Rothamsted Meteorological Station

Datasets Key information Site and Design Media Bibliography
  • Experiment Code: RMS
  • Experiment Site: Rothamsted
  • Objectives:
  • Date Start: 1843
  • Establisment Period End: 1951
  • Date End: Ongoing
  • Key Contacts: Andy Macdonald, (Principal Investigator), Sarah Perryman, (Data Manager), Margaret Glendining, (Data Manager), https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6466-4629 ,

Description

    • Sir John Lawes, the founder of Rothamsted, realized that to understand crop growth, it was important to have records of the weather. Weather records also help us to understand the spread of crop diseases and insect behaviour. Rainfall and wind direction have been measured at Rothamsted every day since 1853, temperature since 1878 and sunshine since 1890, making this one of the longest sets of meteorological (weather) data available in the UK.

Funding

  • The e-RA database, including the published datasets generated from it, is part of the Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments - National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (RLTE-NBRI) , which also includes the Long-Term Experiments, the Sample Archive and Rothamsted's environmental monitoring activities including the weather stations and its role in the UK Environmental Change Network.
  • The RLTE-NBRI is supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Grants BBS/E/C/00005189 (2012-2017); BBS/E/C/000J0300 (2017-2022); BBS/E/RH/23NB0007 (2023-2028)).

Keywords

  • experiments, long term experiments, agriculture, datasets, research, fields, yields, weather

Datasets available

Title (hover for a longer description) Year of Publication Identifier Version

Weather Data

Mean Seasonal Air Temperature and Total Seasonal Rain at Rothamsted 1968-2022 2023 https://doi.org/10.23637/rms-RothSeasonTotRainMeanTemp1968-2022
 01

Weather Data - Sun

Total Monthly and Annual Sunshine Hours at Rothamsted 1893-2023 2024 https://doi.org/10.23637/rmsTMASunHours1893-2023-01
 01
Total Monthly and Annual Sunshine Hours at Rothamsted 1891-2024 2025 https://doi.org/10.23637/rmsTMASunHours1891-2024-01
 01

Weather data - 30 year means

Rothamsted 30-year mean meteorological data 1961-1990 2019 https://doi.org/10.23637/OARES30YrMeans6190
 01
Rothamsted 30-year mean meteorological data 1971-2000 2019 https://doi.org/10.23637/OARES30YrMeans7100
 01
Rothamsted 30-year mean meteorological data 1981-2010 2019 https://doi.org/10.23637/OARES30YrMeans8180
 01
Rothamsted 30-year mean meteorological data 1991-2020 2021 https://doi.org/10.23637/OARES30YrMeans9120
 01

Weather data - Rainfall

Total Monthly Rainfall at Rothamsted March 1853 - July 2018 2018 https://doi.org/10.23637/RMMRAIN5318
 01
Total Annual Rainfall at Rothamsted 1853-2023 2024 https://doi.org/10.23637/rmsTARain1853-2023-01
 01
Total Monthly and Annual Rain at Rothamsted 1853-2024 2025 https://doi.org/10.23637/rmsTMArain1853-2024-01
 01
Mean monthly rainfall at Rothamsted October 1985-September 2017 2020 https://doi.org/10.23637/rmsMMRain10850917
 01

Weather data - Temperature

Annual Mean Air Temperature at Rothamsted 1878-2023 2024 https://doi.org/10.23637/rms-RMAAtemp-03
 03
Annual Mean Air Temperature Anomaly at Rothamsted 1878-2019 2020 https://doi.org/10.23637/rms-RMAAtempanomaly-1
 01
Mean monthly temperature at Rothamsted October 1985-September 2017 2020 https://doi.org/10.23637/rmsmmtemp10850917
 01
Monthly Mean Average Air Temperature at Rothamsted 1878-2023 2024 https://doi.org/10.23637/rmsMMAirTemp1878-2023-01
 01
Monthly and Annual Air Temperature (Max, Mean, Min) at Rothamsted 1878-2024 2025 https://doi.org/10.23637/rmsMAAirTemp1878-2024-01
 01
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Key Information

30 years mean data

Open

Extreme weather recordings

Open

History of the Rothamsted Weather Station

Open

Site: Rothamsted Met station - Rothamsted

  • Experiment Site: Rothamsted
  • Description: Description of the Met Station
  • Management: More desctiption of met station / related to managment
  • Visit Permitted?: Yes
  • Visiting Arrangments: Contact Andy Macdonald
  • Elevation: 130 Metres
  • Geolocation:    51.806876, -0.360137

Experiment Design

    Use the arrows to navigate between periods

    License

    Creative Commons License These media (images and videos) are available under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (4.0) with attribution to Rothamsted Research.

