MARCH 1996
March 1996 was a cold, dry and exceptionally dull month. It was also cooler than normal with the meant temperature 0.4° Celsius below the long-term mean. The sunshine total of 56.0 hours is the lowest March value ever recorded on Fair Isle (the previous lowest was 72.4 hours in 1980). Perhaps more significant is the fact that, of this total, 46.0 hours sunshine was recorded during the last week of the month. During the first 23 days there was only 10.0 hours of sunshine. The mean daily cloud amount of 7.1 oktas is also the highest value for any March on Fair Isle. The month's weather was dominated by high pressure - the mean value of 1022.2 mb is the highest March figure recorded on the isle - bringing persistent dry easterly winds. The mean daily relative humidity of 79.8% is a record low for March. Relative humiditiy values in the low 50% range were quite common during the month - rather unusual considering the oceanic nature of the Fair Isle climate.
 | Daily Data |
| Weather Diary |
1996 Day 1974-95 1996 Day 1974-95
Mean Max Temperature 5.5 6.0 Highest Max temp 8.6 6 10.9
Mean Min Temperature 2.8 3.1 Lowest Min temp -0.7 26 -5.0
Mean Sea Temperature 6.5 6.8 Lowest grass minimum -5.0 25 -12.5
30 cm Earth temperature 4.5 4.7 Days with ground frost 9 10.2
100cm Earth temperature 5.1 5.0 Days with air frost 1 3.5
Total Rainfall (mm) 48.2 84.2 Days with snow/sleet 16 12.4
Wettest Day (mm) 21.4 11 13.4 Days snow cover 09hr 1 2.9
Rain Days (> 0.1mm) 20 22.1 Days with hail 16 11.8
Wet Days (> 0.9mm) 9 17.3 Days fog during 24hrs 0 4.1
Total sunshine, hrs 56.0 98.3 Days with fog at 09hrs 0 0.8
Sunniest day, hrs 10.8 31 9.4 Days with NIL sun 13 7.2
Mean wind speed, kts 17.8 19.1 Days with gale 4 8.0
Maximum gust, kts 75 12 66.0 Days with thunder 0 0.6
Mean Sea Level pressure 1022.2 1006.6 Days with aurora 1 4.3
Wind Direction%
North 16.1 8.9 S. West 3.2 17.3
N. East 3.2 4.4 West 9.7 16.9
East 9.7 8.4 N. West 12.9 9.4
S. East 35.5 13.9
South 9.7 19.8 CALM 0.0 1.1
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View the Temperature Graph
March 1996
1| Overnight the WNW'ly F5 fell calm by 0600 UTC, soon becoming E'ly F1 before veering SSE F3 by midday. Persistent rain and drizzle - with extensive low stratus and visibility 5 km to 20 km - became intermittent during the afternoon. Low stratus gave fog for a time. About 1430 UTC the wind veered NW and increased F4. A mild day. At 1652 UTC - with a visibility southwards of about 20 km - a gap appeared in the stratus just above the SW horizon through which the sun shone. The sunlight, together with a bank of drizzle to the NE resulted in the formation of a strong rainbow. A second hole then appeared just to the right (west) of the original hole and, though the sun was not shining directly through this new hole, it did act as a second light source bright enough to produce a second, weaker rainbow. This was offset to the right by the same angle (about a hands width at arms length) as separated the two (light-source) holes in the stratus. The two rainbows intersected close to their maximum elevation.
2| Cloudy overnight, with a little light drizzle and a NW'W wind increasing F5. Visibility generally around 12 km to 20 km. The day remained cloudy with further outbreaks of light rain and drizzle with the visibility falling to 1500 m late in the afternoon. During the morning the wind veered NW'ly and then NNW to N'W'ly in the evening - increasing F5-6 for a time. Continuing mild with the temperature around 7° Celsius.
