Kilcreggan rainfall 2002

Strange as it may seem to some pessimists who say "It's always raining" 2002 rainfall was crazy and didn't follow any usual pattern but in the end the total rainfall for the year was about normal . So let's see how it went.

2001 had a very low rainfall, which made us think that 2002 was wetter than it really was.

The first three months of 2002 were fairly predictable, although February being a short month returned 275 mm of rain, then April was a little wetter than usual but not excessively so, then by the middle of May the rains came as well as being cold, June then set a record as being the wettest and coldest since records began many years ago and then in July when we were expecting some summer sun the weather was not much better. August started off in the same pattern and I was still feeding my bees until the middle of the month. By this time we were getting used to being depressed, then 10 and behold as I returned from holiday the sun came out and the garden burst forth although it was far too late for the apples to be pollinated and the bees were working hammer and tong laden with nectar and pollen from the bramble, heather and knotweed. September then turned out with an Indian summer with the lowest rainfall that I have ever recorded with only 36mm. October soon put a stop to that and chucked down 242 mm of rain, but November was not quite so bad. December then came up with a big surprise with only 50mm of rain, which was almost a record low, just being beaten by December 1995, which only had 38mm.

So there you have it, make what you willof it; blame it on global warming, computers, or even Henry the 8th. In the words of the bard Facts are cheils ye canna ding.

ANNUAL RAINFALL SINCE 1987, YEAR BY YEAR

Here are some facts for 2002
Total rainfall for the year 1707mm
Wettest day of the year 14th June 44mm
Wettest month February 275mm
Driest month September 36mm
Rainfall month by month

On the other side of the coin there were 108 days without any rain and 26 days with only a trace, altogether 134 days without any appreciable rain, more than one third of the year.

Note-
I just report the facts as I record them day-by-day. These figures do not necessarily hold good for any other location than at Portkil, as rainfall is very local and can vary just a few miles away.
(For the imperialists 25.4 mm = 1 inch)

Ben Bellamy, Portkil, Kilcreggan, January 2003