The anti-2023

[Summer8906]

I realise the year isn't over yet and prospects for this month are still up in the air, but it's possible I might be too busy to post something around the Christmas/New Year period - but a good way of judging how good or bad a year is, is to look at its opposite.

So based on Jan to Nov, here is the "anti-2023". Better, or worse, than the real thing?

January:

A cold, crisp and sunny New Year's Day is typical of the first half of the month, which is frosty, sunny, cold by day with severely cold nights. Very occasional dull days including the 2nd, but cold and sunny is the theme.

However at mid-month there is a sudden switch to mild, dull and wet and this persists until almost the end of the month, when the low track moves south and cold cyclonic NE-lies are introduced with occasional snow showers.

The cold in the first half of the month cancels out the later mild, resulting in a slightly colder than average month.

February:

A very wet month with lows tracking across southern England. Frequent northerlies or northeasterlies behind the lows give brighter interludes at times and one of the lows produces a heavy snow event even in the south around mid-month. So very wet, but not especially dull, and temps below average as the cold air gets in behind the lows frequently - there is a notable lack of really mild Tm air. The end of the month becomes more generally mild and remains wet, with Tm air taking hold.

March:

Mild and wet southwesterlies start the month, however there is an abrupt change around the 8th as high pressure builds. The remainder of the month is completely rainless and very sunny, one of the driest and sunniest Marches on record. However there is an easterly component to the winds, producing temps close to average by day but cold nights with frequent frosts. Thus, overall, despite being very dry and very sunny, the month ends up slightly on the cold side by CET due to the cold nights.

April:

A rather mixed month but lacking any really poor weather. Something of a tendency for easterly winds due to low pressure often over the continent. Mixed with 1st and 3rd weeks relatively cloudy and on the wet side but dry and sunny 2nd and 4th weeks. Slightly drier and sunnier than average, with temps close to average overall.

May:

The first 10 days are on the sunny and dry side with occasional wetter days. A fine, warm and sunny Coronation weekend is enjoyed. However the 13th-31st are quite appallingly dull and wet for May, with constant winds off the Atlantic, somewhat similar to May 2007. A cool, dull and wet month overall.

June:

By far the worst month of the anti-2023, a historically cold, dull and wet month. The first 9 days produce constant winds off the Atlantic, unseasonable gales, and cool wet weather with temps a little below average. From the 10th the winds switch to a cyclonic northerly with low pressure in the North Sea, producing the full-fat late June 2007 experience. Stationary fronts over Eastern England produce extreme rainfall and flooding, and temps are pegged back to around 12C for days on end. Things gradually ease and after mid month the low pressure migrates a little east, producing cool and showery northerlies. Finally from the 26th high pressure builds in off the Atlantic producing sunny weather with northeasterly winds, temps around average and a few showers. The 30th is dry, sunny and warm - very atypical of June but a clear sign of things to come...

July

If you don't like the sound of June, fear not: summer is saved. High pressure is anchored over the UK for practically the whole month, though with winds generally from the northeast, the nights are actually cool, despite the days being warm. The first two days and the 7th have quite a bit of cloud, otherwise it's dry and sunny throughout. One of the driest and sunniest Julys on record. Day temps generally a little above average, with one or two short-lived heat spikes towards the end producing a max of 32C on a couple of occasions. Cool nights though. CET slightly below the 1991-2020 average but above the older 1961-90 average, and most people perceive this month as warm. Much of coastal southern England has a warm month even by the 1991-2020 figures.

August

The first week or so continues as July left off, with dry, sunny and warm weather. Indeed the general character of the month is dry, sunny, warm by day but somewhat cool by night, as July. The first Saturday is notably hot with 32C being achieved once again. However a few short unsettled periods occur, around the 9th-11th, the 15th and most notably around the 23rd which is a rare cold and wet day. All the weekends are warm and sunny, though. The final week is once again sunny and warm. Like July, cool nights take the CET slightly below the 1991-2020 average in parts. However much of southern England, particularly round the coast, has a warm month even by the 1991-20 average - helped by the near-constant E and NE winds which have dominated much of the summer, and indeed the year.

September

The 1st continues July and August's warm and sunny theme. However there is then a rapid change with a cold front descending from the north and until the 10th, a repeat of June's weather ensues. Cyclonic northerlies produce dull, wet and very cool weather with temps struggling into the teens even in the south. The week of the 11th is somewhat better with the low migrating east, it remains cool but Pm or Am winds produce sunny weather at times though still with heavy showers.

From the 16th it turns very much better with an anticyclone over the country until the 23rd, producing sunny weather, somewhat on the warm side by day but with cool nights. The final week has a keen cool easterly or northeasterly breeze with a mix of sunny weather and cloudy periods with occasional showers. The far south once again has a wet September 30th but it's drier further north.

A distinctly cool month but with often dry conditions after the 11th, many areas end up somewhat drier than average. Sunshine is close to average in many areas. A low absolute maximum though of just 23C achieved on the 1st.

October

The first week has yet more cool easterlies with a mix of sunny and cloudy periods and occasional light rain. This is then followed by a brief cold cyclonic spell, peaking on Sun 8th which is a cold wet day with temps stuck around 10C or even lower. Nonetheless the spell turns out to be not as bad as many forecast, and by Tues 10th we're back in sunny but rather cool northeasterlies which persist for another three days. A short mild wet spell follows over the middle weekend but the final two weeks are very dry and sunny with average days and cold nights, very similar to the end of October 1997. Just one day in the final two weeks, the 23rd, has any rain.

Another cool month, but much drier and rather sunnier than average.

November

The month starts with record high pressure under Anticyclone Ciaran, the third in the recently-adopted anticyclone naming system. Weather in the first few days is dry, sunny and slightly warmer than normal. It then becomes colder but remains dry until the 20th, with variable cloud and easterly winds. The 21st-23rd features a short cold wet period but the final week is mild, or very mild at times, with Atlantic air albeit without very low pressure. Tm air is dominant. Many days in this final week are somewhat wet, or at least damp, but the final Sunday of the month produces a sunny interlude.

Cool again, and dry with the wetter final third not being sufficient to compensate for the very dry first three weeks.

December

The first two days produce very mild air for the time of year, with 16C reached in many places albeit in dull and drizzly Tm air. A rapid change occurs overnight 2nd-3rd, producing colder and brighter northeasterlies. Cold, dry and sunny anticyclonic weather looks likely to dominate until the 10th, though after that the models are split. It could become yet another cold, dry and sunny month but it could equally be mild and wet. We will see...

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Summer8906

[Summer8906]

Posted the above about a month ago after despairing at the imminent return of Atlantic gloom following the only decent spell of weather since mid-Sep, but anyway, here is the December anti-2023. See above for the other 11 months,

December

The first couple of days were rather mild and wet, then following two or three changeable days with fluctuating temperature, the final 25 days of the month were persistently cold with record-breaking sunshine in many locations. Frosts occurred on an almost daily basis. For a few days around mid-month a more changeable northerly or northeasterly intervened with snow showers and extensive longer periods of snow. Leading up to Christmas a bitter easterly blew for a few days. Thereafter, anticyclonic, frosty, sunny weather returned and the final week of the year starting Christmas Day, under a static anticyclone, broke all-time sunshine records.

So who prefers the anti-2023 over what we actually got?

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Summer8906

[LetItSnow!]

The cold, wet June but markedly better July and August can't be too dissimilar to that of summer 1991.

[Bristawl Si]

3 minutes ago, LetItSnow! said:

The cold, wet June but markedly better July and August can't be too dissimilar to that of summer 1991.

"Better July"?! Really?! 

June turned out pretty good here, bar the 1st week. July was damned awful.

[LetItSnow!]

1 minute ago, Bristle Si said:

"Better July"?! Really?! 

June turned out pretty good here, bar the 1st week. July was damned awful.

To the anti-2023. That's what the thread is about. 

[Summer8906]

4 hours ago, LetItSnow! said:

The cold, wet June but markedly better July and August can't be too dissimilar to that of summer 1991.

Indeed, 1991 was like that, though "anti-2023" differs slightly in that July was spectacularly good, whereas in 1991, August was the spectacular month. July 1991 was warm and sunny but also wet at times. Even still, July 1991 was arguably better than 13 of the 17 Julys since 2007.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Summer8906

[LetItSnow!]

I find the concept of flipping years around interesting. This one might scare some of you, but how would you manage a flipped 2022.

January: A record cold start under a slack northeasterly flow allowing temperatures to fall to -18.6C, the coldest New Year’s Day on record. Then a pattern change to frequent low pressure systems but on a southerly tracking jet stream, allowing cold air to often dig into the north. Imagine a rather colder January 1984. Overall, temperatures come out -1.6C below average for the UK as a whole, but with a large contrast of around half a degree below average in London to nearly 4 degrees below normal in Glasgow. “Rainfall” generally well above average with 175% of the norm, though across the north (where anomalies were lesser) a lot of the precipitation fell as snow. Very dull. Overall, cold, dull and snowy - wet further south.

February: For most, February was a bitterly cold month with winds mostly from the east, and in contrast to January, was abnormally dry, particularly in the north, but closer to normal precipitation was recorded in the south with much of that being snowfall being that the south and east bore the brunt of the easterly winds. Sunshine was well below normal apart from in the extreme west where it was rather sunny, sheltered from the cloud. There was an unusually high pressure recording on the 18th with a pressure reading of up to 1050mb. Temperatures overall came out -3C below average for the UK, but were closer to -4C below average for much of England and Wales, meanwhile the far north where there was shelter from the easterly winds escaped with a more modest 1.5-2C below normal. A dry north but snowy south lead to a UK precipitation average of 74%
 

March: After a brief less cold spell in the first week, a southerly tracking jet brought another cold month to the UK, and it also brought a return to abnormally wet and dull conditions too, particularly in the second-half where temperatures took a dip instead of rising. The second-half of the month saw a succession of low pressure systems bring heavy rain, sleet and even snow, particular around the 23rd to the 26th when a northerly plunge gave an usually severe outbreak of cold air for the time of year leading to a widespread snow event even to lower levels. However by the final two days of the month winds turned to the south allowing the first true taste of spring of the year, though this brought a big thaw and was very muddy. Despite this, another cold month for the UK with an anomaly of -1.5C below average. Rainfall was 163% above average and sunshine was the second dullest on record.

April: Changeable, wet and slightly on the cool side. Nonetheless, a warm start with the first ten days or so being a welcome change from the cold, wet theme of the year. It doesn’t last and the chilly, wet theme returns for most of the rest of the month though temperatures do rise again at months end. Generally wet but less so in the north but extremely so in the south. The far north was slightly drier than average whereas parts of eastern England had between 200-250% of their average April rainfall. Overall the UK had 148% average rainfall and sunshine is 96%, dullest in the east.

May: May was unusual in that it was generally a cold but dry month in most areas with a persistent northerly feed but mostly high pressure. The nights were cold, having the coldest minima on record. The north was dry but parts of the southeast were quite wet. The same pattern followed with sunshine, most areas, particularly out west having a sunny May despite the nip in the air, but the east and south east was dull. Overall temperatures for the UK were -1.2C below average and rainfall 96% of the average. Sunshine was 122% of average. 

June: Generally a cool and wet month with a noticeable tendency to get duller and wetter the further east you went. Nonetheless, a fine start - the 5th is a hot day sets some local date records in the southeast with the thermometer up to 32C. In stark contrast a northerly plunge on the 17th gave ground frost. The UK saw temperatures -0.6C below average, rainfall 136% of average and sunshine just 86% of average. 

July: An unremittingly cold and wet July with an unprecedented northerly snap on the 18th/19th that broke records. Generally wet in all areas bar the extreme north with much of England recording at or over 200% of the normal rainfall.  An active cold front on a northerly wind brought an extreme “cold” snap on the 18th/19th that widely set low max records across much of the UK, particularly the north where the 19th was a day of torrential rain and temperatures stuck in upper single digits with a maxes of just 7-8C degrees and strong winds. Heathrow records a max of 13C on the 18th and 12C on the 19th. Snow fall on the Scottish mountains and a ground frost across much of Scotland.

August: Thoroughly wet and cold with a prolonged spell of well-below normal temperatures in the first half. Overall -1.5C below average for the UK as a whole but anomalies of around -3 to -4C below average across some southeastern areas. Generally very wet everywhere and some areas recording over 220% of their average August rainfall. 

September: After a fairly cold but dry opening with northerly winds, things turned warmer in the second-half in a reversal of the climatic norm. Overall a fairly average month, around half a degree below normal for the UK but normal temperatures in the southeast. Fairy average rainfall but dry in the southeast.  Fairly sunny too with overall the UK having 112% of the average sunshine. Not a classic September but making up for a year without a summer!

October: After a brief break in September, October hits hard with an early winter! Generally on the cool side in the first half but it’s not until the second half where we see an exceptionally early cold spell set up in the final week of the month with blocking sending cold air down from the northeast and giving heavy snowfall across the north and even in the south. Ultimately, the coldest second half to October on record and overall the UK coming out -2.7C below average as a whole but some southeastern locations the anomaly closer to -3.5C. Generally dry and dull with the far northwest of Scotland fairing sunniest relative to average due to proximity to the blocking high. Overall, 85% average rainfall for the UK and 86% sunshine. 

November: An unusually cold and anticyclonic month with a high frequency of frost yet not a lot of snow, and even rather sunny in the south, yet temperatures generally between 2 to 4 degrees below average. Very dry, parts of southern England barely received half the normal rainfall. 

December: After a very cold autumn, much of December was quite balmy up til mid-month, but then colder and anticyclonic from the 19th onwards. The first half was often very mild and unsettled with a particularly mild, wet and stormy spell around the 11th/12th which brought exceptionally strong winds, mild temperatures and heavy rain. The month was on its way to being very mild and almost two degrees warmer than November but in time for Christmas high pressure took over and the rest of the month was much colder though non-descript with frost and fog and much lighter winds. Despite that though temperatures generally between 1-2C above normal. Sunshine came out 84% of average, a very dull December - Rainfall 120%, stopped from being wetter by a dry end to the month.

 

[Summer8906]

19 hours ago, LetItSnow! said:

I find the concept of flipping years around interesting. This one might scare some of you, but how would you manage a flipped 2022.

January: A record cold start under a slack northeasterly flow allowing temperatures to fall to -18.6C, the coldest New Year’s Day on record. Then a pattern change to frequent low pressure systems but on a southerly tracking jet stream, allowing cold air to often dig into the north. Imagine a rather colder January 1984. Overall, temperatures come out -1.6C below average for the UK as a whole, but with a large contrast of around half a degree below average in London to nearly 4 degrees below normal in Glasgow. “Rainfall” generally well above average with 175% of the norm, though across the north (where anomalies were lesser) a lot of the precipitation fell as snow. Very dull. Overall, cold, dull and snowy - wet further south.

February: For most, February was a bitterly cold month with winds mostly from the east, and in contrast to January, was abnormally dry, particularly in the north, but closer to normal precipitation was recorded in the south with much of that being snowfall being that the south and east bore the brunt of the easterly winds. Sunshine was well below normal apart from in the extreme west where it was rather sunny, sheltered from the cloud. There was an unusually high pressure recording on the 18th with a pressure reading of up to 1050mb. Temperatures overall came out -3C below average for the UK, but were closer to -4C below average for much of England and Wales, meanwhile the far north where there was shelter from the easterly winds escaped with a more modest 1.5-2C below normal. A dry north but snowy south lead to a UK precipitation average of 74%
 

March: After a brief less cold spell in the first week, a southerly tracking jet brought another cold month to the UK, and it also brought a return to abnormally wet and dull conditions too, particularly in the second-half where temperatures took a dip instead of rising. The second-half of the month saw a succession of low pressure systems bring heavy rain, sleet and even snow, particular around the 23rd to the 26th when a northerly plunge gave an usually severe outbreak of cold air for the time of year leading to a widespread snow event even to lower levels. However by the final two days of the month winds turned to the south allowing the first true taste of spring of the year, though this brought a big thaw and was very muddy. Despite this, another cold month for the UK with an anomaly of -1.5C below average. Rainfall was 163% above average and sunshine was the second dullest on record.

April: Changeable, wet and slightly on the cool side. Nonetheless, a warm start with the first ten days or so being a welcome change from the cold, wet theme of the year. It doesn’t last and the chilly, wet theme returns for most of the rest of the month though temperatures do rise again at months end. Generally wet but less so in the north but extremely so in the south. The far north was slightly drier than average whereas parts of eastern England had between 200-250% of their average April rainfall. Overall the UK had 148% average rainfall and sunshine is 96%, dullest in the east.

May: May was unusual in that it was generally a cold but dry month in most areas with a persistent northerly feed but mostly high pressure. The nights were cold, having the coldest minima on record. The north was dry but parts of the southeast were quite wet. The same pattern followed with sunshine, most areas, particularly out west having a sunny May despite the nip in the air, but the east and south east was dull. Overall temperatures for the UK were -1.2C below average and rainfall 96% of the average. Sunshine wwhich always seems to be much sunnier than anywhere else).as 122% of average. 

June: Generally a cool and wet month with a noticeable tendency to get duller and wetter the further east you went. Nonetheless, a fine start - the 5th is a hot day sets some local date records in the southeast with the thermometer up to 32C. In stark contrast a northerly plunge on the 17th gave ground frost. The UK saw temperatures -0.6C below average, rainfall 136% of average and sunshine just 86% of average. 

July: An unremittingly cold and wet July with an unprecedented northerly snap on the 18th/19th that broke records. Generally wet in all areas bar the extreme north with much of England recording at or over 200% of the normal rainfall.  An active cold front on a northerly wind brought an extreme “cold” snap on the 18th/19th that widely set low max records across much of the UK, particularly the north where the 19th was a day of torrential rain and temperatures stuck in upper single digits with a maxes of just 7-8C degrees and strong winds. Heathrow records a max of 13C on the 18th and 12C on the 19th. Snow fall on the Scottish mountains and a ground frost across much of Scotland.

August: Thoroughly wet and cold with a prolonged spell of well-below normal temperatures in the first half. Overall -1.5C below average for the UK as a whole but anomalies of around -3 to -4C below average across some southeastern areas. Generally very wet everywhere and some areas recording over 220% of their average August rainfall. 

September: After a fairly cold but dry opening with northerly winds, things turned warmer in the second-half in a reversal of the climatic norm. Overall a fairly average month, around half a degree below normal for the UK but normal temperatures in the southeast. Fairy average rainfall but dry in the southeast.  Fairly sunny too with overall the UK having 112% of the average sunshine. Not a classic September but making up for a year without a summer!

October: After a brief break in September, October hits hard with an early winter! Generally on the cool side in the first half but it’s not until the second half where we see an exceptionally early cold spell set up in the final week of the month with blocking sending cold air down from the northeast and giving heavy snowfall across the north and even in the south. Ultimately, the coldest second half to October on record and overall the UK coming out -2.7C below average as a whole but some southeastern locations the anomaly closer to -3.5C. Generally dry and dull with the far northwest of Scotland fairing sunniest relative to average due to proximity to the blocking high. Overall, 85% average rainfall for the UK and 86% sunshine. 

November: An unusually cold and anticyclonic month with a high frequency of frost yet not a lot of snow, and even rather sunny in the south, yet temperatures generally between 2 to 4 degrees below average. Very dry, parts of southern England barely received half the normal rainfall. 

December: After a very cold autumn, much of December was quite balmy up til mid-month, but then colder and anticyclonic from the 19th onwards. The first half was often very mild and unsettled with a particularly mild, wet and stormy spell around the 11th/12th which brought exceptionally strong winds, mild temperatures and heavy rain. The month was on its way to being very mild and almost two degrees warmer than November but in time for Christmas high pressure took over and the rest of the month was much colder though non-descript with frost and fog and much lighter winds. Despite that though temperatures generally between 1-2C above normal. Sunshine came out 84% of average, a very dull December - Rainfall 120%, stopped from being wetter by a dry end to the month.

 

Interesting, much of the year sounds hideous though I'd take Feb, perhaps May, Oct and Nov over what actually happened. That said, in my area May and June anti-2022 would probably be better (neither month in the real 2022 was that great) and October significantly better. December anti-2022 would likely be drier and sunnier than average in my area too as ISTR in the real Dec 2022, the wet final two weeks led to a wet month overall, and the colder phase of the real Dec was generally rather dull.

Edited January 1 by Summer8906

[East Lancs Rain]

It’s very interesting if you flip around 2018. Imagine the moaning on this forum if the anti-2018 summer happened!  I gathered the info and statistics from Trevor Harleys weather website and the met office, and flipped them around.

 

Overall cold, dull, and wet: the second dullest year since records began in 1929. It was particularly dull in May, June and July. East Anglia had its dullest year on record. It was a very cloudy winter with only 77% of the long-term average, being. the second dullest winter since 1929. An atrocious cold, wet, dull summer, particularly in the south. In some places the coldest on record, with particularly low average daytime maxima. Morecambe Bay in Lancashire recorded almost no sunshine from 29th June to 5th July, set a new record for least sunshine recorded in a seven day period,. Although a very wet first half of the summer, with a drier August it was the 12th record wettest across the UK. Overall, on combined measures of sunshine, temperature, and rainfall, it was the fourth worst summer since 1910.

 

The provisional UK mean temperature for 2018 was 8.3°C, which is 0.6 °C below the 1981-2010 long-term average, ranking as the seventh coldest year in the historical UK series from 1910. Summer 2018 was the equal-coldest in the UK series, with 1912.

