Rainfall Records for Great Bradley

The British are often accused of being obsessed about the weather. With good reason, as its many variations impact on so many aspects of our life. Few feel its effects more than farmers and, therefore, my father started to measure the rainfall here in 1954. Since then the rain has been meticulously measured every day. The site at The Hall is an official one, and we send statistics at the end of each month to The Environment Agency/Met Office.  

At the end of the 1990s all the historical data was put on computer and began to produce a series of graphs that make it easier to analyse the results. 

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2015 RAINFALL REPORT

Despite a somewhat ‘colder snap’ as I write, this had been another mild, somewhat wet winter. We started picking daffodils on the 28th December!
 
In overall terms, 2015 rainfall was a little below the average: -
- 2015 Rainfall: 662.70mm (24.51ins)
- 10 Year Rolling Average: 667.76mm (26.29ins)
- 50 Year Rolling Average: 636.27mm (25.05ins)
 
Please see graphs below

For some years it has been evident that the period July to November was generally becoming wetter and the last

two years seem to validate this trend. This is important, and not necessarily good news, as it is the key
operational period of the farming year, covering both the harvest in the high summer and the cultivation/drilling
period in the early autumn.
Given this trend, I thought it would be interesting to look at the first half/second half split since we began
recording rainfall for the Met Office in 1954.

So it seems that following the 2000s, the wettest period (with an annual average of 27.40ins) since our records began, two trends have become apparent in this current decade. First, a reversion to a more long term average, somewhat lower level of rainfall (25.40ins per year to date in this decade in line with the 50 year average of 25.05ins). Secondly, we are indeed seeing a greater proportion of rainfall in the second half of the year than in any decade since the 1960s.
 
However, as it happens, this is not necessarily bad news as the average amount of annual rainfall in this decade is down to around 25ins, or lower as in 2015; the larger proportion in the second half is a ‘containable’ amount. Indeed, we now seem to be copying the 1960s in terms of total rainfall – the average annual rainfall for the 1960s was 24.40ins, almost exactly the same as the rainfall in 2015. So is it back to the ‘Swinging 60s’!? Let’s hope so because, as the graphs show, those years were far more consistent, and less extreme, than more recent decades in rainfall terms– halcyon days, with benign weather suiting farmers and gardeners alike! And good for music too!
 
We shall see whether my optimism about the weather holds good in 2016!

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Technical details of the Weather Station

Name: GREAT BRADLEY HALL (Locate on Googlemap )

src_id: 5049

Geographic area: SUFFOLK

Latitude (decimal degrees):  52.15

Longitude (decimal degrees): 0.447

Grid ref: TL 673530

Grid ref type: OS

Postcode: CB8 9

Elevation: 85 meters

Drainage stream: STOUR

Hydrological area ID: 360

Station start date 01-01-1967

Station end date Current

Measurements made
 - CARLOS (Monthly & annual climatological averages, calculated by NCIC) from 01-01-1967 to Current 
 - CLMSN (Monthly & annual climatological averages, & check values for sfc CLIMAT messages)  from 01-01-1961 to 31-12-1990
 - WADRAIN (Water Authority Daily rainfall values) from 01-01-1967  to Current

Click here for more information on these terms

2010 RAINFALL REPORT