Large data set
Location and time period of samples
2 TPs: May → Oct 1987 & May → Oct 2015
5 UK weather stations: From N → S - Leuchars, Leeming, Heathrow, Hurn & Camborne
3 overseas weather stations: Jacksonville (USA), Beijing (China), Perth (Australia)
Data contained within the data set
- Daily mean temp. in degrees C - avg. of hourly temp. readings in 24-hour period
- Daily total rainfall including solid precipitation e.g. snow and hail (melted before included in measurements) - amounts < 0.05mm records as ‘tr’ or ‘trace’
- Daily total sunshine recorded to the nearest 10th of an hour
- Daily mean wind direction and windspeed in knots, averaged over 24 hours from 00:00 to 00:00; mean wind directions given as bearings and cardinal (compass) directions; data for mean windspeed is also categorised according to the Beaufort scale
| Beaufort scale | Descriptive term | Avg. speed @ 10m above ground |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Calm | < 1 knot |
| 1-3 | Light | 1 - 10 knots |
| 4 | Moderate | 11 - 16 knots |
| 5 | Fresh | 17 - 21 knots |
- Daily maximum gust in knots - highest instantaneous windspeed recorded & direction also recorded
- Daily maximum relative humidity given as a % of air saturation with water vapour; > 95% → misty/foggy conditions
- Daily mean cloud cover measured in ‘oktas’ or eighths of the sky covered by cloud
- Daily mean visibility measured in decametres (Dm) - this is the greatest Hz distance @ which an object can be seen in daylight
- Daily mean pressure measured in hectopascals (hPa)