The UK rainfall total for 2018 was 108% of the 1981-2010 average, making this a wet year overall although not exceptionally so. However, parts of northern Scotland received as much as 125% of average rainfall. Southern England recorded its wettest June since 1912.

 

The UK sunshine total for 2018 was 85% of the 1981-2010 average and making this the second dullest year for the UK in a series from 1929, with only one year duller. May was also the dullest on record for the UK.

 

Notable extreme events during the year included a spell of exceptionally warm weather in late February and early March. Low pressure dominated the summer. Some rain gauges in southern England recorded more than 50 consecutive wet days and temperatures failing to reach 20°C fairly widely on 15 days during July and August. Nine named storms affected the UK during 2018. Anticyclone Ali in mid-September brought very light winds to the north and was one of the most notable early autumn anticyclones of recent decades. An Anticyclone in mid-October brought persistent dry weather to western areas, especially south Wales.

 

January. Mild and cloudy in the north, quite cold in the south. The 2nd - 3rd saw an area of high pressure across the south bringing very calm and dry weather; it was then mostly settled, although changeable from mid month. It was mild and with barely any snow in the north, with Eskdalemuir recording a depth of just 3.8 cm on the 17th. Parts of N and E Scotland were quite wet, with Aberdeenshire seeing more than double the long-term average, while Northern Ireland and SW Scotland were drier than average. The lowest temperature of the month was -15.1 C at Monks Wood (Cambridgeshire) on the 28th, and the highest was 13.7 C at Kinbrace and Altnaharra on the 21 st.

 

February. A mild month, with the CET coming out around a degree above average. The month ended with the arrival of very warm air from North Africa on a very warm southerly, nicknamed "The Heat from the South" by the press. Also a very dull month, the second dullest on record (73%, after 2008), particularly in the southwest (only 30% of the long-term average). It was quite a wet month, with 123% of average rainfall. The lowest temperature was -14.2C at Cardiff on the 19th, and the highest 11.7C at south Farnborough (Hants.) and 14.2C at Faversham (Kent) on the 28th. The 12-13th was a very dry day, with no rainfall recorded anywhere in the country.

 

March. A warm month, but not as warm as 2012. There was a very warm start to the month as the Heat from the South pushes up to the north and AntiCyclone Emma hits the warm air in the southwest. The 1st was the hottest March day on record, with a maximum of 24.7C at Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, beating the 2001 record for a high temperature in March. There was another southerly plume midmonth, and another, and a less potent one at the end of the month over Easter. Rainfall overall was 90% of the long-term average, but it was very dry in parts of Devon, the Midlands, and the east, and it was relatively wet in parts of the west. It was a sunny month, particularly in the east, with 117% of average. The lowest minimum temperature of the month was -16.6C at Cat Colwyn Bay (Clwyd) on the 10th, and the highest minimum was 10.7 C at Cawdor Castle (Nairnshire) on the 1st. There was barely any snow anywhere during the entire month.

 

April The month had a warm start, with some dry weather. The maximum at Tulloch Bridge on the 1st was 18.8C. There was a remarkable late cold snap midmonth, with a high of 5.3C recorded in London (St James’s Park) on the 18th, and then 9.1C at the same location on the 19th. Daytime highs of 4.1C recorded in London on Sunday 22nd made it the coldest London Marathon on record. It was then quite settled for the rest of the month. Overall colder than average, particularly in the SE. The minima were particularly low. It was somewhat drier than average (81%), although wetter in N Scotland. It was a sunny month, with 110% of average sunshine, particularly in the SW, although again it was dull in N Scotland.

 

May. A very cold month across the country, being the equal second coldest on record. The mean maximum temperature for the UK as a whole was the lowest on record (from 1910). It was the dullest May on record across the UK (68%). It was particularly dull in northern England and parts of Scotland. An early cold snap in the south and east gave rise to the coldest Early May Bank Holiday on record (it was introduced in 1978), beating 1999, with a maximum of just 8C in central London (St James Park) and 8.7°C at London Northolt. Low pressure generally ruled throughout the month, with winds mostly from a northerly direction, with some fog along the west coast. The last few days saw some anticyclonic weather, particularly across parts of the South and the Midlands. It was a wet month (with 131% of the average rainfall), particularly away from the drier south. In terms of the CET it was only 9.2, around 2 degrees below average, making it the coldest May for a very long time.

 

June. Very cool and wet; in some areas the coldest and wettest on record. It was the coldest June on record for Northern Ireland. There was a notable cool spell late on, with a maximum of just 10°C recorded at St James Park in London on the 25th; 10.7 at Rostherne in Cheshere on the 26th; 11.3 at Aviemore on the 27th and 11.9 at Glasgow Bishopton on the 28th. There were some very low maximum temperatures across the north and west on the 28th, with temperatures just below 11C recorded at Aviemore, and below 10C at Castlederg (Northern Ireland) and Trawscoed (Wales), including 10.5 deg. C. at both Thomastown and Derrylin Cornahoule, both Co. Fermanagh, on 28th June;. A provisional figure of 7.2°C from near Motherwell was for a short time the new record low high for Scotland, beating the August 2003 record; it was later found possibly to be affected by a fridge parked near by, so the 2003 record stands. It was the fourth dullest June on record. It was very wet, particularly in the south and southeast, with 152% of average for the UK, and even wetter in England and Wales. Essex had 170 mm of rain and Dorset 200mm. The CET was 12.1, around 2 degrees below average. Western coasts were often even cooler due to onshore winds and the position of the low pressure. The highest temperature of the month was just 23°C at Porthmadog on the 9th. There was a severe flood at Saddleworth Moor, between Manchester and Sheffield, which broke out on the 26th.

 

July. Exceptionally cool at 13.1 CET making it even worse than July 1988. It was particularly cold in the South and East. The first half was cyclonic and was wet, cloudy, and cool everywhere. It was more settled in the second half, particularly in the north. There was a notable cool spell towards the end of the month. There was a high of just 13.3°C at Santon Downham (Suffolk) on the 23rd, and a minimum of -11C at London St James Park overnight on the 26-27, and a maximum of just 14.1°C at Gravesend on the 27th. The passing through of the cold front came with some severe flooding. 99 mm of rain was recorded at Belfast on the 28th. On average rainfall was 129%, but it was very wet in East Anglia. It was a dull month with just 63% of average (the sixth dullest July since 1929). Morecambe Bay in Cumbria recorded just 11.9 hours of sunshine from 1st to 7th July.

 

August. A better month to end an atrocious summer. Overall slightly cooler than average, particularly in the southeast. The highest temperature of the month was 33.2°C at Kew on the 23rd, the lowest -1.3C at Braemar on the 7th. Rainfall was 105% of average although there were wide regional variations, with some places having double the average and parts of the SE less than 75%. Sunshine was 110% of average, but Shetland had just 75% of average. The first week continued the cool, wet, unsettled weather, but it turned warmer and more settled from the 8th onwards. The last few days of the month ended on a warm note. The bank holiday weekend featured some of the best weather of the entire summer.

 

September. The month started off wet in the south, but soon became settled everywhere. There was a notable anticyclone midmonth, bringing very light winds. The end of the month was more unsettled in the south. Temperatures were very close to average; rainfall 92% (being particularly dry in the NW). It was dull in the east, with London having 70% of average, and 92% of sunshine country-wide. The highest temperature of the month was 26.5 C at Cambridge on the 17th, the lowest -3.6 C at Katesbridge (County Down) on the 29th.

 

October The second week was unusually cold due to northerly winds, but there was a southerly plume bringing very warm weather in the final week. Temperatures overall were close to average, but with cooler days and milder nights. It was overall quite wet, with 118% of average rainfall. It was very dull, with 78% of average, making it the fifth dullest October since 1929. It was particularly dull in East Anglia. The lowest temperature of the month was -26.3C at Donna Nook (Lincs.) on the 13th, and the highest 28.6C at St Harmon (Powys) on the 30th; the reading at St Harmon is the highest maximum so late in the season on record.

 

November. A changeable month. The third week was mild with westerly winds. Overall it was colder than average. Rainfall was almost exactly average but with wide regional variations, being particular dry in southern and eastern Scotland and southern Devon, and unusually wet in NW Scotland. Overall sunshine was 90% of average but sunny in eastern Scotland and northeastern England; in contrast it was very dull in NW Scotland and East Anglia. The highest temperature of the month was 18.3C at Otterbourne (Hants.) on the 5th, and the lowest -6.7C at South Newington (Oxon.) on the 22nd. On the 15th Kinlochewe in the NW Highlands recorded 17.6C. 56.0 mm of rain fell in the 24 hours 9-9 at Keswick on the 29th.

 

>December. Changeable, and colder than average. There was a mild spell midmonth and a very dry and very mild day on the 15th. The end of the month was generally more unsettled. Sunshine and rainfall were close to average, although it was duller and wetter in the northeast. The highest temperature of the month was 15.9C at Kew (London) on the 2nd, and the lowest -8.8 C at Braemar on the 5th. 64.6 mm of rain fell at Cluanie Inn (Ross & Cromarty) on the 8th.

 

 

[Summer8906]

4 minutes ago, East Lancs Rain said:

It’s very interesting if you flip around 2018. Imagine the moaning on this forum if the anti-2018 summer happened!  I gathered the info and statistics from Trevor Harleys weather website and the met office, and flipped them around.

 

Overall cold, dull, and wet: the second dullest year since records began in 1929. It was particularly dull in May, June and July. East Anglia had its dullest year on record. It was a very cloudy winter with only 77% of the long-term average, being. the second dullest winter since 1929. An atrocious cold, wet, dull summer, particularly in the south. In some places the coldest on record, with particularly low average daytime maxima. Morecambe Bay in Lancashire recorded almost no sunshine from 29th June to 5th July, set a new record for least sunshine recorded in a seven day period,. Although a very wet first half of the summer, with a drier August it was the 12th record wettest across the UK. Overall, on combined measures of sunshine, temperature, and rainfall, it was the fourth worst summer since 1910.

 

The provisional UK mean temperature for 2018 was 8.3°C, which is 0.6 °C below the 1981-2010 long-term average, ranking as the seventh coldest year in the historical UK series from 1910. Summer 2018 was the equal-coldest in the UK series, with 1912.

The UK rainfall total for 2018 was 108% of the 1981-2010 average, making this a wet year overall although not exceptionally so. However, parts of northern Scotland received as much as 125% of average rainfall. Southern England recorded its wettest June since 1912.

 

The UK sunshine total for 2018 was 85% of the 1981-2010 average and making this the second dullest year for the UK in a series from 1929, with only one year duller. May was also the dullest on record for the UK.

 

Notable extreme events during the year included a spell of exceptionally warm weather in late February and early March. Low pressure dominated the summer. Some rain gauges in southern England recorded more than 50 consecutive wet days and temperatures failing to reach 20°C fairly widely on 15 days during July and August. Nine named storms affected the UK during 2018. Anticyclone Ali in mid-September brought very light winds to the north and was one of the most notable early autumn anticyclones of recent decades. An Anticyclone in mid-October brought persistent dry weather to western areas, especially south Wales.

 

January. Mild and cloudy in the north, quite cold in the south. The 2nd - 3rd saw an area of high pressure across the south bringing very calm and dry weather; it was then mostly settled, although changeable from mid month. It was mild and with barely any snow in the north, with Eskdalemuir recording a depth of just 3.8 cm on the 17th. Parts of N and E Scotland were quite wet, with Aberdeenshire seeing more than double the long-term average, while Northern Ireland and SW Scotland were drier than average. The lowest temperature of the month was -15.1 C at Monks Wood (Cambridgeshire) on the 28th, and the highest was 13.7 C at Kinbrace and Altnaharra on the 21 st.

 

February. A mild month, with the CET coming out around a degree above average. The month ended with the arrival of very warm air from North Africa on a very warm southerly, nicknamed "The Heat from the South" by the press. Also a very dull month, the second dullest on record (73%, after 2008), particularly in the southwest (only 30% of the long-term average). It was quite a wet month, with 123% of average rainfall. The lowest temperature was -14.2C at Cardiff on the 19th, and the highest 11.7C at south Farnborough (Hants.) and 14.2C at Faversham (Kent) on the 28th. The 12-13th was a very dry day, with no rainfall recorded anywhere in the country.

 

March. A warm month, but not as warm as 2012. There was a very warm start to the month as the Heat from the South pushes up to the north and AntiCyclone Emma hits the warm air in the southwest. The 1st was the hottest March day on record, with a maximum of 24.7C at Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, beating the 2001 record for a high temperature in March. There was another southerly plume midmonth, and another, and a less potent one at the end of the month over Easter. Rainfall overall was 90% of the long-term average, but it was very dry in parts of Devon, the Midlands, and the east, and it was relatively wet in parts of the west. It was a sunny month, particularly in the east, with 117% of average. The lowest minimum temperature of the month was -16.6C at Cat Colwyn Bay (Clwyd) on the 10th, and the highest minimum was 10.7 C at Cawdor Castle (Nairnshire) on the 1st. There was barely any snow anywhere during the entire month.

 

April The month had a warm start, with some dry weather. The maximum at Tulloch Bridge on the 1st was 18.8C. There was a remarkable late cold snap midmonth, with a high of 5.3C recorded in London (St James’s Park) on the 18th, and then 9.1C at the same location on the 19th. Daytime highs of 4.1C recorded in London on Sunday 22nd made it the coldest London Marathon on record. It was then quite settled for the rest of the month. Overall colder than average, particularly in the SE. The minima were particularly low. It was somewhat drier than average (81%), although wetter in N Scotland. It was a sunny month, with 110% of average sunshine, particularly in the SW, although again it was dull in N Scotland.

 

May. A very cold month across the country, being the equal second coldest on record. The mean maximum temperature for the UK as a whole was the lowest on record (from 1910). It was the dullest May on record across the UK (68%). It was particularly dull in northern England and parts of Scotland. An early cold snap in the south and east gave rise to the coldest Early May Bank Holiday on record (it was introduced in 1978), beating 1999, with a maximum of just 8C in central London (St James Park) and 8.7°C at London Northolt. Low pressure generally ruled throughout the month, with winds mostly from a northerly direction, with some fog along the west coast. The last few days saw some anticyclonic weather, particularly across parts of the South and the Midlands. It was a wet month (with 131% of the average rainfall), particularly away from the drier south. In terms of the CET it was only 9.2, around 2 degrees below average, making it the coldest May for a very long time.

 

June. Very cool and wet; in some areas the coldest and wettest on record. It was the coldest June on record for Northern Ireland. There was a notable cool spell late on, with a maximum of just 10°C recorded at St James Park in London on the 25th; 10.7 at Rostherne in Cheshere on the 26th; 11.3 at Aviemore on the 27th and 11.9 at Glasgow Bishopton on the 28th. There were some very low maximum temperatures across the north and west on the 28th, with temperatures just below 11C recorded at Aviemore, and below 10C at Castlederg (Northern Ireland) and Trawscoed (Wales), including 10.5 deg. C. at both Thomastown and Derrylin Cornahoule, both Co. Fermanagh, on 28th June;. A provisional figure of 7.2°C from near Motherwell was for a short time the new record low high for Scotland, beating the August 2003 record; it was later found possibly to be affected by a fridge parked near by, so the 2003 record stands. It was the fourth dullest June on record. It was very wet, particularly in the south and southeast, with 152% of average for the UK, and even wetter in England and Wales. Essex had 170 mm of rain and Dorset 200mm. The CET was 12.1, around 2 degrees below average. Western coasts were often even cooler due to onshore winds and the position of the low pressure. The highest temperature of the month was just 23°C at Porthmadog on the 9th. There was a severe flood at Saddleworth Moor, between Manchester and Sheffield, which broke out on the 26th.

 

July. Exceptionally cool at 13.1 CET making it even worse than July 1988. It was particularly cold in the South and East. The first half was cyclonic and was wet, cloudy, and cool everywhere. It was more settled in the second half, particularly in the north. There was a notable cool spell towards the end of the month. There was a high of just 13.3°C at Santon Downham (Suffolk) on the 23rd, and a minimum of -11C at London St James Park overnight on the 26-27, and a maximum of just 14.1°C at Gravesend on the 27th. The passing through of the cold front came with some severe flooding. 99 mm of rain was recorded at Belfast on the 28th. On average rainfall was 129%, but it was very wet in East Anglia. It was a dull month with just 63% of average (the sixth dullest July since 1929). Morecambe Bay in Cumbria recorded just 11.9 hours of sunshine from 1st to 7th July.

 

August. A better month to end an atrocious summer. Overall slightly cooler than average, particularly in the southeast. The highest temperature of the month was 33.2°C at Kew on the 23rd, the lowest -1.3C at Braemar on the 7th. Rainfall was 105% of average although there were wide regional variations, with some places having double the average and parts of the SE less than 75%. Sunshine was 110% of average, but Shetland had just 75% of average. The first week continued the cool, wet, unsettled weather, but it turned warmer and more settled from the 8th onwards. The last few days of the month ended on a warm note. The bank holiday weekend featured some of the best weather of the entire summer.

 

September. The month started off wet in the south, but soon became settled everywhere. There was a notable anticyclone midmonth, bringing very light winds. The end of the month was more unsettled in the south. Temperatures were very close to average; rainfall 92% (being particularly dry in the NW). It was dull in the east, with London having 70% of average, and 92% of sunshine country-wide. The highest temperature of the month was 26.5 C at Cambridge on the 17th, the lowest -3.6 C at Katesbridge (County Down) on the 29th.

 

October The second week was unusually cold due to northerly winds, but there was a southerly plume bringing very warm weather in the final week. Temperatures overall were close to average, but with cooler days and milder nights. It was overall quite wet, with 118% of average rainfall. It was very dull, with 78% of average, making it the fifth dullest October since 1929. It was particularly dull in East Anglia. The lowest temperature of the month was -26.3C at Donna Nook (Lincs.) on the 13th, and the highest 28.6C at St Harmon (Powys) on the 30th; the reading at St Harmon is the highest maximum so late in the season on record.

 

November. A changeable month. The third week was mild with westerly winds. Overall it was colder than average. Rainfall was almost exactly average but with wide regional variations, being particular dry in southern and eastern Scotland and southern Devon, and unusually wet in NW Scotland. Overall sunshine was 90% of average but sunny in eastern Scotland and northeastern England; in contrast it was very dull in NW Scotland and East Anglia. The highest temperature of the month was 18.3C at Otterbourne (Hants.) on the 5th, and the lowest -6.7C at South Newington (Oxon.) on the 22nd. On the 15th Kinlochewe in the NW Highlands recorded 17.6C. 56.0 mm of rain fell in the 24 hours 9-9 at Keswick on the 29th.

 

>December. Changeable, and colder than average. There was a mild spell midmonth and a very dry and very mild day on the 15th. The end of the month was generally more unsettled. Sunshine and rainfall were close to average, although it was duller and wetter in the northeast. The highest temperature of the month was 15.9C at Kew (London) on the 2nd, and the lowest -8.8 C at Braemar on the 5th. 64.6 mm of rain fell at Cluanie Inn (Ross & Cromarty) on the 8th.

 

 

Some good spells of weather early in the year, but a dire summer indeed!

(Was Dec 15 2018 very cold? Can't remember that one, I just remember that month as being non-stop mild, wet until just before Christmas and then dry and dull).

Maybe I'll do the anti-2007 and anti-2012 later, unless someone else gets there first...

[Summer of 95]

Take the first half of 1997 and the second half of 1995 and you're pretty close to the anti-2023. 

The anti-2018; it actually looks vaguely plausible apart from that ridiculous October (that's a record low temperature for England, at an exposed coastal site in October?)

[East Lancs Rain]

2020 is also an interesting one to flip around. Probably a good thing it didn’t turn out like this otherwise we would have had a horrendous spring in a very unusual and depressing time.

 

The dullest spring on record by some way, with almost 60 hours less than the next dullest, it was also very wet. A very dry summer, although it was wet in the southeast and far north of Scotland. There were three ntoable brief cool spells through the summer. There were two notable anticyclones in August. Overall 2020 was the third coldest in the CET series, and the fifth driest and the eighth dullest on record.

 

January. Very cold. Around 2 degrees below average. Cyclonic for the first week and again from the middle of the month until the 26th. The month saw an intense storm develop; London's lowest ever pressure of 949.6 mbars was recorded at Heathrow on the 19th, and then 950.5 mb was recorded at Mumbles, Swansea, on the 20th. There were more frosts than usual and a lot of snow in many places at the end of the month. Rainfall was 100% of average but it was drier in the west and wetter in the east. Sunshine was 106% of average, but particularly sunny in the NW. The highest temperature of the month was 15.5C at Achfary (Sutherland) on the 7th and the lowest -7.9C at Braemar on the 10th. On the 10-11th 138.0 mm of rain fell on Skye.

 

February. Extremely dry with three large high pressure systems. It was the driest February on record, with less than 50% of average overall, and under 40% in placs. It was slightly colder than usual, particularly in the south. Two high pressure systems (Ciara and Dennis) brought light winds and dry weather midmonth. There was widepsread drought, particularly in Yorkshire, parts of Wales, and the Severn valley and its tributaries. Sunshine was 96% of average: Sunny in the west but duller in the east. The highest temperature of the month was 16.0C at East Malling (Kent) on the 16th, and the lowest -10.2C at Braemar on the 13th. There was some snow, particularly on hills on the north.

