APRIL 1996
April on Fair Isle was a little warmer than usual with the mean temperature 0.6 Celsius above the long-term mean. It was also slightly drier and duller than average, with 90.8% and 89.8% of normal rainfall and sunshine respectively.
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| Synoptic Review |
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Monthly Data
1996 Day 1974-95 1996 Day 1974-95
Mean Max Temperature 7.8 7.3 Highest Max temp 10.4 20 12.2
Mean Min Temperature 4.6 3.9 Lowest Min temp -0.3 1 -4.0
Mean Sea Temperature 7.0 7.4 Lowest grass minimum -7.2 1 -8.9
30 cm Earth temperature 6.0 5.9 Days with ground frost 3 7.3
100cm Earth temperature 5.7 5.7 Days with air frost 1 1.7
Total Rainfall (mm) 44.8 49.2 Days with snow/sleet 3 6.1
Wettest Day (mm) 6.7 24 10.2 Days snow cover 09hr 0 0.6
Rain Days (0.1mm +) 15 17.3 Days with hail 2 7.3
Wet Days (0.9mm +) 11 11.8 Days fog during 24hrs 6 6.0
Total sunshine, hrs 134.5 149.0 Days with fog at 09hrs 2 1.6
Sunniest day, hrs 13.0 20 12.7 Days with NIL sun 6 4.5
Mean wind speed, kts 13.8 14.7 Days with gale 0 2.3
Maximum gust, kts 49 22 54.1 Days with thunder 1 0.2
Mean Sea Level pressure 1013.4 1013.5 Days with aurora 4 2.6
Wind Direction%
North 3.3 14.4 S. West 16.7 11.4
N. East 6.7 9.2 West 3.3 15.1
East 13.3 11.9 N. West 0.0 10.6
S. East 36.7 13.3
South 20.0 12.9 CALM 0.0 1.1
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The month began with an anticyclone to the west of the British Isles and a cold, showery north-easterly airflow down over Shetland. The high then drifted east across Scotland and into the North Sea by the 3rd, bringing milder south-westerly winds to the Northern Isles. During the first week the high pressure, settling over Scandinavia, blocked the eastward movement of Atlantic frontal systems and the north enjoyed a reasonably sunny and settled spell of weather.
On the 8th and 9th, as the anticyclone receded into western Russia, the Atlantic fronts were at last driven north-east across Shetland.
Anticyclonic conditions returned on the 10th, with pressure building over the Norwegian Sea and then drifting south through Norway into the North Sea during the next few days. Winds were strong SE'ly over the Northern Isles, but again it remained dry with the fronts blocked to the west. On the 12th, with 9.5 hours sunshine, Lerwick was the sunniest place in the UK.
The high over the North Sea then began to decline south-eastwards on the 14th and a very complex area of low pressure was then able to drive frontal troughs eastwards into the UK - and north-east across Shetland on the 15th when Lerwick, with a maximum temperature of 8.4 Celsius, was the coldest place in the UK.
The next few days were unsettled, with a small but vigorous depression of 985 mb tracking north-east just to the west of Scotland on the 17th when Fair Isle recorded the UK's lowest maximum of 7.7 Celsius. Lerwick followed suite on the 18th with 7.5 Celsius - this more due to the fact that it was mild across the rest of the British Isles, rather than being particularly cold across the Northern Isles.
With low pressure close to NW Scotland Fair Isle, sheltered by the Scottish mainland, then had two sunny days - and, with 13.0 hours, was the sunniest place in the UK on the 20th.
Between the 21st and 23rd a sequence of lows, originating in Biscay, moved north through the British Isles. Mild and moist air moving up the North Sea brought wet, windy and foggy conditions to the Northern Isles during this period. On the 21st Weybourne (Norfolk) recorded a maximum temperature of 23.8 Celsius. The foggy conditions finally cleared from the Northern Isles on the 24th as an Atlantic low drove a cold front east through the British Isles and strong W'ly winds brought cooler, showery weather to many areas.
A weak ridge crossed Shetland from the west on the 25th, followed by several days of unsettled weather as a depression moved south-east from Iceland. Low pressure then transfered south-east into southern Scandinavia and, with an anticyclone building in the eastern Atlantic, the month ended as it had begun with cool north to north-easterly winds bringing wintry showers and night frosts. On the 28th, with a maximum temperature of 5.3 Celsius, Sella Ness was the coldest place in the UK while Foula, with a maximum of 5.7 Celsius, achieved this status on the 29th.
April 1996
Weather Diary not presently available