    Images

    ARG100 rain gauge within turf wallARG100 rain gauge within turf wall eRA Curator
    AnonometerAnonometer eRA Curator
    Below drainage gauge (bare soil percolation)Below drainage gauge (bare soil percolation) eRA Curator
    Campbell-Stokes Sunshine Recorder (discontinued)Campbell-Stokes Sunshine Recorder (discontinued) eRA Curator
    Drainage gauges (bare soil percolation)Drainage gauges (bare soil percolation) eRA Curator
    ECN atmospheric chemistry instrumentECN atmospheric chemistry instrument eRA Curator
    Historical document rain gaugeHistorical document rain gauge eRA Curator
    Historical document rain gauges with laddersHistorical document rain gauges with ladders eRA Curator
    Inside Stevenson Temperature Screen (Max/Min Thermometers; Dry and Wet Bulb)Inside Stevenson Temperature Screen (Max/Min Thermometers; Dry and Wet Bulb) eRA Curator
    Manual recording of Wind RunManual recording of Wind Run eRA Curator
    Met Office tipping bucket rain gauge (now replaced)Met Office tipping bucket rain gauge (now replaced) eRA Curator
    Soil thermometers under grass at 30, 50 & 100cm (dicontinued - replaced by electronic sensors)Soil thermometers under grass at 30, 50 & 100cm (dicontinued - replaced by electronic sensors) eRA Curator
    Stevenson Temperature ScreenStevenson Temperature Screen eRA Curator
    Stevenson Temperature Screen (closed)Stevenson Temperature Screen (closed) eRA Curator
    Turf wall and wind towerTurf wall and wind tower eRA Curator
    Wind instrumentsWind instruments eRA Curator
    Wind recording instrumentsWind recording instruments eRA Curator
    Wind tower - 10m mast with Wind Vane, Wind Speed Cup Anemometer and Radiation PyranometerWind tower - 10m mast with Wind Vane, Wind Speed Cup Anemometer and Radiation Pyranometer eRA Curator
    Wind tower - 10m mast with Wind Vane, Wind Speed Cup Anemometer and Radiation PyranometerWind tower - 10m mast with Wind Vane, Wind Speed Cup Anemometer and Radiation Pyranometer eRA Curator
    AnemometerAnemometer eRA Curator
    Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder (discontinued) and Met Office Radiation PyranometerCampbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder (discontinued) and Met Office Radiation Pyranometer eRA Curator
    Centennial weather station presentation 2019Centennial weather station presentation 2019 eRA Curator
    Grass minimum sensor (type 107)Grass minimum sensor (type 107) eRA Curator
    Ladder down to rain gauge below 40inchLadder down to rain gauge below 40inch eRA Curator
    Large Temperature Screen with Max/Min/Dry bulb & Wet Bulb thermometers with ThermographLarge Temperature Screen with Max/Min/Dry bulb & Wet Bulb thermometers with Thermograph eRA Curator
    Looking into area below 40inchLooking into area below 40inch eRA Curator
    MK11 cylindrical rain gauge within turf wall enclosureMK11 cylindrical rain gauge within turf wall enclosure eRA Curator
    Met station turf wall foregroundMet station turf wall foreground eRA Curator
    Rain gaugesRain gauges eRA Curator
    Rothamsted Meteorological Station (Harpenden) (Met Office location Rothamsted No. 2)Rothamsted Meteorological Station (Harpenden) (Met Office location Rothamsted No. 2) eRA Curator
    Rothamsted rain & drain gauges etching in The Gardeners Chronicle 1877Rothamsted rain & drain gauges etching in The Gardeners Chronicle 1877 eRA Curator
    Soil temperature measurment under grass at 30, 50 & 100cm (discontinued - replaced by electronic sensors)Soil temperature measurment under grass at 30, 50 & 100cm (discontinued - replaced by electronic sensors) eRA Curator
    Stevenson Temperature ScreenStevenson Temperature Screen eRA Curator
    Temperature stripes 1878 2019 based on Rothamsted Mean Annual TemperatureTemperature stripes 1878 2019 based on Rothamsted Mean Annual Temperature eRA Curator
    Thousandth of an acre rain gauge with stainless steel funnel (previously lead)Thousandth of an acre rain gauge with stainless steel funnel (previously lead) eRA Curator
    Turf wall and rain gaugesTurf wall and rain gauges eRA Curator
    Wind Vane, Wind Speed Cup Anemometer and Radiation Pyranometer at top of 10m mastWind Vane, Wind Speed Cup Anemometer and Radiation Pyranometer at top of 10m mast eRA Curator
    Wind Vane, Wind Speed Cup Anemometer and Radiation Pyranometer at top of 10m mastWind Vane, Wind Speed Cup Anemometer and Radiation Pyranometer at top of 10m mast eRA Curator

    Key References

    2021

    • - Addy, J. W. G., Ellis, R. H., Macdonald, A. J., Semenov, M. A. and Mead, A. (2021) "The impact of weather and increased atmospheric CO2 from 1892 to 2016 on simulated yields of UK wheat", J. R. Soc. Interface, 18, 20210250 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0250

    2020

    • - Addy, J. W. G., Ellis, R. H., Macdonald, A. J., Semenov, M. A. and Mead, A. (2020) "Investigating the effects of inter-annual weather variation (1968-2016) on the functional response of cereal grain yield to applied nitrogen, using data from the Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments", Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 284, 107898 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.107898

    2018

    2015

    1974

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    For further information and assistance, please contact the e-RA curators, Sarah Perryman and Margaret Glendining using the e-RA email address: era@rothamsted.ac.uk