February 2012

Spectacular Triassic sandstone sea stacks at the western end of Jacob's Ladder Beach, Sidmouth on a warm and sunny February day.
Spectacular Triassic sandstone sea stacks at the western end of Jacob's Ladder Beach, Sidmouth
photographed on a warm and sunny February day at a low spring tide.
Summary for  February 2012
Mean Max: 9.0ºC (+0.4ºC)
Mean Min: 2.9ºC (+0.1ºC)
Mean: 6.0ºC (+0.3ºC)
     
High Max: 13.4ºC 23rd 
Low Max: 1.9ºC 8th
High Min: 11.3ºC 23rd 
Low Min: -5.8ºC 4th
Mean Grass Min: N/A  
Grass Min: N/A  
     
Rain Total (gauge): 23.2 mm (30%)
Rain Total (tipping bucket): 23.0 mm (29%)
Rain Days >0.2 mm: 6 Days  
Rain Days >1.0 mm: 4 Days  
Max 24 hrs: 9.4 mm 10th
Days without any rain: 23  
     
Air Frost: 9 Days  
Ground Frost: N/A  
Snow Falling: 0 Days  
Snow (50%) @ 9am: 0 Days  
Thunder Heard: 0 Days  
Hail <5 mm: 0 Days  
Hail >5 mm: 0 Days  
Fog @ 9am: 1 Days  
     
Total Monthly Sunshine: 95.8 Hours (120%)
Most Sunshine in a Day: 9.9 Hours 26th
Average Daily Sunshine: 3.3 Hours  
Sunless Days: 3 Days  
Cloudless Days: 3 Days  
Total Possible Sunshine: 291.6 Hours  
Percentage of Total Sun: 33%  
Maximum UV Index: 2.3 16th
Time of Max UV   12:30
     
Mean Soil Temp @ 30 cm: N/A  
Min Soil Temp @ 30 cm: N/A  
Max Soil Temp @ 30 cm: N/A  
Mean Soil Temp @ 100 cm: N/A  
Min Soil Temp @ 100 cm: N/A  
Max Soil Temp @ 100 cm: N/A  
     
Mean 10 Min Wind >39 mph: 0.00 Days  
N: 10.53 Days  
NE: 2.22 Days  
E: 1.71 Days  
SE: 1.15 Days  
S: 4.05 Days  
SW: 1.71 Days  
W: 0.53 Days  
NW: 6.40 Days  
Calm: 0.71 Days  
Wind Chill Low: -7.9ºC 4th
Mean Wind: 2.6 mph  
Max Gust: 25 mph 18th
  29.00 Days  
Mean Cloud Cover: 67%  
Mean RH @ 9am: 91%  
Rain Duration >0.1mm/hour: 21.3 Hours  
Frost Duration: 107.8 Hours  
Max Frost Duration in a Day: 17.5 Hours 3rd 
     
Mean Sea Temperature: 7.8ºC (-0.3ºC)
Normal for Month: 8.1ºC  
Max Sea Temperature: 8.7ºC 26th
Min Sea Temperature: 6.9ºC 11th
     
Mean Pressure @ 9am: 1030.9 hPa (+15.8 hPa)
Mean Pressure: 1030.1 hPa (+15.0 hPa)
Max Pressure: 1042.0 hPa 8th
Min Pressure: 1009.5 hPa 18th
   
Radiation Daily Mean 5.8 MJ/m²  
Max Daily Value 13.5 MJ/m² 26th
Min Daily Value 1.2 MJ/m² 10th
Number of Days with Data 29 Days  
1-Hour Maximum 619 W/m² 19th
Starting Time of the Hour   12:45
     
Max Dewpoint: 11.6ºC 23rd 
Min Dewpoint: -7.9ºC 4th
Mean Dewpoint: 3.0ºC  
     
Max Humidity: 98% 13th
Min Humidity: 52% 2nd 
Mean Humidity: 84% (-0)

 

A generally dry, settled month with just a few brief rainy spells. Overall slightly warmer than average.

