Weather log March 2024
Key:
A rather cold and unsettled start to Spring with snow in places:
Fri 1st rain turned to sleet or snow parts of Wales overnight into the morning with coverings, chiefly for high ground. SW Wales most affected, several inches for the Preselis, and also lower down across west Ceredigion and Carms (coverings at Brynhoffnant & Synod Inn on the coast road), while photos near Llandysul looked a few inches). Wintry showers by day with further local snowfalls; here at Lwn some sleet and wet snow early morning and late afternoon, no coverings. Radar suggested 1 to 2 inches rain equivalents across much of Pembrokeshire and west Ceredigion with Whitechurch 28.8mm officially wettest in UK. Maxima 5 to 8c generally so not that cold.
Sat 2nd snowfalls affected Marches, mid and SE Wales today (looked like 2 or 3 inches in Herefordshire), also coverings near Monmouth and Chepstow. The Pembrokeshire 'Dangler' stream of showers from the north though gave mostly rain there today. Ceredigion in a dry, bright gap between theses precipitation zones. Maximum Lwn 6.0c below any day of February.
Drier and brighter, particularly WW end of first week:
Mon 4th widespread frost, minima Shobdon -4.0c, Tirabad -3.3c, CITE -2.8c, CL -2.2c, Llanwnnen -2.0c, Aberdaron 5.2c.
Wed 6th widespread frost night, minima Llanwnnen -3.8c (colder than any official UK station and colder than anything in February gone); other minima Tirabad (Sennybridge) -3.2c, Hereford & Pershore -2.6c, Coventry -0.7c, Mumbles 3.6c. Mild sunny day WW, more cloud Midlands where cooler; maxima Porthmadog 14.2c (warmest in UK), other Trawsgoed 13.3c Lwn 12.2c, Pembrey Sands 12.1c, ROW 11.8c, Pershore 11.5c, Aberdaron 10.0c, Coventry 9.8c. Sun Aberdaron 9.7 hrs (sunniest in UK), Llanwnnen est 9.5 hrs, ROW 5.1 hrs, Nottingham 4.0 hrs, Coventry 1.8 hrs.
First week relatively dry Midlands, e.g. Church Lawford just 4mm 1st to 8th a big contrast to February. Not to last however with the rains returning second week:
Sun 10th cool and wet day Mids, WW mainly dry, quite mild; Winterbourne, B'ham 21.6mm wettest in UK.
Wed 13th wet much of WW, over an inch mid & N Wales widely, with CC 93.6mm (2100) wettest in UK. Much of Mids mainly dry and mild, as high as 14c at Shawbury.
Fri 15th rather warm with sunny intervals and a few showers for the Midlands, maxima Coleshill 16.4c, Coventry 15.4c, Lwn 13.3c, Trawsgoed 12.6c, CC 9.7c. More cloud WW.
Mid month: A mild, dull and rather wet first half to March.
Rainfall totals March 1st to 0900 16th
CC 176.4mm (wet)
Trawsgoed 46mm (rather wet)
Llanwnnen 68.0mm (wet)
Pembrey Sands 48.0mm (rather wet)
MH 45.6mm (rather wet)
Mumbles 51.0mm (wet)
Nottingham 35mm (rather wet)
Coventry 35.8mm (rather wet)
CL 29.8mm (rather wet)
Pershore 33.4mm (wet)
Shobdon 56.6mm (very wet)
Sun 17th rather warm Midlands with sunny intervals, max Hereford 16.5c, Coleshill 16.3c, Nottingham & Pershore 16.1c, Shawbury & Shobdon 15.3c; much of WW a mild day Trawsgoed 14.0c, Lwn 13.4c, Aberdaron 10.6c.
Wed 20th rather warm day SW Mids, maxima Pershore 16.8c, Hereford 15.5c, CL 14.3c, Nottingham & Shawbury 13.4c, Trawsgoed 13.8c, Lwn 13.7c, Aberdaron 10.3c.
Mon 25th wet day for WW, an inch or 2 in places, parts of Pembs especially wet (Scolton Country Park 28mm wettest in Wales).
Wed 27th showers, wintry in places, here at Lwn a heavy sleet and wet snow shower dropped the temperature to 2.6c at 1615 (from max 8.6c earlier).
Thu 28th rain turned to snow in many parts of Wales overnight giving coverings quite widely even to quite low levels, Here at Lwn heavy wet snow around midnight put down a 1 to 2cm slushy covering over many surfaces but this had mostly gone by mid morning so did not count as a day of snow lying. It was the deep low with light winds that caused the evaporative cooling process dragging down colder air to the surface hence the snow. Parts of Ceredigion such as Penuwch had a couple of inches as did higher parts of Swansea, with 15cm reported to have fallen in the Brecon Beacons in just over one hour around midnight. Showery by day with hail and thunder in place especially S Mids, also reported from Coventry area mid afternoon with 1cm hail in places in the city.
Last few days milder, brighter and somewhat drier.
Nature notes
Early month: still plenty of Snowdrops on the go. Since the first shows end of January Celandines have only gradually been coming into bloom with many yet to open. Blackbirds gathering nest material and I think building in our hedgerow (most years have at least one nest). GSW heard drumming from back garden.