3| Some early drizzle soon dying out to give a dry night. The low stratus sheet cleared to broken stratocumulus and a medium level overcast by dawn. Some sunny intervals developed during the afternoon as the medium level cloud thinned to cirrus. Lower cloud returned during the evening. The wind throughout was NW'ly - F6 at first, but soon easing F4. The visibility was generally 15 km to 20 km, but fell to 10 km for a time in haze during the morning.
4| The cloud cleared overnight to give a virtually cloudless, bright start to the day. By 0700 UTC a high stratocumulus cloudsheet had spread in from the north. Subsequently this gradually lowered with some lower stratus/cumulus developing. The day was dry apart from a little light drizzle early in the afternoon. The wind, NW to N'W F4 at first veered NNW to N'W late in the morning and increased F6 for the afternoon before easing F4-5 in the evening. Visibility 20 km to 25 km. 1200 UTC: Sea temperature 6.9° Celsius.
5| A dry, cloudy night with the N'ly F4 wind backing W'ly. Outbreaks of drizzle after 0700 UTC, moderate at times in the late morning with the visibility falling from 20 km to 1500 m and low stratus. Then becoming brighter during the afternoon with the cloud becoming well broken and the wind veering NW'W - increasing F5 for a time in the early evening.
6| Some rain overnight, with some low stratus on the hill, followed by a mild, dry but cloudy day. The visibility 20 km to 30 km and the wind W'N to NW'ly F3-4 at first, easing F2-3 during the afternoon.
7| A dry, cloudy day with the visibility 40 km to 60 km. The wind was light and variable or calm overnight and at first, but freshened SSE to SE'ly F5 during the evening. With an edge to the stratocumulus sheet just visible above the south-west horizon there was a spectacular sunset just before 1800 UTC as the sun briefly appeared in the gap. By late evening the cloud had become well broken. 1130 UTC: Sea temperature 7.1° Celsius.
8| Overnight the stratocumulus cloudsheet again became extensive - with a cloudy, but dry day following. Overnight the wind increased SE F5, and further to a F5-6 during the morning. With the increasing wind the visibility fell from 40 km to 20 km. It also became somewhat cooler, with the temperature falling to around 4° Celsius.
9| The wind increased SE'E F6 overnight - with the visibility continuing to fall to be 8 km by the afternoon. A cloudy, raw day with the temperature around 4° Celsius.
10| A cloudy, mostly dry day - apart from some patchy drizzle overnight and at first during the morning. The early visibility of 8 km falling to 3000 m by afternoon in haze. Also windy with the F6-7 SSE to SE wind soon increasing F7 generally and to gale F8 2130-2145 UTC.
11| A cold, cloudy day with rain or rain and drizzle from 0908 UTC. During the afternoon the precipitation was moderate at times - turning to rain and snow (briefly some ice pellets) after 1600 UTC. The visibility was mostly 2500 m to 3500 m, falling to 1500 m during the afternoon. The moderate precipitation continued through the evening. A windy day with the SE'ly F7 increasing gale F8 at times overnight, with the gale continuous from 0500 UTC. The gale increased F9 at 1930 UTC, with frequent gusts in excess of 60 knots during the evening and 70 knots at 2245 UTC. The wind increased further to SE'ly storm F10 at 2330 UTC. 1130 UTC: Sea temperature 6.7° Celsius. At 1420 UTC an 'Islander' aircraft, southbound to Aberdeen, reported moderate icing at 6000 feet.
12| A very windy day with the SE'ly storm F10 increasing violent storm F11 0805-0817 UTC. Visibility was much reduced by flying spray to around 1500 m during the morning, but improved to 4000 m in the afternoon after the wind eased severe gale F9 at 1155 UTC and further to gale F8 at 1440 UTC. Gusts in excess of 70 knots occurred during every hour between 2200 UTC on Monday and 1200 UTC today. The maximum gust was 75 knots at 0808 UTC. Rain and snow was continuous throughout the period - moderate at times. However, as it tasted salty, there was probably a high degree of sea water in it! By the end of the afternoon snow was lying on ground above 400 feet. The gale eased F7 at 2355 UTC. Low drifting sand in both Shetland and Orkney.
