Weather
Last updated: 12 March 2006
Plashetts is a walking parish. The weather is the other half of the walk. It is not an inconvenience we apologise for. It is the air of the forest, and it is why the trees sound as they do, and why the burns run, and why a flask is a kindness. Come for a still afternoon as much as for a bright one. The rides hold both. This page is the climate as we have it, and the last observation entered at the desk. It is not a forecast. Walkers will still want a look at the sky.
Observations are taken at the Heritage Centre, from the porch if it is dry, and from the door if it is not. The porch stands at about 185 metres, with the green in front and the woods on three sides. The valley is Atlantic country: rain is ordinary, snow lies in most winters for a time, and the wind is in the canopy more often than on the grass. Kielder Water has a weather of its own, administered separately. Ours is the forest and the green.
The porch, looking out. Photograph from the centre collection; the instruments are as they were when last checked.
The figures below are taken from the book at the desk. They are means, not promises. A dry April is remembered because it is not the rule. Midwinter daylight is a little over seven hours; midsummer is nearer seventeen. The trail in December is a morning walk if you want the church in the light. The moon is another light, when it is. Frost is common from November to April and is not a closure. The Green Man Trail remains open in the sense advertised on the home page.
| Month | Rain, mm | Mean max, °C | Mean min, °C |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 118 | 4 | −1 |
| February | 92 | 5 | −1 |
| March | 96 | 7 | 1 |
| April | 78 | 10 | 2 |
| May | 72 | 13 | 5 |
| June | 80 | 16 | 8 |
| July | 86 | 18 | 10 |
| August | 98 | 17 | 10 |
| September | 108 | 14 | 7 |
| October | 124 | 11 | 4 |
| November | 132 | 7 | 1 |
| December | 128 | 5 | −1 |
The year, as we enter it, is a little over 1,250 mm of rain. November and October take the larger share; May is the driest month in the book, when it is. The mean maximum in July is 18 °C; we have had warmer afternoons, and we have had Gathering days in coats. The season is the way to read the table. Rain and wind have their own notes, because they are the two things walkers ask about after the sky. What the weather does to the path is under on the trail.
Earlier lines, where they were written down, are on the record. Conditions on the paths are a separate note, and they change with the week. Waterproofs and a flask are the ordinary kit; see what to bring. In the darker months, in winter is the shorter paper.