Monday, August 31, 2015

Wet and Warm...

Sometimes I learn from the posts I make, and today is no exception!  Usually, I take a subject about which I am familiar, and figure out the details I want to discuss.  Other times, I just think of something totally off-the-wall, which is what you will see now...

I often hear from Americans who say that, "It's always raining in Britain", or It's always cold in Britain".  Well, I decided to check out some of the statistics regarding comments like this, so here are some of the best - and worst - places in Britain!

Warmest Place (average)
Ignoring Jersey's St. Helier Harbour in the Channel Islands, the warmest place in the British Isles itself is St. Mary's Airport, in the Isles of Scilly.  Figures show that the average daily temperature at the airport is a balmy 53.4°F (11.9°C).

Highest Recorded Temperature
On 10th August, 2003, Brogdale, Kent, saw a temperature of 101.3°F (38.5°C).

Lowest Recorded Temperature
Not surprisingly, the coldest temperatures have been recorded in Scotland,  A chilly -16.9°F (-27.2°C) has been noted three times.  Braemar (Aberdeenshire) got that cold on 11th February, 1895, and to prove it wasn't a fluke, repeated that 19th January, 1982.  On the 30th December, 1985, that figure was also reached in Altnaharra (Sutherland).

Wettest Place
Not a huge shock, but the data from a 30-year Met Office study (based on a list of major cities only) shows that the north is considerably wetter than the south.  With Scotland being the most northerly nation on the island, it is Glasgow that gets rained on most frequently, with a miserable 170.3 days of precipitation per year.  However, the Welsh capital of Cardiff receives the most rain, with a disturbing 45.35 inches (115.19 cm) annually!

The highest recorded rainfall in one day is the 12.46 inches (31.64 cm), which saturated Seathwaite Farm, Cumbria, on 19th November, 2009.

Driest Place
The Essex village of St, Osyth seems to be the driest spot in Britain, with a mere 20.20 inches (51.3cm) during the year.

Sunniest Place
A little tougher to get precise measurements here, but the south coast pair of Bognor Regis and Eastbourne are contenders, with around 1750 hours of sunshine a year.  In 1911, Eastbourne was particularly nice, basking in an incredible 383.9 hours of sunshine during July!.

Dale Fort in Pembrokeshire heads the Welsh table, with 1723 hours.  Dunbar is the sunniest place in Scotland, averaging 1523 hours every twelve months, 123 hours more than Glasgow.  Northern Ireland gets the title of gloomiest country in Britain, with Hillsborough (County Down) seeing the sun for just 1340 hours a year.

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