13| A cold, cloudy and windy day with occasional light showers of snow, soft hail or snow pellets. For a time around 0800-0900 UTC the showers became more frequent and moderate in intensity with the visibility falling from 15-20 km to 1500 m. Some thawing snow/ice lay on the ground until after 1000 UTC. The wind remained SE to SE'E F7, increasing F8 0130-0140 UTC. At 1025 UTC an aircraft reported being "VMC on top at 7000 feet" - i.e. the cloud top height.
14| Further wintry showers overnight, with a general snow cover down to 300 feet above sea level, followed by a cold, cloudy day with further wintry showers of snow, snow pellets, rain and small hail. Visibility was generally 15 km to 20 km, but falling to 1500 m occasionally in the moderate showers. The wind continued SE to ESE F6-7. At 1545 UTC an aircraft reported the cloud tops at 7000 feet.
15| Remaining cloudy with frequent light wintry showers of rain, snow, snow pellets and small hail. The F6 SE to ESE'ly wind continued all day. Visibility 15 km to 20 km.
16| Another cold, cloudy and windy day. The SE to ESE'ly wind - still a F6 - slowly backing ESE to SE'E'ly. Visibility was around 15 km to 18 km with scattered light wintry showers of small hail, snow pellets, rain and snow.
17| Continuing dull with frequent light rain showers, but some snow pellets 173-1740 UTC. A raw day with the temperature around 3° to 4° Celsius and a F5-6 ESE wind becoming E'S during the afternoon.
18| Another cloudy day with the E'S F5 easing SE'E to SE'ly F4 during the afternoon. Remaining cold, with the temperature between 3° and 4° Celsius and persistent rain and drizzle - with some flakes of snow at times. The visibility - generally around 20 km - fell to 8 km for a time during the afternoon and evening. An 'Islander' aircraft southbound to Aberdeen at 1500 UTC experienced heavy icing between 2000 feet and the cloud tops at 6000 feet.. 0930 UTC: Sea temperature 6.3° Celsius.
19| A cold, cloudy night with further outbreaks of rain, drizzle and a few wet snow flakes. The drizzle was moderate at times with the visibility falling to 6 km. Some ice pellets during the morning. During the afternoon it became dry, with the visibility improving to 25 km. The wind was ESE to SE'ly F4 at first easing F3 later in the afternoon and F3 in the evening.
20| Dry overnight with F3 E'ly wind backing N'ly. At 0750 UTC Sumburgh in Shetland was reporting 29 knots NE'E'ly while Fair Isle had NE'ly 12 knots. The first of a band of showers slowly moving down from the NE arrived at Fair Isle at 0841 - soon becoming moderate with small hail. The NE'ly wind began to increase from 0925 UTC, soon becoming F5-6, and F7 by 1100 UTC. The showers were frequent and wintry during the morning with rain, small hail and a few flakes of wet snow but died out during the early afternoon. A moderate halo was observed for a time around mid-afternoon. The overnight visibility of 30 km to 40 km fell to 15 km in the showers. There were a few light showers during the evening, during which period the wind eased NE'ly F6.
21| The F6 NE wind eased after 0045 UTC to be F 3 by 0130z, and E'S by 0600 UTC. Overnight rain showers died out by 0700 UTC to give a sunny morning, but rain and snow showers developed for a time late morning/early afternoon. The wind remained E to SE'E F3-4 all day with the early visibility of 25 km falling to 4000 m in haze during the afternoon.
22| A cloudy day, dry overnight but with showers developing by late morning. Very light at first, but becoming a little heavier with some of rain and snow in the late afternoon. Overnight the wind increased SE F4-5, increasing further to F5 for a time. By morning the visibility had increased to 20 km, but fell to 10 km to 20 km with the onset of the showers. At 0848 UTC an aircraft reported icing at 3000 feet.
