Highest, lowest, wettest
But the past 12 months were hardly the norm
well with a week when the maximum exceeded 20 °C every day and it was totally dry. On the 7th a thunderstorm reversed the mood as it presented us with 32mm of rain, soon to be followed by daytime maximums down to 12 °C.
Rain fell almost every day until July. We had a one-day wonder at 28 °C. but this ended abruptly with another storm.
August was chilly until the school holidays ended. It then improved becoming dry from the 20th with daytimes into the low 20s. Sunshine came at last. Overall though, the summer was not one of our better ones.
Then Autumn. By midway through September we had had the warmest two-week spell of the year. The rest of the month remained quite dry and still warm. September was distinctly summer-like. Early into October our first frost came. However, instead of gales and rain it was dry with little wind, although it was chilly, markedly down from the warmth of September. November would have to be its usual negative self, we thought. Somehow though, it wasn’t. Winds remained low with mainly light showers and sunshine. But it was distinctly cold. The data table shows that it was as cold as an average December.
From August to the end of Autumn rainfall was well down on average, barely 55% of the long-term norm. So this was the ‘good when it usually isn’t.’ And pleasant it was right up to the start of Winter.
December arrived bringing an immediate jump in temperature. It also stayed dry until the week before Christmas. Then it blew and it rained: a couple of gales and 64mm of rain.
The weather then calmed down and dried so although rainfall reached the norm, temperatures averaged 6.1 °C, which is the normal average for November. Role reversal.
Thus 2016 was hardly the statistical norm that the bare annual figures would indicate. I wonder what the 50th year of Lower Earn observations will show.”
Highest temperature:
28.3 °C. - July 19.
Lowest temperature :
-7 °C - November 25.
Wettest day:
32mm- July 7.
Days with measurable rain :
190 compared with average of 185 days.
Days with air frost :
66 compared with average 58 days. Sun worshippers enjoyed some warm days