Halesowen Annual Summary for 2020 

A mild year overall, the 4^th mildest on record here in 65 years, beaten only by 
2006, 2011 and 2014, having 9 months above average, Jan Apr and May exceptionally so. 
Only Jul and Oct were below normal, and Dec was normal.

New record HiMax was 35.6C on 31/7/20.  
New record HiMean was 26.7C on 12/8/20.
New record 220 raindays,  also 7^th highest 152 wetdays, and 57 very wet days.

  MONTHLY RAIN AND MEAN TEMPS

TEMPERATURES

15.0 mean max (C) , +1.1 diff from av (C)  4^th = highest
 6.8 mean min (C) ,   +0.9 diff from av (C)  7^th highest
10.9 mean (C),          +1.0 diff from av (C)  4^th = highest

 HiMax  35.6C on 31/7/20   New highest
LoMax  0.5C on 28/12/20

HiMin   18.9C on 26/6/20  6^th highest 
LoMin   -3.7C on 31/12/20

Highest Mean  26.7C on 12/8/20  New highest
Lowest Mean   –0.9C on 31/12/20

RAINFALL

852.4 rain total (mm), 111 % of av        16^th highest  
220    raindays (with 0.2mm or more)   New highest
152    wetdays (with 1mm or more)       7^th highest  
  57    verywetdays (with 5mm or more)  18^th highest
35.2   most rainfall in a day (mm) on 15/2/20  
Rainfall duration 792.5 hours

SNOWFALL

2 days with snow falling, totalling 5.5cm; 
Most snowfall in a day 3.5 cm on 28/12/20.
4 days with lying snow

PRESSURE
1014.0 mean pressure (mb) , +0.5 pressure anomaly (mb)
1049.3 max pressure at any time of day, on 20/1/20  New record highest 
  968.5 min pressure at any time of day, on 28/12/20   10^th lowest

FOG
15 days with fog

FROSTS
25 air frosts, 3^rd fewest, the last was 14/5/20, first 4/11/20,
so 174 days airfrost free

81 ground frosts, last 15/5/20, first 28/9/20, 
so 136 days with no air or ground frost.
Frost duration 147.5 hours.

It is noteworthy that all 17 years with fewest airfrosts (less than 64), have occurred since 2000,
 with 2010 ranking 19^th, 2000 was 24^th and 2001 was 46^th.

THUNDER
 6 days with thunder heard, 16/6 17/6 10/6 11/6 12/8 17/8  - 9^th fewest

January was a mild month, the mean temperature being the 7^th= highest, last exceeded in 2007-2008. The MeanMin, LoMin and LoMax all ranked between 2^nd and 4^th highest here since 1956.
There were fewer air frosts than normal, just 4, ranking 7^th fewest. The 9 ground frosts also ranked 7^th fewest (there were fewer still 2005-8 and 2010-11).
Rainfall was slightly less than usual. There were slightly above average fog days.
A new record high pressure was recorded here at 02:00 on 20/01/2020.

A new record wet month here (147.8mm rainfall, over three times normal,  the previous record was 130.8mm in 2014 and 129.4mm in 1977). Wettest day was 15^th with 39.5mm, followed by a further 12.5mm the next day, making 52mm over these two days, a normal February’s monthly total.  Some rain fell every day from 8^th to 29^th so the ground remains saturated! Brief small hail on 25^{th ,} 29^th.

Mean temperature was 1.7 degrees above normal, ranking 9^th highest since 1956. Notable the LoMax and LoMin temperatures ranked 2^nd and 4^th highest, while there were just 2 air frosts on 6^th and 7^th  (only two years have had fewer).

Sunniest days were 5^th-8^th,12^th, 27^th and 29^th. Dullest were 4^th, 9^th, 15^th, 19^th, 21^st and 28^th.
Ground frosts were recorded 5^th-8^th, 11^th-14^th, 17^th-19^th, 21^st and 25^th-29^th.
The passing of a series of named storms provided very windy conditions 9^th-11^th, 15^th-16^th and 29^th.
 
