Spring is almost here

Spring is almost here

There is normally one day around this time of year that suddenly makes me realise that Spring is almost here and it kick starts me into sowing seeds and readying the veg beds, and today was that day. It isn't just being aware of a warmer sun, it's a mixture of things. Many buds on the fruit bushes are looking as though they are about to open, Daffodils burst into colour and the Hawthorn leaves have started to show on the odd bush, the Crocuses are almost all out and the greenhouse feels very warm now.

Looking back at February's weather and comparing it to the first 10 days of March I can clearly see the difference. The average temperature "High" in the first 10 days of March is nearly 3.5 degrees C higher than in February and the number of hours of sun in Feb averaged out as 2.2 hrs per day compared with 4.4 hrs for March so far. Clearly a big difference.

The average UV index for Feb was 1.2 and so far in March it has averaged 2.1 and yesterday the UV index averaged 3 for the day which is the first time it has reached this level since September and so March has the same risk to your skin as September has.

The last day of air frost / freezing temperatures was 2nd of May last year and 1st of May in 2013 so we still have a way to go before the freezing temperatures stop but since Onion sets are normally happy as long as the temperature doesn't fall to minus 5 or so and since the coldest night (air temp) has been -3.5 this winter I think it is safe to plant Onions, which is what I did today as well as Early Onward Peas and some Field Beans.

I also looked at the worms in the compost heap today, as I do most weeks, and the worms are closer to the surface and are far more active than previous weeks. The Algae and duckweed in the pond has also started to multiply as well as the pond snails. I also saw the first Brimstone Butterfly yesterday as well as a couple of Bees today and this week has seen the Tomato plant seeds germinate in the greenhouse. The Willow has had it's Catkins out for a while now and the grass is growing and now needs cutting. Also the Solar lights along the path are brighter

The wind for March has come from the North West so far but today has seen it change to the South East and the forecast for the next week is also South / South East and so is yet another indication of better things to come.

So many pointers to Spring being around the corner.

With a tax rebate of £1900 paid into my account today it can only mean one thing.....off to the garden centre tomorrow! 

February

Temperature

***********

Maximum February 2015 Temperature outside was day: 25 at 13.3 Deg C 

The average high for February was 8.2 Deg C 

The average low for February was 1.17 Deg C 

Minimum February 2015 Temperature outside was day: 10 at -2.8 Deg C 

Average February 2015 temperature outside is: 7.48 Degrees C

There were 6 freezing days  and the last day of air frost was 27 in February

First frost day was: 1

Solar

****

Potential Electricity production (24 sq Metres of panels / 4KW system): 126.19 kWhs (£16.41)

There were 61.87 Hours of sun (>120 W/m2 irradiance) in February

The Average UV Index was: 1.21946

The sunniest day was: 9 with an average UV Index of: 2.56606

The dullest day was: 12 with an average UV Index of: 0.181467

Cloud

*****

Average cloud percentage: 67.03%

There were:

   Awful Days: 2 - Totally dark clouds all day

   Dull Days: 12 - Mainly cloud all day

   OK Days: 2 - Sunny spells

   Nice Days: 5 - High cloud, fair amount of sun

   Very Nice Days: 3 - Almost no cloud all day

Wind

****

(This site sees 40% less wind than Met Office suggests. Wind & Gusts are averaged over 10 minutes)

Max gust, not averaged over 10min was from NW, Jan 25th 2014, at 59.3 mph - perhaps tornado close by.

Taking into account wind is 40% down then this would have been around 100 mph

February 2015 Maximum gust of wind was day: 22 at 29.8 mph 

Windiest day was: 23 with an average speed of: 12.59 mph predominantly from a North Westerly direction

There were 0 days of gales (10min average wind speed above 34knots / 39.13mph) in February

Wind Rose for February 2015

 N (average:  0 mph) - 0 days

 NE (average:  5.93 mph) - 7 days

 E (average:  0 mph) - 0 days

 SE (average:  4.36 mph) - 2 days

 S (average:  0 mph) - 0 days

 SW (average:  5.52 mph) - 2 days

 W (average:  0 mph) - 0 days

 NW (average:  6.21 mph) - 17 days

The wind in February could produce a maximum 260.824 KWHs of power (£33.91) for a 4 metre blade turbine

Pressure

********

Lowest February 2015 pressure day was: 23 with 981.8 millbars

Highest February 2015 pressure day was: 8 with 1035.9 millbars

Rain

****

Total February 2015 rainfall was: 62.17mm

Wettest Day was: 1 with 13.5mm of rain which represents 21.72% of February rainfall

There were 10 rainy days (above 1mm) in February

There were 1650 minutes of rain or 27.5 hours (rounded up to nearest 10 minutes) in February

Rain rate was 2.27mm per hour.

139.51 cubic metres  (139509 litres / 30687.8 Gallons)  of rain fell on the plot of land in February

26.68 cubic metres  (26670.9 litres / 5866.78 Gallons)  of rain fell on the house area (House stables yard garden) in February

112.84 cubic metres  (112839 litres / 24821 Gallons)  of rain fell on the field in February

When raining, 2.27 litres / 0.5 Gallons of rain fell per hour on each square metre of ground in February

Each square metre saw 62.17 litres / 13.68 Gallons of rain in February

March so far

Temperature

***********

Maximum March 2015 Temperature outside was day: 7 at 16.71 Deg C 

The average high for March was 11.64 Deg C 

The average low for March was 1.57 Deg C 

Minimum March 2015 Temperature outside was day: 9 at -2.6 Deg C 

There were 3 freezing days  and the last day of air frost was 11 in March

First frost day was: 9

Solar

*****

Potential Electricity production (24 sq Metres of panels / 4KW system): 108.51 kWhs (£14.11)

There were 44.35 Hours of sun (>120 W/m2 irradiance) in March

The Average UV Index was: 2.11087

The sunniest day was: 10 with an average UV Index of: 3.09093

The dullest day was: 5 with an average UV Index of: 0.868141

Cloud

*****

Average cloud percentage: 31.43%

There were:

   Awful Days: 0 - Totally dark clouds all day

   Dull Days: 2 - Mainly cloud all day

   OK Days: 1 - Sunny spells

   Nice Days: 3 - High cloud, fair amount of sun

   Very Nice Days: 4 - Almost no cloud all day