 

March. A classic month of two halves. The dry autumn and winter continued into the first two weeks of the month. A low pressure of 951.2 mbars recorded at South Uist, Outer Hebrides, on the 29th, was a new March record. Overall slightly wetter than average (118%) and very dull, particularly in England and Wales (66%). The first week was mild but it then became cooler; the cyclonic second half saw some mild nights but cool days. Overall temperatures were close to average, with a high of 19.4 C at Rhyl on the 24th and a low of -7.6 C at Aboyne on the 16th. 107.2 mm rain fell in 24 hours 7-8th at Alltdearg House (Skye).

 

April. Mostly cyclonic with frequenty westerly winds. It was the dullest April on record (49% of average). Overall it was colder than average (fifth coldest since 1884) and very wet (over 200% of average rainfall). Most of the month was very wet except for the last few days of the month. Highest temperature of the month was just 16°C at Treknow (Cornwll) on the 10th, and the lowest -16.9C at Braemar on the 19th. 64.8 mm of rain fell at Portsea (Hampshire) on the 17-18th.

 

May. Mostly a very cyclonic month. It was a very dull month, the dullest May on record, with 57% of average sunshine, and was particularly dull in England and Wales. It was also a very wet month, overall with over 200% of average rainfall, but it was extremely wet in the southeast. It was slightly cooler than average, although there was some very mild nights early and midmonth. The highest temperature of the month was 28.3C at Cromdale (Morayshire) on the 29th, and the lowest -6.6C at Kinbrace (Sutherland) on the 3rd. It was a dry month in the far NW.

 

June. After the poor May, June soon become much more settled. There was a late cool spell: a high of just 13.6°C recorded at Heathrow on the 24th, and 13.4°C there on the 25th, followed by some dry weather. Overall it was slightly cooler than average, and it was much drier than a typical June, with 56% of average rainfall. Sunshine was close to average, although it was quite sunny in the west and central and eastern Scotland. 

 

The temperature fell beneath 5C at Gosport and Hastings on the south coast on the night of June 25th, a rare example of a cold summer night. The lowest temperature of the month was -1.9C at Tulloch Bridge on the 8th.

 

July. Settled until midmonth, then with low pressure midmonth, especially in the south, for a while. There was a very brief cool spell right at the end, with a maximum of just 13.8°C at Heathrow on the 31st. Overall warmer than average, dry (78%, and very dry in southern Scotland and NW England), and sunny (117%). SE England tended to be cooler, wetter and duller. 101.8 mm of rain fell at Heathrow on 30th to 31st. The lowest temperature of the month was 0.6 at Kinbrace on the 8th.

 

August. After a dry start, it became very cool, particularly in the southeast. There was a notable cool spell midmonth, with a maximum of 16.4°C recorded at Heathrow on Friday 7th. It was 10.1°C at Kew Gardens on the 6th, then 14.5°C at Herstmonceux on the 8th,  14°C there on the 9th, 15.5°C at Heathrow on the 10th, 15.7°C at Heathrow on the 11th, and 15.4°C at Heathrow on the 12th, giving seven consecutive days below 20°C. St James Park in London recorded six consecutive days below 14°C. The very cool spell, mostly localised to the SE, saw five ground frosts, with minima below 3°C. There was a minimum of 2.3°C on the 8th at Langdon Bay (Kent). It became more settled midmonth, and often dry and calm. Overall it was mostly much cooler than average, and slightly sunnier, with 112% of the expected sunshine. It was a dry month, with 65% of average rainfall. There were two notable anticyclones towards the end of the month, Ellen (19th to 21st) and Francis (25th). Wind speeds reached just 7.9 mph at Capel Curig, Conwy during anticyclone Ellen and 8.1 mph at Needles Old Battery (Isle of Wight) during anticyclone Francis.

 

September. Overall very slightly cooler than average, but maxima were below average in the SE. An easterly start to the month. Then was another short cool spell: after a cool start to the month, it was 9.6°C at Charlwood (Surrey) on the 14th, and then 11.3°C at Frittendn (near Tunbridge Wells, Kent) on the 15th. It wasn't cool everywhere: in East Scotland it was 18-19C, and in the west of Scotland it was 23.2°C at Baltasound (Shetland). 

 The next day it was much warmer, but still quite cool, with a high of 16.8°C at Hurn near Bournemouth on the 16th. There were some unusually warm nights late in the month. On average it most mosty wet (123% rainfall) and cloudy (83%). The temperature fell to -5.0C at Altnaharra on the 4th and Braemar on the 7th.

 

October. Very settled. It was a very dry (58% of average rainfall) and very sunny (128%) month. It was particularly dry in the east. It was the fifth driest and fifth sunniest on record. About average temperatures overall, although days were slightly warmer and nights slightly cooler than average. The 3rd has been declared the driest day on average across the UK, on record. The highest temperature of the month was 19.1C at Writtle (Essex) on the 8th and the lowest -3.3C at Tyndrum (Perthshire) on the 15th.

 

November. Overall quite a cold, wet but sunny month. It was a mixed month with some dry periods and a couple of milder interludes. The month had quite a lot of northerly winds. There was very little fog, especially at the end of the month. Both maxima and minima were below average. The CET was 5.7 (-1.4C). Rainfall was 116% of average and sunshine 107%[ it tended to be drier the further west you went. The highest temperature of the month was 18.4C on the 1st at Thornes Park (West Yorkshire) and Hawarden (Clwyd); the lowest temperatue of the month was -6.1C at Aboyne (Aberdeenshire) and Cromdale (Morayshire) on the 29th. 129.2 mm of rain fell at Skye Alltdearg House (Invernessshire) on the rain day ending on the 12th.

 

December. Overall December 2020 was slightly colder than average. Mild first week, then cold and calm, with a milder final week. Anticyclone Bella brought lighter winds, dry and mild weather on the 26th. It was a dry month, with 65% of average rainfall, and slightly sunnier than average (107%), and particularly so in the north. The highest temperature of the month was 14.9C at Prestatyn in Clwyd on the 18th, and the lowest -10.2C at Dalwhinnie on the 30th.

[LetItSnow!]

9 hours ago, East Lancs Rain said:

It’s very interesting if you flip around 2018. Imagine the moaning on this forum if the anti-2018 summer happened!  I gathered the info and statistics from Trevor Harleys weather website and the met office, and flipped them around.

 

Overall cold, dull, and wet: the second dullest year since records began in 1929. It was particularly dull in May, June and July. East Anglia had its dullest year on record. It was a very cloudy winter with only 77% of the long-term average, being. the second dullest winter since 1929. An atrocious cold, wet, dull summer, particularly in the south. In some places the coldest on record, with particularly low average daytime maxima. Morecambe Bay in Lancashire recorded almost no sunshine from 29th June to 5th July, set a new record for least sunshine recorded in a seven day period,. Although a very wet first half of the summer, with a drier August it was the 12th record wettest across the UK. Overall, on combined measures of sunshine, temperature, and rainfall, it was the fourth worst summer since 1910.

 

The provisional UK mean temperature for 2018 was 8.3°C, which is 0.6 °C below the 1981-2010 long-term average, ranking as the seventh coldest year in the historical UK series from 1910. Summer 2018 was the equal-coldest in the UK series, with 1912.

The UK rainfall total for 2018 was 108% of the 1981-2010 average, making this a wet year overall although not exceptionally so. However, parts of northern Scotland received as much as 125% of average rainfall. Southern England recorded its wettest June since 1912.

 

The UK sunshine total for 2018 was 85% of the 1981-2010 average and making this the second dullest year for the UK in a series from 1929, with only one year duller. May was also the dullest on record for the UK.

 

Notable extreme events during the year included a spell of exceptionally warm weather in late February and early March. Low pressure dominated the summer. Some rain gauges in southern England recorded more than 50 consecutive wet days and temperatures failing to reach 20°C fairly widely on 15 days during July and August. Nine named storms affected the UK during 2018. Anticyclone Ali in mid-September brought very light winds to the north and was one of the most notable early autumn anticyclones of recent decades. An Anticyclone in mid-October brought persistent dry weather to western areas, especially south Wales.

 

January. Mild and cloudy in the north, quite cold in the south. The 2nd - 3rd saw an area of high pressure across the south bringing very calm and dry weather; it was then mostly settled, although changeable from mid month. It was mild and with barely any snow in the north, with Eskdalemuir recording a depth of just 3.8 cm on the 17th. Parts of N and E Scotland were quite wet, with Aberdeenshire seeing more than double the long-term average, while Northern Ireland and SW Scotland were drier than average. The lowest temperature of the month was -15.1 C at Monks Wood (Cambridgeshire) on the 28th, and the highest was 13.7 C at Kinbrace and Altnaharra on the 21 st.

 

February. A mild month, with the CET coming out around a degree above average. The month ended with the arrival of very warm air from North Africa on a very warm southerly, nicknamed "The Heat from the South" by the press. Also a very dull month, the second dullest on record (73%, after 2008), particularly in the southwest (only 30% of the long-term average). It was quite a wet month, with 123% of average rainfall. The lowest temperature was -14.2C at Cardiff on the 19th, and the highest 11.7C at south Farnborough (Hants.) and 14.2C at Faversham (Kent) on the 28th. The 12-13th was a very dry day, with no rainfall recorded anywhere in the country.

 

March. A warm month, but not as warm as 2012. There was a very warm start to the month as the Heat from the South pushes up to the north and AntiCyclone Emma hits the warm air in the southwest. The 1st was the hottest March day on record, with a maximum of 24.7C at Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, beating the 2001 record for a high temperature in March. There was another southerly plume midmonth, and another, and a less potent one at the end of the month over Easter. Rainfall overall was 90% of the long-term average, but it was very dry in parts of Devon, the Midlands, and the east, and it was relatively wet in parts of the west. It was a sunny month, particularly in the east, with 117% of average. The lowest minimum temperature of the month was -16.6C at Cat Colwyn Bay (Clwyd) on the 10th, and the highest minimum was 10.7 C at Cawdor Castle (Nairnshire) on the 1st. There was barely any snow anywhere during the entire month.

 

April The month had a warm start, with some dry weather. The maximum at Tulloch Bridge on the 1st was 18.8C. There was a remarkable late cold snap midmonth, with a high of 5.3C recorded in London (St James’s Park) on the 18th, and then 9.1C at the same location on the 19th. Daytime highs of 4.1C recorded in London on Sunday 22nd made it the coldest London Marathon on record. It was then quite settled for the rest of the month. Overall colder than average, particularly in the SE. The minima were particularly low. It was somewhat drier than average (81%), although wetter in N Scotland. It was a sunny month, with 110% of average sunshine, particularly in the SW, although again it was dull in N Scotland.

 

May. A very cold month across the country, being the equal second coldest on record. The mean maximum temperature for the UK as a whole was the lowest on record (from 1910). It was the dullest May on record across the UK (68%). It was particularly dull in northern England and parts of Scotland. An early cold snap in the south and east gave rise to the coldest Early May Bank Holiday on record (it was introduced in 1978), beating 1999, with a maximum of just 8C in central London (St James Park) and 8.7°C at London Northolt. Low pressure generally ruled throughout the month, with winds mostly from a northerly direction, with some fog along the west coast. The last few days saw some anticyclonic weather, particularly across parts of the South and the Midlands. It was a wet month (with 131% of the average rainfall), particularly away from the drier south. In terms of the CET it was only 9.2, around 2 degrees below average, making it the coldest May for a very long time.

 

June. Very cool and wet; in some areas the coldest and wettest on record. It was the coldest June on record for Northern Ireland. There was a notable cool spell late on, with a maximum of just 10°C recorded at St James Park in London on the 25th; 10.7 at Rostherne in Cheshere on the 26th; 11.3 at Aviemore on the 27th and 11.9 at Glasgow Bishopton on the 28th. There were some very low maximum temperatures across the north and west on the 28th, with temperatures just below 11C recorded at Aviemore, and below 10C at Castlederg (Northern Ireland) and Trawscoed (Wales), including 10.5 deg. C. at both Thomastown and Derrylin Cornahoule, both Co. Fermanagh, on 28th June;. A provisional figure of 7.2°C from near Motherwell was for a short time the new record low high for Scotland, beating the August 2003 record; it was later found possibly to be affected by a fridge parked near by, so the 2003 record stands. It was the fourth dullest June on record. It was very wet, particularly in the south and southeast, with 152% of average for the UK, and even wetter in England and Wales. Essex had 170 mm of rain and Dorset 200mm. The CET was 12.1, around 2 degrees below average. Western coasts were often even cooler due to onshore winds and the position of the low pressure. The highest temperature of the month was just 23°C at Porthmadog on the 9th. There was a severe flood at Saddleworth Moor, between Manchester and Sheffield, which broke out on the 26th.

 

July. Exceptionally cool at 13.1 CET making it even worse than July 1988. It was particularly cold in the South and East. The first half was cyclonic and was wet, cloudy, and cool everywhere. It was more settled in the second half, particularly in the north. There was a notable cool spell towards the end of the month. There was a high of just 13.3°C at Santon Downham (Suffolk) on the 23rd, and a minimum of -11C at London St James Park overnight on the 26-27, and a maximum of just 14.1°C at Gravesend on the 27th. The passing through of the cold front came with some severe flooding. 99 mm of rain was recorded at Belfast on the 28th. On average rainfall was 129%, but it was very wet in East Anglia. It was a dull month with just 63% of average (the sixth dullest July since 1929). Morecambe Bay in Cumbria recorded just 11.9 hours of sunshine from 1st to 7th July.

 

August. A better month to end an atrocious summer. Overall slightly cooler than average, particularly in the southeast. The highest temperature of the month was 33.2°C at Kew on the 23rd, the lowest -1.3C at Braemar on the 7th. Rainfall was 105% of average although there were wide regional variations, with some places having double the average and parts of the SE less than 75%. Sunshine was 110% of average, but Shetland had just 75% of average. The first week continued the cool, wet, unsettled weather, but it turned warmer and more settled from the 8th onwards. The last few days of the month ended on a warm note. The bank holiday weekend featured some of the best weather of the entire summer.

 

September. The month started off wet in the south, but soon became settled everywhere. There was a notable anticyclone midmonth, bringing very light winds. The end of the month was more unsettled in the south. Temperatures were very close to average; rainfall 92% (being particularly dry in the NW). It was dull in the east, with London having 70% of average, and 92% of sunshine country-wide. The highest temperature of the month was 26.5 C at Cambridge on the 17th, the lowest -3.6 C at Katesbridge (County Down) on the 29th.

 

October The second week was unusually cold due to northerly winds, but there was a southerly plume bringing very warm weather in the final week. Temperatures overall were close to average, but with cooler days and milder nights. It was overall quite wet, with 118% of average rainfall. It was very dull, with 78% of average, making it the fifth dullest October since 1929. It was particularly dull in East Anglia. The lowest temperature of the month was -26.3C at Donna Nook (Lincs.) on the 13th, and the highest 28.6C at St Harmon (Powys) on the 30th; the reading at St Harmon is the highest maximum so late in the season on record.

 

November. A changeable month. The third week was mild with westerly winds. Overall it was colder than average. Rainfall was almost exactly average but with wide regional variations, being particular dry in southern and eastern Scotland and southern Devon, and unusually wet in NW Scotland. Overall sunshine was 90% of average but sunny in eastern Scotland and northeastern England; in contrast it was very dull in NW Scotland and East Anglia. The highest temperature of the month was 18.3C at Otterbourne (Hants.) on the 5th, and the lowest -6.7C at South Newington (Oxon.) on the 22nd. On the 15th Kinlochewe in the NW Highlands recorded 17.6C. 56.0 mm of rain fell in the 24 hours 9-9 at Keswick on the 29th.

 

>December. Changeable, and colder than average. There was a mild spell midmonth and a very dry and very mild day on the 15th. The end of the month was generally more unsettled. Sunshine and rainfall were close to average, although it was duller and wetter in the northeast. The highest temperature of the month was 15.9C at Kew (London) on the 2nd, and the lowest -8.8 C at Braemar on the 5th. 64.6 mm of rain fell at Cluanie Inn (Ross & Cromarty) on the 8th.

 

 

You need to take some creative license with these because -26C in October? Also the Heat from the South only being 14C lmao. To be honest, this year sounds like any odd year from between 1900 to 1930.

[Summer8906]

OK how about the anti-2007.

January - an extremely easterly first two-thirds of the month. Easterly winds blew without a break from the 1st until around the 21st and it was extremely cold in this period and mostly anticyclonic. There was zero precipitation in the north in this period while the south got occasional light snow showers or periods of snow; nonetheless with the persistent intense cold, some significant settling occurred. There were one or two occasions of flat calm due to intense anticyclones (no names, the anticyclone naming system was not to begin for several more years).

From the 22nd the weather became more unsettled with low pressure moving in from the SW. Rain fell on many days though it was not especially mild, temps were around average.

Overall one of the coldest Januaries on record, dry overall and rather sunny.

February - the first few days were cyclonic and wet with a low jetstream. It was also rather mild, with a brief exceptionally mild period with Tm air around the end of the first week, with temps reaching 15C widely. By then, however, it also turned rather drier with pressure rising. On the 10th a rapid change occurred to anticyclonic easterly and the rest of the month was similar to January, but slightly less cold. Easterlies blew until the end of the month with dry weather (very dry in the north) and occasional light snow in the south. Accumulations were lower than Jan due to the frequent strong sun.

A distinctly cold Feb though not record breaking due to the mild start. Also rather dry, but not spectacularly so due to the wet start.

March - the first week or so continued the winter's cold easterly theme, it was cold and dry but also rather dull. Low pressure moved up from the SW around the end of the first week, however, and the remainder of the month was extremely wet and rather cold in all areas. Snow fell to the north though to the south it was mostly rain. A colder version of the real March 2023 with the jetstream a bit lower. A brief southerly spell produced temps up to around 13C mid-month and it briefly turned drier for one day. Then the rain (snow in north), and dull was back. Overall a cold but wet and exceptionally dull month; people were wondering whether spring would ever arrive.

April - an exceptionally cold, dull wet month. Cyclonic conditions prevailed almost without a break. Winds were variable but the rain and dullness was unrelenting. A low jetstream with the typical low track across the Midlands, occasionally north or south of there. A notably cold spell occurred around the 15th with temps around 5C or lower even in the south with heavy snow in all areas. Then back to more rain and the closing days were particularly cold and wet. One of the most unseasonable Aprils on record, more so even than 1983 or 1986, and rainfall amounts were more like a typical wet autumn month.

May - the first five days were exceptionally cold, dull and wet. By the 5th, around half normal May rainfall had already occurred, and temps were struggling to top 10C in most areas. By this point it was one of the coldest starts to the year on record, and spring flowering was spectacularly late with the trees bare and the bluebells still some way from blooming....

A spectacular turnaround began on the 6th. A large anticyclone moved in from the Atlantic and the next two weeks saw almost zero rain across the whole country. It was also sunny, daytime temps were close to or a shade above average with some cold nights. Spring had finally arrived and nature started responding, with the month resembling a normal April for flowering patterns.

A short further unsettled spell began on the 20th with a few days of cold and wet weather under a slack low pressure system. However it didn't last long and on the 25th a surge of southerlies arrived accompanied by a large anticyclone over the continent. Temps soared and reached 32C on the Bank Holiday Monday, perhaps the hottest late May Bank Holiday on record. The remainder of the month remained warm, sunny and dry though temps moderated dramatically behind a dry cold front and ended a little above average, at around 20C.

June - the fine weather at the end of May quickly broke down and a southwesterly spell, lasting around 10 days, began on the 2nd. During this time it was dull, cool and wet. However a change began on around the 13th with high pressure slowly edging in from the Atlantic and from the 16th to the end of the month it was spectacularly dry and sunny though with cool nights for a while. The final week also became very hot, with 34C recorded in a number of places on some days but still with relatively cool nights. Some places climbed to 34C from a low of around 14C. Overall, a dry, sunny and rather warm month though with some cool nights.

July - fine, hot and sunny weather prevailed in the first week with a temp over 30C recorded somewhere on each day. The 9th and 10th saw some thundery showers as pressure fell a little to the west before renewed hot and sunny weather. Cool northeasterlies very briefly intervened around the 14th/15th in the southeast while to the NW the warm sunny weather continued. The 16th-28th was extremely dry and largely sunny and warm/hot though there were some cloudier days at times. Temps maxed at around 32C on a few occasions. On the 29th freshening southerly winds brought up thundery activity from France and a swathe of severe thunderstorms moved in from the SW on the 30th, with it being hot and extremely humid. The 31st was the poorest day of the month with an Atlantic low covering the country and cloudy, humid weather with heavy downpours prevailing.

Overall, a very dry, warm and sunny month and May-July was one of the driest and sunniest such periods on record.

August - in contrast to much of the past three months the first 11 days was rather unsettled, dull, wet and cool with a series of Atlantic depressions on southerly tracks. There were occasional exceptions with a warm southerly intervening on the 7th but nonetheless wet, cool and very dull was the overriding theme.

Another change occurred on the 12th with an Atlantic anticyclone moving in and until the 17th it was dry, hot and sunny once again. From the 18th to the 23rd a NW-SE split occurred with the SE fine, hot and sunny still but the NW much duller and wetter. The hottest temp of the month, 33C in the southeast, occurred during these few days.

The 24th-31st saw a return of dull southwesterlies though with occasional sunnier days in ridges. It was also very wet and daytime temps were below average though with some warm nights.

A "sandwich" month with wet start and end but summery middle, which ended up average for temp and for sunshine but wetter than average in most areas - clearly the poorest month of the summer.

