March 2016 saw temperatures slightly below average and the wettest March so far recorded here. Winds were lighter than average for the time of year.
The average temperature in the month was 5.3°C, compared to the monthly mean of 5.7°C. The highest temperature recorded was 12.9°C at 15:11 on the 26th, with the lowest temperature being -2.7°C at 02:20 on the 8th. The average daily high of 8.7°C was 0.8°C below the mean of 9.5, while the average daily low was 2.1, 0.2°C below the mean.
The high wind chill temperature was 11.7°C, the average was 4.1°C and the low was -3.3°C. The maximum dew point was 10.7°C on the 26th, the low was -4.4°C on the 8th and the average was 2.7°C. There were 95.4 hours of sunshine in the month, the highest since September 2015. At 13:47 on the 30th, the solar high was 979 w/m², the highest since 1028 w/m² was recorded on September 2nd 2015. The highest U.V. Index was 2.5 on the 13th and the 30th.
Despite a run of 14 consecutive days without any measurable precipitation, March 2016 turned out to be the wettest March on record with 49.2 millimetres being recorded. This beat the previous wettest of 45.2 millimetres set in 2010. The run of dry weather was the longest dry spell since July 2013 when no rain fell for 17 days. The wettest day was the 28th when 14.8 millimetres fell and there were 13 rain days. There was no measurable snow recorded. So far in 2016, there has been 139.4 millimetres of rainfall.
Wind speeds in March were generally lighter than average. The maximum average wind speed was 19 mph on the 28th, with the highest gust speed being 34 mph at 16:31 on the 26th, the average being 35.3 mph. The average wind speed in the month was 4 mph and the average gust speed was 6 mph. The average wind direction was 178° and the total wind run was 2926.6 miles.
At 23:01 on the 13th, the barometric pressure reached 1036.8 millibars, the highest since 1037.9 millibars was recorded on the 28th September 2015, and on the 28th at 06:34, the barometric pressure fell to 971.4 millibars, this was the lowest pressure since 970.5 millibars was recorded on February 8th 2014. The average barometric pressure in the month was 1013.1 millibars. The average humidity in the month was 84%. The highest humidity was 99% on the 4th, the first time that 100% humidity has not been recorded in March.
