Completely dry all week, but frost every night.and during the day as well sometimes. Bitterly cold especially when it was cloudy or, even worse, foggy (Wednesday and Thursday).

The lowest temperature in our garden was -6.7ºC on Saturday morning, but we have been recording -4º or -5º at least every morning this week. Daytime temperatures haven't been very high either, some days its barely managed to struggle above freezing. Even on Saturday with bright sunshine the thermometer was only showing -1.9ºC at midday. This must be the longest spell of cold weather we've had for some years.

December had well below average rainfall with 94mm on 10 days. This gives a total for the year of 1392mm. We had 182 wet days, most rain in 24 hours was 15th of march with 51mm and the most wet days in a month was in August - the wettest month with 175.5mm.

The driest month was February on 5 days of rain. February gave the longest dry spell, 19 days, but, of course, as it was February, we got frost instead !

We had a dry spell in June - but only 9 days - and we didn't get another until the latter half of September. In fact the most memorable thing about 2008 waas the lack of real Summer. July, August and the beginning of September were wet, the temperatures were lower than expected, certainly no heat wave this year. I can't remember a year when we ate outside so rarely - when it wasn't raining it was too cold.

On the plus side there were no damaging gales. In the vegetable garden or allotment it was a fairly mixed year: the potatoes and tomatoes got blight, but root crops and brassicas did really well. Onions did badly, hit by disease, runner beans were not very prolific - too cold and fewer bees about - but raspberries were the best I can remember - they really enjoyed the cool damp weather. So it's some winners and some losers as usual.

I've no idea what next year will bring really. Less wind from the west, more from the north and east seems to be the trend over the last couple of years. A really good summer would be much appreciated, and, even more wishful thinking, sunny days and showers at night, so no need to lug heavy watering cans about. Anyway a Happy New Year to everyone and may we all get at least some of the weather we want.

The following table lists the last 17 years in order of rainfall starting with the wettest:

1498 mm 2000
1392mm 2008
1370mm 2002
1230mm 1994
1225mm 1999
1153mm 2004
1129mm 1993
1104mm 1998
1006mm 2005
1047mm 2001
1027mm 1992
959mm 1997
954mm 1995
928mm 2003
898mm 1990
881mm 1991
858mm 1996

As you can see, there is no pattern, so don't ask for any predictions!

After a bit of rain Sunday and Monday (only 2mm) a dry week - so dry on Christmas day, but geting much colder towards the weekend. Saturday very chilly with frost and the wind going back to the east, which always brings a cold spell. It's nice to see the sun again though.

Weather slightly better this week, with only 7mm of rain, but not a lot of sun either, some frost between the wetter days.

When I said, December was a wet month, I didn't think we would get it all in one go! 38mm of rain fell early on Saturday morning giving us floods on most of our roads, [and homes, gardens and a garage were affected].

As well as heavy rain there have been hard frosts, going down to -3.5ºC on the 9th and a very cold wind.

So all in all, not very good, some sunshine at times although not much. Perhaps next week will give some more settled weather with some dry sunny days.

December started with quite a hard frost -2.1ºC in our garden, followed by 2 nights of heavy rain mid-week - 37mm in all, then frost again at the end of the week, but some lovely sunshine with a cold N/E wind.

November rainfall was slightly below average at 98.5mm, but there is no shortage of water. In fact the first 2 weeks of the month it rained every day but one. Although the daily amount wasn't very large it added up. The last two weeks were much drier and colder too with the odd frost at night, and very cold winds coming from the North and East which really made it feel cold even when the sun was shining.

Average for December is 134mm, with a low of 30mm in 2001, and a high of 206.5mm in 1999. So, on the past records , a fairly wet month. Over the last 10 years only 2 have been below 100m and in 2000 we even had snow on the 27th, 28th and 29th, followed on the 31st by 55mm of rain.

Snow on the 25th is very unlikely, in fact over the last 10 years, we've had rain on the 25th, 7 times. December is definitely a wet month !