September - the first 20 days were mostly cyclonic, dull and wet with rather variable winds and a low-tracking jetstream. There were occasional sunnier days in ridges but plenty of particularly dull, wet days too. The northwest fared a little better. On the weekend of the 22nd/23rd a northerly plunge brought cool, showery but also bright weather with temps mostly below 15c, though there was then a quick switch to a southerly from low latitudes. Much of the remainder of the month was warm, bordering on hot, and sunny but with thundery showers in places. The month's max of 26C occurred during this week. At the end of the month a flabby anticyclone developed behind a cold front and it turned much cooler but also quite sunny.

Overall, a dull, wet and rather cool month.

October - the 1st was fine and sunny with some showers around but it quickly turned very unsettled. Another month with a low-tracking jetstream, the remainder of the month produced low after low after low and it was one of the wettest months of any name on record in the south. Day temps were generally cool but nights much less so. The closing days of the month became NE-ly and distinctly cold, often sunny but with still with rain at times due to frontal activity over France. Halloween evening was notably cold with a severe frost setting in soon after dark. There were just three dry days during the month in many locations in the south. Nonetheless sunshine was up to average due to frequent polar maritime plunges behind the lows. Overall extremely wet, somewhat cold, but average sunshine.

November (a little hazy on this one) - the first part of the month featured a cyclonic NE-ly with sunny cold weather to the NW battling with fronts over France. This resulted in a wet (in the south) but also cold and sunny first half of the month. The second half of the month featured dry anticyclonic easterlies and it became cold, dry and sunny. Overall rather colder than average, sunshine (IIRC) a little above and rainfall close to normal.

December - the first week featured more easterlies and it was dry and cold. The middle two weeks of the month were cyclonic westerly with temps somewhat on the mild side, it was wet and often dull but with sunny days at times due to ridges of high pressure. Finally the last week was cold, dry and sunny again. Not far from average overall for temp, rainfall and sunshine.

 

 

Edited January 2 by Summer8906

[LetItSnow!]

Going back further in time, how about the anti-1988? In this alternate timeline, this is when our weather started changing for the colder - that or the year 9122.

January: Cold, anticyclonic and generally very dry. Mean monthly temperatures were below average everywhere but near normal in north-west Scotland, ranging from 0.1°C above average in Tiree, Strathclyde to 3.6°C below average at Gatwick, West Sussex. The temperature fell to -13.9°C at Hereford on New Year's Day. Mean monthly rainfall totals were well below average everywhere except the far north of Scotland, ranging from 130% in Shetland to around 10% in parts of East Anglia. Sunshine was generally above average in Scotland but below normal elsewhere.

 

February: Generally a rather cold and drab month. The south tended to be fairly "wet", though this was bolstered by snowfall - meanwhile the north of England and Scotland was dry. Temperatures were below average everywhere, though anomalies differed. In the far northwest, temperatures were practically average, though across the southeast anomalies were as much as 2°C below average. The 15th was a particularly cold night under a slack northeasterly flow and clear skies where the temperature fell to -16.6°C at multiple stations in Wales. It was a dull month everywhere except the north-west of Scotland where totals were around 140% of the norm - the southeast meanwhile struggled with totals at or below 50% of the norm in places.

March: Quite dry and sunny with a temperature contrast - generally cold in the south but mild in the far north. Areas south of the Midlands generally were about 1.5-2°C below normal but the far northwest of Scotland was generally around 0.5°C above normal. The month started unusually warm with long fetched southerly winds and a taste of spring, but by the 6th temperatures lowered and remained quite cold for the rest of the month. The 19th was a particularly cold day with unstable northeasterlies bringing widespread wintry showers and longer spells of snow. The temperature fell to -10.3°C at Leeming, North Yorks on this day. Snowfall was much of any precipitation that did fall this month as apart from isolated patches in the north-east, March was unusually dry. Parts of the Midlands had between 10-30% of the normal rainfall. This came after a very dry January for most and a dry February too. Despite the chill, most areas away from the east coast came away with a sunny March with totals between 120-140% of the norm.

April: Generally a changeable month with parts of east Scotland being relatively mild and dry but most of England being cool and wet, so overall near normal temperatures. A similar pattern followed with sunshine, being fairly sunny in most areas despite the chanegable nature of the month, though a swathe from the southeast to south Wales and parts of Northern Ireland were duller than normal. Northern Ireland had a notably wet April. There was a strange see-saw of temperatures between the 6th and the 8th - Aviemore recorded a low of -8.3°C on the 6th but a high of 20.6°C on the 8th. The 13th saw further warm temperatures across Scotland with Braemar seeing 22.0°C. Winds veered northeasterly and while the south escaped the warm spell entirely, to add insult to injury it turned very cold and -5.8°C was recorded at March, Cambridgeshire.

May: Generally a cool, wet and dull month. The first 20 days of the month were unsettled with some places recording rain every day between the 4th and the 18th. Many places were well above normal for rainfall so some isolated parts of the southwest and also East Anglia were slightly drier than normal. Most places were colder than normal, bar a few isolated spots on eastern coasts than were marginally above normal. It was notably cooler than normal out west with parts of Dorset coming in 1-2°C below normal. Dull everywhere except some extreme eastern coastal regions which had slightly above normal sunshine. The 15th-17th was a notably dull period with barely any sunshine across the UK.

June: An unsettled, westerly June. Wetter than average almost everywhere but a big divide between the north and south. Across the south it was generally wet, though parts of East Anglia were rather dry. However, Scotland was extremely wet. Abbotsinch, Strathclyde recorded 266% of its June rainfall. Many places in Scotland had more than double the normal rainfall, some places even triple or more. It was the wettest June ever recorded in many locations, including Glasgow. Even though the south wasn't quite as wet as the north, thundery spells gave some places an equal drenching. Worthing, West Sussex saw 223% of its average rainfall. Temperatures were rather on the cool side, though there was a large divide between Scotland and the southeast of England, the former generally around 1-2°C below normal, while parts of Kent and East Anglia were about 0.5-1°C above normal, benefitting from high pressure to our south and occaisonal wafts of hot air. The 7th was the hottest day of the month with 32.4°C at Santon Downham, Norfolk. Meanwhile, many Scottish towns and cities failed to exceed 12-15°C from the 23rd-25th. Sunshine was below normal everywhere except the southeast where it was slightly sunnier than average.

July: In extreme contrast to June, July was extremely dry in many areas. Scotland went from the wettest June on record to its driest July on record. Not only was it dry, but it was hot too. Generally most places were warmer than normal except the far north, Lerwick was 1°C below normal. While there were no extreme heatwaves, it was the consistency of the heat that made it such a hot month. Most places south of the Midlands reached at least 22°C every day of the month. The highest temperature was 34.1°C in London on the 7th. Unsurprisingly, it was a very sunny month, with multple locations setting their sunniest month on record. Many locations saw long spells of sunshine on 30 of the 31 days of the month.

August: A month of two distinct characters. In the west it was fairly dry and sunny, but in the east it was wet and dull. Temperatures were generally above normal, though not by much, and the southeast was rather cooler than average. The month started cool with northerly winds and the lowest temperature was recorded on the 7th, an unusually chilly 3.5°C at Rickmansworth, Hertforshire. Further poor weather in the southeast on the 17th with temperatures held down under cloud and rain. It cleared up soon after and the hottest temperature of the month was recorded on the 22nd, 31.1°C at Wisley, Surrey. Notably sunny in western Scotland with between 140-150% of the average sunshine.

September: A rather uninteresting month. Generally near normal temperaures, on the cool side across Scotland but slightly warmer than normal across Kent and East Anglia. It was rather wet overall, with some parts of Kent having over 150% of the average rainfall, but parts of eastern Scotland were dry. Unusually, the warmest day of the month came on the last day of the month, with 27.4°C in Reading, Berkshire.

October: Temperatures not far from normal, being rather mild across Scotland but cool across England and Wales, with anomalies being around 0.5-1°C in both cases. It was dry almost everywhere, apart from some eastern coastal locations. Scotland tended to be sunny whereas the south tended to be dull. The 18th saw an unusually severe frost across much of the southeast, with the temperature falling to -2.9°C in East Malling, Kent on the 18th. In contrast, there was an Indian summer to end the month with Halloween seeing the temperature rise to 21.5°C at St. Harmon, Powys.

November: A very mild, very wet, very dull and windy month with a notable lack of anticylonic weather and very mild nights, though the far north of Scotland was rather cooler than average. Across much of England and Wales, rainfall was exceptionally high. The normally wet southwest saw many locations recieve over 200% of their average November rainfall. The 20th was a particularly wild night across the southeast as a southerly tracking low brought gale force winds, heavy rain and exceptionally mild nighttime minima. Along with all the rain came a lot of cloud. Many stations recorded their dullest November on record or amongst the dullest.

December: After a very mild December came an extremely cold December. This was one of the most severe winter months ever recorded in the UK. There was a persistent feed of air from the northeast for almost the entire month, locking the UK into bitter cold. Unusually for such a cold month, it generally tended to be "wetter" than average, particularly in the south, but almost all of this fell as snow. Large swathes of England and Wales saw snow fall every day somewhere from the 4th onward. This was one of the snowiest months ever recorded for the south of England. Sheffield recorded a frost every night of the month. It was generally extremely dull in the east but sunnier further west. Bradford, East Yorkshire, recorded the dullest December on record. Cavendish, Suffolk, recorded a minimum of -21.1°C on the 28th. A slightly less cold opening to the month just stopped it from being the coldest December on record, but most locations recorded a top 5 cold December, with some local areas in the southeast recording their coldest. Parts of Wiltshire had cold anomalies of 6°C below normal.

The C.E.T.s for each month + the annual C.E.T.:

1.7°C  - 3.3°C  - 4.7°C -  7.8°C  - 10.5°C - 14.5°C - 18.5°C - 16.4°C - 13.5°C  - 8.9°C - 8.0°C - -0.7°C / 8.93°C

Edited January 2 by LetItSnow!

[East Lancs Rain]

18 hours ago, Summer8906 said:

Some good spells of weather early in the year, but a dire summer indeed!

(Was Dec 15 2018 very cold? Can't remember that one, I just remember that month as being non-stop mild, wet until just before Christmas and then dry and dull).

Maybe I'll do the anti-2007 and anti-2012 later, unless someone else gets there first...

Yes it would be one of (if not the worst summers ever!) Trevor Harleys weather website says this about the 15th Dec 2018: There was a cold spell midmonth followed by snow, sleet, and widespread freezing rain on the 15th.

17 hours ago, Summer of 95 said:

Take the first half of 1997 and the second half of 1995 and you're pretty close to the anti-2023. 

The anti-2018; it actually looks vaguely plausible apart from that ridiculous October (that's a record low temperature for England, at an exposed coastal site in October?)

 

9 hours ago, LetItSnow! said:

You need to take some creative license with these because -26C in October? Also the Heat from the South only being 14C lmao. To be honest, this year sounds like any odd year from between 1900 to 1930.

Yes that -26C was a bit unrelastic! The text originally said: “The highest temperature of the month was 26.3C at Donna Nook (Lincs.) on the 13th, and the lowest -8.6C at St Harmon (Powys) on the 30th; the reading at Donna Nook is the highest maximum so late in the season on record.”

 

To make it fit so that the second week was very cold and the last weekend very warm, I swapped a high of 26 with a low of -26! Also the 28C in late October was probably a bit unrealistic. I should’ve had just swapped the temps around so that the low of -8.6 occurred on the 13th and the high of 26.3 occurred on the 30th, although it would have to be a pretty exceptional southerly plume to reach 26C so late in the year, high teens would be more reasltic.

 

Yes I made the last day of Feb only 14C, but to be fair you could argue it wasn’t until the 1st that the exceptionally warm air was fully entrenched over the country.

 

1988 and 2007 were both very interesting years to flip around, here is 2021, hopefully the temperatures on this one are more realistic.

 

The spring of 2021 was warm: after a mediocre March, both April and May were warm, although April was also wet and dull, but May very dry and sunny - April was the fourth wettest on record and May the fourth driest. It was the coldest summer on record in Western Scotland, and the wettest summer in Glasgow since 1869. Autumn was wet and cool until the final week of November, with leaf-fall very early.

 

January.  A mild month, but there was a big north-south divide, with the south being cold and Scotland very mild. There was more sunshine in England than in Scotland, and it was the fourth dullest January in Scotland since records began (in 1919), while the SE of England was very sunny. NW Scotland was wet and the Highlands very wet, but it was a very dry month in the south. The month started very mild with no snow no frosts: it reached 12.3C at Loch Glascarnoch on the 6th, and 13.0 at Dawyck (Peeblesshire) on the 9th. It then turned colder in the south, but stayed largely milder in the north, with the country becoming something of a battleground between cold and mild air masses. An area of high pressure brought calm and very dry weather to the UK on the 19th - 21st, with no rain at all in many places. It was particularly mild and snowless in the Midlands. It then became colder in the south but remained mild in Scotland. A minimum of was recorded at -14.2C at Pershore (Worcesteshirer) on the 28th, but a high of 13.0C at Braemar on the 31st.

 

February. Mild first half, very cold second half, making for a near average month overall, which hides a very mild, wet spell, particularly in the west, midmonth. A dry month, with 84% of average rainfall, and near average sunshine overall. The highest temperature of the month was 18.4C at Plymouth on the 14th, and a minimum of -23.0 ºC at Braemar on the 21st. A snow depth of 38 cm was recorded at Aboyne (Aberdeenshire) on the 20th. 125.8 mm of rain fell at Honister Pass (Cumbrai) on the 13-14th. The far north of Scotland was particularly dull and wet, with Shetland being 54% duller than average.

 

March. Mostly settled; overall slightly colder than average, with a mild start but cold second half to the month. A blast of cold air from the north gave a high of just 4.5°C in Kew Gardens on 30 March, and generally there widespread cold temperatures across the south at the end of the month. It was quite a wet month, with 111% of rain overall, being wetter in the south and east and drier in the north and west. Sunshine quantities overall were average. The lowest temperature of the month was -8.5C at Braemar on the 26th. 177.2 mm of rain fell at Seathwaite (Cumbria) on the rain day ending on the 29th. It was very windy in the south on the 13th, with some snow in the Highlands on the same date.

 

April. Very mild, but also wet and dull, mostly cyclonic wth frequent southerly and south westerly winds. There were an unusually low number of night-time frosts, with the mean minima well above average. It was the fourth wettest since systematic records began in 1862. The south west coast was particularly wet: Penzance recorded more than 100 mm for the month. There was just 48% of expected sunshine, it was particularly dull in northern England and southern Scotland. The highest temperature of the month was 21.4C at Treknow (Cornwall) on the 1st, and the lowest -9.4C at Tulloch Bridge on the 12th.

 

May. May began very warm, and was generally warm, calm, dry, sunny, and settled, except for the final few days. Nationally it was the warmest May since 1996. The maxima were particularly high. Many places saw half the average rainfall, with an average of 39%, making this May the fourth driest since 1862; Wales had its driest May on record (with 24.5mm), as did Devon. There was plenty of sunshine (apart from Northern Ireland), with 114% of the long-term average. The only cool weather came right at the end of the month, when a high of 5.1°C was recorded at Kinlochewe (Ross & Cromarty) on the 31st. The lowest minimum of the month was -6.1C at St. Harmon (Powys) on the 2nd. The highest 9-9 raifall total was 10.3 mm at Mickleden (Cumbria) on the 20th-21st. Snow lay to 1 cm at Achiltibuie (Ross & Cromarty) on the 25th. All in all a May to remember.

 

June. After a nice May, June 2021 in contrast began cool, wet and cloudy, with a high of just 14.3°C recorded at Northolt (north London) on the 2nd, before it turned somewhat warmer. It reached 29.7C at Teddington (London) on the 14th. The second half was warmer and more settled, with some widespread heavy thunderstorms away from the southeast. Overall it was nationally slightly cooler than average. It was wet in the north, with triple the rainfall in places, but very dry in the southeast, with half the average rainfall, giving an overall UK average of 141%. Overall there was 93% of sunshine, although it was more sunny in parts of the east. The lowest temperature of the month was -2.4C at Altnaharra on the 22nd. 74.0 mm of rain fell at Princetown in Devon on the rain day ending on the 28th. Meanwhile, in an extraordinary cold snap in the NW of America, a high of just 9.6°C was reported in the town of Lytton, British Columbia, not far from Vancouver in Canada; the town was destroyed in a flash flood the next day.

 

July. July 2021 was very cool, with a long cool spell in the middle sandwiched between a settled beginning and end. It was a very unsettled month in wetern Scotland. There was some exceptionally heavy rain in Edinburgh on the 4th, with 41 mm of rain recorded in one hour at the Botannical Gardens, leading to flooding. An area of low pressure then built, giving unsettled and increasingly cooler weather, as well as sunless skies, across most of the UK. At the same time a prolonged area of high pressure led to a serious drought in Germany and parts of surrounding countries. There was a cool spell midmonth, particularly affecting the south and west, with 8 consecutive days failing to reach 20°C. Here are some of the cool spell highlights. A new record low maximum temperature of 11.2°C was set on the 17th in Northern Ireland at Ballywatticock near Newtownards in County Down). It was then 11.6°C at Heathrow on the 18th, 11.4°C there on the 19th, and 12.2°C there on the 20th. The cool air then moved west. There was more very chilly weather in Northern Ireland: on the 21st with 11.3°C at Castlederg; it was 11.1 at North Wyke (Devon). It was then 11.4°C at Armagh Observatory on the 22nd (11.2 at Gogerddan, Ceredigion), and then 10.1 at Castlederg on the 24th (9 ºC at Castle Douglas in Scotland). A high of 9.3°C was reported at Threave Garden (Kirkcudbrightshire) on the 22nd. In the cool air, there were some exceptional widespread hailstorms away from the SE and East Midlands, particularly on Tuesday 21st. Overall, July 2021 was the fifth coolest July on record. Rainfall was very variable, with overall 107% of the average, but parts of England and the Highlands were very dry, while Northern Ireland and western and northern Scotland were very wet. Sunshine was 89%, particularly in the west and western Scotland; Lochaber had 70% less sunshine than average. It was third coolest July in Scotland on record. The month ended with very light winds in southern England on the 30th thanks to a strong ridge of high pressure. The lowest temperature of the month was -10.1 at Braemar on the 2nd. It was very cool in Europe, with a minimum of just 16ºC in Greece on the 31st, while maxima were about 24°C. Wildfires were few and far between. July 2021 was the coldest month on Earth since at least the beginning of the twentieth century.

 

August. A settled first half, but it was more unsettled from the 23rd. Close to the centre of the low pressure system, there was a cold and wet spell in Scotland: a high of just 7.2°C was recorded at Tyndrum in the Highlands on the 25th. The cyclone was a record-breaker for August, with a new August low pressure reading of 938.5 mbar (more properly now, hPa) at Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis on the 31st. On the whole it was a month of average temperatures, although relatively warm in the southeast, slightly wetter than average overall, and sunny, athough there were wide geographical variations: it was driest in the southeast, and very sunny in the Midlands and parts of eastern England (the sunniest on record for 60 years in parts) while dull in western Scotland. 

 

September. Overall very cool and unsettled. It was the fourth coldest September since the start of the twentieth century, it was the second coldest in Scotland. Rainfall totals were close to average, 118%, however in many places the rain fell little and often until the final four days. It was sunny in the west and dull in the east, overall 104%. The month saw a notable early cold spell. The cold snap saw two consecutive days fail to reach 10°C, 7th and 8th (Northolt 9.3 on the 8th, Gogerddan near Aberystwyth 9.7 and 9.8 at Hartpury College (Gloucestershire, the lowest maximum temperature of the month on the 7th). There was a brief dry day on the 9th, but it remained cool. The chilly air was widespread across Britain, with Scotland recording its coldest September day since 1906 with 8.6°C at Cherthall in the Borders, and 9.1°C at Floors Castle near Kelso on the 8th. Wales recorded an air frost, with a new record low minimum for Wales on the 7th of -0.5°C. A dramatic warm front swept south on Monday 27th, bringing much warmer air and light rain. Tornados were reported in eastern England: widespread damage was reported at Humberston near Grimsby. 76.6 mm of rain fell at White Barrow (Devon) on the 9th.

 

October. Mostly settled and dry, with below average temperatures and many frosts. There was some widespread very heavy rain away from the NW at the end of the month. Rainfall overall was 72 % of the long-term average, and even  drier in the NW. It was quite sunny, with 113% of average sunshine; it was particularly sunny in Scotland. The highest temperature of the month was 22.9 ºC at Thornes Park (West Yorks.) on the 8th, and the lowest -3.6 at Redesdale Camp (Northumberland) on the 16th. It was extremely wet for the whole country during the last few days, except for Cumbria and SW Scotland which were much drier.

 

November. A very cold first three weeks, often unsettled and wet, but with a milder final week. The highest temperature of the month was 17.6 ºC at Nantwich (Cheshire) on the 29th; with the Foehn effect it reached 16.3 ºC at Dyce (Aberdeenshire) on the 28th. The lowest temperature of the month was -8.7 ºC at Shap (Cumbria) on the 9th. Anticyclone Arwen brought balmy southerly winds on the 26-27th. There were 18 cm of snow at Middleton, Hillside (Derbyshire) on the 7th, and snow fell as far south as Bognor Regis (which is rare in November).  Overall the month was slightly colder than average, with temperatures tending more above average the further south you went. It was generally a wet month, with 137% of average rainfall, and London and the South East seeing 180%, the wettest November since 1956, although it was dry in the far NW of Scotland.

