20.5 mm of rain this week mostly on Friday and Saturday. We did have 2mm on Christmas day, but it was fairly mild and dry in the afternoon so I was able to get out with Matt and the dog which was very enjoyable as there was no traffic at all. What a difference a day makes!

First of all, let's finish off 2011.

Total rainfall for the year was 1027mm (just over 41 inches) this being the same as the total for 1992.
It rained on 164 days - the wettest month was January and the driest was April with15mm.

Although nationally there has been low rainfall, it wasn't quite as bad here, December even crept above average and there have been 8 years in the last 20, with lower totals. It's been an unusual year in some ways, after the extremely cold weather at the end of 2010. January was relatively mild with no frost until the last few days.

One of the most noticeable things was the dry spring, which made things very difficult for farmers and gardeners as nothing grew properly, and with the wind coming from the North and East bringing cool drier weather, instead of the warmth and damp which comes from the West, it hasn't helped.. The mild Autumn has meant roses are still blooming and leaves still falling right into January, but I'm sure it will sort itself out in the end.

January averages are 111mm of rain over 10 years and 110mm over 20. The wettest was in 1995 with 207mm and the driest was 12mm in 1997. The worst was 1990 with rain on 27 days and severe gales.

So once again I start a blank sheet for another year - every one different and yet surprisingly the same when everything is added up. Happy New Year!

Only 19.5mm of rain during this week, on 3 days. Still exceptionally mild for December, but we have had previous years with no frost and mild enough to fool the birds into thinking spring is here. I saw a blackbird picking up bits of twig today !

The photograph is of a crab apple which as you can see is covered with fruit. Last year the birds had stripped it bare well before Christmas!! They haven't needed to this year --Yet!

With 6 wet days out of 7, rain was the main feature last week with a total of 58mm. What a change from last year when there was snow on the 12th and a hard frost all week.

It's the shortest day next week, on the 22nd this year. Then we can look forward to gradually lengthening days.

13.5mm of rain and a frost on Friday and Saturday morning. -3.7ºC on Saturday so quite chilly for a while. We also had some strong winds with more promised later in the week.

25.5mm in total, but some rain on 5 days, so not much change. Getting colder towards the weekend, with a frost on Saturday morning, -1.2ºC, with a dry day and some sunshine.

What a difference between 2010 and 2011 as far as temperatures are concerned, although the first 2 weeks were very similar - mild and wet. We didn't have any frost until the 14th last year, whereas this year the mild damp weather continued right through until the end of the month.

The average rain for December is 106mm over 10 years and 114mm over 20. As you can see December is a fairly wet month. We had snow 6 times in the last 20 years, but frost is quite common, from the odd night, up to spells of 2 weeks or more. On the whole the most usual weather is wet - from 22mm in 2010 with frost and snow, to 1993 when it rained on 27 days producing 210mm.

The 25th has been dry 9 times in the last 20 years.

Only 14mm of rain over 4 days, still mild for November though. I'd rather have it a lot cooler and brighter!

The weather continues to be mild and damp, only 10mm of rain, but a lot of cloud and some fog as well. No sign of change yet.

26.5mm of rain on 3 days and it's still fairly mild, in fact the weather at the moment is very similar to the first half of November last year, with a bit less rain .... and look how that ended!

The end of October and into November were wet - 38mm all together, so not a lot of sunshine, but we still had some.

Autumn colour is fair this year, certainly not as good as last year which was exceptional, but still plenty about.

October gave us 91mm of rain so slightly below average and we did have a 10 day dry spell from the 13th, so not too bad.

November is usually a wet month, the average over10 years is 114mm and over 20 years is 130mm. The wettest was 2009 with 239mm on 27 days, and the driest was 2001 with 65mm on 12 days.

Last year was notable because of an unusually cold 2nd half to the month with temperatures dropping below freezing from mid month right through into December.

After a lovely weekend, the weather turned wet on Tuesday giving us rain on 5 days, 48.5mm in all. Once again it improves towards the weekend, getting warmer, with the forecasters' promise of high temperatures into next week - we shall see!

A dry week and some lovely Autumnal weather, a bit chilly at times, but with some lovely sunshine towards the weekend, after we'd all lit our fires and turned on the heating!

Well, only a few showers this week - 4mm worth and quite a lot of cloud in between. The most noticeable change was the falling temperature through the week, giving us our first frost . I just managed to pick the last of our tomatoes before the frost caught them, and they are now safely ripening in the kitchen.

Well,the fine weather didn't last long,did it ? 23mm of rain and much cooler. Almost wintery at times, particularly towards the end of the week. With showers forecast for next week, it looks like more of the same!

