 12.3 0.0 2.2 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 29 5.5 8.7 14:00 2.7 5:30 12.8 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 30 6.8 10.9 14:30 3.0 2:30 11.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- 31 9.1 13.8 15:30 5.5 23:30 9.2 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0:30 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.8 13.8 31 -6.6 3 449.0 0.0 35.6 0.0 0.0 1 --- (-1.8) (70%) Max >= 32.0: 0 Max <= 0.0: 0 Min <= 0.0: 9 Min <= -18.0: 0 Max Rain: 6.00 ON 27/03/01 Days of Rain: 18 (> .2 mm) 7 (> 2 mm) 0 (> 20 mm) Heat Base: 18.3 Cool Base: 18.3 Method: Integration A cold, easterly month - the coldest since 1996. A very cold, snowy start. After a heavy fall of snow, particularly in the north, clearing skies and no wind gave some remarkably low temperatures: -19C at Aviemore on the 2nd, and then -21 at Altnaharra on the morning of the 3rd, and a reported -22C at Kibrace (Caithness), the same morning - the lowest March temperature since 1958, and not far short of the record. Things warmed up quickly, with 17C recorded in Cardiff on the 7th. After a mild spell, there was more snow. 10 cms of snow fell on Powys on the 17th; the maximum that day at Sennybridge was 0C. There was significant snowfall in the south on the 20th, accompanied by biting easterly winds. Several centimetres on Exmoor led to roads being blocked. The SWs returned at the end of the month, with 17C reached in East Anglia. It was a very dull overall month in the south (just 66 hours in Hampstead), very sunny in the NW (170 hours on Tiree - the sunniest since 1955). Wet over much of the country, with the southern England and East Anglie getting twice the average, and places in the SE coast getting three times the average. Overall, it was the wettest March since 1988. It was dry and sunny in the NW, though.