 

December. Mostly settled, mild start, but with an exceptionally cold end, making it a cold month overall, particularly in the south. It was a very sunny month, 127.6 hours of sunshine in December, provisionally making it the fifth sunniest on record (since 1919). Rainfall overall was 110% of average. A few places in the south, particularly on higher ground, saw a true White Christmas. Many new low temperature records were set for the New Year's Eve, with -16.5C at Bala, a record for Wales, and also the lowest temperature in the UK for the month, while Keswick in England dropped to -15.9 C, Kinlochewe in Scotland dropped to -16.1 C, and Magilligan dropped to -15.0 C in Northern Ireland.

I will do 2006 and 2015 later, should be interesting.

 

Edited January 2 by East Lancs Rain

[Summer8906]

52 minutes ago, East Lancs Rain said:

Yes it would be one of (if not the worst summers ever!) Trevor Harleys weather website says this about the 15th Dec 2018: There was a cold spell midmonth followed by snow, sleet, and widespread freezing rain on the 15th.

 

Yes that -26C was a bit unrelastic! The text originally said: “The highest temperature of the month was 26.3C at Donna Nook (Lincs.) on the 13th, and the lowest -8.6C at St Harmon (Powys) on the 30th; the reading at Donna Nook is the highest maximum so late in the season on record.”

 

To make it fit so that the second week was very cold and the last weekend very warm, I swapped a high of 26 with a low of -26! Also the 28C in late October was probably a bit unrealistic. I should’ve had just swapped the temps around so that the low of -8.6 occurred on the 13th and the high of 26.3 occurred on the 30th, although it would have to be a pretty exceptional southerly plume to reach 26C so late in the year, high teens would be more reasltic.

 

Yes I made the last day of Feb only 14C, but to be fair you could argue it wasn’t until the 1st that the exceptionally warm air was fully entrenched over the country.

 

1988 and 2007 were both very interesting years to flip around, here is 2021, hopefully the temperatures on this one are more realistic.

 

The spring of 2021 was warm: after a mediocre March, both April and May were warm, although April was also wet and dull, but May very dry and sunny - April was the fourth wettest on record and May the fourth driest. It was the coldest summer on record in Western Scotland, and the wettest summer in Glasgow since 1869. Autumn was wet and cool until the final week of November, with leaf-fall very early.

 

January.  A mild month, but there was a big north-south divide, with the south being cold and Scotland very mild. There was more sunshine in England than in Scotland, and it was the fourth dullest January in Scotland since records began (in 1919), while the SE of England was very sunny. NW Scotland was wet and the Highlands very wet, but it was a very dry month in the south. The month started very mild with no snow no frosts: it reached 12.3C at Loch Glascarnoch on the 6th, and 13.0 at Dawyck (Peeblesshire) on the 9th. It then turned colder in the south, but stayed largely milder in the north, with the country becoming something of a battleground between cold and mild air masses. An area of high pressure brought calm and very dry weather to the UK on the 19th - 21st, with no rain at all in many places. It was particularly mild and snowless in the Midlands. It then became colder in the south but remained mild in Scotland. A minimum of was recorded at -14.2C at Pershore (Worcesteshirer) on the 28th, but a high of 13.0C at Braemar on the 31st.

 

February. Mild first half, very cold second half, making for a near average month overall, which hides a very mild, wet spell, particularly in the west, midmonth. A dry month, with 84% of average rainfall, and near average sunshine overall. The highest temperature of the month was 18.4C at Plymouth on the 14th, and a minimum of -23.0 ºC at Braemar on the 21st. A snow depth of 38 cm was recorded at Aboyne (Aberdeenshire) on the 20th. 125.8 mm of rain fell at Honister Pass (Cumbrai) on the 13-14th. The far north of Scotland was particularly dull and wet, with Shetland being 54% duller than average.

 

March. Mostly settled; overall slightly colder than average, with a mild start but cold second half to the month. A blast of cold air from the north gave a high of just 4.5°C in Kew Gardens on 30 March, and generally there widespread cold temperatures across the south at the end of the month. It was quite a wet month, with 111% of rain overall, being wetter in the south and east and drier in the north and west. Sunshine quantities overall were average. The lowest temperature of the month was -8.5C at Braemar on the 26th. 177.2 mm of rain fell at Seathwaite (Cumbria) on the rain day ending on the 29th. It was very windy in the south on the 13th, with some snow in the Highlands on the same date.

 

April. Very mild, but also wet and dull, mostly cyclonic wth frequent southerly and south westerly winds. There were an unusually low number of night-time frosts, with the mean minima well above average. It was the fourth wettest since systematic records began in 1862. The south west coast was particularly wet: Penzance recorded more than 100 mm for the month. There was just 48% of expected sunshine, it was particularly dull in northern England and southern Scotland. The highest temperature of the month was 21.4C at Treknow (Cornwall) on the 1st, and the lowest -9.4C at Tulloch Bridge on the 12th.

 

May. May began very warm, and was generally warm, calm, dry, sunny, and settled, except for the final few days. Nationally it was the warmest May since 1996. The maxima were particularly high. Many places saw half the average rainfall, with an average of 39%, making this May the fourth driest since 1862; Wales had its driest May on record (with 24.5mm), as did Devon. There was plenty of sunshine (apart from Northern Ireland), with 114% of the long-term average. The only cool weather came right at the end of the month, when a high of 5.1°C was recorded at Kinlochewe (Ross & Cromarty) on the 31st. The lowest minimum of the month was -6.1C at St. Harmon (Powys) on the 2nd. The highest 9-9 raifall total was 10.3 mm at Mickleden (Cumbria) on the 20th-21st. Snow lay to 1 cm at Achiltibuie (Ross & Cromarty) on the 25th. All in all a May to remember.

 

June. After a nice May, June 2021 in contrast began cool, wet and cloudy, with a high of just 14.3°C recorded at Northolt (north London) on the 2nd, before it turned somewhat warmer. It reached 29.7C at Teddington (London) on the 14th. The second half was warmer and more settled, with some widespread heavy thunderstorms away from the southeast. Overall it was nationally slightly cooler than average. It was wet in the north, with triple the rainfall in places, but very dry in the southeast, with half the average rainfall, giving an overall UK average of 141%. Overall there was 93% of sunshine, although it was more sunny in parts of the east. The lowest temperature of the month was -2.4C at Altnaharra on the 22nd. 74.0 mm of rain fell at Princetown in Devon on the rain day ending on the 28th. Meanwhile, in an extraordinary cold snap in the NW of America, a high of just 9.6°C was reported in the town of Lytton, British Columbia, not far from Vancouver in Canada; the town was destroyed in a flash flood the next day.

 

July. July 2021 was very cool, with a long cool spell in the middle sandwiched between a settled beginning and end. It was a very unsettled month in wetern Scotland. There was some exceptionally heavy rain in Edinburgh on the 4th, with 41 mm of rain recorded in one hour at the Botannical Gardens, leading to flooding. An area of low pressure then built, giving unsettled and increasingly cooler weather, as well as sunless skies, across most of the UK. At the same time a prolonged area of high pressure led to a serious drought in Germany and parts of surrounding countries. There was a cool spell midmonth, particularly affecting the south and west, with 8 consecutive days failing to reach 20°C. Here are some of the cool spell highlights. A new record low maximum temperature of 11.2°C was set on the 17th in Northern Ireland at Ballywatticock near Newtownards in County Down). It was then 11.6°C at Heathrow on the 18th, 11.4°C there on the 19th, and 12.2°C there on the 20th. The cool air then moved west. There was more very chilly weather in Northern Ireland: on the 21st with 11.3°C at Castlederg; it was 11.1 at North Wyke (Devon). It was then 11.4°C at Armagh Observatory on the 22nd (11.2 at Gogerddan, Ceredigion), and then 10.1 at Castlederg on the 24th (9 ºC at Castle Douglas in Scotland). A high of 9.3°C was reported at Threave Garden (Kirkcudbrightshire) on the 22nd. In the cool air, there were some exceptional widespread hailstorms away from the SE and East Midlands, particularly on Tuesday 21st. Overall, July 2021 was the fifth coolest July on record. Rainfall was very variable, with overall 107% of the average, but parts of England and the Highlands were very dry, while Northern Ireland and western and northern Scotland were very wet. Sunshine was 89%, particularly in the west and western Scotland; Lochaber had 70% less sunshine than average. It was third coolest July in Scotland on record. The month ended with very light winds in southern England on the 30th thanks to a strong ridge of high pressure. The lowest temperature of the month was -10.1 at Braemar on the 2nd. It was very cool in Europe, with a minimum of just 16ºC in Greece on the 31st, while maxima were about 24°C. Wildfires were few and far between. July 2021 was the coldest month on Earth since at least the beginning of the twentieth century.

 

August. A settled first half, but it was more unsettled from the 23rd. Close to the centre of the low pressure system, there was a cold and wet spell in Scotland: a high of just 7.2°C was recorded at Tyndrum in the Highlands on the 25th. The cyclone was a record-breaker for August, with a new August low pressure reading of 938.5 mbar (more properly now, hPa) at Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis on the 31st. On the whole it was a month of average temperatures, although relatively warm in the southeast, slightly wetter than average overall, and sunny, athough there were wide geographical variations: it was driest in the southeast, and very sunny in the Midlands and parts of eastern England (the sunniest on record for 60 years in parts) while dull in western Scotland. 

 

September. Overall very cool and unsettled. It was the fourth coldest September since the start of the twentieth century, it was the second coldest in Scotland. Rainfall totals were close to average, 118%, however in many places the rain fell little and often until the final four days. It was sunny in the west and dull in the east, overall 104%. The month saw a notable early cold spell. The cold snap saw two consecutive days fail to reach 10°C, 7th and 8th (Northolt 9.3 on the 8th, Gogerddan near Aberystwyth 9.7 and 9.8 at Hartpury College (Gloucestershire, the lowest maximum temperature of the month on the 7th). There was a brief dry day on the 9th, but it remained cool. The chilly air was widespread across Britain, with Scotland recording its coldest September day since 1906 with 8.6°C at Cherthall in the Borders, and 9.1°C at Floors Castle near Kelso on the 8th. Wales recorded an air frost, with a new record low minimum for Wales on the 7th of -0.5°C. A dramatic warm front swept south on Monday 27th, bringing much warmer air and light rain. Tornados were reported in eastern England: widespread damage was reported at Humberston near Grimsby. 76.6 mm of rain fell at White Barrow (Devon) on the 9th.

 

October. Mostly settled and dry, with below average temperatures and many frosts. There was some widespread very heavy rain away from the NW at the end of the month. Rainfall overall was 72 % of the long-term average, and even  drier in the NW. It was quite sunny, with 113% of average sunshine; it was particularly sunny in Scotland. The highest temperature of the month was 22.9 ºC at Thornes Park (West Yorks.) on the 8th, and the lowest -3.6 at Redesdale Camp (Northumberland) on the 16th. It was extremely wet for the whole country during the last few days, except for Cumbria and SW Scotland which were much drier.

 

November. A very cold first three weeks, often unsettled and wet, but with a milder final week. The highest temperature of the month was 17.6 ºC at Nantwich (Cheshire) on the 29th; with the Foehn effect it reached 16.3 ºC at Dyce (Aberdeenshire) on the 28th. The lowest temperature of the month was -8.7 ºC at Shap (Cumbria) on the 9th. Anticyclone Arwen brought balmy southerly winds on the 26-27th. There were 18 cm of snow at Middleton, Hillside (Derbyshire) on the 7th, and snow fell as far south as Bognor Regis (which is rare in November).  Overall the month was slightly colder than average, with temperatures tending more above average the further south you went. It was generally a wet month, with 137% of average rainfall, and London and the South East seeing 180%, the wettest November since 1956, although it was dry in the far NW of Scotland.

 

December. Mostly settled, mild start, but with an exceptionally cold end, making it a cold month overall, particularly in the south. It was a very sunny month, 127.6 hours of sunshine in December, provisionally making it the fifth sunniest on record (since 1919). Rainfall overall was 110% of average. A few places in the south, particularly on higher ground, saw a true White Christmas. Many new low temperature records were set for the New Year's Eve, with -16.5C at Bala, a record for Wales, and also the lowest temperature in the UK for the month, while Keswick in England dropped to -15.9 C, Kinlochewe in Scotland dropped to -16.1 C, and Magilligan dropped to -15.0 C in Northern Ireland.

I will do 2006 and 2015 later, should be interesting.

 

Nice, though to me the anti-July 2021 would be a good deal better than yours: hot and sunny until the 12th and from the 22nd with short cool wet spell from the 13th-21st.

Also you talk of very wet weather at the end of October 2021 - this was in fact what actually happened, a series of active lows passed through, with the winds on the 31st possibly causing the derailment of a train in Salisbury. Furthermore IIRC the 22.9 on October 8th happened when there actually was a warm spell, if I remember right.

Edited January 2 by Summer8906

[East Lancs Rain]

2 hours ago, Summer8906 said:

Nice, though to me the anti-July 2021 would be a good deal better than yours: hot and sunny until the 12th and from the 22nd with short cool wet spell from the 13th-21st.

Also you talk of very wet weather at the end of October 2021 - this was in fact what actually happened, a series of active lows passed through, with the winds on the 31st possibly causing the derailment of a train in Salisbury. Furthermore IIRC the 22.9 on October 8th happened when there actually was a warm spell, if I remember right.

July 2021 was the fifth hottest on record though, according to Trevor Harley’s website anyway, with a CET of 17.8°C, 1.9°C above the 1961-1990 average, so the opposite would have the be the fifth coldest on record, with a CET of around 14.0°C, which realistically could only be achieved with an exceptionally cool spell from the 13th-21st, and fairly dry but with benign temperatures from the 1st-12th and from 22nd to 31st. 
 

Perhaps I should have altered the extreme weather events of October 2021.

 

Here is 2015 and 1976, very interesting years to flip around.

 

2015

 

A very dry year - in the top ten since 1910. A new record low for November. The UK mean temperature (Tmean) for 2015 was 8.4 °C, 0.4 °C below the 1981-2010 long term average

 

January. Overall temperatures were about average, although Scotland was slightly milder, but a very cold spell with snow and frost between the 6th and the 14th was offset by a mild spell after that. Temperatures ranged from 16.5C at Exeter on the 19th to -12.5C at at Tulloch Bridge and Loch Glascarnoch on the 9th. On the 9th the maximum at Loch Glascarnoch was only -5.6C. Rainfall over the UK was pretty much average, England and Wales seeing 99%. It was though an exceptionally dull month, with just 37% of average sunshine; only a couple of years were duller. It was particularly wet and dull in east England.

 

February. Overall temperatures were about average. The first week was mild, and the final week cold. The highest temperature of the month was 15.6C at Fyvie Castle (Aberdeenshire) on the 17th, and the lowest minimum -10.8C at Dalwhinnie. It was quite a wet month, with 139% of the average for England and Wales. It was driest in the NW. It was very dull, with 83% of normal sunshine levels.

 

March. Slightly colder than average overall, but with some mild interludes. The highest temperature of the month was 17.5C at Murlough (County Down, Northern Ireland) on the 17th, and the lowest -7.4C at Aboyne (Aberdeenshire) on the 14th. It was another wet month: England and Wales average was 160% of the average. Coniston in Cumbria recorded 380 mm. The wettest day was the 6th. It was also very dull, with just 66% of average sunshine levels. High pressure brought very calm, dry weather on the 31st.

 

April. Cold, dull and wet: the third dullest and third coldest in the last century in England and Wales, and the dullest on record in the UK. Mostly it was an cyclonic and easterly month, although there was a southerly plume which brought very warm weather towards the end of the month, when it became much more settled. The highest temperature of the month was 25.2C at St Helier (jersey) on the 25th. The coldest temperature was -8.0C at Katesbridge (Co. Down) on the 7th. England and Wales rainfall was 171% of average. The England and Wales sunshine was 51%.

 

May. Quite warm and dry. Daytime temperatures were particularly high, with many places exceeding 24C. The highest temperature of the month was 33.8°C at Faversham (Kent) on the 11th, and the lowest was -5.6°C at Tulloch Bridge on the 1st. Rainfall was 44% of average. It was particularly dry in the west and north.

 

June. Temperatures overall were about average, but it was a wet month, with 156% of the long-term average rainfall. There was high pressure at the start of the month, so it was settled with light winds. There were cool  spells from the 4th to the 13th and in the final week. It was just 12.5C at Heathrow on 10th and it dropped to -1.9C at Resallach (Sutherland) on the 4th). It was quite a dull month, with 75% of average sunshine. 78 mm of rain fell at Northolt (London).

 

July. An anticyclonic month, slightly warmer than average. The month starts off exceptionally cool however, with an arctic plunge bringing record low maximum temperatures. Heathrow records a maximum of just 10.7°C on the 1st, and many places have daytime temperatures in single digits. The arctic plunge is limited to one day, before it turns warmer. It is the coldest day on record at Wimbledon too, with a high of just 12.7°C. It was quite a dry month, with an average of 69%. The driest day was the 17th, with no rainfall recorded anywhere. Sunshine was close to average at 101%. At the end of the month, it turns much warmer with southerly winds, with many places in the south seeing temperatures into the low 30’s.

 

August. Warm and settled, with a notable lack of heavy rain and thunderstorms, particularly in the second half of the month. A very dry month, particularly in the south; it was the driest August in SE England since 1976. Quite a sunny month. The highest temperature recorded was 30.9C at Kew and Gravesend on the 22nd.

 

September. A mixed month, with some wet cyclonic spells in the second and final weeks. Overall it was warmer than average, particularly in the SE. Rainfall was about average in the SE, but wet in the NW. It was a dull month. The highest temperature was 24.0 at Braemar on the 30th, and the lowest was -1.3C also at Braemar on the 30th.

 

October. A mostly unsettled month, but more settled at the end. About average temperature, but a wet month, with only 143% of the average rainfall, making it the wettest October for quite a while . It was particularly wet in the west and north. There was a brief ridge of high pressure bringing drier conditions from the 7th to the 9th however. It was also dull in the NW but sunnier than average in the SE. The highest temperature of the month was 22.7 at Braemar on the 7th, and the lowest was -5.0C on the 27th, also at Braemar.

 

November. A very cold month. The month started with a new record low for November! Braemar plunged to -22.3C on the 1st, in an exceptionally cold arctic plunge. Generally the month was NE with much more frost than usual. With a CET of 4.2 (-2.0), the month was the third coldest November in the last century. It was particularly cold in the south. It was a dry month with 55% of average rainfall, and it was particularly dry in NW Wales, NW England, and SW Scotland. There was a brief mild interlude around the third week, with many places seeing thier first double digit máxima since October. The highest temperature of the month was 15.6C at Plymouth on the 22nd. The month ended on a mild, dry note.

 

December. An exceptionally cold month - phenomenally so, with a CET of -0.7C, a phenomenally low figure, around 5 degrees below average, colder than almost any other December and much colder than most Januarys and Februarys. Many areas saw an air frost every day of the month. It was also the driest December on record, particularly in the west and north, and indeed the driest of any month on record, with just 9% of rainfall overall all for the UK. It was an extremely snowy month however. Parts of Snowdonia may have recorded over a metre of snow (40"), and there were some new record monthly snowfall totals. Given the totals, it is not surprising that there was some severe disruption across the north and west. Following very heavy snow on Storm Desmond on 5 December, there is severe disruption in the north, particularly in Cumbria. A new snowfall record for 24 hours in any month is set on the 6th, with over a foot of snow at Honister Pass. There is more snow in the north, particularly in Lancashire and the south of Scotland, with Storm Eva, on Boxing Day, with many rivers freezing over. Storm Frank brought yet more frigid polar air with even more snow in the north right at the end of the year. In the 9-9 day, 26.4 cm of snow fell at Thirlmere in Cumbria; and 34.1 cm fell at Honister Pass in Cumbria in 24 hours up to 6 pm on the 5th, setting a new UK 24 hour record. The highest temperature all month was just 7.2C recorded at Teignmouth in Devon and at Achnagart and Plockton in the Highlands on the 16th. A gust of nearly 100 mph was recorded at the Needles on the 1st.

 

1976
 

1976 was a horrible year, one of the worst, with an absolutely atrocious summer - the worst (coldest, dullest, and until 2007, wettest) on record - and there was lots of flooding. Remember the Minister for Flooding? Just look at that run of very wet months until the autumn. The awful weather started in May. May and June had long spells of cool, wet and cloudy weather, interspersed with brief sunnier, warmer periods. The worst of the summer was 22 June to 26 August. Nowhere in the country reached the 80sF (26°C) between the 22 June and the 16 July, and most extraordinarily of all, nowhere reached the 90s (32C) throughout the whole summer! Heathrow had 16 consecutive days failing to reach 20C between 23 June and 8 July, a record. The period September 1975 - August 1976 was the wettest 12 month period on record. A Minister for Floods was appointed this year (Dennis Howel, MP, 1923-1998; soon after his appointment it started to dry up, and in the cold snowy winter of 1978-79 he was appointed "Minister for Snow"). The seeds of the great deluge had been sown in 1975, and in fact the early 70s were extremely wet across England and Wales.

 

January. Very dry. An strong ridge of high pressure at the start of the month brought very light winds on the 2nd, accompanied by very cold air, a low of -12 was recorded in NE Scotland). Very mild and very wet right at the end: from the 28-30th, tropical maritime air brought continuous rain to much of southern England.