After 14mm of rain on Sunday, a whole week of fine, dry weather, with some of the highest temperatures on record for September. I hope eveyone enjoyed it and managed to get outside in the sunshine after a month of rather poor weather.

118.5mm of rain on 19 days made September the worst one for some years, but hopefully it'll turn out to be a good October.

The average for October is 126mm over 10 years and 120mm over 20. The wettest was in 2000 with 191mm on 16 days and the driest was 1995 with 62mm on 7 days.

Although 2000 had the highest amount of rain, in 2004 it rained on a total of 24 days. So as you can see, not a dry month - but we often have some spells of fine dry weather with cold nights and dry days which do give the best autumn colour.

Once again rain on 5 days out of the 7, a total of 39mm. We're getting plenty of rain this month - at least Saturday was dry and hopefully Sunday too.

I feel we've had a poor summer this year, and Autumn hasn't been any better so far. Perhaps October will bring us some late fine weather, I certainly hope so.

29.5mm rain on 6 days out of the 7, very much the same weather as last week. Some rain but also some sun in between and rather cool for September, temperatures as low as 7ºC or 8ºC on some nights now. It will make the winter seem long if the colder weather starts too early.

Rain on every day this week 36mm altogether, not a lot but it meant again a lot of cloud. We did have some occasional sunny periods and when the sun shone it soon warmed up, but most of the time rather chilly

39mm of rain in 4 days so once again no settled weather. Dry, warm period and the odd fine days. Perhaps September will be better!

Very much the same weather as the previous week. 13mm of rain spread over 4 days, and again good periods of sunshine in between. There is also plenty of cloud about and even fog on a couple of mornings, but that was soon gone as the morning warmed up.

18mm of rain, with some on 5 days out of 7. A rather changeable week with some good periods of sunshine especially Monday and Tuesday, but a lot of cloud, and the temperature soon drops without the sun, so evenings have been noticeably cooler.

After a dry and sunny weekend, the first 2 days of August were dry, then the weather changed again and we've had rain every day since -. 27mm in all.

The rainfall in July was up to the average for our area, a total of 105mm with rain on 14 days with average sunshine as well. Not as warm and sunny as we would have liked though.

Into August now, - Average rain over 10 years 89.5mm and over 20 years 90mm. The highest was in 1997 with 179mm from 8 days of rain. I think 2008 was worse 175.5mm when it rained on 27 days. The driest August was 1995 with only 9mm.

The weather in August is like all our weather, very unreliable. In the last 20 years there have been 15 with at least 1 week of fine weather, sometimes 2 and occasionally 3, but I think the heatwave promised us is unlikely to materialise now. I'm sure there will be some hot days, but not a really long spell of settled fine weather.

A dry week apart from a shower on Thursday and Friday, but still a lot of cloud around. When it lifts it soon warms up, but still no long days of unbroken sunshine. - perhaps next week, but I rather doubt it!

Rain on 5 days, only small amounts, but rain means clouds, so not a lot of sun until Friday. Saturday was a lovely day for the gardens open day, but not so good on Sunday, very breezy by the afternoon.

Still no settled fine weather, in fact a typical British summer - long spells of sunshine and heatwaves are not usual here, the last dryish July was in 2006.

A dry week until Friday, then 2.5mm of rain followed by 21mm on Saturday. I haven't seen any sign of the heatwave we were promised a while ago. Nor are we likely to get one with the present weather pattern - we need prolonged warm weather to build up into a heatwave; not the present few days and then gone again.

This weather reminds me of some of the summers we had in the '60s. The 10th of July was the anniversary of the terrible floods we had in 1968 when heavy continuous rain on the Mendips caused a build up of water which rushed down Velvet Bottom and through Cheddar - flooding the caves, ripping up roads and damaging property. At Chewstoke 143.5mm fell in one day, and it was thought that more than that fell on Mendip, but wasn't officially recorded.

Of course, it was also St Swithin's on Friday, which often is the signal for unsettled weather (and 40 days of rain!).

With rain falling on 5 daysout of 7, amounting to 55.5mm, we don't need to water for a day or two. We'd also had a dry afternoon for the Fete. I was quite glad to have the rain as the ground soon dries out at this time of the year.

It was the night of the 9th of July 1984 that York Minster caught fire, by the time the alarm was raised considerable damage had occured costing £2 million and taking more than 4 years to complete (I wonder how much it would cost now?)

A dry week with some lovely sunny weather. I know part of the village had a heavy downpour on Thursday lunchtime, but it was very localised and didn't reach my rain gauge.

With 86mm precipitation, June was above average (makes a change!) and it's been a very changeable month. There has been the odd very hot day with temperatures of 25ºC+ and other days when you needed a jacket.

