March was virtually a month of two halves - the first being very unsettled, wet and windy and which included two named storms and then it was all change during a very dry second half, which was a steadily improving picture to decent amounts of sunshine and whilst not reaching the highs of February (!) became respectfully mild.

  It was the wettest of any month since January 2016 with rain falling on every day up to the 16th and here at Maulds Meaburn 98% of the months total fell in those 16 days.

  Storms 'Freya' (3rd) and 'Gareth' (12-13th) brought the worst of the conditions, the latter including stormy conditions with gale force winds. That first half of the month experienced a constant conveyer of low pressure systems and after a lull from the 17th, it wasn't until the 20th that high pressure began to exert itself on the UK. This March has easily being the windiest in my records, a mean wind speed for the month of 11.45 mph (at 0900 hrs) and storm Gareth saw the 13th have a mean wind speed of 21.6 mph for the 24hrs.

  The first half of the month tended to be marginally cooler than average, although frosts were a rarity and we did experience some occasional wintriness with snow or hail showers, mainly between the 9-15th. From the 19th the days were all just slightly warmer than average, but coupled with the drier conditions and a steady breeze the ground was quickly firming up.

  Unsurprisingly the daffodils have bloomed earlier than average this year, indeed the earliest yet (18th March) in my records.

  MSLP of 1012.1 Mb was -0.4 Mb below the local average for the month and overall a mean minimum of 3.25°c and a mean maximum of 9.37°c saw the temperature 1.07°c above the ten year average for this site.

  It was the warmest since 2017 and of the eleven now recorded, seven have been colder and three warmer. The highest maximum temperature recorded was 14.5°c (21st), the lowest minimum -2.7°c (8th).

  Rainfall of 175.7 mm (Crosby Ravensworth School 210.2 mm - Castlehowe Scar 248.6mm) was 233.6% of average for 2008-18 and made it the wettest March (of 12) yet recorded at this site (from 2008).

  During the month, the following was recorded: snow fell on four days (3rd, 9-10th and 17th), hail fell on four days (9-10th, 12th and 15th), and a gale on one day (13th). A maximum gust of wind exceeding 50 mph was recorded on four days.

  At the Met' Office site at Newton Rigg, rainfall of 164.0 mm (216.4%) was the wettest since 2017 and in a series back to 1900 March this has been the second wettest to 1903 (194.6 mm) (1 year of no data).

  A mean temperature of 6.41°c is 1.0°c above the average for 1981-2010 and in a complete record back to 1952 March has been warmer in 10 years and colder in 57.

  Locally, rainfall percentages were in the vicinity of 200%, some sites just over, others just below, but Haresceugh Castle was as low as 138%. At Seathwaite it was the fourth wettest March in a record that commenced in 1845 - only beaten by 1861, 1868 (the wettest with 691.9 mm) and 1921.

  Figures from the Environment Agency’s rainfall sites were, (figure in brackets being the monthly average for 1961-90)   ‘Data kindly provided by the Hydrometry and Telemetry team of the Environment Agency (Penrith)’:

  Kirkby Thore 108.0 mm (55.1 mm)

  Haresceugh Castle (Kirkoswald) 116.59 mm (84.6 mm)

  Brothers Water 420.91 mm (219 mm) and

  Orton (Shallowford) ??? mm (128.0 mm [average for 1967-2018])

  649.0 mm at Seathwaite Farm (Borrowdale - 319 mm [average for 1981-2010]).

  General Synoptic Report for the Month

   Low pressure was the dominant feature at the start of and well into the month and subsequently it was both wet and unsettled. 'Storm Freya' brought wet and windy conditions 2nd-3rd, the LP system building and deepening in the Atlantic, tracking NE and passing to the W of the UK. This saw wind gusts to 49 mph ahead of the system and 14.6 mm of rain on the 2nd was followed by 22.1 mm 3rd, falling heavily between 18-20 hrs 3rd and briefly giving some sleet late in the evening. However, the snow that caused minor disruption to the west of the county passed us by.

  By the 9th we had already see above average rainfall for March with the temperature at this point running to average - rain had fallen every day with some of the daily totals being fairly high; the 2nd, 3rd, 5-6th and 8th all having over 10 mm of rain.

  The temperature fluctuated either side of average, falling later in the period (7-12th), but there was still only the one air frost recorded in this time (8th - falling to a month's low of -2.7°c [27.1°f] [-4.1°c at Bewcastle]) when the slightest ridge of high pressure (HP) ridged north overnight.

  There was precious little sunshine in the first part of the month, the best coming on the 4th, but which was accompanied by a fresh wind. The 9th also saw some sunshine but only after a spell of snow first thing and this too was a blustery and fresh day.

  The 9-12th had a cooler and wintry feel with the UK sat in a brisk W'ly flow. This brought a number of wintry showers, some of hail, but this period would become very disturbed with the arrival of 'Storm Gareth'.

  Gareth built and deepened to the south of Iceland, tracked east, passing over the north of Scotland, before exiting NE. Late evening of the 11th saw the rain and wind arrive and overnight into the 12th that rain fell heavily, giving a total of 32.2 mm credited back to the 11th (48.8 mm at Shap).