An historical perspective of the climate statistics

for Coventry during March 2018

Temperature

There has been some significant cooling during March over the last 27 years in Coventry, with the mean temperature for the month falling 0.8C in this period, almost back to levels last experienced almost a century ago, as shown by these decadal statistics:

1921-1930 6.4C
---------------------------
1991-2000 7.3C
2001-2010 6.7C
2011-2018 6.5C
So perhaps it should be no surprise to find that it has been a cool March again in Coventry, with a monthly mean temperature of 5.0C, 1.8C below the Coventry 30-year average (1981-2010).

It has been the coldest March in Coventry since 2013 (2.5C); only 4 March months have been colder than March 2018 since 1976 (1984, 1987, 1996 and 2013).

• 1st the coldest night of March 2018 recorded a minimum temperature of -7.3C, making this the coldest March night in Coventry since 1965 (-9.4C).

• 1st on the same day, the coldest day of the month (maximum -2.2C) was the coldest March day in the city since records began in 1892.

• 16th the mildest day of the month (13.5C) was the lowest maximum temperature in any March since 1996 (11.3C).

Rainfall

With 113.6mm of rain (240% of average), this has been the wettest March in Coventry since 1947 (126.6mm).

March 1947 is the only March month to have recorded more rainfall than March this year since rainfall records began in Coventry in 1870.

March 2018 has been the wettest month at any time of year in Coventry since January 2014 (166.6mm).

There were 20 ‘wet days (1mm rain) during March 2018, the same number as March 1934 and 1981, but fewer than March 1947 (24), many of the latter having fallen as snow, of course!

As recently as March 2013, there were 14 days with snowfall during March, the highest number of March snowfalls on record, and 7 days with snow lying; this year there were 6 ‘snow days’ during March, and 6 days with snow lying at observation time at 0900hr.

Sunshine

We reported last year that the average March sunshine total from 2001-16 was 43% higher (136.0hr) than a hundred years ago, (1901-16 = 94.8h).

Well this year, we are back below the sunshine totals of a hundred years ago, with just 92.2 hours of sunshine, just 81% of average March sunshine.

This has been the dullest March in Coventry since 2005 (84.0hr); only three March months have recorded less sunshine than this year since 1992 (1996, 1998 and 2005).

Steve Jackson
Bablake Weather Station
Coventry UK