Another wet Sunday. 17mm of rain this week, but getting colder as the week went on, with the wind veering round to the North/East. A touch of frost and some fog at the end of the week.

Very cold on Saturday, damp air and an East wind making it seem colder than it actually was.

5.5mm of rain - otherwise much as before, at least it is consistent. Perhaps next week will bring some changes, only just over a week until December.

41.5mm of rain this week, 35mm of which fell on Sunday/Monday. Otherwise just drizzle really, still damp and depressing with no likelihood of any improvement in the next few days - sorry!

25.5mm of rain on 5 days - not very much, but overcast and cloudy a lot of the time with almost no sunshine until Saturday, when it brightened up a bit until late afternoon and then rained again. Still fairly mild though.

43mm of rain and two or three sharp frosts. Wednesday was the wettest day with 14mm. Once again eveywhere wet and muddy and the wind coming from the North East, not very nice to be outside. We were spared the snow and large amounts of hail which others suffered, so must be glad it's not worse than it is.

With 130mm October was slightly below average. We started the month with a wet week and ended with 10 wet days, but in the middle we had some lovely sunny autumn weather. The cold nights and warm days gave some very good Autumn colour this year which seems to be lasting into November.

Average rainfall for November over the last 10 years is 115mm, with a high of 217mm in 2002 and a low of 65mm in 2001.

November and damp go together, we don't usually have very heavy rain, but it is persistent, and wet days are the norm I'm afraid, so the odd dry day is a treat. The exception was in 2005 when we had frost at night from 13th to 29th, and very cold but dry days - but that was unusual, only once in the last ten years!

46mm total this week, with rain on 5 days, so rather a wet one, and again a couple of really cold nights, especially Friday 24th.

Nearly the end of October and clock changing has come round again, back to what I think of as normal time, so it's dark from tea time now , but a bit lighter in the morning ... for a while.

Only 1 really wet day - Wednesday - and that was mainly during the night: 21mm.

0therwise a dry week, quite a lot of cloud though, and chilly at times. Fairly normal October weather, no real frost yet, although we came close a couple of times.

16.5mm of rain, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and then dry for the rest of the week.

In fact, Friday and Saturday seemed the warmest days we've had this year, really lovely sunshine and clear blue skies after the morning mist had cleared.

I was in Devon on Saturday, visiting Rosemoor (well worth a visit) the scenery and autumn colour is exceptional this year, both at Rosemoor and driving through Devon.

35.5mm of rain and much colder, especially Friday and Saturday, coat and gloves needed. I'm not surprised by the cold, as we have had so little hot weather in July and August to raise sea temperatures.

September

With 146.5mm of rain, September was well above average. The first 10 days were a continuation of August's wet weather, but on the 11th we had a change and although there was a lot of cloud, no more rain until the end of the month.

The cooler weather has given us some good Autumn colour and as the trees have had plenty of water, leaf fall will probably be quite late. So it should look good well into late October or early November.

The average rainfall for October is 141mm with a high of 191mm in 2000 and a low of 68mm in 2003. So as you see we are moving into winter.

October is usually fairly wet and it is also the month when we are likely to have high winds, but frosts are unlikely in our area before November. Hopefully after all the rain we have already had, October will be drier this year!

Well, a dry week, only 1.5mm of rain. Fog a bit of a problem in the mornings towards the end of the week, especially on Saturday when we went to Malvern, and the fog was a real problem, very thick in the morning and not lifting until after lunch.

It was also very cold without the sun to warm things up, typical Autumn weather really.

Next week we are warned of a change to cooler, wetter weather, but at least we had a bit of sunshine. October next week, which I always think of as the start of winter, so any warm days now are a bonus.

At last a dry week, sadly probably too late for many farms to save this years harvest, but at least it can be cut and cleared off the fields.

It is lovely to have a spell of proper Autumn weather which should give us a good show of colour from both flowers and leaves in our gardens, and maybe worth thinking about a trip to Westonbirt?

What a marvellous day for Lydia and Ian, and Ali and Tim on Saturday. I can't remember seeing so many people inside and outside the church watching a wedding before, all enjoying the sunshine on our warmest day since June.

