Daily Data for Each Month of 1996

1996- Cold and dry with frequent easterly winds, but a warm sunny summer (albeit less so than 1995)

1996 was the coldest year since I began recording, and the frequency of hail was the highest on record, and the frequency of lying snow equalled the record high in 1993.  It was another dry year, slightly drier than 1995 and about the same as 1994.  Sunshine was close to average.  Summer 1996 was quite thundery but the rest of the year had no thunder, so the number of thunder-days (7) was about average.

Winter 1995/96 was the coldest and snowiest winter quarter that I have recorded, although the 1993/94 season was slightly snowier overall than the 1995/96 season (as it included the exceptional November 1993).   Spring 1996 was also the coldest spring that I have recorded, by some way, and it was dry and cloudy, and the third successive dry spring.  Summer 1996 was the third warm sunny summer in a row, with warm days slightly offset by some cool nights, and slightly below average rainfall, much of which was convective in nature.  Autumn 1996 started with a cool dry cloudy September but October and November were sunny and wet.  December was cold for the second consecutive year.

January 1996- Exceptionally dull, warm first half, cold last third, snowy easterly on the 25th-27th

Southerly and south-easterly winds persisted for most of the month bringing frequent dry cloudy weather, and overall it was much drier than the previous three Januarys- though January 1997 was subsequently even drier.  The first half was warm, with plenty of mist and fog in the first week, and plenty of wet and windy weather in the second week.  The third week was generally dry and cloudy, then winds swung around to the east on the 21st bringing sleety showers.  Easterly and south-easterly winds persisted for the rest of the month.  The 26th had sunshine and snow showers and the 27th had more prolonged snow, but it turned to sleet late in the day with a thaw.  Some parts of the region had less than 10 hours of sunshine during the entire month.

February 1996- Cold, bright and snowy

February started cold and bright, with some hail and sleet showers on the 3rd.  The 5th-7th were mostly cloudy, with increasing amounts of snow, but most of the heavy snow stayed out west.  After a warmer, changeable spell, there was heavy wet snow early on the 12th which soon melted, and heavy hail showers on the 13th.  Another warmer interlude was followed by a potent northerly between the 19th and 21st.  The 19th was a very snowy day, but most of the snow melted overnight 19th/20th as the wind picked up off the sea, while it remained cold enough for showers to continue to produce snow and hail.  After more snow showers overnight 20th/21st, there was a thaw during the day on the 21st and the month ended sunny with frosty nights.  Overall it was not as cold or snowy as February 1994.

March 1996- Exceptionally cold and cloudy with frequent easterly winds

It began with a week of anticyclonic/northerly weather and large amounts of cloud, and it was warm by night.  Cold south-easterly winds then persisted from the 8th to 25th..  It turned warmer with some hazy sunshine on the 9th and 10th, then some light snow accumulated overnight 11th/12th.  A prolonged dull, drizzly spell followed, and there were 15 consecutive sunless days from the 11th to 25th inclusive.  After the snow melted it was mostly drizzly with featureless stratus and consistently low maxima.  The 26th onwards was much brighter with a wintry mix of showers, and the 27th and 31st stayed completely dry.  This was by far the coldest March that I have recorded.

April 1996- Dry first half but often cloudy with easterly winds, unsettled second half

April started dry and sunny with cool nights, but the cloudy south-easterly regime returned from the 6th to 14th, bringing some very low daytime maxima.  Westerly winds prevailed during the second half bringing a mixed bag of Atlantic weather.  A brief southerly incursion brought a warm humid interlude on the 20th/21st.  The last week saw April finally live up to its name with a mix of sunny intervals and April showers, with hail on the 29th and 30th.  The 30th, however, was quite dull. 

May 1996- Very cold until the 18th, a showery month but also quite sunny

Frequent north-easterly winds led to a remarkably cold first two-thirds of May.  The first week started with a dull wet day but then became sunny with isolated showers.  It turned cold and cloudy on the 11th and 12th, with showery rain on the 11th, and drizzle on the 12th.  A brief warm sunny interlude was followed by sunshine and showers from the 16th to 18th, with frequent hail showers on the 17th.  Temperatures rose close to normal during the last third, with sunshine and showers on most days, and a big hailstorm on the 21st.  There was a southerly on the 30th which brought the year's first maximum above 21C.  May came close to being colder than April this year.

