MOTTISFONT CLIMATE STATION
Review of 2013's weather
2013 was drier and colder than average at Mottisfont.
Rainfall for the whole year was 826.6mm and this was 103.4mm (over 4ins) below the 2001-2010 average for the site.
December was the wettest month with 178mm of rainfall and at the other end of the scale July was the driest month with only 19.5mm of rain or about 26 per cent of the average.
Spring saw more frosts than average and it was the warmest and driest summer at Mottisfont for many years.
However, despite this, the annual mean temperature was only 8.6C or nearly 2C below average. This was largely due to some very cold nights from January to late June.
Temperature wise the highest daily maximum recorded was 32C or 90F on July 22 and the lowest air reading was -8C on January 18.
Coldest day of the year was Jan 18 with a maximum of -0.8C and snow lying just over 5ins deep at Mottisfont. Snow was widespread across central south England that day.
Sleet and snow in one form or another fell no less than 23 days at Mottisfont in 2013.
A staggering 115 air and 169 ground frosts were also recorded at Mottisfont.
Brief highlights of each month’s weather
January
This month was noted for its snowy and colder than average conditions.
It got off to a mild start but it turned much colder on January 12 and this cold and wintry spell of weather lasted until almost the end of the month.
Average max temp 6.5C. Average min temp 0C. Rainfall total 84.4mm.
February
Another much colder than average month with further snow at times. However, there weren't any great accumulations. Like, January the month was also drier than average with 54.9mm of rainfall.
Average max temp 5.9C. Average minimum -2.15C.
March
A very cold month with temperature well below the norm and it turned out to be Hampshire’s coldest March since 1962.
Snow was more frequent than usual with the white stuff falling albeit in small amounts on no less than seven days.
There were also some very harsh frosts at times through the month.
Average max temp 6.8c. Average minimum temp -2.1C. Rainfall was higher than average with a total of 90mm.
April
Despite good spells of sunshine at times, the month was much colder than average with snow falling on two days. It was also much drier than average with a total of 34.9mm of rain.
Average max temp 12.4C. Average minimum 0.7C.
May
Yet another month with well below average temperatures with some severe night frosts at times.
May 9 was extremely stormy with gales and wind speeds of 50mph were recorded at Southampton and 56mph at the Needles off the Isle of Wight coast.
Average max temp 15.8C. Average minimum 3.07C.
Rainfall was slightly below average with 52.8mm.
June
This month was again much colder than average but it was also slighter drier than normal with only 38.4mm of rain. There was also a lot of sunshine.
Monthly average maximum temp 19.5C. Average minimum 6.7C.
July
Summer final arrived. This was the first month of the year when daily maximum temperatures were well above normal. However, night values were still down on where they should have been. Sunshine was plentiful at times and rain was well below average with a total of 19.5mm. Rainfall was well below average with just 19.5mm.
Monthly average max temp 25.8C. Average minimum 9.1C.
August
Much drier than average with only 32mm of rain. Daily maximum temperatures were again above average but minimum values were below normal and ground frosts were recorded at Mottisfont on August 8 and 13.
Average max temp 23.4c. Average minimum 9.2C
September
A frosty month with grass minimum temperatures below freezing on 10 nights.
Daytime temperatures were also below normal with the monthly average at 19.4C but rainfall was slightly above average with a total of 55.9mm.
October
Wet and very stormy at times. The St Jude’s Day storm on October 27 saw wind gusts of more than 74mph rip across central southern England and this resulted in widespread damage to trees and some property. A specimen Indian bean tree and around half a dozen large beech trees were blown over on the Mottisfont Estate.
Generally temperatures were above average throughout the month. Rainfall was also higher than usual with 114.2mm logged at Mottisfont.
Average max 16.5C. Average minimum 6.4C.
November
A colder and much drier month than average with 65.6mm of rainfall – most of which was of a showery nature. Both air and ground frosts were more frequent than usual.
Average max temp 10.2C. Average minimum 0.5C.
December
This month was a washout with 178mm of rainfall – almost twice the average amount for Mottisfont. It was all down to the jetstream steering Atlantic bearing weather fronts across the UK that dumped copious amounts of rainfall on us leading to widespread flooding including in Romsey. There were also damaging winds on Christmas Eve that toppled scores of trees in Hampshire and neighbouring counties.
It was also a very mild month with the average daily maximum temperature at 8.8C and this was 2.1C above the norm.