This month started cold, especially at night, until the 12th then it warmed considerably and remained that way until the end of the month. From the 23rd onwards it was very mild by day.
Rainfall was well below the average and occurred on just a few days. 18.4 mm of the total fell on just two days. This was the driest February since before 2005 and continues a run of months with lower than average rainfall.
There were 9 air frosts, most of which happened during the first half of the month. Three of the frosts could be considered as quite harsh (for here), that is they were below -4°C.
Sunshine levels were a little above the long term average for February. A particularly sunny, clear day on the 26th with 9.9 hours, this was 93% of the total possible. As expected for February, UV levels remained low but did increase steadily, especially during the last week of the month signifying the extra strength of the sun and heralding the arrival of spring.
No soil temperature readings were taken due to relocation of sensors.
Interestingly, for a month that was so warm the dominant wind direction was north. On the whole winds were generally light with the monthly maximum gust of only 25 mph.
Rainfall of any significance only fell of 4 out of the 29 days.
Sea surface temperatures fell slowly during the cold weather that dominated the first 12 days of the month, then they rose gradually reaching a peak on the 26th.
Mean pressure was well above the average for February and indicative of the settled nature of this month. This was the highest pressure anomaly of any month recorded since before 2005.
A new sensor has been added that measures solar irradiance in watts per square metre falling on a horizontal surface.
Dewpoints were often below the average due to a cold, easterly airstream during the 1st week.
Despite the lower than average dewpoint, the relative humidity was normal.
Weather Data for Otter Valley, Devon.  February 2012  
  Temp (oC) Hum (RH%) Dewpoint (oC) Wind (mph) Rain Pressure (hPa) Sun Sun  
  Min Max Ave Min Max Ave Min Max Ave Max Ave Run mm Min Max Ave W/m² Hours Observations
1 -0.3 4.3 2.0 64 85 75 -4.9 -1.0 -3.0 16 2.8 66 0.0 1028 1034 1031 453 7.8 Mist am, then sunny
2 -2.2 3.5 0.7 52 77 65 -6.3 -4.6 -5.5 17 3.1 75 0.0 1034 1037 1035 485 8.5 Sunny all day
3 -4.6 3.6 -0.5 56 87 72 -7.4 -4.1 -5.8 13 1.7 40 0.0 1037 1041 1039 570 8.6 Sunny all day
4 -5.8 7.1 0.7 86 97 92 -7.9 6.6 -0.7 21 3.4 83 8.4 1025 1040 1033 114 0.0 Cloudy am, rain pm
5 2.8 8.7 5.8 77 97 87 1.1 6.7 3.9 18 2.9 70 0.8 1021 1032 1026 267 3.4 Sunny intervals all day
6 3.2 8.3 5.8 83 97 90 0.9 6.2 3.6 5 0.9 22 0.0 1031 1034 1032 215 0.0 Cloudy all day
7 2.1 6.1 4.1 76 97 87 -0.8 2.6 0.9 10 1.1 27 0.0 1034 1041 1037 454 1.9 Sunny intervals all day
8 -3.6 1.9 -0.9 72 90 81 -6.5 -0.5 -3.5 13 1.9 46 0.0 1040 1042 1041 211 0.9 Brief sunny intervals all day
9 0.3 6.4 3.4 73 91 82 -3.0 2.1 -0.5 9 1.9 45 0.0 1037 1041 1039 489 6.1 Sunny all day
10 2.7 4.4 3.6 78 96 87 -0.7 3.8 1.6 16 3.3 79 9.4 1034 1037 1035 65 0.0 Rain all day
11 -3.3 5.4 1.1 68 93 81 -5.1 0.3 -2.4 11 1.7 42 0.0 1034 1037 1036 587 7.3 Sunny intervals all day
12 -4.6 8.1 1.8 85 97 91 -6.3 5.6 -0.4 11 1.4 34 0.4 1034 1037 1035 234 0.3 Cloudy am, sunny ints pm
13 3.6 8.6 6.1 79 98 89 2.7 5.9 4.3 17 2.5 61 0.0 1026 1034 1030 255 0.0 Cloudy all day
14 2.3 10.3 6.3 70 98 84 1.1 5.6 3.4 18 2.6 63 0.0 1026 1030 1028 450 3.6 Sunny intervals all day
15 7.8 11.2 9.5 70 83 77 3.4 6.3 4.9 21 6.3 152 0.0 1026 1031 1028 307 4.2 Sunny intervals all day
16 7.4 11.4 9.4 64 88 76 3.8 6.5 5.2 13 3.1 74 0.0 1028 1031 1030 600 1.7 Sunny ints am, cloudy pm
17 8.4 12.2 10.3 78 93 86 5.8 9.7 7.8 19 3.0 72 0.0 1023 1029 1026 395 2.7 Cloudy am, sunny ints pm
18 7.8 11.2 9.5 74 90 82 1.3 8.2 4.8 25 5.2 125 1.4 1010 1023 1016 411 2.8 Sunny intervals am, rain pm
19 -1.9 8.8 3.5 58 97 78 -3.1 3.0 -0.1 18 1.7 41 0.0 1016 1032 1024 619 6.3 Sunny intervals all day
20 -3.6 9.2 2.8 68 97 83 -5.1 4.8 -0.2 17 2.5 65 0.0 1030 1034 1032 495 4.2 Sunny intervals all day
21 3.6 10.1 6.9 82 96 89 1.8 7.4 4.6 19 3.2 78 0.0 1029 1030 1029 202 3.9 Sunny ints am, cloudy pm
22 8.3 11.1 9.7 81 96 89 6.7 11.2 9.0 25 7.2 173 2.8 1021 1029 1025 93 0.6 Brief sunny intervals all day
23 11.3 13.4 12.4 88 95 92 8.6 11.6 10.1 13 2.4 59 0.0 1022 1028 1025 268 0.4 Brief sunny intervals all day
24 9.1 12.9 11.0 85 94 90 7.9 10.5 9.2 12 1.6 36 0.0 1028 1030 1029 241 0.5 Brief sunny intervals all day
25 6.6 12.2 9.4 74 95 85 5.0 9.7 7.4 11 1.5 35 0.0 1027 1030 1028 299 2.1 Sunny intervals all day
26 1.3 12.4 6.9 67 98 83 0.3 7.3 3.8 10 2.0 49 0.0 1028 1030 1029 593 9.9 Sunny all day
27 7.1 13.1 10.1 77 97 87 5.6 9.6 7.6 11 1.1 27 0.0 1025 1028 1026 361 0.8 Brief sunny intervals all day
28 9.6 13.1 11.4 79 94 87 8.1 9.7 8.9 11 1.8 44 0.0 1024 1026 1025 313 0.2 Cloudy am, sunny ints pm
29 8.6 13.2 10.9 80 96 88 6.7 10.3 8.5 13 1.9 46 0.0 1023 1025 1024 594 7.0 Sunny intervals all day
2.9 9.0 6.0 74 93 84 0.5 5.6 3.0 15 2.6 1826 23.2 1027 1033 1030 367 95.8  

Graphs for February 2012
Figure 1. Temperature and Rainfall for February 2012.
Figure 2. Sunshine, UV Index and solar irradiance for February 2012.
Figure 3. Wind direction for February 2012.
Figure 4. Sea surface temperature & cooling/heating days for February 2012.