June 1996- Dry and sunny, warm days and cool nights

The month began quite mixed with sunshine and showers on the 1st and 2nd.  The 5th was also mixed, then it became warm on the 6th and 7th, with thunder shortly after sunset on the 6th, and torrential rain late on the 7th.  The unsettled (but reasonably sunny) conditions broke down on the 12th followed by a spell of dry sunny weather, with warm days and cool nights.  It turned cool and cloudy towards the 20th with northerly winds, but the 21st was bright and showery.  Another warm dry sunny spell followed, then the last few days were dull, in contrast to most of the rest of the month.  There was about a third more sun than usual, but it was not as dry as the previous three Junes, owing mainly to the cloudbursts on the 7th.

July 1996- Cool showery first week, cool cloudy last week, often warm dry and sunny during the rest of the month

The first week had sunshine and showers on every day, and there were some very heavy showers with hail on the 1st and 4th, and also some thunder on the 1st.  It turned warmer with variable cloud cover in the second week, then from the 15th to 21st it was dry with hazy sunshine and increasingly warm- turning hot by the 20th with 27C recorded on two consecutive days.  Thunderstorms broke out on late evening of the 22nd, and there were thundery downpours on the 23rd, followed by a rather cold cloudy day on the 24th.  The last week of the month was generally cool and cloudy with westerly winds.  Overall the month was slightly sunnier than average with near average temperatures and rainfall, the average temperatures arrived at by a combination of warm days and cool nights.

August 1996- Warm and sunny, some showery thundery outbreaks, very hot third week

After a showery start it became mainly dry and sunny from the 3rd to the 5th.  A cloudy, humid spell followed with some distant thunder on the 6th.  High pressure took over starting on the 14th, and from the 16th to 19th it was very hot, with 29.4C on the 18th, the highest temperature that I have recorded- 30C was locally reached across the region.  From the 23rd onwards, sunshine and showers dominated and there was some thunder and vivid cloud-to-cloud lightning late on the 23rd, and a few rumbles on the 24th.  The 28th was unusual in that sunshine and showers occurred despite onshore winds, although the 29th was then a one-off cold dull windy day.

September 1996- Cloudy and very dry, with frequent easterly winds

 In a similar vein to much of the spring, September 1996 was dominated by easterly winds which brought mainly dry cloudy weather, especially during the first week.  There was a cold bright showery northerly on the 12th/13th, followed by a high pressure spell with reasonable amounts of sunshine.  Easterly winds then returned, and after a couple of bright showery days on the 18th and 19th, it turned mainly dry and cloudy with no sun at all on the 20th.  Westerly winds arrived during the last week bringing wetter but often brighter weather.  It was a very dry September, but subsequently September 1997 was even drier.

October 1996- Changeable, warm, quite sunny

The month started with a mixed week, a dramatic cold front swept through on the 3rd followed by a showery day on the 4th, while most other days were dry with variable amounts of sunshine.  Low pressure around midmonth brought a mixture of sunshine and showers.  Rain belts affected the area between the 18th and 20th, followed by a warm southerly plume which brought hazy sunshine and temperatures of 17C.  The 25th onwards brought frequent wet and windy weather but also generous amounts of sunshine, and there were gales late on the 28th.

November 1996- Cold (though not as cold as November 1993), wet, and very sunny, frequent snow in the second half

In contrast to the rest of the month, it started with two exceptionally warm, dry and cloudy days.  Westerly winds persisted from the 3rd to the 9th bringing bright showery weather, and a gale on the 6th caused some structural damage.  Freezing fog persisted all day on the 10th, and showers on the 11th were initially sleety.  There was a lengthy cold snap from the 18th to 27th, with frequent northerly winds, and some wet snowfalls at times.  Heavy snow showers late on the 20th deposited an inch of snow cover which took until the 25th to melt completely, while the weather remained mostly bright and showery through to the end of the month.  The 24th was a one-off cloudy wet day, during which rain turned to sleet and snow at times.

December 1996- Cold, with frequent easterly winds in the last third, snowy end

After showers and rainbows on the first day, a dull wet day on the 3rd saw rain briefly turn sleety.  High pressure on the 6th-12th brought hazy sunshine initially, but anticyclonic gloom then took over.   After a showery day on the 13th it turned cloudy and mild with westerlies.  Easterly winds dominated from the 20th to 25th, bringing alternating dry cloudy and bright showery spells.  Christmas Day had mostly rain showers, but a brief snow flurry in the early evening made it a bookies' “White Christmas”- but to my mind it isn't a real white Christmas if there is no snow cover..  There was snow late on Boxing Day but it melted on the 27th as hail and sleet showers moved in from the North Sea.  After a dull wet day on the 29th, cold north-easterlies brought sunshine on the 30th and snow showers moved in during the afternoon, and continued during the 31st.  There was a general 1-2 inch cover and this easterly outbreak strongly reminded me of some of the easterlies of the winter of 1993/94.