On to July, the average rainfall over 10 years is 97mm and over 20 years it is 117mm, with a low of 11mm in 1999 when it rained only on 3 days , and a high of 218mm in 2007 when it rained on 25 days, just beating 2009 when the same number of days produced half a millimetre less!

Hopefully not to be repeated this year, it would also be nice if we could have a dry day on the 9th!

Only 8.5mm of rain - a little on 5 days out of the 7 - so plenty of cloud around and breezy at times as well. There is a promise of a hot day tomorrow (Sunday) but still no settled fine weather and we've nearly reached the end of June.

With 32mm of rain, spread over 4 days, not a very sunny week. Most of the rain was on Wednesday and Friday, but as rain is so badly needed we shouldn't complain, even though next weekend looks wet as well.

10.5mm of rain, not as much as we need, but better than none. Another changeable week, hot one day and cold the next with the cold wind back again. The warmest days were Friday and Saturday, so we'll see what next week brings.
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Total rainfall for May was 62mm, again below average, but it was spread throughout the month so helped to keep things going. So a fairly dry period with the cold wind through most of the month keeping temperatures down.

There was also quite a bit of cloud especially earlier in the day. Once the clouds cleared and the wind dropped, temperatures soon climbed to 22ºC or 23ºC making a warm end to the day. Then the next day back with the clouds and wind, - I'm waiting for some more settled weather which, hopefuly June will bring.

June is usually one of our best months. It may not be as warm as July and August, but we are less likely to get the freakish weather which sometimes occurs such as thunder, cloudbursts, freak storms etcetera. Also we are getting the most hours of daylight until the longest day on the 21st.

With 212.5mm of rain, and cooler weather especially towards the Bank Holiday weekend, we seem to be getting a bit of a change. Whether it's long term or not, I don't know. Rain is needed particularly in the South East of the country ( we need some too!)            

4mm of rain this week - getting less! The weather was very much the same as last week, and we've still got the cold wind and plenty of cloud, but when the sun does shine and you're sheltered from the wind, it's lovely.

Only 5mm of rain this week, so those looking for more were disappointed. Plenty of cloud about though and at times a brisk cold wind which rather took the edge off the sunshine.

I know the forecasters say this is the warmest May since whenever,- but I disagree, this cold wind certainly lowers temperatures and I don't think it will feel really warm until we lose it!

Another good start to the week, but as we got towards the weekend things started to change. Lower temperatures, more cloud with 6mm of rain on Friday and 26mm on Saturday. Nice steady rain which soaked in rather than running off as very heavy rain would have done. At least gardeners are pleased, even if no one else is!

A dry fine Easter weekend and fine right through the week, so fine on Friday for the street party, but still that chilling East wind which is very noticeable in the evenings or if you're standing in the shade.

Another dry week with the wind still coming from an Easterly direction

The grand total of 3mm of rain on Thursday. Otherwise a dry week, warm and sunny, but I can't be the omly one who is concerned about our lack of rain, following as it does a long period of below average rainfall.

This could seriously inpact on food supplies later in the year, and it could also herald a lot of rain in summer as we had in July 2009 and August 2010 when schools are closed and children are home for summer holidays!

A very good week, 12mm of rain at night and some lovely sunny days. The warmest I can remember so early in April. 19.9ºC in the shade in our garden on Saturday, it can't last so enjoy it while you can!

15mm of rain over 3 days - not much, but enough to be useful for those hoping to get some sowing done, as long as we get some more next week.

March was a very dry month with only 32mm, the driest March since 1997, but it was also fairly mild after the first few days when we had a very cold wind. There were occasional frosts but they were soon gone and we had some lovely sunshine.

Now we're into April, a quarter of the year gone already. This is another variable month with regard to rainfall: 183mm in 2000 with rain on 17 days against '97 when we only had 16mm on 3 days. Also on 13th-14th April '99 we had snow, but it didn't last for long. The average for April over 10 years is 69mm and over 20 years 77mm.

A dry week with plenty of sunshine, really warm at times with a high of 18.4ºC in our garden in the shade, midweek. It probably wont last too long, after all it is still only March, and the ground surface is very dry for seed sowing, so we could do with a shower.

Another dry week, only11mm of rain, otherwise the weather not too bad. The wind not so cold and certainly a hint of spring in the air, although the temperature dropped to -2.4ºC on Saturday morning, but it soon warmed up giving us a beautiful day.

Another fairly cold week with winds mainly from the North and East, so very little rain - 6mm altogether.

Some very sharp frosts to start the day but at least in March it soon thaws out. -3.4ºC on Monday and
-4.3ºC on Tuesday were the lowest temperatures but it was chilly in the morning all week.