 

February. Very wet, but slightly colder than usual.

 

March. Generally very wet. It had a cloudy start with some chilly days, although nights were mild and generally frost free. It became more settled in the west midmonth, and very dry in the SW around the 22nd.

 

April. Mostly unsettled and dull. It was very wet, especially in the south. Plymouth recorded 400 mm of rain. The period May 1975 - April 1976 was the wettest 12 month period on record. On the night of the 28th, the temperature fell to -8C at Carnwath (SW Scotland). There were a few settled days at the beginning, but the rest of the month was a washout. There was some snow in the north on the 13th.

 

May. Overall cool. A taste of things to come: very chilly early on. Heathrow and Ulcombe (Kent) recorded a high of just 9C on the 7th, the lowest daytime May temperature for some time. There were some heavy thunderstorms also on the 7th. Nowhere managed to reach 20C all month. The month was very wet in the south.

 

June. Phew, "what a soaker." The coldest, wettest summer on record, peaking from the 22 June to 16 July. After a unremarkable beginning to the month, with some fine weather, a cyclonic period moved in and winds turned to the north. The temperature did not get out of the 50’s (10-15C) anywhere on the 7th and there was widespread maximums of just 11C in the SE on the 9th. It then turned warmer and more settled for 10 days before the low pressure returned. A cold front then moved north-east on the 21st, ushering in the extraordinary cool weather for the time of year, as the low pressure grew more intense and some very chilly air swept across the country. The previous wet weather facilitated some very low daytime temperatures. From 23 June to 7 July inclusive, for 15 consecutive days, the temperature failed to exceed 22°C (nearly good old 72°F) anywhere in the country. Furthermore, five days failed to exceed 15°C anywhere in the country. On the 26th, a high of just 15.4°C was recorded at North Heath (Sussex) and East Dereham (Norfolk). Then there was a maximum of just 15.6°C at Mayflower Park in Southampton on the 28 June. Please let us never have another summer like this one! The sun was rarely seen and the humidity was very high. Norther Ireland's recorded a high of just 10.8C at Knockarevan on the 30th. Needless to say, at the peak of the "Great Deluge", it was very wet, although there was a dry day on the 19th (a Saturday) in the south of England (providing good weather for the test match against the West Indies on the Saturday), as a very transient ridge of high pressure gave a dry day to the south. The month overall was the coldest June of the century in England and Wales (12.5C CET), around 2 degrees below average. Of course, this must be the worst June of the century for weather.

 

July. Horribly cold (CET 14.2), particularly notable as part of the whole summer, as low pressure dominated the British Isles. It was even cold in the south. Plymouth recorded a high of just 12.4C on the 2nd. Cheltenham recorded a high of just 13.9C on the 3rd. Even London was just 10C on the 8th. There was a brief ridge of high pressure on the 9th, bringing drier weather to some places, and slightly warmer weather. Then, on the 11th, a particularly wet day, 125 mm fell across northern England and north Wales, with a NE gale. Severe flooding in Stokesley (near Middlesborough). There was actually snow on the Grampians (down to about 500m) on the 9-10th.  There was flooding in Glasgow as a result of thunderstorms on the 28th (84mm in 3.5 hours), and severe flooding in Cornwall on the night of the 24-25th: a man was swept away in Polperro. Most of the country had twice the average rainfall, with some parts of Wales, Yorkshire, and the Midlands having four times as much. Nowhere in the country reached 27C (80F) between the 22 June and the 16 July. Heathrow had 16 consecutive days failing to reach 20C between 23 June and 8 July. The summer was quite good in the Western Isles, however, as it was closer to the northern blocking high pressure. Also very dull: there were just 31.8 hours of sunshine in Edinburgh. Despite the very low máxima, cloudy skies led to some very mild nights in places. It was also very wet; London saw 38 consecutive rainy days from 21 June to 27 July.

 

August. The month continued the awful summer, although there was a nice spell right at the end. Maxima of around 10C in the south on the 24-25th, with some places stuck in single figures. Many parts of the south recorded less than 100 hours of sunshine. It was very wet, with England and Wales having 171% of the average. A tropical night with a minimum of 20.6C was reported at Bournemouth on the 1st, thanks to a brief plume of hot air and a cloudy night. It was just 12C in the south on the 26th, and by this point Teignmouth had endured its 45th consecutive rainy day. Things finally started to improve on the 26th - just in time for the Bank Holiday - as the low pressure system that had been responsible for the terrible weather retreated towards Iceland, bringing a warmer, drier and sunnier SW airflow across the country. For many places, the great deluge ended on the 29th or 30th: in some areas there had been 45 consecutive days with rain. The dry autumn partly made up for it. There was lots of sunshine and dry weather on Saturday 29th and Monday 30th in the south, with 25C in East Anglia. So bizarrely Bank holiday Monday (30th) in 1976 was warm, sunny, and dry, after an extraordinary bad summer! With a CET of 14.8, it was a chilly month.

 

September. After the exceptionally wet summer, we had a very dry month. The month was mostly dry, for which we were all truly grateful after the great deluge. Then, on the 11th, a particularly warm day, widespread maximums of 25C were recorded across southern England and South Wales, with a balmy southerly wind. There was barely any rain in Middlesborough all month. Most of the country had half the average rainfall, with some parts of Wales, Yorkshire, and the Midlands having only a quarter as much. Only one September was drier. It was a sunny month.

 

October. Continued very dry after the great deluge. Indeed, September and October 1976 combined were the driest on record in England and Wales. The driest October of the century for Northern Ireland. Very windy (90mph) in Edinburgh on the 26th. Sunny on the east coast.

 

November. There was a very strong area of high pressure on the 9th (with 1050 mb at The Needles). Near average temperatures overall.

 

December. The month had a calm and settled beginning. At 6.5C overall, this was a very mild month. It was a mild and dry month, with barely any frost and fog. The lowest temperature was -6 at Crawford John on the 3rd. Despite the mild weather overall, there was lots of snow in London on Christmas Day making it the first White Christmas for years.

[Summer8906]

We haven't done 2012 yet, so here goes.

January: the month starts with fine anticyclonic weather with extremely light easterly winds and severe frosts, though the 2nd is cloudier. On the 6th however a complex low moves in from the Atlantic on a southerly track, with dull, wet but rather cold weather taking over for a few days. Round the weekend of the 14th-15th however, the low track moves north, giving mild and very wet southwesterlies for a few days. The low track moves south again subsequently, giving dull, raw, cold weather with rain and snow, the latter mostly to the north but even penetrating to the south at times. Finally at the end of the month blowtorch southwesterlies produce extremely mild but still dull and wet weather. Temps reach 15C over a widespread area. Overall very wet, very dull but somewhat cold - a rare combination for the time of year.

February: a month of two halves, but with a common theme throughout: dull, cyclonic with much precipitation. The first 11 days have persistent blowtorch southwesterlies, producing the mildest start to February since anti-1986. Day temps are typically 13-15 with night-time temps in the 10-12 range. There is also much drizzle and persistent rain.

However after the 11th the jetstream moves progressively south. Heavy and prolonged rain accompanies this change, but the latter half of the month produces very much colder conditions. With low pressure generally moving up the Channel, the south has a mix of heavy cold rain and heavy snow, with repeated heavy snowfalls followed by thaws a couple of days later. Even in the south max temps are generally in the 0-4 range. The south has one of its wettest Februaries on record and following the very wet January, flooding becomes a major problem, exacerbated by snowmelt. Overall, average temps but extremely wet (particularly in the south) and dull.

March: the start of the month maintains a cold easterly type but it becomes a little drier. However the month soon becomes extremely cyclonic, dull and wet again with a repeat of late Feb's conditions, though it now being early "spring" (?) there is more rain and less snow. Catastrophic flooding in the south and southwest as low after low after low barrels through, though the north is a little drier (though snowy). Eventually in the final week a strong cyclonic northerly sets in with maxima around freezing producing heavy snow showers and general snow in all areas, even the south.  The final day sees a westerly become established with a thaw.

Overall, then, a third month in succession which is dull and wet but not mild.

April: the month begins with two days of mildish, showery westerlies and it's rather cloudy. However a southerly from North Africa then surges in, producing a brief spell of very warm weather with temps reaching 24C in places just before the Easter Weekend. Retrogression of the high then takes place with the southerly backing easterly and temps fall, though remains on the warm side for the time of year at around 16C. Easter weekend is thus warm and sunny overall, though the Saturday is cloudier, and Easter Monday is a beautiful warm, sunny spring day with temps a little higher around 21C.

The second week then produces further fairly warm and fairly sunny easterlies, though the mornings have some North Sea cloud. A brief incursion of a North Sea low produces a wet day on the 15th, before the second half of the month is thoroughly anticyclonic, warm and sunny with temps persistently in the high teens. On Sat 28th it becomes very warm with 26C reached.

Overall, a very dry, warm and sunny month. The contrast to previous months could not be more stark.

May: the month starts with an anticyclonic westerly type though strong sunshine means temps are in the low 20s in many areas. Such conditions persist through the May Day weekend though the high shifts north and winds become more easterly. Sunny and dry easterlies typify the period to the 10th, though there is then a short interlude of dull wet cyclonic SWlies. After that, warm southeasterlies become established and it remains dry and warm until the 20th, though there are thundery showers around.

The prolonged fine spring spell is then interrupted on the 21st as an Atlantic low rolls in and a sequence of southerly-tracking lows produce dull, wet and cool weather for around 9 days, including the late May weekend. People are grateful that the holiday has been deferred by a week! At the very end of the month the Azores High builds to produce a fairly settled, fine last two days of the month.

Overall, somewhat dry and sunny and rather warm.

June: the month begins of course with the Diamond Jubilee and as luck would have it, the weather is fine, with an anticyclonic easterly taking hold. Temps are in the low 20s and the Sun and Tues are very sunny indeed, though the Sat and Mon have a little more cloud and isolated showers - though still warm.

The remainder of the month is phenomenally dry and sunny, one of the driest and sunniest Junes on record, a historic month to remember. Anticyclones just keep building in from the Azores: as soon as one declines, the next moves in. There are just occasional cloudy days: the 17th is cloudy until around 7pm before abruptly clearing.

July: the first half continues where June left off with 15 consecutive sunny days, temps in the high 20s or higher, and 15 or more hours of sunshine, not to mention zero rain anywhere. It then becomes a little less settled 16th-20th as a Biscay low starts to influence things, with a mixture of hot, sunny days and cloudier days with Ac cast and thundery showers. Finally on the 21st, for six days, a full breakdown brings in dull, wet and cool cyclonic weather from the Atlantic though in the last few days of the month the responsible low complex drifts east leaving a weakly-anticyclonic NE-ly. Days are fairly dry with variable cloud - sunny starts and cloudy afternoons being common - and average temps.

Overall a warm, dry and sunny month though not record-breaking due to the short unsettled spell and lack of any spectacularly good weather after the 21st.

August: the same NE-ly setup of sunny mornings, cloudy afternoons and average temps prevails for the first 6 days or so. However a short cyclonic spell produces dull, cool and wet weather from around the 7th-10th, though the low then moves into the Continent producing northerlies on the 11th and 12th and increasing sunshine. The following week is then rather variable with a mix of dry and wet days and average temperatures. On the 17th however a powerful northerly plunge sets in for 3 days with extensive heavy showers of hail and thunder, and even in the SE temps struggle to much exceed 15C.

Following this an easterly spell sets in with variable cloud and this type persists for the remainder of the month. Some days are dry and sunny, while on other days low pressure over the continent produces cool wet weather.

Overall rather average for sun and rain but on the cool side and unusually E-ly for August.

September: the first week is dull, wet and cyclonic as a Biscay low, static in late August, finally moves in. It's also cold for the time of year with temps struggling to rise above the mid-teens. The second week sees pressure rise a little with some sunny ridges of high pressure between the lows and the third week is also rather unsettled with some brighter interludes.

A big change happens on September 24th. The small and insignificant looking Anticyclone Nadine suddenly intensifies dramatically while approaching from the SE and as a result the 24th is a dry, sunny and warm day producing the warmest day for some time at around 25C. The remainder of the month remains dry, sunny and warm.

October: continues where Sep left off with an initial week of warm, dry and mostly sunny weather. Such weather continues throughout the majority of the month with occasional cloudier days and a notable warm plume around the start of the fourth week sending temps up to 23C in many areas. The end of the month continues mostly warm and sunny. Overall, a very dry, very warm, and sunny October - a real Indian summer to remember.

November: the initial days are warm and dry though with rather variable sunshine, befitting the approach of the winter solstice. The remainder of the month is very mixed indeed, though with a common theme of mildness. Slightly mild and dry alternates with very mild and wet: there are quite a few damp, drizzly days but overall rainfall accumulations are not great and the month ends up drier than normal and rather mild. The closing days are particularly mild and wet.

December: the first 13 days are extremely mild with daytime maxima close to 15C and minima just two or three degrees below. It's also very dull, and there is frequent moderate rain. From the 14th it very abruptly turns drier and much colder and the remainder of the month features barely any rain, as well as being somewhat cold and rather sunny. Nonetheless the extreme mildness of the first 13 days is enough to make the month slightly mild overall. With a lack of any really heavy rain at all and the long dry spell, the month is clearly drier than average.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 2 by Summer8906

[East Lancs Rain]

 

Here is anti 2008 and anti 1963! A wonderful year for mildies, but truly horrific for coldies and those who like seasonable winter weather.

1963

 

1963 will be immortalised as one of the worst of all weather years (by some) for the warmest winter on record. It is estimated that a winter this mild has a 250 year return rate. The winter CET was an incredible 8.3°C. The media called it “The year without a winter”. There was no snow cover at all across lowland Britain, and many places were frost free every night from 22 December to 4 March, apart from a cold night on 28 January. It was a very warm year overall at 11.0°C , the hottest year ever recorded. The balmy winter was caused by a persistent area of high pressure to the east, giving us southerly winds for weeks on end. The winter had an interesting effect on wildlife, with many creatures coming out of hibernation in January, plenty of bumblebees about and there was already widespread daffodils by December 1962.

 

January.  The warmest January on record (10.6 CET), around 6 degrees above average. There was not a single easterly or northeasterly day in sight: there were 20 southerly days (with the rest variable or south westerly). There was no snow whatsoever apart from on the tops of the Scottish mountains. Even the Scottish ski resorts were snowless. A notable windstorm occurred on the 3-4th in the Southwest and Welsh Borders, with gusts of up to 100 mph, and 100-200 mm of rain in places; the rain was accompanied by a strong wind. The southwesterly winds lessened for a while in the second week, and there were some very high temperatures. 19.4C was recorded at Heathrow on the 11th. Plymouth had a maximum of 17C on the 12th, even Braemar managed 11.7C on the same day. 16C was recorded at Gatwick and Eskdalemuir on the 13th, with lots of sunshine. It was slightly cooler midmonth, as winds turned slightly more northwesterly; however, many places still managed double digit maxima on the 14-15th. Winds turned southerly again on the 17th for the warmest week of the winter, with the air coming all the way from Africa! There was a maximum of 22.2C at Bournemouth on the 18th: this was the highest temperature of the winter, as well as an all time record high. There was notably high temperatures on the 19-20th, particularly in the southeast, with widespread maxima of 20C in the south. The lowest minimum reported in England was a puny -0.6C at Hereford on the 23rd; also -0.6C at Stanstead Abbotts (Herts.), early on the 23rd, but then there was a maximum of 18C at Ross-on-Wye the next day. There was heavy rain on Dartmoor on the 21st. It was very sunny and warm on the 24th. Many places in the SE had minimums in double digits from the 16-25th. The weather turned colder on the 26th, with some places having the first ground frost of the month. A storm brought 948 mbar and strong winds in Scotland on the 27th. One consequence of the prevailing southerly and southwesterlies was that some sheltered easterly locations were very sunny: Aberdeen reached 114.4 hours (a record), but western areas were quite dull. Also some sheltered easterly spots were extremely dry.

 

February. Exceptionally mild, but not quite as warm as January (8.9 CET). The two warmest winter months on record. The warmth continued into March. Again, the prevailing southwesterlies gave some poor sunshine totals in the west (e.g. 35 hours in Plymouth) but it was quite sunny in the east. Much of the country was frost free all month. The month began with balmy SSW winds, giving some light rain across the north. There were some very high temperatures in some coastal regions on the 4th and 5th: 17.8C at Coltishall (Norfolk) early on the 5th. There was a phenomenal windstorm on the 6-7th affected mainly the west (the SW, Wales, Northern Ireland), and gave 150 mm of rain at Tredegar (Monmouthshire). There were some light frosts mid month: as winds turned briefly to the north on the 9th; and some places in the south had falling snow for 4 hours on Valentine's Day, as the temperatures briefly dropped to around 1C, before it quickly turned back to rain.

 

March. The end of the exceptional mild spell. It ended gradually. It still reached 16C in London on the 2nd. Many places in lowland Britain had thier first air frost on March 4th - for the first time since December 26th. By the 16th it was only 7C in London. The CET was close to average at 6.1C, but it actually felt quite chilly after the exceptionally warm winter.

 

April. Following the exceptionally warm winter, many places which remained snowless all winter ironically had thier first snowfall of the season. Overall, it was slightly colder than usual, with a CET of 7.3C, which was still colder than the actual “winter”.

 

May. Slightly warmer than average (CET 12.6)

 

June.  The month had a cool, but dry start. Overall a cool and cloudy first half, and a warm but changeable second half. A bit cooler than average with a CET of 13.4.

 

July. Quite warm but wet, but cool and cloudy towards the month's end. CET 17.4.

 

August. Hot (18.1 CET) and settled, with a lack of thunderstorms. After some light rain on the 16th and 17th, the winds turned southerly: East Anglia reached 32C on the 18th. It was a nice bank holiday too.

 

September. AntiCyclonic and warm for the first 11 days, but then there was a wet spell mid-month, with cool and cloudy weather. Many districts had fewer than 1 hour of sunshine daily in this spell. It was warmer after the 17th but remained wet until the 23rd, but then was changeable. It was a very dull month in North Wales and NE England. Rainfall was around average overall but it was dry in the South West and in North West of Scotland. Temperatures overall were around average. CET 14.5.

 

October. Generally wet but sunny with plenty of night frosts. There was a cold snap mid month with a low of 2C recorded in London on the 12th. CET a bit below average at 9.9C.

 

November. Quite cold, and very dry. CET 5.6

 

December. Extremely wet and very mild. CET 7.4.

 

 

CET

 

Jan: 10.6°C (+6.4)

Feb: 8.9°C (+4.7)

Mar: 6.1°C (Bang on average)

Apr: 7.3°C (-0.7)

May: 12.6°C (+1.2)

Jun: 13.4°C (-0.8)

Jul: 17.4°C (+1.0)

Aug: 18.2°C (+1.9)

Sep: 14.5°C (+0.8)

Oct: 9.9°C (-0.6)

Nov: 5.6°C (-1.3)

Dec: 7.4°C (+2.4)

 

This gives a record breaking annual CET of 11.0°C! Mostly down to the exceptionally warm winter, but also down to the warm summer. The only months that were below average were April, June, October and November, but this was not enough to offset the record breaking warm winter.

 

2008

 

A record-breaking dull February. Another cold winter and a good summer, with the sunniest August since 1995. It was the dullest spring on record in Northern Ireland - this was then followed by the sunniest July to September on record there. The gap between the last and first widespread snowfall was the biggest since 1919.

 

January. Dry and cold. Overall about the fifth coldest of the last hundred years. England and Wales rainfall averaged just 54% of the average. A dry New Year. Inveruglas in Scotland had just 6.7 mm of rain. Quite dull in the south and east, but sunny in the north and west. There as a brief mild interlude at the start of the month - southwesterlies set in briefly on the 3rd, with some heavy rain in places, but then mostly very cold. Then mostly dry. It dropped to -15.2C at Braemar on the 20th. High pressure brought some very calm, very dry and cold weather at the end of the month, although it was milder in the north. The highest temperature of the month was just 11.3C on the 12th at Penzance in Cornwall.

 

February. Extremely dull - the dullest February since records began, with just 36% of the average. Some places in the south and east had less than a third of the average amount of sunshine. Overall it was slightly colder than average, with some very chilly days although because of the cloud, there weren’t many frosty nights. It was also a wet month, with an average of 141 mm. It was particularly wet in the southeast. There was a very mild start thanks to a long-fetched southerly. The mild weather doesn't last long though. It then becomes very cold and dull as pressure weakens and we bring in a cyclonic northerly. Midmonth low pressure rules, and despite a lack of frost and fog, and daytime temperatures are pretty low particularly in Wales and the Northwest. There were some mild and sunny days around the 19th however, the maximum at Dishforth (Yorks.) was 12.9C. The lowest temperature of the month was -10.7C at Copley (Durham) on the 11th.

 

March. A southerly month, particularly mild in the north. The highest maximum of the month is 25.4C at Gravesend on the 22nd, and the lowest minimum -1.4C at Braemar on the 26th. It was a dry month, with just 63% of average rainfall, making it the driest in England and Wales for quite a few years. It was particularly dry in parts of East Anglia. Although slightly duller than average, it wasn't as dull as February. Many places in the south and west have a warm Easter, with long sunny spells and plenty of dry weather from Friday 21st onwards.

