Surfacestation Writtle

Writtle, Essex. (at Writtle college, just west of Chelmsford)
Records marked from 1940 but the location then not known.
Recent conversion to full AWS 2009.

51.733441° 0.429085°

Altitude 32 metres

Estimated Class 4, fails Class 3 on “Ground covered with natural and low vegetation (<25 cm) representative of the region;” within 10 metres. As a secondary station this seems hard but a ploughed field some of the year is inconsistent.

UHI moderate, housing to south and south west, agricultural college with glasshouses to north, edge of large town of Chelmsford 1.2km, centre 2.7km to the east.

Ground cover is unstable, plough field, sometimes bare earth and then various crop heights, looks to be usually wheat or similar is shown by Google images at different dates.

Google street view demonstrates

Looks due north at the Stevenson screen from the end of a nearby road, tractor tyre marks in the foreground, field recently seeded and goes right up the the screen which once again is right up against the met enclosure fence.

Trees are marginal on throwing shadow at 7 degree solar elevation. (per WMO standard)

24 hours ending 2200 on 25 Apr 2013:
East of England Highest max 0900-2100 22.9 °C Writtle
Lowest max 0900-2100 20.0 °C Wittering
Lowest min 2100-0900 8.8 °C Houghton Hall
Highest rainfall 2100-2100 0.6 mm Andrewsfield
Sunniest 2100-2100 7.3 hours Wattisham
Last updated: 0001 on Fri 26 Apr 2013

[update]

24 hours ending 2200 on 29 Apr 2013:
UK Highest max 0900-2100 15.1 °C Writtle
Lowest max 0900-2100 6.4 °C Loch Glascarnoch
Lowest min 2100-0900 -0.8 °C Baltasound
Highest rainfall 2100-2100 31.6 mm Cluanie Inn
Sunniest 2100-2100 13.5 hours Boulmer
Last updated: 0002 on Tue 30 Apr 2013

[/update]