That's two good Saturdays in a row, I could do with the 27th being fine as well, but we shall see!

25mm of rain on 3 days - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday were dry but still rather cloudy, but Saturday - what a treat! A lovely sunny day and quite warm by the afternoon. The village was full of smiling faces, what a difference sunshine makes. We could do with the same for next Saturday, for Ali and Tim.

Rainfall this week 103mm - what must be one of the wettest weeks we've had. We are already over the average for this month and we've been luckier than some areas, where there has again been extensive flooding for people who are still recovering from the last lot.

August

Well that's August over, and what a miserable month it was. Not just the rain - 175.5mm - but only 4 x 24hr periods in the whole month without any rain, and such a lack of sunshine even when it wasn't raining because of low cloud.

On to September, average rainfall 82.5mm with a high of 182 in 2000 and a low of 20.5 in 2003. We usually get a dry spell this month of at least a week, or we have for the last seven years. In 2003 and 2004 we only had 4 wet days each September. So although it has started wet it can only get better!

Only 9mm of rain this week, but a lot of cloud, making it very dark, miserable and damp.

The bank holiday weekend could have been worse, but it could also have been much better. I think Saturday was probably the better day of the two.

I'm glad we had such a nice day this Saturday for our village show which was well attended as usual. The teas with home made cake went down very well and it was even fine enough to sit outside.

Less rain this week - 30mm - giving 2 dry days, making 3 for the entire month so far. Rather cold for August with temperatures struggling to get above 60ºF mid week, warming up towards the weekend with a very nice day on Saturday until it rained!

The last bank holiday before Christmas is here, but I fear the weather may spoil things again as usual, but I hope not.

70.5mm this week, rain every day. We have only had one 24 hour period when it didn't rain this month.

The last time it was this bad in August was in 1992, but at least we missed the cloud bursts earlier in the week which caused such problems for people driving, as the rain was so heavy they couldn't see the road, and pedestrians were ankle deep in water that couldn't drain away fast enough.

Anniversaries today: the Boscastle flood in 2004, and Lynmouth in 1952 both caused by heavy rain falling on already sodden ground

What can I say, no summer this week - 49.5mm of rain with 6 wet days and temperatures dropping as the week progressed. At this rate we will be back in our winter clothes before the end of the month. Perhaps next week will be better, although it doesn't look too hopeful at the moment.

With some rain on 6 days out of 7, a total of 29.5mm doesn't seem much, but it's a nuisance when we have to put up with all the cloud and lack of sun for such a small amount. And if you are a gardener there is still watering to do!

Well, July could have been better. It started wet until the 12th, then on the 13th things improved and we enjoyed some real summer weather until the 26th when we reverted to the unsettled weather we had earlier. With 113mm July was above average for the month by 13mm.

Which brings us to August;

Usually a mixed bag weather-wise, the average rainfall being 82mm, with a high of 152mm in 1999 and a low of 15mm in 2003. We do have warm, dry spells this month, but often interspersed with stormy outbreaks of heavy showers and thunder.

Only 3mm of rain (on Friday), otherwise dry and warm - proper summer weather at last. Temperatures in the high 70º's, even creeping up to 80º on a couple of days.

Although we are enjoying it, our gardens will be struggling, so plenty of watering needed, especially tubs and hanging baskets and any shrubs and trees planted in the last year. Particularly these, which will still need watering every week or so until the end of October if they don't get enough rain - they need something like 40 or 50mm in a week to keep them growing.

Only 5.5mm rainfall, so a dry week at last, the first this month; still not as warm as we would like though.

The weather is still unsettled with a lot of cloud about and the wind keeps changing direction. Unlike 2006, when we had a long spell of 20 days of fine weather which allowed the temperature to really build up giving hot days and warm nights.

I haven't noticed a lot of barbecues so far this year, you need need a really sheltered garden to sit out in the evening this summer!

What a wet week for July: 66mm with some rain on 6 days out of 7. We had to wait until Saturday for a dry day, and even then the wind was quite chilly by late afternoon and into the evening.