 

April. Average temperatures overall. A cold start and end, but a long warm middle from the 5th to the 20th. 20C is reached on 16th April. Temperatures ranged from 22.0C at Weybourne (Norfolk) on the 16th to -6.8C at Braemar on the 28th. Slightly drier (86%) than normal. Up to 10 cm of snow fell across the NW on the morning of the 26th. It was a settled month with very little thundery showers or hail. It was a sunny month inland and in the north, but cloudy along the west and south coasts.

 

May. Cold everywhere; very wet in the north. Overall the CET was similar to that of the coldest in recent history. The first half of the month was very chilly and dull in the south, but then it became drier and more settled, particularly in the south. However, it remained wet in the north, so for many parts of Scotland it was the wettest on record. There was 700 mm of rain at Lerwick and Fair Isle. Princetown (Devon) in contrast saw just 17.8 mm, although it fell little and often during the first three weeks, with many overcast and drizzly days. High pressure lead to some warm weather in the SW on the 29th, with 27C at Plymouth on the 11th, and the lowest minimum -6.2C at Kinbrace (Sutherland) on the 19th. The maximum at Carter Bar (in the Borders) on the 17th was just 8.2C. There were just 30.3 hours of sunshine at Fair Isle, the dullest May on record there.

 

June. The temperatures were about average overall - but because recent anti Junes have been cool, this made it the warmest June since the 90’s. There was a cool cyclonic spell from the 8-10th, which 26.9 mm of rain at Lee-on-Solent on the 8th and St James Park (London) on the 9th. 94 mm of rain fell at Capel Curig in Snowdonia on the 8th-9th. The lowest temperature was -2.3C at Tulloch Bridge on the morning of the 24th. Rainfall was about average in England and Wales (108%), although it was slightly drier in Scotland (72%). There was a heatwave at the end of the month: with 28°C at Keswick on the 30th. 30°C was reached at Ringstone Edge in West Yorkshire on the 26th. It was slightly duller than average in England (86%); generally it was duller the further south you went: Guernsey airport had just 108 hours.

 

July. Very warm and dry first three weeks, but very cool, cloudy, and wet from the 23rd. Overall temperatures were average. The England and Wales average rainfall total was only 21% of average, with nearly all of it falling during the final week. The temperature reached 29.7 at Kew Gardens, London on the 7th and then 30.2C (the highest temperature of anti 2008) on the 8th. 59 mm of rain fell in a thunderstorm at Pershore in the afternoon of the 28th. Sunshine was about average overall, although it was sunny in east Scotland.

 

August. An unusual month with days warmer than average, but nights significantly cooler than average, resulting in slightly below average temperatures overall. It was warmer in the west and cooler in the east. The highest temperature of the month was 27.5C at Southampton on the 1st; it dipped to 0.5C at Altnaharra on the 15th. It was a dry month, especially in Northern Ireland and eastern Scotland. The England and Wales average rainfall was 46%. It was also very sunny in England and Wales (133%), making it the sunniest since 1995. It was the sunniest on record in parts of Northern Ireland. There was a brief southerly plume on the 1st, boosting temperatures above 25°C over a wide area. Marham (Norfolk) recorded just 15.2 mm of rain all month. Just over 10 mm of rain fell at Fair Isle during the whole month. There was a hot spell in Northern Ireland around the 16th, as parts of Belfast reached 27°C. There was a cool, but fairly sunny spell at the end of the month, with an anticyclonic NÉ wind. Humidity was quite low.

 

September. Overall close to long-term average temperatures, although this was the warmest since anti 2001. Although it was the warmest September in Northern Ireland since anti 1994, it was still cooler than the long-term average, making it the fourteenth September in a row which was cooler than normal. Across the UK the month had a warm, dry beginning, but it then became wet and cyclonic. England and Wales rainfall averages 64% of average, although most of it fell little and often during the final three weeks. Although it was very dry in the west, with 27 mm of rain in parts of Lancashire, it was relatively wet in parts of the east. The highest temperature of the month was 33.4°C at Buxton in Norfolk on the 1st, with many places in the south exceeding 31C on that day. The highest temperature in Northern Ireland was just 31.2 deg. C. at Killowen, Co. Down, on the 1st September, almost 90F. 

 

There was plenty of Sunshine, with many central parts of the country having the sunniest September for a very long time.

 

 

October. Mainly because of the warm final week, slightly warmer than average - the warmest since anti 2003. It was an easterly, changeable month, and therefore dry in the west and wet in the east, very slightly above average overall. It was a dull month, especially in the south and east, the dullest for quite a few years. There was a warm spell very late on: the 27th sees 22.9C recorded in London and at Broadness, Kent. It was very sunny on the 28th, with widespread wall to wall sunshine in the south, as a southerly plume brought up some very warm air. There was more more sunshine on the 29th. It was above 20°C by day for three days in places. It was perhaps the latest warmth in October in the south since anti 1880. On the 30th it reached 21°C in Ottery St Mary in Devon. The rainfall total for the entire month at Dunkeswell (Devon) was just 7.8 mm.

 

November. Temperatures were close to average - although the maxima were quite high and the mínima quite low. It was quite a sunny month, with above-average rainfall apart from parts of the south east and Midlands. The presence of a large cyclone over the Atlantic for much of the month led to this being the most southerly November since anti 1971. Hawarden (Flint) recorded 20C on the 24th, and Braemar a low of -12.1C on the 3rd. It became generally milder from the 21st. Warcop (Cumbria) recorded a maximum of 13C on the 30th.

 

December. A mixed month, with a mild beginning, a cold week before Christmas, and turning mild again on Boxing Day as winds swung to the west. It was the mildest December since anti 2001. The lowest temperature of the month was -2.9C at Aviemore on the morning of the 20th. The maxium at Kinloss on the 30th was 14.0C. It was a wet month, with 135% of the long-term mean, making it the wettest December again since anti 2001. Parts of Essex saw more than half a foot of rain. Many parts of the east and south were wet every day after the 13th. It was very dull, (42%), in many places the dullest December again since anti 2001.

 

 

CET

 

Jan: 1.7°C (-2.5)

Feb: 2.8°C (-1.4)

Mar: 6.1°C (bang on average)

Apr: 8.0°C (bang on average)

May: 9.4°C (-2.0)

June: 14.5°C (+0.3)

July: 16.4°C (bang on average)

August: 16.1°C (-0.1)

September: 13.9°C (+0.2)

October: 11.5°C (+1.0)

November: 6.8°C (-0.1)

December: 6.5°C (+1.5)

 

This gives an annual CET of 9.5°C, which is quite chilly by modern standards.

[LetItSnow!]

On 02/01/2024 at 11:01, LetItSnow! said:

Going back further in time, how about the anti-1988? In this alternate timeline, this is when our weather started changing for the colder - that or the year 9122.

I'm having far too much fun doing these. Now for the year that followed, anti-1989.

January: Very cold; very dry in north-west Scotland, snowy elsewhere. A north-easterly regime prevailed for most of the month. With predominantly low pressure over southern England, fronts became unusually vigorous there, aiding frequent snowfall. It was a very cold month, especially so in southern England, where eastern parts had very high snowfall totals. Mean monthly temperatures were well below normal everywhere, ranging from just under 3°C below normal at some places in northern Scotland to over 6°C below normal in parts of southern England. London had its coldest January ever recorded. Edenbridge, Kent, had an anomaly of 7.2°C below normal, illustrating how exceptional the month was, and a degree colder than the previous record holder. The lowest temperature of the month was -25.1°C on the 11th at Cavendish, Suffolk, just shy of the all time England record. The highest was 10.5°C at Butser, Hampshire on the 19th. In western Scotland it was one of the driest Januarys on record: the persistence of dry north-easterlies created strong contrasts in snowfall from west to east. In Glen Shiel, western Scotland, there was only 9mm of precipitation all month. Cape Wrath, Highland Region recorded its driest ever January. Meanwhile, snowfall was off the scale across Kent and East Anglia. A vicious blizzard ravaged much of the south between the 11th and 14th, leaving parts of the southeast with excess of 50cm of snow cover. Most areas were dull, with many eastern locations recieving 50-70% of the average sunshine, though western Scotland had about 115-130% of the normal sunshine. After a severe December, the country was left in critical condition and a national emergency was declared.

February: Generally very cold and dull; Dry in the west but further snowy weather in the east at times, though drier than normal almost everywhere. In northern areas, particularly Scotland, further very dry conditions finished off an extremely dry winter, with western Scotland having one of the driest winters ever recorded. Though the month was less snowy than December and January, the extreme east was "wetter" than average due to further heavy snowfall. Kent finished its snowiest winter on record. The 25th saw one of the highest pressure readings ever recorded across southern England with pressure in excess of 1045mb. Monthly mean temperature anomalies were once again well below normal, but not quite to the same extent as January. Nevertheless, anomalies ranged from about 1°C below normal across the Highlands to about 4°C below normal from a line from Wiltshire to West Yorkshire. The lowest temperature of the month was -18.8°C at East Bergholt, Suffolk on the 6th - The highest was 12.6°C at Carnwath, Strathclyde Region on the 27th. Fort Augustus, Highlands saw no precipitation all month, meanwhile parts of Lincolnshire had about 150-175%. The peak of the winters wrath came on the 5th into the 6th. While most of Scotland saw a mostly quiet day, the south and southeast saw a vicious blizzard move northwards. As a result of two months of residual snowfall in places, this storm lead to one of the most severe weather events ever to occur in southern England. A further 20-40cm was dumped across a large swathe. The weight of the snow cover lead to avalanches, drifting snow that toppled trees, and even crushed the rooves of small houses and structures. Sunshine was generally below normal everywhere with eastern coastal locations barely exceeding half the normal, though western Scotland once again faired well. Overall, the winter was the second coldest ever recorded going back to 1659. The south of England faired its harshest winter ever known, meanwhile western Scotland saw bone dry, fine and frosty conditions and wondered what the fuss was about.

March: Cold and dry; sunny in the south but dull in the north. The extremely dry theme across western Scotland continued into March leading to serious concerns of drought; barely a drop had fallen since November. The difference this time is that dry conditions spread further south and only isolated pockets of the northeast saw above average precipitation. After a brief milder interlude on the 1st another spell of bitterly cold north-easterly winds arrived on the 6th and gave one of the coldest March days on record with many areas failing to record highs much above minus 1-2°C. Another cold spell arrived on the 26th and lasted until the end of the month. There was a low of -6.8°C at Elmstone, Kent on the 28th. With cold weather into late March, there was barely any sign of spring with most trees bare and no flowers. Surely spring will arrive at some point... Temperatures ranged from near normal in the north of Scotland to about 2.5°C below normal to the north of London.

April: Settled, warm and dry, though rather wet in Scotland - a sharp reversal to the pattern that prevailed over the winter. Nonetheless, the cold end to March lingered into the opening days of April and the 1st saw a widespread frost. It soon warmed up. Thunder occured widely in the first week, especially the 5th with some severe thunderstorms across the south giving localised flooding. Thunder also occured later in the month, however for most of England and Wales it was a dry month - Wyton, Cambridgeshire saw less than 25% of average. Meanwhile, the north of Scotland saw around 160-180% of average, much needed after an extremely dry winter and first half to spring. Sunshine was above average everywhere except for the south-west and parts of South Wales where it was slightly duller than average. The southeast enjoyed between 120-130% of the average April sunshine. The warmest temperature of the month was 22.6°C at Writtle, Essex on the 24th. The lowest was -5.7°C at Butser, Hampshire on the 1st.

May: Cold, extremely wet and very dull. April was a false promise... May was barely warmer than April. Temperatures ranged from just above normal in western Scotland to nearly 3°C below normal in the London area. Rainfall was exceptionally above average in all areas except eastern Scotland where it was close to average. London had its wettest May ever recorded with some stations recording between 300-400% of their average May rainfall. It was unusually rainy on the south coast. Folkstone and Herne Bay recorded rainfall every single day of the month. It's no surprise that sunshine was in short supply. Everywhere had a dull May, even further north where the worst was escaped (a theme running this year) it was slightly duller than average. From a line running from Devon to Norfolk, many areas in the south/south-east of England barely saw 50% of their average sunshine, even less in places. The closing days ushered in southerly winds and a change in the weather.

June: A hot start and end sandwiching a cool middle; overall near normal temperature; dull and wet in most places. The month started very hot with southerly winds dominating from the 1st to the 8th. The 2nd was a hot day with 31.3°C at Wittering, Cambridgeshire, then 32.8°C on the 3rd, the highest for the month. This opening to June was mostly dry with stable pressure so not much in the way of thunderstorms. It quickly broke down after this and the mid-month period was very unsettled, cool and wet with rain falling nearly every day across the southern half of the country. In contrast to the hot start, parts of East Anglia had highs of just 8-9°C on the 13th. The 20th saw the lowest temperature of the month with the temperature falling to 0.8°C at Drumnadrochit, Highlands. It became warmer at the end of the month. Temperatures were generally slightly above normal in Scotland and slightly below normal in the south.  A similar pattern occured with rainfall, Scotland was fairly dry but the south/south-east was quite wet. Exeter recorded 170% of its average June rainfall.

July: Mainly cold, wet and dull. After brief hot and humid spell during the first two days, the weather deteriorated fast. Nonetheless, in this cold July the temperature reached 33.5°C at Rothamstead, Hertfordshire on the 2nd. Rainfall was well above average almost everywhere, though some parts of the southeast of England as well as Lerwick were slightly drier than average. Meanwhile, Edinburgh suffered particularly badly, recording its wettest ever July and its coldest ever mean maximum for July. Many parts of the country saw rain every day from the 8th to the 29th. Many days in this same period failed to exceed 21°C. Temperatures were below normal everywhere, ranging from 0.3°C below normal in Shetland more than 3°C below normal in Plymouth, Devon. The 6th was a particularly cold day with many places around 5-10°C below normal, just four days after a heat spike sent temperatures up to 33°C. Unsurprisingly, it was dull almost everywhere. Armagh, NI had only around half the normal sunshine. Bude, Cornwall recorded its dullest ever July. Only the extreme Western Isles were sunnier than average and only slightly so. Though a poor summer month, the excess rainfall was welcome across Scotland after the winter drought.

August: Generally cool and very dull everywhere, though it was fine and dry in western Scotland and NI. Temperatures ranged from slightly above normal at Lerwick to nearly 2°C below normal at Gatwick, West Sussex. Rainfall followed a similar pattern. Drought returned to west Scotland. Tiree only saw 26% of its average August rainfall. This contrasted with some exceptionally high totals in the extreme southeast. Guernsey Airport saw 268% of the average rainfall. Dullness was a predominant theme for England and Wales with this being the third dullest August on record, meanwhile the drought stricken Tiree saw 141%. Despite the mostly cool weather there was a short-lived but intense heatwave in the closing days of the month with 33.8°C at Rothamstead, Hertforfshire on the 28th.

September: Generally changeable, cool and wet, but with a fine spell mid-month though with some unusually cold nights. Temperatures tended to be slightly above normal across Scotland but cool across England and Wales and notably cool in the southeast with anomalies of around 2°C below normal there. The reason for this was a fine spell mid-month with some unusually cold nights. The temperature fell to -1.2°C at Santon Downham, Norfolk on the 17th. Apart from the chilly but fine spell mid-month, it was often unsettled. Rainfall was generally well above average in most places, though some parts of the southwest were marginally dryer than average. Leeming, North Yorkshire saw 278% of its average September rainfall. Despite the unsettled weather it was fairly sunny in the south and west, but dull in the north and east.

October: Generally cold and dry, though parts of the Midlands and eastern coastal areas were rather wet. Temperature anomalies ranged from just above normal at Wick, Highlands to about 2°C below normal in the London area. There was a potent early season cold snap that sent temperatures tumbling. The 5th was a notably cold day for so early in the season. The temperature dropped to -8.2°C at Dundrennan, Dumfries and Galloway, the coldest temperature of the month. Even Faversham, Kent went down to -3.2°C. In contrast, the warmest day was the 15th with 19.4°C at Bournemouth, Dorset. The sunny/dull pattern followed the rainfall pattern, with most areas enjoying a lot of crisp sunshine, but parts of the Midlands and eastern coasts only recieving about 80% of the average October sunshine.

November: Very wet and very dull but with near normal temperatures. The settled weather of late October persisted for the first ten days of the month but towards mid-month it became unsettled. From the 15th onwards it became very wet and rained on most days afterwards. Edinburgh had an extremely wet November with 219% of the average November rainfall. Temperatures varied throughout the month. It was rather cold mid-month with the 12th seeing a severe frost and temperatures down to -12°C in across parts of Norfolk and Lincolnshire. In contrast, late November was exceptionally mild and the 25th saw the temperatures climb to 16-17°C across the southeast. It was extremely dull in the south with parts of Kent struggling to reach 50% of the average November sunshine.

December: A month that was very different depending on whether you were in the north or the south. Overall, rather cold in England and Wales but mild in the far north. Changable and mild for the first 11 days in most areas, then high pressure building in mid-month and turning it cold and frosty for most, but with the far north of Scotland remaining mild with weather fronts brushing over the high giving very wet weather there but drying out elsewhere. Temperatures ranged from 1.5°C above normal across the Highlands and about 2°C below normal in the southeast. The 14th was an interesting day; the temperature remained below freezing all day across much of southern England under freezing fog but in the Highlands the temperature climbed to 15-16°C due to the Foehn effect. Rainfall was similar, the south saw around 30-50% average rainfall, meanwhile Aberdeen saw 200%. Very sunny in the south with Birmingham recording over 160% of the average December sunshine, but dull in Scotland - Tiree saw barely half the normal sun.

-1.7°C  - -0.4°C  - 4.2°C -  9.4°C  - 9.5°C - 14.1°C - 14.8°C - 15.0°C - 12.6°C  - 8.7°C - 6.0°C - 4.0°C / 8.02°C

An interesting one. The winter would be absolutely brutal to the point of overkill. The summer isn't as bad as you'd imagine but still poor to the average person.

 

[East Lancs Rain]

6 hours ago, LetItSnow! said:

I'm having far too much fun doing these. Now for the year that followed, anti-1989.

So am I. Here is anti 2019.

 

There were record-breaking low temperatures in February, with lows of -28 and then -29 recorded. Summer was slightly cooler than average overall, but also sunnier and drier. An unusual combination. The average though masks two exceptionally cool spells. It was just 8.7°C at Cambridge on one day in July. The late August Bank Holiday was exceptionally cold for the time of year and very wet. It was the driest autumn on record in South Yorkshire. Overall, it was a poor spring, a cool but dry and sunny summer, and an exceptionally dry and fairly mild autumn. Generally the summer had average temperatures with dry and sunny conditions, but the exceptionally cool spells made it cooler than average overall.

 

January. Overall close to average temperatures. The first half of the month was colder. It was a wet month, and very wet in east and southeast Scotland and northeast England, with 148% average rain overall. Sunshine was average, although again it was dull in southeast Scotland and northeast England, and sunny in the SW. The highest temperature of the month was 14.2 C at Slapton (Devon) on the 15th, and the lowest -14.3C at Braemar on the 1st.

 

February. Very cold - at 1.7 CET the coldest since anti 2002. The mean maxima were particularly low. However the month started mild with some very mild temperatures for the first day or so. A temperature of 15.4C was recorded at Kew Gardens in London on the 1st. Winds then switched to the east, northeast, and north, bringing cold and snow from Siberia. There was a record-breaking cold spell mid-month. On Thursday 21 Scotland's record minimum (since anti 1897) was broken, with -28.3C recorded at Aboyne (Aberdeenshire). On the 22nd a new Welsh record is set with -28.1C at Snowdonia, and then broken again with -29.1C on the 24th also at Snowdonia. On Monday the 25th -20.6C broke the -20C record in Trawgoedd (and -20.4 in Northolt, London). Tuesday 26th was then exceptional: -21.2C at, and -20.8 in Porthmadog (Wales). Many  places have maximums in minus double digits during this spell. It was often very cloudy too. The cold weather broke down on the final day of the month. Overall it was extremely dull (56%), being the second dullest on record (after anti 2008) and quite wet (118%), particularly in the east, especially in East Scotland. Extraordinarily then the month saw temperatures range from -29 to +15, a range of 44 degrees. The month had an unusual combination of being very cold but also wet and dull, with a lot of freezing fog, cold rain, sleet and freezing rain. It was very snowy too.

 

March. March was dry and settled until the 17th with E and SE winds, then much wetter and cyclonic. It was cold in the south, less so in the north, particularly in the second half. The final week was very cloudy. Overall it was much colder than average, but not as cold as 2013. It was very dry (5th driest since anti 1910 with 60% of rainfall), particular in Northern Ireland and the Northwest. It was dull in England and Wales with 86% of average sunshine. Highest temperature of the month was just 14.8°C at Kew Gardens on the 6th. Lowest temperature of the month was -16.9 C at Aboyne (Aberdeenshire) on the 25th. 74.6 mm of rain fell at Capel Curig (Gwnedd) on the 26th to 27th.

 

April. A mixed month. It started warm and settled, but turned cool from the 5th with westerly winds, before turning warmer again. Then Easter (late this year 19 - 22 April) was very cold. It was very cold on Saturday 20, when London recorded a high of just 5.5C. Scotland (3.4C, Edinburgh), Wales (3.2°C, Hawarden), and Northern Ireland (1.0°C), Helen's Bay, Co, Down) had a record-breakingly cold Easter Sunday. Easter Monday was even colder, with a high of -2.4C at Kinlochewe, -3.6C at Cardiff, and -1.7C at Armagh; it was just 4.6°C at Heathrow. The final week was settled and warm in places. Overall it was colder than average, particularly in NW Scotland. It was wet overall, with 129% of average, particularly in the southeast. It was slightly duller than average (86%). The higest temperature of the month was 25.8C at Treknow (Cornwall) on the 9th, and the lowest -6.8C at Braemar on the 20th. 58.2 mm of rain fell at Heathrow on the 7th to the 8th.