  8.9 mmax (C) 
  2.9 mmin (C) 
  5.9 mean(C)  +1.7 diff from av (C), the 9^th mildest in 65 years.
12.1 high max (C) on 24^th  
  5.5 low max (C) on 11^th   
  7.4 high min (C) on 1^st
 -1.5 low min (C) on 6^th 
147.8 rain total (mm)
315.8% of av 
22 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
19 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
12 very wet days (days with >=5mm on 15^th .
17 days ground frost
  2 days air frost
75% cloud cover percent
95% mean RH 

Statistically March was quite an average month, no records broken. Mean temp just 0.1 degrees above normal, coldest between 1^st and 5^th, mildest 24^th to 26^th. There were air frosts on 2^nd, 6^th, 22-23^rd and 26-27^th .
Rainfall was 75% of normal (ranking 20^th lowest in 65 years), most fell around 9^th and around 14^th, and totally dry from 20^th through to 29^th.  Windiest 7^th to 12^th, sunniest 22^nd to 26^th.  The end of the month was very kind to gardeners.

  10.6 mean max (C) 
   2.6 mean min (C) 
   6.6 mean (C)  +0.1 diff from av (C)

18.0 high max (C) on 25
  5.4 low max (C)  on 19 
  7.9 high min (C) on 18
 -2.9 low min (C) on 6
 40.8 rain total (mm)  75% of av 
Most rain was 7.6mm on 9^th/14^th   

17 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
11 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
  3 very wet days (days with >=5mm)

Ground frost on 17 days
Air frost on 6 days
No fog days
52% cloud cover percent
83% mean RH 

Mean pressure was 1016.9 mb

A warm month, mean temperature 11.4C, 2.7 degrees above normal, making it the 3^rd highest in 65 years here (beaten in 2011 and 2007). Maximum temperatures exceeded 20C from 7^th –12^th,  16^th-17^th and 22^nd-26^th. Just one airfrost on 14^th with temperature dropping to –1.4C.

Rainfall only 41.0mm (similar to March), 66% of normal, ranking 23^rd driest in 65 years. Wettest days were 12^th, then 28^th – 30^th .  
No rain fell 4^th-6^th, 8^th-12^th, 14^th-16^th or 19^th-25^th.

Sunniest spells were 19^th-27^th, and mostly sunny 6^th-11^th and 14^th-16^th.
Windy 12^th-13^th and 20^th-21^st.

Consequently, being warmer and with less rain, the soil (still dry from March) remained dry for the month and more watering of crops than usual was required!

  17.4 mean max (C) 
   5.3 mean min (C) 
 11.4 mean (C)  +2.7 diff from av (C)

25.7 high max (C) on 11
  7.0 low max (C)  on 28
10.5 high min (C) on 11
 -1.4 low min (C) on 14
41.0 rain total (mm)  66% of av 
Most rain was 10mm on 12^th    

11 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
  8 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
  4 very wet days (days with >=5mm)

Ground frost on 5 days
Air frost on 1day
No fog days
38% cloud cover percent
79% mean RH 

A very warm but very dry month overall.  We saw the 5^th highest May mean temp, and the mean max 20.2C was the 2^nd highest here in 65 years. Hottest days were 7-9, 19-21 and 25-31, one cooler period 12-14. Rainfall came on 1, 18-19 and 22-23, totalling just 10% of normal at 5.8mm, unsurprisingly a new record (beating 12.2mm in 1991 and 13.3mm in 1998).
Mean pressure for May was 1022.1mb, the 2^nd highest beaten only in 1991.
It was windy 22-24,  and small hail fell briefly on 1^st.