Well, July hasn't started too well has it? 27.5mm of rain and quite cool at times, I hope we aren't going to get a repeat of July 2007 when we had 218.5 mm, with rain on 25 days.

The average for July is 94mm with a low of 11mm in 1999 and a high of 218mm last year. This is also the month when we are likely to have very heavy rain.

Checking back I see we usually have well over 25mm on at least a couple of days, and this is also the month when flooding has been a problem in previous years, but it's not all doom and gloom. It can also be the hottest month, and in most years there has been a dry spell of more than a week, with sometimes up to 20 days without rain.

Only two wet days - Thursday and Friday - giving 18mm of rain in all - so not very much.

Otherwise the weather much as before with warm sunny days, usually cloud building in the afternoon and then it's gone again with another bright sunny morning the next day.

19mm of rain, spread over 4 days this week. So again, not a lot and between the rain showers, warm and sunny, but a very stiff breeze at times. It's certainly been a dry June so far.

10mm of rain on Wednesday night/Thursday morning, and having had only 7mm last week, it's now getting dry, especially for bedding and vegetables. The allotments are very dry , so it's out with the watering cans I'm afraid.

There has been a lot of cloud about in the latter part of the week, but when the forecast is scattered showers, we always seem to miss them, and what we need now is several hours of steady rain.

June

The average rainfall for June over the last 10 years is 78mm, with a low of 35mm in 2001 and a high of 163mm in '98 when it rained on 17 days, but June last year was one of our worst. Dry and sunny for the first 12 days, then it rained on every day until 6th July, so hopefully, no repeat this year!

1st - 7th June

Well, a good start, 7mm of rain on Sunday, then warm and dry for the rest of the week. Temperatures climbing to the mid 20's at times, especially in the morning .

The cloud tending to bubble up a bit in the afternoon, but clearing again in the evening. So I hope everyone is making the most of it.

A wet week with 93mm of rain falling on 6 days, which gives a total for May of 120.5 mm , well above average. Although we only had rain on 13 days, most of it was at the end of the month, with some warm dry weather earlier and plenty of sunshine.

13mm of rain, mainly on Saturday night/Sunday morning, otherwise a dry week for us.

Fairly warm and pleasant, but still a stiff breeze from an easterly direction, so not so warm when you are in the shade. We managed lunch outside a couple of times though, so not too bad!

Only 5mm of rain this week, much more cloudy and the threat of rain especially towards the weekend. Other parts of the area had quite substantial showers but not us.

Also much cooler than last week when temperatures reached the mid 20'sºC. This week it struggled to get into the mid teens and sometimes it was below 10ºC making it feel quite chilly.

A dry warm week, some rain on Monday and a slight shower mid week - 27.5mm in all.

Otherwise a hot and sunny week with some of the highest temperatures for quite a while. I've had to water some seedlings as the top couple of inches is now very dry, but it's still quite damp lower down, so no need to worry about more mature plants.

29.5mm rain on the last 4 days of April. May has started well with higher temperatures and some sunshine. I recorded 18ºC on Saturday - what a change, I hope it continues.

April

79.5mm rain, slightly below average, but we also had snow,hail, thunder and more overnight frosts than we've had before - mainly caused by the wind moving round to the North, instead of our usual mild damp westerly. Hopefuly things will now improve, weatherwise at least.

May

Average rainfall 88mm with a high of 156.5 in 2006 when it rained for 18 days, 13 consecutively, and a low of 36mm in 2001 on 8 days.

We should see some settled, warm weather this month, although it can still get cool at night. Hopefully without frost, but the temperature could still dip before sunrise. I don't usually put out tender plants without some protection before the last week, particularly on the allotment where the site is more exposed and doesn't benefit from the fences and hedges of our more sheltered gardens.

A gradual change this week, as the weather improved towards the weekend. Starting with a cold and damp Monday and finishing with a warm sunny Saturday afternoon. Only 20mm of rain, spread across 5 days, so a real improvement after our recent cold weather.

