UK's warmest microclimates

[Dave Brown]

Ignore Bamboo stix, I'll give an explanation in off topic.

Sam with an offshore drift and a radiation frost you could get big minus figures as the sea's influence is being pushed away.

With an ENE continental advection airmass moving eastwards across south uk. The last sea the airmass would be affected by would be the wash (East Anglia) Then under a clear sky temps would tumble as the airmass moved 350 miles WSW to Cornwall

The heavy dense cold air moving offshore would prevent warmer air coming onshore and even the beaches could freeze.

[stephenprudence]

Tonight will be an interesting experiment to see just what effect snowcover has on temperatures. The wind is blowing so I dont think the effect will be massive but if the wind stopped then -7 or -8C would be possible. In fact it's something that may happen in the following days.

Heavy snow is a rare event for Wirral, so it will be interesting to see what happens under clear skies, calm conditions, and snow cover.

Wirral actually as a peninsula fares quite well when there is no breeze and a clear sky, the temperature never really falls far whereas it can inland somewhat - again though knowing what happens under these conditions + snow is an unknown.

[grub]

+ snow is an unknown.

Only in your lifetime though Stevo

[stephenprudence]

Indeedy do

[grub]

Jammy butter

[grub]

I bet you're like a Dog with 2 tails

[stephenprudence]

I do like the snow, but.... I have actually seen it before in 1995

[Nigel Fear]

I;m quite happy with my climate, not the best winter lows, but not the worse, mostly it only gets down to a minimum of -4/-5 perhaps 3 or 4 nights the whole winter.
Snows most winters, but is also about the dryest part of the country. Isn't the hottest in summer, but one of them.

Making it a 'good all rounder' I reckon, compromising reasonably mild winters with reasonably good summers.

[Vic]

Surely Canvey Island is well up there as a great little microclimate. I don't think i've seen anywhere else in the country with the number of palms that seem to flourish there, and the largest washingtonia filifera i have seen in the UK planted out in a north facing garden, along with alot of w.robusta that never seem to get damaged .

[Doug-Tews]

Sam with an offshore drift and a radiation frost you could get big minus figures as the sea's influence is being pushed away.

With an ENE continental advection airmass moving eastwards across south uk. The last sea the airmass would be affected by would be the wash (East Anglia) Then under a clear sky temps would tumble as the airmass moved 350 miles WSW to Cornwall

The heavy dense cold air moving offshore would prevent warmer air coming onshore and even the beaches could freeze.

I think your description is quite correct. Cold air originating from land blowing out over the sea will push the warm air away. However, here in the Ventnor area of the Isle of Wight, such conditions don't always mean we lose all benefits from the sea. In our case, cold northerly winds are blocked by the tall cliffs immediately to our north. This forces the cold wind aloft over our area. In some situations (apparently depending on exact wind direction and strength) an interesting effect occurs. The winds being diverted overhead apparently creates a vacuum effect under the cliffs along the coast, where some warmth from the sea is drawn in. Even though the main air mass is moving out over the water, some "relatively" warm eddies of air can be sucked back up against the cliffs. I've walked this area many times and observed the effect by watching the plumes from chimneys.

The effect seems most pronounced if the winds aren't too terribly strong. For example, last winter the center of the Island (in Newport) hit -9C one morning. Here in the undercliff, it was -5C. Likewise, two years ago it hit -2C in Newport, but was +3C here. A 5C difference can make a world of difference with plants!

Those are extreme examples, but we are nonetheless frequently a couple degrees warmer than Newport.

[Adrian]

and thats why they built the subtropical gardens there.

[Chalk Brow]

The official local weather stats show the lowest temperature so far this winter as -3.4, although I have recorded -4.9 in the garden. But I am nearly one mile from the coastline and I think the official figures are recorded on the seafront or the harbour.

The lowest temperature in the last tens years of so is around -6, and there have been few if any days (except yesterday) when the daytime temperature stayed below zero. Last winter was much milder here than the West Country.

The moderating effect of the sea, which keeps the winter temperatures up also keep the summer temperatures down, in a heat wave it is rarely as hot as inland.

Eastbourne is sheltered from the west by the Downs and Beachy Head which protect the town from the prevailing westerlies, and divert some cloud cover giving more sunshine here than surrounding areas (the weather experts say the Downs are not high enough to do this, but the evidence speaks otherwise).

If the cold comes from the east, then it is a different story!

I would not claim Eastbourne has the most favourable micro-climate, one has only to compare the growth of plants in places such as Bournemouth where comparing like for like growth is generally far more luxuriant. (although I suspect the soils conditions are far superior there, most of Eastbourne is either poor soil over chalk, or little soil over what was once beach).

There are no doubt more favourable areas, but taking into account all factors Eastbourne does not fare too badly. A walk along the prom will prove that with some of the tender plants that thrive there.

[Dave Brown]

Eastbourne is sheltered from the west by the Downs and Beachy Head which protect the town from the prevailing westerlies, and divert some cloud cover giving more sunshine here than surrounding areas (the weather experts say the Downs are not high enough to do this, but the evidence speaks otherwise).

I believe you Grenville

Eastbourne has the highest sunshine figures on mainland uk. Only beaten by the Channel Islands

The North Downs have the same affect on the Thames Estuary the cloud thins or breaks up giving more sun and the lowest rainfall in England. It is the cloud breaking and warm southerly winds decesending into the estuary cancelling any onshore breeze that enable North Kent to beat London's temperature records

[stephenprudence]

North Wales Hills have a roughly similar effect here but nowhere near to the extent of down south - actually sometimes it can be plain cloudy, but is always very dry (here), so I kind of know the geographical effect Grenville is talking about and I agree.

[Nigel Fear]

The official local weather stats show the lowest temperature so far this winter as -3.4, although I have recorded -4.9 in the garden. But I am nearly one mile from the coastline and I think the official figures are recorded on the seafront or the harbour.

The lowest temperature in the last tens years of so is around -6, and there have been few if any days (except yesterday) when the daytime temperature stayed below zero. Last winter was much milder here than the West Country.

The moderating effect of the sea, which keeps the winter temperatures up also keep the summer temperatures down, in a heat wave it is rarely as hot as inland.

Eastbourne is sheltered from the west by the Downs and Beachy Head which protect the town from the prevailing westerlies, and divert some cloud cover giving more sunshine here than surrounding areas (the weather experts say the Downs are not high enough to do this, but the evidence speaks otherwise).

If the cold comes from the east, then it is a different story!

I would not claim Eastbourne has the most favourable micro-climate, one has only to compare the growth of plants in places such as Bournemouth where comparing like for like growth is generally far more luxuriant. (although I suspect the soils conditions are far superior there, most of Eastbourne is either poor soil over chalk, or little soil over what was once beach).

There are no doubt more favourable areas, but taking into account all factors Eastbourne does not fare too badly. A walk along the prom will prove that with some of the tender plants that thrive there.

Dover's got to be pretty hard to beat weatherwise too, nearly always seems to have less sub-zero nights for the southeast of the country.