20.2 mean max (C) 
  7.2 mean min (C) 
13.7 mean (C)  +1.8 diff from av (C)
27.6 high max (C) on  20
10.9 low max (C) on  10/11
12.7 high min (C) on  22
 -1.2 low min (C) on   14
  5.8 rain total (mm)
10.0 % of av 
  4 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
  3 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
  No very wet days (days with >=5mm)
Ground frost on 5 days
2 Air frosts
Mean pressure 1022.1mb (2nd highest value)
40% cloud cover percent (a low value)

-----------------------------------------------
Seasonal Summary for
Spring 2020 (Mar, Apr, May)
-----------------------------------------------

Spring was warmer but much drier than normal, following on from the wettest February here in 65 years. Mean temperature 10.5C was the 5^th highest (as was last Spring), while rainfall 87.6mm was the 5^th lowest (last Spring had normal rainfall).
The number of raindays was 32 (43 normally), wetdays 22 (32 normally) and very wet days just 7 (12 normally), these all ranking 5^th – 8^th in 65 years rainfall records.
Jan to May have produced 292mm rain overall making the first 5 months of this year appear statistically more normal than, although the details shows variability in its distribution.

             this year    normal      anomaly

HiMax         27.6        29.2    
MeanMax   16.1        13.1    +3.0 (New rec)
LoMax          5.4         -2.1    
MEAN          10.5          8.7     +1.8 (5^th high)
HighMin      12.7        14.7                
MeanMin      5.0          4.4   +0.6 (15^th high)
LoMin          -2.9       -11.1   
RAINFALL    87.6       172.4          102.8% (5^th lowest)

Mean Temperature was +1.4 deg above normal, making it the 9^th = highest mean in 65 years here. It was warmer in 1976, 2005-6, 2010, 2014 and 2016-2018. They rose steadily throughout the month, hottest 24^th -25^th, with minor dips 4^th-7^th, 18^th and 29^th.

Although the overall rainfall for the month was 99% of normal, many days had some rain, so 22 raindays (4^th highest), 15 wetdays (8^th = highest) and 4 very wet days. Wettest days were 11mm on 17^th, 7.4mm on 18^th , 7.2mm on 16^th and 5.2mm on 20^th.
Cumulative rainfall from March to May had been only 87.6mm, the 5^th lowest for this period in 65 years, but March to June now totals 147.8mm, 7^th lowest.

Most sunshine hours were seen on 25^th, 22^nd – 24^th and 1^st, although the greatest solar radiation values were recorded on 6^th, 10^th, 13^th and 15^th.
Dullest days were 3^rd, 7^th, 18^th and 29^th. Windiest days were 27^th-29^th, 5^th-6^th and 21^st.
So overall a pleasant June, with a hot spell 23^rd to 26^th.

  21.2 mean max (C) 
 11.2 mean min (C) 
 16.2 mean (C)  +1.4 diff from av (C)

32.6 high max (C) on 25
13.6 low max (C) on 3
18.9 high min (C) on 26
  5.2 low min (C) on 6
 60.2 rain total (mm)  99% of av 
 
  22 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
  15 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
    4 very wet days (days with >=5mm)

No ground frost or air frost
No days with fog 
2 days with thunder 16^th 1840-2040 and 17^th 1545
68% cloud cover percent
81% mean RH 
Mean pressure was 1012.3mb

Statistically a fairly normal July, slightly cooler and slightly less wet than usual. The month ended on a hot note, especially the afternoon of 31^st, the max temp 35C matching that of 2019 here.  Wettest days were 7,8,9, then 13 and 27.
Sunniest days were 11-12, 19 and 30-31, dullest were 4, 7-9, 15 and 18.
Windiest were 5-6 and 27-28.
Overall a pleasant month weatherwise.

