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WRITTEN NARRATIVE OF THE WEATHER OF MARCH 1998
The unsettled and rather cold weather which broke out on the 28th February continued into March. Sleet fell early on the 1st in a light North-West wind. The weather was very wet and unsettled during the first week of the month, as over 63mm of rain fell during that time. Snow fell on the evening of the 4th, which was quite a sunny day, despite the rough conditions. However, the 6th was particularly miserable, with overcast, leaden skies and a biting wind. It snowed in the morning and rained for the rest of the day and into the night.
There were sunny spells on the afternoon of the 8th. The 9th was the first totally dry day of the month but there was a severe frost that morning after a very cold night. The temperature dropped to 27F, the second coldest night recorded this winter.
A reasonably mild and sunny day on the 11th was followed by a wet day. Late that day a strong anti-cyclone arrived from the west and it brought milder temperatures and more settled conditions. This was needed as a dry period was needed to counteract the very wet first week. The 14th and 15th were beautiful days and the air pressure reached 1044MB on the 19th as the anti-cyclone became stationary. That day and the 22nd were also fine days with high sunshine totals. No rain fell at all until the 24th, when low pressure took hold.
The remainder of the month was generally unsettled, but there was no return to any of the wet weather which characterised the first week of the month. The winds remained in a southerly direction for the remainder of the month and a very mild spell was recorded between the 28th and the 30th of March. The maximum temperature on the 28th was 65F, the highest of the month. The nights of the 28th/29th and 29th/30th were very mild. On the latter night the night temperatures didn't fall below 54F, making it the mildest March night recorded since 1957.
March 1998 can be roughly split into two halves regarding temperature. The first half was cold, as 50F was exceeded only 4 times in the first 12 days, but the second half was mild, as the maxima fell below 50F only once in the last 18 days. As a result of a few warm days in the second half of the month, temperatures were above the long term average. March 1998's sunshine totals were just one and a half hour up on those of February 1998. Both were mild months, February exceptionally so, and February was marginally warmer. February 1998 was exceptionally sunny. March 1998 was cloudy. Rainfall totals were above average in March, helped by the very wet first week, and overall, it was the wettest March recorded since that of 1988.
Kevin Phillips - 10.30pm - Sunday 5th April 1998.
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