SE, London and East Anglia - Weather Records and Statistics

[Blessed Weather]

A new thread where we can record stats and interesting facts about the weather in the SE, London and East Anglia. By having them here in a dedicated thread it will be easier to look back and find out about past weather in the Region.

Please feel free to add any interesting facts and figures, etc., that will help build up the thread.

By the way, there isn’t a problem in making your post over in the main thread, or indeed in both threads, as you prefer.

[Blessed Weather]

2021 - Monthly Summaries for East Anglia

I’ll get the thread started with a post containing the monthly summaries for East Anglia during 2021. Although the information is for EA, it gives a good idea how the month would likely have been across the wider Region.

May I thank Dan Holley of Weatherquest for the charts and stats via his Twitter account @danholley_. Dan also has a Netweather account @staplehurst and it would be great if he could pop in here from time to time.

January 2021

• Coldest since 2013 (-1.2°C)
• 8th wettest on record (169%)
• Dullest since 2011 (75%)

January carried on from the 5th wettest December on record. Combined, it was the wettest December - January period since 1915 and 3rd wettest on record in a series back to 1862.

February 2021

• Warmer than average (+0.9C)
• Near-normal rainfall (103%)
• Near-normal sunshine (104%)

Exceptionally mild conditions at times during the 2nd half of the month masked the cold/snowy weather 7th-14th, when averaging the month as a whole.

Here are some of the temps reached in East Anglia on Weds 24th Feb, the warmest day of the year so far (on that date) and well above average. According to WeatherQuest EA has only recorded 18°C or higher during the month of February in 6 of the past 40 years (since 1981: 1990, 1998, 2004, 2012, 2019, 2021).

March 2021 

• Slightly warmer than average (+0.5°C)
• Driest month since May 2020 (79%)
• Near-normal sunshine (101%)
• 8th lowest number of March air frosts (in a series back to 1960)

April 2021

April was a chilly month in EA. Analysis by WeatherQuest revealed that up until the 20th April it had been the 2nd coldest and 2nd driest on record in East Anglia. By the 23rd, there had been an air frost somewhere in the East on 17 nights. The long term average for the last air frost of Spring in the East is the 21st of April. The final stats for the month were:

• Coldest April since 1986 (-2.4°C)
• Joint 3rd driest April on record (10%)
• 5th sunniest April on record (138%)
• Highest number of April air frosts on record
• It was only the fourth April in the past 40 years to not reach 18°C.

May 2021

A disappointing month with below long-term average sunshine and temperatures and above average rainfall. Met Office charts for rainfall, sunshine and temperature anomalies versus 1980 - 2010 average:

June 2021

• Joint 5th warmest June on record (tied with 1896, 1917, 1947 and 2018)
• Slightly wetter than average (110%)
• Slightly sunnier than average (108%)

Whilst the above stats are for EA, note the high rainfall totals - up to 200% above average - in the south of the Region.

July 2021

A fairly typical July with all measures not too far from the long-term average. Met Office charts for rainfall, sunshine and temperature anomalies versus 1980 - 2010 average:

August 2021

A very disappointing month with less sunshine and lower temperatures than average. But at least drier for the majority. Met Office charts for rainfall, sunshine and temperature anomalies versus 1980 - 2010 average:

Sept 2021

September was notable for being better than August.

• 4th warmest on record
• Only 5 years since 1884 have produced a September warmer than August: 1890, 1929, 1956, 2006 and now 2021.
• Large variations in rainfall: 78mm at Weybourne, yet 7 miles away at Cromer just 31mm...

October 2021

A largely average month, although a little sunnier and warmer than long-term average. Met Office charts for rainfall, sunshine and temperature anomalies versus 1980 - 2010 average:

November 2021

• Driest November since 1994 (joint 9th driest on record)
• Sunniest November since 2006 (8th sunniest on record)

December 2021

• Warmer than average (+1.3°C)
• Slightly wetter than average (110%)
• Dullest December since 2002, 9th dullest on record

Charts/stats courtesy of: Dan Holley, Weatherquest. Twitter @danholley_ and Met Office https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-actual-and-anomaly-maps

Edited January 1, 2022 by Blessed Weather

[Blessed Weather]

Number of days in 2021 with lightning strikes within a 10km radius. The Region doing well with storms, particularly the SE corner which benefits from imported storms drifting over from France.

Source: Convective Weather. Twitter @convectivewx

[Eagle Eye]

22 minutes ago, Blessed Weather said:

Number of days in 2021 with lightning strikes within a 10km radius. The Region doing well with storms, particularly the SE corner which benefits from imported storms drifting over from France.

