In Cleadon, Tyne & Wear, the statistics were as follows:

Mean Max 14.8

Mean Min 7.2

Mean Temp 11.0

Warmest: 20.9C (5th)

Coldest max: 9.3C (13th)

Coldest: 1.7C (14th)

Warmest min: 11.8C (18th)

Precip: 39mm (I think my rain gauge might have under-recorded slightly!)

Air frosts: 0

Fog 1, Hail 0, Thunder 0, Sleet/snow 0.

In Cleadon the first half was warm, though less so than in many other regions of the country, with the wind off the sea helping keep maximum temperatures down. The second half was cooler than the first half, for the first time in May since 2000. The second half was unsettled and windy with westerly winds.

The month as a whole was about 0.8C up on the local long-term average, but was the warmest May only since 2004. The 13th featured the first single-digit maximum in May since 1997, but occurred due to extensive cloud cover, whereas the 1997 single-digit maximum was associated with a day of sunshine and snow showers.

Spring 2006 as a whole was the coldest spring since 2001, but also the sunniest in the area since 2003. However, this hides the fact that March was quite dull, and May near average, with April having sunshine about 40% above the local average.

Leeds

In Leeds the month had a rather different character, with an exceptional warm and sunny first half (23-24C reached on a couple of occasions) and a cool unsettled second half. Convective storms were a regular feature of the month in Leeds with three thunderdays, all of which featured quite impressive thunderstorms. All in all, I was happy to be here rather than in Cleadon.