A METEOROLOGIST has published a booklet on weather observations for an area in the county.

Frank Hill moved to Malvern in 1971 and has been researching the weather in the town ever since.

He was posted there by his employer, the Met Office to study the localised climate.

One of his research projects was to use radars and rain gauges to study the formation of heavy rain over high ground, particularly in south Wales.

It was after this study that he was allowed to install the redundant rain gauges around the Malvern Hills.

Mr Hill said: “When I was moved to Malvern, I was able to gather a great deal of data on the area in terms of rainfall and show the influence of the Malvern Hills on the UK weather.”

Mr Hill combined pre-existing rain gauges as well as relying on the goodwill of residents who allowed him to install equipment on their land during the 1970s and 1980s.

Some of the equipment is still in use today, giving accurate readings.

Mr Hill estimates having travelled 40,000 miles between gauges in the area before his retirement in 1998, checking the gauges on average every 10 days.

For the booklet, he has also analysed earlier observations of rainfall and temperature data as far back as 1912, which indicate the wide variations in monthly and annual extremes that nature has thrown at us.

In order to preserve this treasure trove of information, the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty have supported Mr Hill with the publication.

A spokesman for the Malvern Hills AONB, said: “We’re so pleased to be able to publish Frank’s 40 years of hard work that he’s put in to the climatology of the Malverns and we are delighted to publish it for him.”

Climatology of the Malverns is available for free at malvernhillsaonb.org.uk. Mr Hill first joined the Met Office in 1957, working first in Birmingham and then for around five years as the resident aviation meteorologist at Birmingham Airport.