Here are the figures for winter rain, i.e. October through to March, which is what fills the reservoirs and tops up the ground water to see us through the summer. 705.5mm this time, the 6th wettest in the last 16 years. As last summer was fairly wet anyway (April was the only really dry month) there shouldn't be a shortage of water in this area.

This week very much the same as the last .. until Thursday. Then, more cloud cover and some light drizzle. On Saturday we had rather a cold wet day taking the week's total rainfall to 6mm. However, no night frosts for the last 3 days, so there was some improvement. The wind is still coming from the east though !

Another cold week, ending in a wet weekend with 19mm of rain. I've kept a record of night time temperatures this week as we have had so much frost.

Monday: -3.7ºC Tuesday: -2.6ºC Wednesday: -3.4ºC Thursday: -2.5ºC Friday: -1.2ºC

We have also had snow, thunder and hail, but when the sun did shine it felt quite pleasant, although you did need to keep a coat handy!

Not a bad week, very little rain, only 5mm and some lovely weather in the middle of the week. getting much colder towards the weekend. The wind from the north is giving us much lower temperatures than we usually have at this time of the year, so once again nice in the sun but with a bitterly cold wind.

March

Rainfall above average with 154mm - the wettest march for at least 18 years, also a very cold month with winds from the north and east keeping temperatures below normal a lot of the time.

After the early spurt in the garden in January with the snowdrops and early narcissus, everything seems to have stopped. I've noticed that herbaceous plants haven't made much growth and on the allotments there doesn't seem to be a lot growing yet.

April rainfall average is 91mm with a high of 183mm in 2000 and a low of 23mm in 2007. We had snow in the middle of April in 1999 and there could still be the odd frost, especially just before sunrise when the temperature falls to its lowest. Hopefully we will lose this cold northerly air stream soon which would allow things to warm up.

Rain in April is usually showers (sometimes quite heavy) rather than prolonged rain. The exception being 2000 when it rained for nearly 3 weeks. Temperatures very variable this month ranging from frost to 20ºC plus, sometimes on consecutive days. Certainly much too early to put out half hardy plants without protection.

The beginning of the week was very much as before, but on Wednesday, the wind went round to the west and the afternoon was quite spring like. A fine day on Thursday, staying nice until quite late in the day. Big change on Friday, back came winter with rain and high winds. Saturday was even worse, bitterly cold and 11mm of rain. 23mm of rain all week.

Into April next week, so we all hope for some better weather

The week started with frost -1.9ºC early Sunday morning and a very cold wind from the north east, which we kept for most of the week. This made it very unpleasant to do any work outside - and not much fun for those planning an Easter break.

Typically, a very cold March has coincided with an exeptionally early Easter, but we did have only 6mm of rain.

Well, what a week - we started with gales and ended with floods. 97mm of rain in total - rain every day, and culminating with 51mm on Saturday.

Very high winds on Monday, which do not seem to have caused a lot of damage, and we did have less rain than other villages round us. I thought the gales on Tuesday night were worse, they seemed more gusty, but again , only the odd tile or dead tree ( unless you've heard otherwise); even the high tides proved to be less damaging locally than expected.

But as I sit here writing this report on Sunday morning, it is still raining, and the roads, river and fields are flooded. I don't think there's much chance of gardening for the next few days.

We've had rain on 3 days, but only 15.5mm, mostly on Saturday.

A cold blustery wind for most of the week, making it very chilly, unless you managed to find some sunshine. Frost on Tuesday, down to -3.6ºC, and down to freezing a couple of other mornings as well, usually just as its getting light.

25mm of rain on only 5 days, but plenty of frost right through the middle of the month and several nights in the last week down to 1º or 2ºC.

Very strong winds during the week, a gust on Friday night snapped the pole to my wind sock, the first time this has happened for a few years. Once again we missed the worst, further north suffered considerabl y more damage.

