The wall to wall sunshine on Sunday lifted the thermometer to a maximum of 10.8C at 14.46, which was aided by a very light breeze that was from a slightly warmer direction, the southeast. The sunny conditions meant the solar radiation reached a maximum of 512W/m2 and the UV to 2.3.
During the late afternoon and evening, as was expected under clear skies, the thermometer dropped steadily with a minimum of -5.2C at 06.44 early Monday, just before the sun began to halt the drop and reverse it. This low was a significant 7.0C below my long-term average and the coldest night since 11th January when the thermometer dropped to -7.2C.
The stronger sunshine and slowly lengthening days saw the UV light trigger the sensor very early at 08.34 and ceased at 16.07 after reaching a peak of 2.3, which was at the top end of ‘Low’.
Monday followed the sunny start to the previous two days although by 08.00 the thermometer had only risen to -2.2C.
Although we have now had considerable sunshine for the past three days the nights have been getting steadily colder, which is slowly seeping deeper into the ground. The soil temperature at a depth of 5cm, read daily at 08.00, has been logged at 3.3C, 1.2C, 0.9C, 0.6C and 0.4C respectively, for the last five days. I have also noted the time when during the evenings the air temperature has dropped to freezing, taken as -0.1C, and it is getting earlier every evening over the past four days. The times were 22.30, 21.25, 20.51 and last night at 20.27. The official forecasts recently have indicated minima around 2C but Marlborough has always been colder than the area forecast. I have often noted on a winter’s night, as I approach the town from the north and east, that the car’s thermometer indicates the outside temperature has dropped a degree as I get closer to the town.
I should add that the new professional weather station records data every five seconds, which I can access for every minute of the day.
The high pressure system extends from mid-atlantic as far east as the Black Sea and will be in charge of our weather for the next few days.