What everyone thought was a below par year for rainfall in Grahamstown was actually well above the mean, according to Grocott's Mail's rain-watching team.
What everyone thought was a below par year for rainfall in Grahamstown was actually well above the mean, according to Grocott's Mail's rain-watching team.
Every week four Grahamstown residents with scientific and environmental leanings – Robin Stobbs, Jim Cambray, Nikki Kohly and Nick James – share rainfall data with each other, and Grocott's Mail's readers. Jokingly referring to themselves as pluviometrists ("pluvios" for short), their records often differ slightly because of their different locations within the town.
Stobbs, recording rainfall in Grant Street, calculated that total rainfall for Grahamstown in 2014 was 703.4mm, with 65mm in December.
In Park Road, Cambray measured 732.2mm this year and 75.3mm in December.
By Stobbs's reckoning, at least half of the December rain fell in the week leading up to New Year – 29.2mm. Cambray measured 27.5mm, and temperatures from 15-24C – "probably due to cloud cover".
"Although we didn't quite make the mean for December it was pretty close," Cambray said. "And what everyone thought was a below par year was actually well above the mean."
James, who lives at Rivendell at the bottom of Howieson's Poort, received 40.5mm from 25 to 31 December.
Rainfall statistics for the month of December 2014 Total rainfall: 65.0mm (75.3mm)* Median: 60.0mm (55.9mm – records from 1986) Mean: 66.05mm (67.4mm) Range – lowest: 8.0mm (1992) (7.0mm 1992) highest 167.75mm (1994) (203.8mm 1994) Rainfall statistics for the year 2014 Total rainfall: 703.4mm (732.2mm) Median: 654.5mm (685.8mm) Mean: 658.58mm (702.4mm) Range – lowest 379.25 (1992) (486.9mm -1992) highest: 1002.5mm (2011) (1046.7mm (2011)
*First figure Stobbs's: Cambray's in brackets
