Keith Banks: This March was mild compared to years gone by
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Global wind patterns are modified by geographical and topographical features at the Earth’s surface which create local and regional winds.
The breeze along the coastline during the summer is an example of a local wind regime.
The most obvious explanation is the air over the land becomes warmer, due to sun, than the air over the sea. The warmer air rises and the cooler air over the sea flows in to take its place. However to cause a flow of air a difference in pressure must be set up and rising air alone cannot create a circulation of two opposing flows. If the air in contact with the ground warms up, air above it will increase in altitude. Hence air originally below 1000 feet will ascend to above 1000 feet, and the pressure at 1000 feet will rise. The consequential pressure difference will then cause the air to move from over land to over sea at that altitude, reducing the pressure at the surface over the ground, and increasing it over the sea. This pressure anomaly creates the surface flow. The effect is reversed at night. This process is called the land breeze.
On calm, sunny days the air in contact with a mountain slope exposed to the sun becomes heated and flows up the slope. Meteorologists define this as an anabatic (ascending) wind. A katabatic (descending) wind event occurs in hilly or mountainous regions during the night.
March 2022 was Wick’s mildest since 2014. Closer analysis confirmed that it is presently the 10th mildest since 1910.
Wick’s precipitation record for March 2022 revealed it was the least wet since 2020 and is currently the sixth equal driest since 1910. The rainfall total was identical in March 2020.
No “days of gale” were recorded during the month.
Wick’s mean air temperature for March 2022 was 6.48C (43.66F). The average from 1991-2020 is 5.22C (41.40F).
Wick’s average daytime max air temperature for March 2022 was 9.42C (48.96F). The long term average for the current 30 year averaging period is 8.14C (46.65F). Highest daytime max air temperature was 16.3C (61.3F), on March 23. Lowest daytime max was 5.3C (41.5F), on March 31.
The average overnight minimum air temperature was 3.53C (38.35F). The long term average for this is currently 2.29C (36.12F). Highest overnight minimum air temperature was 7.2C (45.0F), on March 11.
There were four air frosts. The lowest minimum air temperature was minus 2.0C (28.4F), on March 30.
The temperature fell to 0C (32F), or lower at 5cm over the grass on 14 dates. The lowest temperature recorded over the grass was minus 6.0C (21.2F), on March 2.
Precipitation was measurable on 16 dates. The amount for March 2022 was 21.8mm (0.86 of an inch), or 38.4 per cent of the current long term average for March.
Wettest day was March 9. The total for the 24 hours commencing 9am (GMT) was 7.6mm (0.3 of an inch).
Showers of snow and graupel (soft hail), were observed on March 30 and 31.
Wind velocities reached or exceeded gale force 8 (39mph/33.9knots), on nine dates.
The strongest wind velocity was recorded on March 3 and 8 respectively. On both a force 6 south-south-east wind gusted up to 49.5mph/43knots (severe gale force 9 on the Beaufort scale).
