Ascension : The Met Office Weather Report
Submitted by The Islander (Met Office) 15.01.2009 (Article Archived on 29.01.2009)

Statistics for the week ending Monday 12 Jan 2009

Statistics for the week ending Monday 12 Jan 2009

	Max (Celsius)	Min (Celsius)	Rainfall (mm)
AIRHEAD	29.7	23.1	Trace
TRAVELLERS	29.7	21.7	Trace
RESIDENCY	-	-	-
GEORGETOWN	31.1	22.2	Nil
ST. HELENA	24.2	16.2	4.4
FALKLANDS	21.0	1.9	12.3
UK (Brize Norton)	8.8	- 6.6	6.2

Ascension: Apart from a few light showers during the early hours of Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday it was another dry week with no measurable rain recorded at the Airhead. After cloudy spells overnight most afternoons saw something of the sun with remarkable consistency in daytime maxima, varying only from 28.9° to 29.7°C. Overnight minima were similarly constrained ranging from 23.1° to 24.2°C. The coming week is expected to be broadly similar – though there is a chance of rather more in the way of showers by mid-week.

St Helena: With a maximum of 24.2°C and a minimum of 16.2°C it was a typical January week in St. Helena. Most days saw something of the sun during the afternoon – 35 hours for the week though cloud thickened up overnight and most nights recorded a little drain or drizzle; Saturday night was the wettest with 2.4mm. Satellite pictures show that the start of this week should be quite sunny though the moderate easterly winds will bring partly cloudy skies to end the week.

UK: It was another cold week for many parts of the country – particularly the southern half of England & Wales with severe overnight frost for many locations. Benson in Oxfordshire saw the mercury retreat to minus 11.8°C during the early hours of Wednesday morning. A slow moving anticyclone ensured that clear, settled conditions prevailed and it was quite a foggy week; Friday morning saw airports as far apart as Manchester, Luton, Stansted and Gatwick affected by thick fog; at Heathrow the visibility dropped to 100 metres during the early hours. By the weekend though, wet & windy weather was back in charge and it became very mild;  13°C was recorded at Kinloss on the Moray Firth.

Falklands:  A mixed bag of weather for the Falklands last week; cool and showery for the first half with showers and fresh south-westerly winds and the lion’s share of the rainfall on Monday through Wednesday (9.9 mm). Warmer, with brisk northerly winds at the end of the week with a maximum of 21°C on Saturday.

Issued by David Membery, Ascension Island Met Office.