 21.0 mean max (C) 
 11.9 mean min (C) 
 16.4 mean (C)  -0.5 diff from av (C)

35.6 high max (C) on 31
15.7 low max (C)  on  7
15.3 high min (C) on 31
  5.4 low min (C) on 12
56.4 rain total (mm)  96% of av 
Most rain was 10.6mm on 7^th

  14 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
  11 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
   5  very wet days (days with >=5mm)

No ground frost or air frost
No days with fog 
No days with thunder
69% cloud cover percent
79% mean RH 
Mean pressure was 1015.9mb

August was warm and very wet. Mean 
temperature ranks 6^th highest in 66 years here, being 1.6 degrees above normal.  While the Mean Max ranked 9^th highest, the Mean Min ranked 2^nd highest (beaten only in 1997).  The 34.9C measured on 12^th is a new record, narrowly beating that set here in 1990.
Rainfall was 208% normal, with 9 very wet days 11-12^th , 16-19^th , 23^rd , 25^th , 27^th . Only 5 years here have had this many in August.
4 days experienced thunderstorms, most significantly on 11^th from 2030 into early hours with large hail, then on 12^th from 1800-2100, with occasional flashes continuing up to midnight, and 17^th at 1510, with torrential rain 1520 and again at 1815.
19^th and 27^th were very dull all day, although most days were sunny for at least a part of the day. It was very windy and gusty on 20^th – 21^st, and 25^th – 26^th .

22.9 mmax (C) 
13.3 mmin (C) 
18.1 mean(C)  +1.6 diff from av (C), the 6^th warmest in 66 years.
34.9 high max (C) on 12^th 
14.3 low max (C) on 27^th   
18.4 high min (C) on 12^th
  5.7 low min (C) on 30^th
138.0 rain total (mm)
208.1% of av 
18 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
14 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
  9 very wet days (days with >=5mm on 15^th
 Greatest fall 32.2mm on 17^th
No days ground frost
No days air frost
66% cloud cover percent
87% mean RH  ----------------------------------------------
Seasonal Summary for
Summer 2020 (Jun, Jul, Aug)
-----------------------------------------------
A warmer but wetter summer than usual with wet spells (especially in August), dry spells, hot spells (in June and August) and cooler spells, more extreme than the statistics suggest.

                 this year  normal   anomaly
MeanMax         21.7       20.6          +1.1
MEAN                16.9        15.8         +1.1 (11^th = highest)
MeanMin          12.1        10.9         +1.2 
(5^th  = highest)

A warm September, the mean temperature rising until 15^th then cooling again, with an autumnal feel to the end of the month. The monthly Mean temperature of 14.7C was the 7^th highest in 65 years, and the Mean Max 19.6C was 9^th highest on record.
The highest September on record was 30.8C on 15^th.

Rainfall was just 22mm, the 10^th lowest on record for September, following our very wet August. Only 3 days had a worthwhile amount of rainfall, over 4.5mm on each of 2^nd, 23^rd and 30^th, accounting for 15.4mm of the month’s rainfall.

Many days were bright and sunny for much of the time, let down by very dull 23^rd and 30^th. Windiest day was 25^th.

  19.6 mean max (C) 
   9.8 mean min (C) 
 14.7 mean (C)  +0.8 diff from av (C)

 30.8 high max (C) on 15
 11.7 low max (C)  on 26
 14.7 high min (C) on  9
   1.9 low min (C) on  28
 22.0 rain total (mm)  34.6% of av 
Most rain was 5.8mm on 23^rd    

  12 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
    4 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
    2 very wet days (days with >=5mm)

1 day with ground frost, no air frost
1 day with fog 
No days with thunder
54% cloud cover percent
89% mean RH 
Mean pressure was 1017.3mb

October was overall cooler than normal by 0.5 degrees, although swung between mild and cool several times; milder during the first week, the 20^th-21^st , and 29^th-31^st, cooler from 9^th-18^th and 22^nd-28^th .The mean max temp was the 10^th lowest in 65 years records here, the high max was 6^th lowest but low min was 6^th highest, making the spread of the temperatures smaller then normal. There were no ground or air frosts, in fact this was one in only 8 years out of 65 that has not experienced a ground frost (good for growers!).

