Never answer an anonymous letter - Yogi Berra
December was warm and wet for the first three weeks of the month before turning cooler and drier during the final week. This month's garden photo (Photo 1) was taken on the last day of 2025 after the coldest night (-3 ℃) night of the month. Two months earlier, at the start of November, the garden had been full of autumn colour.
 |
| Photo 1: The Back Garden on 31st December |
 |
| Photo 2: Spot the Woodie |
All December's garden photos are collated in the video below ...
Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden (December 2025)
Selected weather statistics from the Davis Weather Station in our back garden are summarised in Table 1. Weather-wise, I remember December as being on the warm side with middling sunshine and rain, though the precipitation was heavy at times. Storm Bram affected other parts of the UK but largely bypassed Herefordshire.
Daily minimum and maximum temperatures for December 2025 are shown in Figure 1. The coldest temperature of the month (-3 ℃) occurred overnight (30th/31st) - unfortunately this does not show up in Figure 1 because the Weatherlink software used to present the Davis Weather Station data has trouble fitting the longest months into its 'Monthly Summary'. I could transfer the csv file to a spreadsheet but, to be honest, I've got more important things to do! Figure 1 shows how the relatively warm temperatures for the first three weeks (weather systems coming in from the west) switched to colder conditions when the weather started coming from the East.
 |
| Figure 1: Min/Max Daily Temperatures (December 2025) |
In Figure 2, the daily rainfall and sunshine hours for December are shown. The final week was dry and sunny most days. The first three weeks, however, were characterised by Atlantic weather systems bringing in weather fronts that alternated between sun and rain. When it did rain it was usually a significant precipitation event resulting in flooding as rivers breached their banks.
The next picture (Photo 4) was taken from the same bridge but looking downstream towards Hereford City. The River Wye is on the right with the treeline marking the riverside footpath. On the left, in the centre, are the underwater rugby pitches of Hereford RFC. On the city skyline you can just make out the spire of All Saints Church and the square tower of St Nicholas' Church. The former has an excellent cafe (with good vegetarian/vegan choices) while the latter is currently up for sale.
 |
| Figure 2: Daily Rain/Sunshine Data (December 2025) |
On the 10th December, I was cycling back home after water testing and took these photos. Photo 3 was taken from Hunderton Railway Bridge looking upstream and across to the playing fields of Hereford Cathedral School. The River Wye is in the foreground, the playing fields are in the background (the building just right of centre is the clubhouse). The submerged riverside footpath along the treeline is several feet under water.
 |
| Photo 3: Cathedral School Playing Fields, Hereford (10th December 2025) |
The next picture (Photo 4) was taken from the same bridge but looking downstream towards Hereford City. The River Wye is on the right with the treeline marking the riverside footpath. On the left, in the centre, are the underwater rugby pitches of Hereford RFC. On the city skyline you can just make out the spire of All Saints Church and the square tower of St Nicholas' Church. The former has an excellent cafe (with good vegetarian/vegan choices) while the latter is currently up for sale.
 |
| Photo 4: Looking Towards Hereford City from Hunderton Railway Bridge (10/12/25) |
The next photo was also taken from the Hunderton Bridge looking downstream but zoomed in (Pixel 10 Pro) to see the Wye Bridge (Built 1490, Grade I listed). At 10.30 am on the 10th December 2025, when this photo was taken, the river was 4.5 metres (15 feet) deep at the Wye Bridge (typical depths are about 1 metre (3 feet).
 |
| Photo 5: Wye Bridge (10th December 2025) |
Figure 3 compares November temperature data recorded on my back garden weather station. With 7 years of weather data, there is a suggestion of an upward trend in both average and maximum temperatures, particularly the latter. Average temperatures show much greater variation because, let's not forget, this is winter and even global warming cannot rule out the possibility of a cold winter as in 2022 and 2023.
 |
| Figure 3: Time Series (2019-2025) of December Temperatures (Hereford City) |
Figure 4 compares other weather data such as rainfall, sunshine hours and maximum wind speeds. Over the past 7 years, monthly rainfall is trending down, sunshine levels are fairly constant and maximum wind speeds are increasing. None of these trends can be confirmed without without a longer time series.
.png) |
| Figure 4: Time Series (2019-2025) of December Rain, Sun & Wind (Hereford City) |
The next three figures are taken from the UK Met Office's Monthly Report for December 2025. Figure 5 shows the mean temperature anomaly (relative to the 1991-2020 average) for the UK. Herefordshire, along with most of the UK experienced temperatures 1-2 ℃ above the long-term mean. Based on our nearest Met Office weather station at Credenhill (about 4 miles away), our average December temperature is around 4.8 to 4.9 ℃. Our weather station in Hereford City had a mean of 7 ℃ in agreement with 1.5 to 2.5 ℃ anomaly in Figure 5.
 |
| Figure 5: UK Mean Temperature Anomalies (December 2025) |
Figure 6 reports UK rainfall for December as 'typical' for most of the country including Herefordshire. The long-term average (1991 - 2020) for Credenhill is 72 mm in December which is close to the 79.6 mm reported by my weather station (Table 1). It just goes to show that average rainfall levels can result in flood events (e.g. Photo 3) if the rainstorm is intense or prolonged.
 |
| Figure 6: Relative UK Rainfall (December 2025) |
UK sunshine levels are summarised in Figure 7. Herefordshire (circled) was divided between average (north) and above average (south) levels of sunshine. The Midlands, which includes Herefordshire, has an average sunshine duration of nearly 50 hours in December. The 43 hours recorded by our weather station (Table 1) suggests we were slightly below average.
 |
| Figure 7: Relative UK Sunshine Hours (December 2025) |
Jobs in the Garden
- It was very quiet in the garden which means I might be quite busy in late winter and early spring preparing for the new growing season
- I've kept one hot composting bin going taking the kitchen scraps along with some garden waste
- Chard and spinach beet are still being harvested thanks to the mild weather
- The few remaining beetroots and turnips were damaged by frost
- Stored onions, garlic and marrows are still going strong
Flora & Fauna in the Garden
- Blackbird (x2, both males)
- Blackcap (x1, though male and female seen at different times)
 |
| Photo 6: Female Blackcap in the Garden (28th December 2025) Video 2: Female Blackcap Feeding on Rotten Apple |
- Blue Tit (x3)
- Collared Dove (x3)
- Crow (x2)
- Dunnock (x1)
- Great Tit (x2)
- House Sparrow (x13)
- Jackdaw (x3)
- Long-tailed Tit (x1)
- Robin (x1)
- Starling (x10)
- Wood Pigeon (x5)
- Wren (x1)
 |
| Photo 7: Wren in the Garden (28th December 2025) |
- Cats (x2, having a face-off?)
 |
| Photo 8: Cat-fight? |
Video 3: Feline Stand-off, Part 1
Video 4: Feline Stand-off, Part 2
Video 5: Feline Stand-off, Part 3
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment