THE sustained frost over Christmas was the longest unbroken cold spell logged by amateur weatherman Roy Haviland of Bream since he started recording in the early 1990s.
"Mind you, that was Bream – might be a different picture up in Coleford or at Woolaston," said Roy, who says there were 16 nights with the mercury below freezing.
Between December 26 and January 10 temperatures ranged between minus two degrees to minus eight degrees Celcius, says Roy. During that time there was only 1mm of rain.
But there were some surprises – you might have thought it was pretty wet but the rainfall for 2008 was less than in 2007, the figures being 1,105mm (2008) and 1,149mm (2008).
"There is not that much difference. However it is still less than 2000 when the rainfall was 1,223mm," says Roy.
There were some good deluges last year. "In August and September 2008 we had 14 inches of rain, the most I have ever recorded in a two-month period, " said Roy.
"Perhaps this is all due to global warming."