23| A cloudy day with the visibility 12 km to 18 km. The SE F4 wind veered S'E F3-4 overnight, but was generally SE to S'ly for much of the day, veering S'W to SSW F3 by early evening. Later the cloud became broken for a time. 1415 UTC: Sea temperature 6.3° Celsius.
24| A cloudy, dry night with a slight ground frost - probably occurring during the previous evening when the cloud was broken and winds were lighter. Winds increasing WNW F4 overnight with rain and small hail showers developing by 0540 UTC. These were moderate at times, but had ceased by 0905 UTC. Then followed a pleasant, mild day and sunny day with the wind NW to NNE F3. The visibility improved from an early 12 km to 40 km by early afternoon. The comet Hyakutake was clearly visible almost overhead during the evening - despite the thin cirrus that had been extensive for much of the day. By midnight, with only a small amount of cirrus present, the comet was particularly impressive. A slight aurora glow was also visible to the north.
25| Becoming cloudy overnight as a stratocumulus cloudsheet spread in - the wind remaining calm or light and variable in direction with 50 km visibility. During the late morning there was some sunshine for a time as the stratocumulus sheet apparently separated overhead - one half moving south the other north, but then coming together again. There were again some sunny periods for a time later in the afternoon, as the wind began to freshen W to WNW F4. After a dry day a moderate rain shower commenced at 1810 UTC, quickly followed at 1815 UTC by the wind veering N'ly and increasing F5. Much of the evening was then dry, but rain and snow showers had developed by midnight.
26| A cold night with a F5 N to NNW'ly wind and showers of snow and small hail. By 0600 UTC 2 cm of snow covered the ground - thawing quickly after 0900 UTC as the showers became lighter and less frequent - becoming well scattered by midday. In the earlier showers the visibility was reduced from 15 km to 20 km to around 1000 m to 3000 m. The day was cold and remained cloudy. During the afternoon the N'ly F5 wind eased and backed to be WNW F3-4 by evening - the visibility improving to 35 km by the same time. 1645 UTC: Sea temperature 6.2° Celsius.
27| Some rain and small hail showers early, but then dry for a time before rain and drizzle commenced at 0905 UTC. The precipitation was moderate at times, with the 20 km visibility falling to 10 km. It also became much milder with the temperature rising to around 5° Celsius. Overnight the WNW F4 wind backed W'ly and increased F6 - strengthening further to F7 during the morning. The moderate rain or rain and drizzle continued through the afternoon, with the visibility reducing to 8 km - later improving to 20 km as the rain died out in the evening. By late evening the wind had veered NNW F6.
28| Becoming cooler overnight with early rain and small hail showers and a NW’N F6 wind. Sunshine and showers during the morning - some of the showers moderate with small hail and snow pellets - with the wind easing F3-4 and veering NE'N by midday. The visibility was generally good at 30 km, but was considerably reduced - to 5000 m - by the showers and proximity of showers. During the afternoon the showers continued - some of snow - with the wind increasing N'ly F4-5.
29| Further mainly light showers of small hail, rain and snow overnight - dying out by 0900 UTC to give a fine, sunny morning and afternoon with the visibility improving to 50 km. Later in the afternoon the cloud increased with scattered small hail showers developing during the evening. A cool day with a F4-5 N'ly wind - although feeling pleasantly warm in the sunshine. A non persistent contrail was visible during the morning.
30| A cool, cloudy day with well scattered wintry showers of snow, small hail and rain. During the course of the day the F4 NNW to NNE'ly wind slowly eased to be F2 by evening. By midnight the stratocumulus cloudsheet was beginning to break up. The visibility was good at 40 km to 50 km. 1400 UTC: Sea temperature 6.1° Celsius.
31| Cloudy and dry overnight - mostly medium and high cloud - with a light N'ly wind and a ground frost. A dry, sunny but cool day with the wind becoming a light NE'ly before falling calm during the evening. Dry air (50% to 70%) and 60 km visibility.
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