Rainfall was the 12^th highest recorded here, and 34% above normal. During 2^nd and 3^rd over 44mm fell, 17mm on 24^th, 9mm on 7^th and 9mm on 31^st.  In all 26 raindays in October, beaten only by October 1976.

There were some good sunny days, especially 15^th and 22^nd, also 1^st, 7^th, 11^th, 25^th, 26^th, 28^th were good. At the other extreme very dull on 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 21^st, 24^th, 30^th and 31^st.  Quite windy 2^nd-10^th, 19^th-20^th, also 24^th-31^st.
Unsurprisingly the mean atmospheric pressure was quite low, the 8^th lowest in October here.

  12.7 mean max (C) 
   7.0 mean min (C) 
   9.9 mean (C)  -0.5 diff from av (C)

 16.2 high max (C) on 20
 10.1 low max  (C) on 28
 12.9 high min  (C) on 21
   3.8 low min   (C) on 15
 110.0 rain total (mm)  134.3% of av 
Most rain was 28.8mm on 3^rd    

  26 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
  17 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
    6 very wet days (days with >=5mm)

No ground frost, no air frost
1 day with fog on 4^th 
No days with thunder
75% cloud cover percent
94% mean RH 
Mean pressure was 1006.8mb

A mild month (8^th = highest mean temp in 65 years), the first three weeks above average but the final week cold. Consequently there were fewer frosts (3 air and 10 ground) recorded.
While overal rainfall was only 62% of normal, there were more raindays and wetdays than expected. Just 1 very wet day, and 5 days with no rain recorded, so the rainfall was well distributed throughout the month.
The first two days and from 11^th until 24^th were quite windy. There were 5 foggy mornings, on 8^th – 9^th and  28^th – 30^th .  The highest pressure this month 1040.1mb was the 7^th highest here. 

 10.8 mmax (C)  the 8^th mildest here in 65 years.
  5.0 mmin (C)  the 10^th mildest
  7.9 mean(C)  +1.1 diff from av (C), the 8^th mildest
15.9 high max (C) on 1^st 
  6.8 low max (C) on 27^th
10.5 high min (C) on 10^th
 -0.8 low min (C) on 26^th

45.8 rain total (mm)
62.5 % of av 
25 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
23 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
16 very wet days (days with >=5mm)
Most daily rain was 6mm on 11^th

10 days ground frost
  3 days air frost
  5 days fog
70% cloud cover percent
94% mean RH  
Mean pressure 1018.0 mb
Highest pr 1040.1 mb (7th highest)

----------------------------------------------------

Statistically December had the average temperature, but while the first 10 days were cool, then unseasonably mild, the month turned very cold from 23^rd onwards with frosts and snowfall.  Airfrosts 7^th –8^th and from 25^th onwards.
Rainfall was 78% above average, having 26 raindays (2^nd highest ), 23 wet days (new highest record), 8 very wetdays, with just 5 days without rainfall, so my garden has been saturated and pond overflowing.
It was windy on 4, 13–20, 26^th–27^th .
Dullest days were 3-4, 6, 13, 23, 28^th
Brightest days were 5, 11 – 12, 17, 24 – 25 and 31^st.
So overall many wet but milder days especially from 8^th onwards, turning cold with frosts and snow at the end of the month.


 6.5 mean max (C) 
 2.0 mean min (C) 
 4.3 mean (C)   0.0 diff from av (C)

12.1 high max (C) on 18
 0.5 low max (C) on  28
 7.7 high min (C) on  19
-3.7 low min (C) on  31

128.4 rain total (mm)  178% of av 
Most rain was 20.3mm on 18^th 
26 raindays (days with >=0.2mm)
23 wetdays (days with >=1mm)
  8 very wet days (days with >=5mm)

Ground frost on 17 days
Air frost on 7 days
1 day with fog on 1^st
67% cloud cover percent
95% mean RH