Nearly half way through March so it should begin to warm up soon. Lady Day on the 21st, the day when rents were due for land, and labour would be hired for the summer. All we get now is the clocks changing at the end of the month (forward) - a mixed blessing for some, especially early risers.

A dry week to see us out of February and into March. Still a cold wind coming from the East and back to frosty mornings, with slight frosts in the latter part of the week and down to -2.4ºC on Saturday.

Total rain for February was 80mm, slightly below average and not a warm month either with the wind coming from the North East late in the month, no snow though.

The average for March over 10 years 80mm and over 20 years 74mm. The wettest was in 2008 with 154mm and the driest was 1997 when we only had 25mm

We often have quite hard frosts in March especially in the first weeks and in 2006 we had snow on the 12th but it didn't last long. Cold winds are typical March weather so don't pack away winter clothes yet!

29mm of rain on 5 days. also a very cold East wind on and off throughout the week. Not much sign of any warmer weather yet with a couple of frosty mornings again this week. In a couple of days we will be into March, perhaps things will change for the better then.

36mm of rain on 4 days, no frost and some sunshine. So it feels slightly warmer, but still a long way to go before it could be described as spring like - at least another week or two yet.

Another changeable week, frost on Tuesday -1.1ºC, and rain on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but only 13mm. Quite a lot of cloud and some light drizzle as well.

Noticeably lighter in the late afternoon now, on a clear day I can see up to 6pm.

Very variable week temperaturewise: -2.5ºC on the 30th and -7ºC on the 31st then warming up later in the week giving us double figures by the end and suddenly there are masses of snowdrops and crocuses.

Again a dry week, only 2mm of rain, giving a total for January of 124.5mm, so slightly above average for a change.Most of the rain was between the 4th and the 17th when it rained almost every day. Since then we have had rain once. The latter part of the month was cold with frost almost every night, but definately a change when we started February with neither rain or frost.

The old saying for February was fill the dyke, but a lot of rain in February is now quite rare. The average over 10 years is 96mm and over 20 is 83.5 and of course it is a short month.

I'm always glad to get February over and look forward to the lighter, brighter days of March.

Another dry week, with only 5mm of rain on the 25th but frost again towards the end of the week:
28th = -1ºC and 29th = -2.4ºC.

Very little rain this week, only 19.5mm. More frost again though:

20th  -3.4ºC
21st  -3.4ºC
22nd -4.1ºC

So we can't say goodbye to the cold weather yet. Things are moving though, snowdrops are out, willows and poplar twigs are changing colour and I've seen some hazel catkins so at least we can look forward now to better times.

Well, we've certainly had a wet week. Rain on 6 days giving a total of 73.5mm, the most in a week for a long while. Also very mild for January - temperatures of 10ºC - 12ºC.

Our snowdrops are coming out, also Cyclamen Coum was showing its flowers as the snow melted around it - a lovely thing to have. They'll keep going now until April.

Much milder and damper with 26.5mm of rain on 4 days, but we mustn't complain about rain for a while, as we've had so little.

I didn't give you the January averages last week, so here they are.

Over 10 years: 108mm and over 20 years: 108mm - there was only 1mm difference between 2001-2010 and 1991 - 2000. The wettest was in 1995 with 207.5mm and the driest was 1997 with 12mm, but of course, the drier it is, the colder it will be. At the moment it looks as if we will have a mild wet spell with a west wind.

A hard frost on the 26th, -9.4ºC (the coldest so far!) and then a thaw with 6mm of rain on the 27th and, although it's been overcast and damp, no more snow. I don't think anyone, except the young, will mind if we don't have any more this winter, and, although it was bad here, it seems to have been a lot worse to the North and East of us.

Review of 2010

Total rainfall was 799.5mm, the lowest for more than 20 years in our area. Of course, snow in January and December meant we received more water than the total rainfall, but anyone who has melted a bucket of snow will know there is not much water, it's mostly air. The wettest month was August and the month with the least rain was December.

We had frosts in January, February, March, April, October, November, December, which is unusual here, giving 81 nights when the temperature fell below freezing, and on some of those a long way below giving the hardest frosts since the '80's.

The spring was dry and late to warm up, with February daffodills and May tulips out at the same time. June and July were similar with a lot of cloud but little rain and low levels of sunshine. August, with rain on 16 days, was the wettest month with 176.5mm. September and October gave some of the best weather of the year, and the autumn colour was exceptional. On to November and December, colder than usual, frosty mornings becoming almost the norm and snow made it even worse. I never got my Christmas shopping finished!

Things that didn't happen in 2010; no gales -strong winds at times but nothing really damaging, very few thunderstorms and no floods.

I wish everyone a happy new year and may we all get the weather we want in 2011!