Hedgerows coming into leaf on drive to Carmarthen (typical for March; loads of Snowdrops lining the road and Daffs was lovely.
Sat 9th severe pruning of the holly tree which has had and still has the most berries ever seen on it, that there were still many hundred berries left on shows what a mild Winter it has been with few eaten by the birds, still hundreds remaining after the prune.
Mid months several reports of Chiffchaffs singing past week in Ceredigion.
Willows leafing in Lampeter Uni.
First Stitchworts.
Mon 18th Aberystwyth by the river Morrisons: 3 or 4 Chiffchaff singing nicely along with a couple of Blackcaps; first heard this year. Blackthorn flowering and Hawthorn coming into leaf.
Tue 19th Chiffchaff singing for a short time end of gardens, also a GSW drumming well.
Wed 20th first few Bluebells out in garden, this is the earliest for them to be flowering here, usually not until April.
Thu 21st first Lampeter Chiffchaff, singing by the river on the path towards Co-op (always seems to be the first one same location).
Fri 22nd managed to cut both lawns with a drier interlude, back lawn still quite muddy though.
Sun 24th local lanes, 3 or 4 Chiffchaff singing well. No wild Bluebells in flower as yet, no Snowdrops left now.
Month end Daffs across the road mostly over, they have done well out for a over a month. Snowdrops all over as they should be by now.
Sun 31st first Bats end of garden.
March 2024 summary
Very mild and wet/ very wet; sunshine dull to average
The run of wet months goes on that's 9 on the trot now (averaged over England & Wales), also 9 on the trot over 100mm here at Lwn (note not all above average however). Another well above average month temperature- wise 1 to 2c above average for March. Coventry October 2023 to March 2024 had 635mm the most the city has had in a 6 month period (srb 1870), similarly (although only over 2 decades) here at Lwn the same period wettest with 1107mm.
Rainfall totals March 2024
Capel Curig, Snowdonia 296.2mm (rather wet)
Mona, Anglesey 108.8mm (very wet)
Aberdaron, Llyn Peninsular 121.8mm (very wet)
Trawsgoed, Ceredigion 111.8mm (rather wet)
Aberporth, near Llangrannog c 110mm (very wet)
Llanwnnen 150.3mm (140%)
Pembrey Sands, Carms 142.4mm (very wet)
Milford Haven, Pembs 130.4mm (very wet)
Mumbles, near Swansea 143.6mm (near twice average)
Nottingham 84.6mm (very wet)
Coleshill c 85mm (very wet)
Coventry, Bablake School 96.2mm (205%)
CL, Warks 81.2mm (180%)
Wellesbourne 87.2mm (over 200%)
Pershore, Worc 88.6mm (over twice average)
Hereford 109.2mm (over twice average)
Ross-on-Wye 117mm (over twice average)
National Resources Wales (NRW) rain gauges March 2024
Llyn Cefni, Ynys Mon 113.8mm (wet)
Bethesda Quarry (Gwynedd) 164.2mm (average)
Cwm Dyli (Snowdonia) 369.8mm (very wet)
Corris (near Machynlleth) 232,4mm (rather wet)
Bow Street (near Aberystwyth) 93.0mm (wet)
Pontrhydfendigaid (near Tregaron, Ceredigion) 134.8mm (rather wet)
Rhos Ymryson (near Gorscoch and 5 miles NW of Lwn) 159.4mm (very wet)
Cellan (2 miles NE of Lampeter) 133.0mm (wet)
Pencader (Carms) 218.8mm (very wet)
Abergorllech (Brechfa Forest, Carms) 196.4mm (wet)
Rhydargaeau (Carms) 198.0mm (very wet)
Garnswllt (near Ammanford, Carms) 179.0mm (wet)
Felinfoel (near Llanelli, Carms) 161.8mm (very wet)
Ferwig (near Cardigan) 120.0mm (wet)
Maenclochog (near Preselis, Pembs) 271.4mm (twice the average)
Tenby (Pembs) 176.6mm (twice average)
Bolton Hill (near Haverfordwest, Pembs) 150.6mm (wet)
COL stations rainfall March 2024
Llansadwrn 131.1mm (167%)
Ludlow, Salop 106.7mm (196%)
Alvechurch, Worc 103.6mm (192%)
Warstock, Brum 100.8mm (189%)
Cosby, Leic 84.3mm (169%)
Hinckley 86.6mm
Towcester, Northants 85.5mm (184%)
Sunshine totals March 2024
Valley 114 hrs (average)
Aberdaron 119 hrs (average)
Aberporth 110 hours (near average)
Llanwnnen estimated 74 hrs (82%)
Nottingham 85 hrs (rather dull)
Shawbury 68.7 hrs (dull)
Coventry, Bablake School 95.6 hours (76%)
Wellesbourne (Warks) 94 hours (rather dull)
Shobdon, Herefordshire 61.4 hrs (very dull)
Ross-on-Wye 77 hrs (rather dull)
COL stations sun March 2024
Ludlow 70.4 hrs
Alvechurch 71.9 hrs
Cosby 98.6 hrs
Towcester 91.2 hrs