Source: Convective Weather. Twitter @convectivewx

Ashford was apparently the hotspot, yet almost every storm seemed to miss me when I was in Ashford 

[Blessed Weather]

Interesting stats; with thanks to @Daniel*

 

[Harry's House]

Days of thunder heard at my house in Pagham in each year from 2016:

2016: 10

2017: 11

2018: 12

2019: 10

2020: 4

2021: 9 (omitting 8th September when I was away and I could well have missed thunder on that day)

Days of sleet/snow at my house in Pagham in each winter period from 2015/16:

2015/16: 3

2016/17: 3

2017/18: 12 (estimated)

2018/19: 6 (estimated)

2019-20: 1

2020-21: 8

[Blessed Weather]

The following charts make for depressing viewing for those of us who like to see some snow in winter. They show the average number of days with snow lying, which are clearly falling over time in our Region:

1961-1990:  1971-2000: 

1981-2010:   1991-2020: 

Source: Marco Petagna. Twitter @Petagna

Edited January 3, 2022 by Blessed Weather
Source added.

[Jamie M]

Kent daily maximum temperature records have gone in the last week or so, retrieved from a huge range of data from the MIDAS database:

December:

29th - 15°C East Malling (2021), previously 14.2°C at Edenbridge in 1974.

30th - 14.3°C Manston (2021), previously 14°C at Faversham in 1998.

31st - 14.1°C East Malling, Manston (2021), previously 13.9°C at Dartford in 1967.

January:

1st - 15.8°C Frittenden (2021), previously 15°C at Edenbridge in 2012.

[Jamie M]

Manston has had one of its dullest Decembers on record by the looks.

4th dullest on record although I know December 1969 had 15.2 hours here in Herne Bay so 5th dullest I'd say.

 

[Harry's House]

19 hours ago, Jamie M said:

Manston has had one of its dullest Decembers on record by the looks.

4th dullest on record although I know December 1969 had 15.2 hours here in Herne Bay so 5th dullest I'd say.

 

I was in Essex in 1969 and I remember as a teenager thinking how dull December was that year with successive sunless days.

[Blessed Weather]

January 2022

First of all the stats for East Anglia courtesy of Dan Holley, Weatherquest:

EAST ANGLIA - DRY JANUARY 2022:

• Mean temperature near-average (±0.0°C)
• 5th driest January on record (31%)
• Sunniest January on record (172%)
• It's the first time over 100 hours of sunshine has been recorded in January, significantly beating the previous record...

Source: Twitter @danholley_

Secondly the Met Office UK anomaly maps for January; you can see how our Region fared. In a nutshell sunny, dry, and with above average number of frosty nights:

Sunshine:  Rainfall:

Mean Temps:  Air Frosts:

Source: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-actual-and-anomaly-maps

Edited February 1, 2022 by Blessed Weather
tidied up.

[Blessed Weather]

Storm Eunice - 18th Feb 2022

Stats and charts courtesy of Dan Holley, Weatherquest:

......many sites in southern Britain recorded their strongest wind gusts for 20-30 years, locally more. A few stations also set new records.... It looks like Andrewsfield and Wattisham recorded their strongest wind gusts since 2013, for Bedford the strongest since 2007 (Kyrill) and at Shoeburyness since 2002.

Unofficial stations max gusts:

• 81mph at Blackwater Sailing Club (Essex)
• 80mph at Slaughden Sailing Club (Aldeburgh, Suffolk)
• 77mph at Southwold Lifeboat Station (Suffolk)

Official stations max gusts:

And for reference, the wind gusts from other storms to impact East Anglia:

Source: Twitter @danholley_

Edited March 2, 2022 by Blessed Weather
Gusts from other storms added.

[Blessed Weather]

February 2022

For a month that can often be the UK's coldest, this year February has been a disappointingly mild month for those who like to see some seasonal cold and snow. When looking at the month's temperature anomaly, what struck me was the evidence that winters are getting milder over recent times in our Region. You can see this by comparing last months mean temperature anomaly against the UK Met Office's chosen 3 'comparison periods' of historic weather data, with the month showing the biggest anomaly when compared with 1961-1990 and the smallest when compared with 1991-2020:

1961-1990:  1981-2010:  1991-2020:

Rainfall was, on balance, around average for many, but as can be seen from the following chart, there were some parts of the south of the Region with below average rainfall whilst some parts of the north saw considerably more than average.

But at least February 2022 delivered above average sunshine for the vast majority. A real east/west split down the UK.

Source: Met Office https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-actual-and-anomaly-maps

[Blessed Weather]

First 20C Day in the East 23rd March 2022:

Santon Downham reached 20.2°C today (23rd March), the warmest day of the year so far and the first 20°C day this year. The average date of the first 20°C day in this region is 12th April - but this has been trending earlier by ~5 days per decade...

Stats and chart courtesy of Dan Holley, Weatherquest. Twitter @danholley_

[Blessed Weather]

March 2022 (East Anglia)

Stats now available from the Met Office and analysis from Dan Holley, Weatherquest, show March is continuing with its long term trend towards being one of the Region's drier months.