The average rainfall for March is 75.5mm, with a low of 25mm in '97 and a high of 138.5mm in 2001. So again not a very wet month on the whole, but don't be too relaxed and think winter is over. In 2006 we had snow on the 12th, and regularly have frost, especially following a clear still day. So if you're a gardener, keep some fleece or light curtains handy to pop over early growth when frost threatens.

A dry week, cold to start with but getting warmer by the weekend. The wind is now coming from the west again, hence the clouds but higher temperatures, some slight dampness in the air on saturday, but not enough to measure.

It's now 18 days since we had any rain, so don't forget tubs and pots, particularly evergreens. Long dry spells in February are quite usual for us and its often when we have our coldest weather - discounting last year which was the wettest for many years.

Dry but cold with night frosts, and a very cold wind from the East. Lovely clear blue skies and bright sunshine by day. The coldest night was Saturday when it reached
-5.4ºC.

28.5mm of rain - on only 3 days. Later in the week it was cooler and dryer with the wind swinging round to the East. Thursday was very gloomy with the cold, plus very low cloud.

7mm of rain this week - on Tuesday and Thursday. Quite a lot of cloud, and very strong winds. A slight sprinkling of snow on Saturday, but if you blinked you would have missed it! Certainly not measureable, unlike others who suffered terrible conditions with 90 mile an hour winds and blizzards, one advantage of living in the south west we do usually escape the worst of the weather.

Total rainfall for January was 173mm, well above the average, but not the highest. We had rain on 20 days, 18 days consecutively

February average rainfall is 84mm with a high of 155.5mm in 2007 and a low of 11mm in '98. In 2007 we had the wettest February for 18 years, so I hope we don't get a repeat performance this year.

Only 11.5mm of rain on Monday and Tuesday, then dry for the rest of the week. A welcome change, although there was a cold wind towards the weekend especially on Saturday.

Bright at times, but still a lot of cloud about.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to say anything positive about the weather. After our 16th consecutive wet day, and when it's not actually raining - it looks as if it's just about to at any minute. We've had 60mm this week, the wettest day was Monday with 15mm.

79mm of rain this week, falling on every day, culminating with 49mm on Friday which caused flooding again. This seems to be the most we have had in a 24 hour period, certainly in the last 18 years. Although there have been readings in the mid 40's several times.

The flooding was partly caused by the fact that it had been raining all week, so the ground was sodden . We are also fairly close to sea level so there wasn't anywhere for the water to go. If you live half way up a mountain, prolonged rainfall is no problem. Capel Curig in North Wales regularly has over 100mm in 24 hours without any flooding at all.

But I do feel that the current practice of culverting any watercourse or drainage ditch is wrong, and is a major contributory factor to the problem, certainly in Wrington.

Only 5mm of rain this week. Friday and Saturday were both wet days, but a rather gloomy week overall, with a lot of cloud. So in spite of being past the shortest day it isn't any lighter yet.

January
108mm is the average rainfall for the month - with a low of 38mm in 2000, and a high of 186.5 in 1999. Last year we had frost from the 21st of January into the middle of February, so we live in hope of it getting colder and drier!

December

Total rainfall 153.5mm on 15 days, above the average this month. We started the month with 9 wet days followed by a dry cold spell of 2 weeks ending with a wet period again.

2007

Total rainfall 1,303mm. The wettest month was July with 218mm and we had a dry April with only 23mm. A total of 176 wet days altogether. Snow fell on the 8th of February, but by the time the children had come home from school, it had disappeared.

A long spell of cold with hard frosts in late January/early February and another spell in December. In spite of the early frosts we had the wettest February for at least 18 years.

Lovely dry warm weather in April and early May and a nice Autumn, but the middle of sunner very wet with flooding in many areas.

No damaging winds this year, a bit gusty at times and more wind from the North and East than we used to get.

So altogether, although not a very good year, it could have been worse. Hopefully 2008 will be better - more rain in April and less in July and August would suit me.

The total rainfall for 2006 was 1073mm which is about average for our area.
The wettest month was May, and the driest was April. It rained on 168 days which is slightly more than usual. October and November tied for the most wet days, with 21 each, and July had the least with 7.

December