• Sunniest March on record (157%)
• Warmer than average (+1.0°C) - especially daytime maxima (+1.4°C)
• Notably drier than average (70%) - this follows the long-term trend in our climate, with March (and spring) becoming drier

Previous analysis (below) of average monthly rainfall change 1991-2020 versus 1961-1990 from Dan shows the extent of the trend to drier March/April's, but also interesting that October is becoming the Region's wettest month:

Charts/analysis courtesy of Dan Holley, Twitter @danholley_

[Captain Shortwave]

In the first three months of the year, we have recorded two record breaking months in terms of sunshine amounts. Also worth noting that we have had quite a few months where the likes of rainfall or sunshine amounts have been in the top or bottom 10 in terms of record (either very sunny/dull or very dry/wet). It looks a very noticeable how often we get into slow moving patterns where these types of extremes can happen depending where our part of the world lies. 

[Blessed Weather]

April 2022 (East Anglia)

Stats for April from the Met Office. Whilst the analysis from Dan Holley, Weatherquest, covers East Anglia, it gives a fairly accurate picture for the whole of our Region. April is continuing with the long term trend towards being one of the Region's drier months (see post below).

• Mean temp near-normal (+0.1°C)
• Significantly drier than average (30%)
• Notably sunnier than average (122%)
• Above-average air frosts (+1.9 days)
• Despite lack of rain *only* ranks 17th driest on record
• Joint-10th lowest no. of rain days (≥1mm)

With thanks to Dan Holley. Twitter @danholley_

Edited May 1, 2022 by Blessed Weather
typo

[Blessed Weather]

Further analysis on the trend to drier March/Aprils from Dan Holley, WeatherQuest:

March-April rainfall combined appears to be trending more extreme over time - often at the very dry end of the spectrum (10 of the past 20 years), but also occasionally very wet. The increase in average anomaly suggests there is more variability in recent decades.

With thanks to Dan Holley. Twitter @danholley_

[Blessed Weather]

Last Air Frost

Well we're into May, but the stats show that gardeners can't relax yet, with the average 'last date' for an air frost in East Anglia being the 21st May (often Stanton Downham, as suggested by the big blob of yellow in EA). But plenty of other yellow spots around the Region showing on the map of the 1989 to 2018 average:

With thanks to Dan Holley. Twitter @danholley_

[Lauren]

21 minutes ago, Blessed Weather said:

Further analysis on the trend to drier March/Aprils from Dan Holley, WeatherQuest:

March-April rainfall combined appears to be trending more extreme over time - often at the very dry end of the spectrum (10 of the past 20 years), but also occasionally very wet. The increase in average anomaly suggests there is more variability in recent decades.

With thanks to Dan Holley. Twitter @danholley_

I was saying just today it seems in recent years April has become the dry month. Can't remember the last time it properly rained here although you'd think the opposite with how rapidly the lawn is growing!

[Jamie M]

Feel like this is worthy to be plopped in here but it is exceptional as to how dry parts of Kent have been over this year.

The weather station at Manston has not hit 100 mm as an annual total yet and we're nearly halfway through the year.

15.6 mm Jan

32.8 mm Feb

12.6 mm March

6.6 mm April

26.6 mm May

All makes for a total of 94.2 mm, 15% of the annual average which is 612.6 mm.

The annual total for here as albeit been higher at 125.7 mm but it is exceptional for how dry it is.

1893 had an annual total of 175.5 mm to June & 1921 had a total of 129.3 mm to June for here in Herne Bay.

I'm sure the year will balance itself out but a continuing dry theme could lead to an exceptionally dry year! 

[Blessed Weather]

May 2022

For the record, the monthly temperature, rainfall and sunshine anomalies versus the 1981-2010 long-term average. For the 3rd month running rainfall was below average for many parts of the Region. The rainfall picture would likely have been worse (drier) but for the localised heavy, thundery showers impacting (in particular) the far E and SE of the Region on the 23rd and 24th of May.

Temp:  Rain:  Sun:

Stats courtesy of the Met Office: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-actual-and-anomaly-maps

[Blessed Weather]

June 2022 (East Anglia)

Analysis courtesy of Dan Holley, WeatherQuest:

• Warmer than average (+0.6°C)
• Much drier than normal (62%)
• Sunniest June since 1976 (129%)

With just 185.4mm (67% of average), this is the driest January to June period in East Anglia since 1996, and prior to that 1976.

Source: Twitter @danholley_

[Polaris]

What promised a clear blue sky this morning has tonnes of high cloud rolling in from the west.

Seems impossible to get a clear blue summer sky nowadays. 

[Blessed Weather]

Heat - 18th July 2022

Stats for East Anglia:

Santon Downham recorded 38.2°C on Monday 18th, making it the - 3rd hottest day on record in the UK - hottest day on record in Suffolk.
Marham reached 37.1°C, making it the hottest day on record in Norfolk.

Source: Dan Holley, Weatherquest. Twitter @danholley_