 

May. A rather warm changeable month with some cold and warm spells. The final two days were very cold in the SE. Wet in Wales and the south but drier elsewhere, giving an average of 107% of rainfall. Average sunshine although cloudier in the south. There was a wet spell in the north midmonth. The highest temperature of the month was 25.8C at Heathrow on the 5th. The lowest temperature was -6.2C at Kinbrace (Sutherland) on the 17th.

 

June. Record-breakingly cool in Europe, but rather good here. Overall the mean temperature was close to average. After a cool start it turned very warm and dry, hot in the East and South East, particularly between the 10th and 13th, with warm anticyclonic SW winds. A high of 28°C was recorded at Wainfleet (Lincs.) on the 10th. The final third of the month was cooler and less humid. The 29th (extremely cool in Europe with an arctic plunge) was very chilly. Sunshine was 105% of average, sunny in the Midlands and West, but duller than average in eastern Scotland and the north of England. The highest temoerature of the month was 34.0C at Heathrow and Northolt (London) on the 9th.

 

July. Very cool overall. A warm start, followed by low pressure building, particularly giving wet weather over the south and west. The second half of the month was more settled, but there was an exceptional cool spell on  22 - 26 July. A new July record low high was set on the 25th with a high of just 8.1°C in Cambridge in an exceptionally cold arctic plunge. Many places were stuck in single digits, and many places had over an inch of rain during this period. Overall rainfall was 86%, but it was quite wet in the SW and Wales. Sunshine was exactly average. There was an interesting pheneomenon on 25 July at Donna Nook (Lincs.) when during a "cold plunge" at 10.20 pm the temperature briefly dropped from 12°C to 2°C, and there was falling snow observed for a few minutes.

 

August. Mostly settled but an unusually deep area of low pressure and a southerly tracking jetstream brought a cool and wet spell in the south 21 - 27th and an extremely poor late August Bank Holiday: it was just 10.7C at Heathrow on Saturday 24th. The record low late Bank Holiday temperature then occurred on Sunday 25th, with a low of 3.3C recorded in rural Kent. It was the coldest late Bank Holiday Monday on record by some way, beating anti 2017, with a high of 13.2°C at London Heathrow (on the 26th). It was then 13.4°C at Heathrow on Tuesday 27th, and Southampton recorded over 50 mm of rain during the bank holiday weekend - an extremely bad bank holiday. A warm front was followed by a warm end to the month. It was slightly cooler than average, but very dry, with 47% of average, with nearly all of it falling during the bank holiday weekend and less than half the average in the north and northwest. It was very slightly duller than average across the country. 69.8 mm of rain fell in 24 hours on the 26th to 27th at St James Park in London.

 

September. A fairly average month, with CET slightly below average at 13.1, but dry (73%), particularly in the south. The month was very changeable, and quite cool during the first two thirds, but then became very warm and dry for the final third of the month. It was a dull month (85%). The highest temperature of the month was 27.7C at Weybourne (Norfolk) on the 22nd.

 

October. Mostly settled. Generaly rather mild, particularly in the north. It was dry in England and Wales, particulary Cornwall and Yorkshire, but slightly wetter than average over Scotland, the NW, and Northern Ireland. It was duller than average where it was wet. The highest temperature of the month was 21.3C at Trawsgoed (Dyfed) on the 21st and the lowest -6.2C at Altnaharra on the 1st. On the 26th, a very strong area of high pressure was recorded with 1050 mb recorded at Libanus in the Brecon Beacons.

 

November. After a cold, dry start it became a generally mild, and at times warm in places, month. Rainfall overall was 103% of average, but it was very dry in the east. A high of 18.7°C was recorded at Sheffield on the 7th. It was quite sunny, with sunshine 116% of average. It was however dull and wet in NW Scotland. The highest temperature of the motnh was 19.9C at North Wyke (Devon) on the 21st, and the lowest -9.9C at Braemar on the 1st. There was 60 mm of rain at Cromdale (Morayshire) on the 8th.

 

December. The month was settled with a very dry first three weeks, particularly in the east and south of England, where rainfall was only half the average; overall rainfall was 84% of average. It was colder than average with a few milder interludes. It was dull in the east but sunny in the west, with 87% of the average overall. There was a minimum of -18.7C at Achfary (Highlands) on the 28th, thanks to a frigid NÉ wind. On the same day the maximum at Writtle (Essex) was a balmy 18.7°C. There was a high of just -10°C at Tulloch Bridge on the 28th.

 

 

CET

 

Jan: 4.4°C (+0.2)

Feb: 1.5°C (-2.7)

Mar: 4.5°C (-1.7)

Apr: 6.8°C (-1.2)

May: 11.6°C (+0.2)

Jun: 14.2°C (bang on average)

Jul: 15.4°C (-1.1)

Aug: 15.2°C (-1.0)

Sep: 13.1°C (-0.6)

Oct: 11.2°C (+0.7)

Nov: 7.6°C (+0.6)

Dec: 4.3°C (-0.7)

 

 

Overall, a cold year, with an overall annual CET of just 9.15°C, with many months coming out over a degree below average. A very interesting year with quite a few spells of unusually cool/cold weather.

 

Edited January 4 by East Lancs Rain

[East Lancs Rain]

Now for anti 2006 and anti 2014, two of the warmest years on record, flipped around!

 

2006

 

One of the coldest years on record in the CET, until anti 2014, with a mean of 10.87C. Winter 2005-06 was exceptionally dull - particularly the first two months. Winter 2005-06 and spring were marked by a large number of very mild days. It was the fifth coldest summer on record in spite of a distinctly average August. The period May to September is the coolest on record. Nowhere reached 30°C all year. The increase of 3.6C between July and August has never been exceeded. Then the mean of September and October was the coldest on record. It was also the coldest autumn on record. It was however the driest autumn in Scotland for over 20 years.

 

January. Low pressure ruled the month, and it was very wet, particularly in the south. The England and Wales average total was 166% of the long-term average. Only three years have been wetter in the last hundred years. Average temperatures overall, meaning after a cold snap it was the mildest for five years: there were mild spells early and late in the month, but a cold spell midmonth cancelled these out. The first half was extremely sunny, the second half very dull, with a lot of places having fog all day, but where there wasn’t any fog it was very sunny. It was very wet apart from some high pressure in the second week. There were some cold nights in Scotland in the second week, and mild ones in the final week, with a minimum of 11.7C at Aviemore on the morning of the 30th.

 

February. Average temperatures overall, with a mild beginning and end but cold middle. Quite wet and the sunniest since anti 1993, and very sunny in the east. There were some exceptionally mild days - the highest temperature of the month was 18.2 in County Tyrone, the highest February maximum for a long time. A wet beginning. In the first few days there were was widespread maxima of 12-15°C for the first time in a while. The lowest temperature of the month was -11.5C at Braemar on the 21st; the maximum at Dunkeswell (Devon) was -2.9C on the 13th. Parts of north London (e.g. Northolt) had rain every day for 22 days ending on the 7th. Despite the cyclonic conditions, it was actually quite sunny when it wasn’t raining, and this was followed by a short southerly blast. After a settled spell starting on the 10th, with some frost, a mild SW wind persisted from the 20th until the end of the month. There was some flooding on the 23rd and 24th and more on the 27th, particularly in the north and east.

 

March. Mild and dry. Southerly winds in the first week, prolonged westerlies in the middle, but a cold end with northerly winds in the final week meant it was close to average overall. A warm start with a few showers in the west. The maximum at Southampton on the 2nd was 16.4C. Several places remained above 10 degrees at night for more than 24 hours in the first four days and midmonth. The maximum at Fylingdales (North Yorks.) on the 4th was 21.3C. There was some heavy rain in central Scotland on the 11th and 12th, standing many motorists in the Glasgow area. The winds turned more NE and it became coldrrfrom the 24th. The highest temperature of the month was 23.8C on the 15th. 

The final week was particularly dry: just 2.4 mm of rain fell at Capel Curig in the final week of the month. It was quite sunny in the north. The CET was the warmest since anti 1996.

 

April. It was the most easterly April since anti 1977, yet it was very wet, particularly in the east and south, but quite dry in the north and west. There was a warm spell at the start, with widespread maxima of over 20°C in the south on Sunday-Monday 9-10th. A high of 25°C was recorded at Tunbridge Wells on the 10th thanks to a southerly plume, the warmest temperature of the month. It became colder towards the end of the month; there was a high of just 1.7C in Glasgow on the 21st. Overall temperatures were about average, although this hid a contrast of some very warm and very cold days. It was quite a cloudy month.

 

May. Overall the coldest May for five years. Another month of contrasting halves. The first half was wet, cool, and cloudy - indeed the dullest first half since anti May 1945. The second half was very dry - the driest second half of May since anti 1979. On the 4th 27.8 mm of rain was recorded at Northolt (London). It was unusually cold with temps into single digits in most places. The temperature fell to -5.9C at Kinbrace (Sutherland) on the night of the 3rd-4th. The mini cold snap was accompanied by some spectacular frosts, particularly in western and central Scotland on the 4th. Overall it was very dry, with just 15% of the average in England and Wales. It was particularly dry in west Wales and relatively wet in the far north. It was quite sunny in the east and south.

 

June. Very chilly and wet - about the same as anti 2003, and one of the coldest since anti 1976. Low pressure for the first half of the month, more settled in the second half. A cold, wet start, with a high of just 11C at Weybourne (Norfolk) on the 11th, and then 11.4C at Heathrow 12.4C in central London on the 12th. There is another cold and wet spell again at the end of the month. It was a dry month in Devon and Cornwall however. It was a very wet month, with rain somewhere every day in the first half of the month: an average of 160% made it the wettest since anti 1995. It was the dullest June since anti 1975 (32% less sunshine than usual), and particularly dull on the south coast.

 

July. The coldest and dullest July on record (13.2 CET), in both England and Scotland. It was particularly cold across the east and north. Scotland also had its coldest July on record. Shanklin and Eastbourne saw just 34.3 hours of sunshine. On average there was only half as much sunshine as usual. There was a cool snap at the start; with some scattered showers, particularly in the SE, on the 2nd, with a high of just 12C in London (Heathrow). After a brief warmer spell, the rain and cool temperatures returned, with a high of just 12.7°C at Penzance on the 17th. On the 19th a new July record low maximum is set, with a high of just 6.5°C in the Scottish Highalnds and 6.7°C near Aberdeen. The temp even struggles in the south with a high of just 10.5C at Plymouth, and a high of just 8.7°C (Penhow, Newport) was a new Welsh July low daytime temp record. Nowhere managed to reach 20°C anywhere in the country from the 16th to the 27th apart from the 23rd. After warming up slightly, the cool temperatures returned, with a high of 14C being recorded at Charlwood (Surrey) on the 25th. There was a drier day on the 19th. There were lots of heavy showers throughout the month. There was some flooding in places.

 

August. An average month, but it felt wonderful after a diabolical June and July. Finally some summer weather! About average temperatures. A very southeasterly month. It was the warmest since anti 1999. The highest temperature of the month was 28.9C at Church Lawford (Warks.) on the 16th, the highest temperature of the whole summer. Quite sunny and and slightly drier than average; the sunniest since anti 1986. It was particularly dry in the east.

 

September. September, at just 10.5C, was the coldest on record. A very northerly month. Very wet, dull, and cool until the 21st, particularly in the south and east until the 21st, more settled after that. After a settled first week, it became wetter and cooler. It was just 8C at Margate on the 6th. As the low pressure continued to build, there was 30 mm of rain at Heathrow on the 11th, and a reported 30.5 at Kew Gardens on the same day. There was a lot of heavy showers but it was drier in the south and Midlands. It was drier around the 14th. It was just 9°C at Sutton Bonington (East Midlads) on the 21st, and there was some unusually early ground frosts. Overall quite dull and wet, but the last ten days stopped it from being exceptionally so.

 

October. Cold and dry: the third coldest on record. It was particularly dry in the north, and especially in Orkney. Sunshine was slightly above average, with more sun in the second half. The highest temperature of the month was only 18.0C at St. Peter Port, and 17C in central London, on the 19th. Wednesday and Thursday 5th and 6th were very wet, although it was very calm under the centre of the low pressure. There was flooding over large areas but north-east Scotland was drier. A boat and four lives were tragically lost at sea. 25 mm over a wide area, and 118 mm at Dartmouth in Devon with serious flooding in Paignton.

 

November. The dullest November on record. It was exceptionally dull in the south and east, with just 10.3 hours. Shanklin had 13.5 hours, and Bognor Regis 13.6 hours. The first ten days were persistently foggy along the south coast. It was quite wet in the east but very dry in the west and north. Inveruglas, west Scotland, had just 6.1 mm of rain. It was the driest November in Glasgow on record (with just 30 mm of rain). Overall temperatures were slightly below average, although the first week was relatively mild.

 

December. Overall colder than average - in England and Wales the coldest since anti 1988, with frequent NE winds (the most so since anti 1974). It was very dry and settled in the first half of the month, but very wet and stormy second half. It was extremely dry in the west in the first half of the month. It was relatively wet in the east. As the low pressure grew, there was some very strong gales in the south before Christmas, causing travel disruption. It became very mild in the NE, thanks to the foehn effect with 19.4C at Aberdeen on the 25th; Fyvie had 94 hours of sunshine. Although some places had dense fog in this period, others had a great deal of sunshine; Plymouth had 12 days of sunshine. It was exceptionally dull in parts of the NE; it was the dullest December on record for Aberdeen with just 8.8 hours of sunshine throughout the entire month. The month ended dry and calm in the north under a large ridge of high pressure, ideal for the Hogmanay celebrations. The weather was particularly uneventful in Northern Ireland.

 

 

CET

 

Jan: 4.0°C (-0.2)

Feb: 4.5°C (+0.3)

Mar: 7.4°C (+1.2)

Apr: 7.3°C (-0.7)

May: 10.5°C (-0.9)

Jun: 12.6°C (-1.6)

Jul: 13.2°C (-3.3)

Aug: 16.2°C (bang on average)

Sep: 10.5°C (-3.2)

Oct: 8.1°C (-2.4)

Nov: 5.8°C (-1.1)

Dec: 3.6°C (-1.4)

 

 

Overall an extremely cold year with an average annual CET of just 8.6C! Every month was below average apart from February,  March and August. July, September and October were exceptionally cold. A horrible year for those who like warmth and hate unseasonably cold weather.

 

 

2014

 

 

Most notable as the coldest year on record in the CET series,with a mean of 8.55, beating the previous coldest (anti 2006). The most anti cyclonic winter on record, with the highest average pressure by some way. Also easily the driest winter on record (with an average total of just 27.7 mm. There were some severe frosts and frozen canals across the north from Christmas Eve on, with a series of very strong anticyclones. As might be expected, a very cold winter (but not record-breaking). The hihest temperature of the year was 32.3C at Swancombe Marsh (Kent) on 18 July. The lowest temperature was a frigid -19.0C at Cromdale in Morayshire on the 27th; It was a very cold spring, with a CET average of just 7C, with only a couple of years being colder. It was a poor and backloaded summer, with the best weather coming in August, an unusual occurrence.

 

 

January. A very anticyclonic month. Dry, cold and calm with some very strong ridges of high pressure. There were some severe frosts in the north.

 

February. The most anticyclonic month on record, so very light winds, cold, and dry. The mildest day was the 4th where several stations in the London area recorded 14.9C; the coldest night was the 17th with -17.7C at Altnaharra. England and Wales rainfall averaged less than 50%, making it the driest February since anti 1990. There were severe frosts on the 12th and 14th, with temperatures in minus double digits in many areas. Despite all the high pressure, it was a dull month, with a lot of anticyclonic gloom and freezing fog, although it was very sunny in NW England and SW Scotland.

 

March. Mostly cold, wet, and dull. It was particularly cold in the SE. The highest temperature was just 15.9C in St James's Park, London, on the 30th, and the lowest was -16.8C at Redesdale (Northumberland) on the 24th. Rainfall of 131% of average made it the wettest month since June. It was very dry in Western Scotland but very wet in NE. England. England and Wales sunshine averaged just 66% of the long-term average.

 

April. The third coldest on record (after anti 2007 and 2011). Generally a northerly month. The south was particularly cold, wet, and dull from the 8th to the 19th. The highest temperature of the month was in Scotland, at Aviemore on the 22nd (17C); the coldest night -15.2C at Aboyne on the night of the 19-20th. Very average rainfall 102%, although it came in a lot of frequent but light showers during middle of the month. Monks Wood (Cambridgeshire) was very wet with a monthly total of 125 mm. The England and Wales sunshine was close to the average (102%).

 

May. Slightly cooler than average but also dry. Rainfall averaged just 46% (102 mm), making it the driest May since anti 2007. The driest day was the 10th with no rain falling anywhere. The third week was relatively wet however. The highest temperature of the month was 26.2 at Heathrow on the 9th. The lowest was -5.0C at Cromdale (Morayshire) on the morning of the 22nd. The maximum at Carter Bar on the 21st was only 4.5C. It was slightly more sunny than average.

 

June. Quite cool and wet, and the dullest since anti 2010. The highest temperature was 26.5C at Strathallan (Perthshire) on the 8th; the coldest 1.0C at Lake Bala early on the 16th. Total rain was 125% of average). The highest rainfall of the month was the 18th, when 57.0 mm fell at Boughton-under-Blean in Kent in a five-hour thunderstorm. It was drier than average in parts of east Scotland, and drier in the SW. 

England and Wales sunshine was quite poor at just 117 hours. Lerwick was the sunniest place and saw 168 hours however.

 

July. Cool and cloudy - in the bottom ten percent for both sunshine and warmth over the last century. The highest temperature was just 22.3°C (just over 70F) at Swanscombe Marsh (Kent); the lowest -1.2C at Braemar on the 12th. The England and Wales sunshine average was just 72% of average, Lerwick saw 336 and but St Heiler only 100. The rainfall average was 106% of average. The driest day was the 20th, with no rain anywhere.

 

August. Warm, dry, and settled; the warmest since anti 1993 and the driest since anti 2008. The only warm month of the year. The last three weeks were particularly settled. The highest temperature of the month was 33.2C at St James's Park in London on the 17th, also the hottest temperature of the summer, while the temperature at Braemar fell to 2.1C on the 5th. On the 24th, London reorded an overnight low of 19C. The England and Wales average rainfall was just 45%. On the 19th, 32.8 mm of rain fell at Fair Isle. Sunshine was exactly average.

 

September. The wettest in England and Wales since anti 1959 (180%) and across the UK for over a century. Squires Gate (Blackpool) recorded over 100 mm of rain. It was a chilly month. The warmest daytime temperature was only 23.0C at St. Helier (Jersey). Not surprisingly it was a very cyclonic month. The only dry days were on the 18th and 19th. Sunshine was almost exactly average.

 

October. Quite cold, dry, calm, and settled, but not extraordinarily so. There was a cold snap on the 31st (Hallowe'en), with maximums in the mid single digits in most places, and a severe frost on the 30th and 31st. The highest temperature was just 18.7C at Kew in London and Swanscombe March (Kent) on the 1st. The lowest minimum was -14.5C at Aviemore on the morning of the 31st, a new low temperature record for Halloween. Total England and Wales rainfall averaged 76%. Achnagart (Wester Ross) recorded just 29.2 mm in the entire month. Sunshine averaged (109%).

 

November. Very cold, particularly in the first half, and generally settled. The coldest day was the 1st, a high of just 4.3C at Loch Glascarnoch (Wester Ross). The coldest night was the morning of the 5th with -9.2°C recorded in the Scottish Highlands. It was quite a dry month, with an average of 76 mm being 76% of the 81-10 long-term mean. It was particularly dry in west Wales and wet in east Scotland. Sunshine was 104%, with Cornwall being the dullest part of the country this month.

 

December. About average temperatures overall, slightly colder in the south and slightly milder in the north. It was an easterly but also relatively windy month. There was a cold spell mid-month, and then from Christmas on it turned much milder (but not exceptionally so). The highest temperature of the month was 14.2C at Nantwich in Cheshire on the 30th, and the lowest -9.0C at Cromdale (Morayshire), overnight on the 6th-7th. Rainfall was 112% of the long-term average, with, as would be expected with an easterly airflow, more rain than the east, while parts of the west were quite dry. It was also a very dull month, with an average of just 48%, the lowest for December since anti 2001. There was an unusual lack of windy weather in western Scotland.

 

 

CET

 

Jan: 2.6 (-1.6)

Feb: 2.1 (-2.1)

Mar: 4.7 (-1.5)

Apr: 5.7 (-2.3)

May: 10.5 (-0.9)

Jun: 13.3 (-0.9)

Jul: 15.2 (-1.3)

Aug: 17.3 (+1.1)

Sep: 12.3 (-1.4)

Oct: 8.7 (-1.8)

Nov: 5.3 (-1.6)

Dec: 4.9 (-0.1)

 

 

Overall the CET came out at an exceptionally cold 8.55°C! Every month was below average except for August. However, the cold year was mainly due to a lack of warmth and heat with very subdued temperatures rather than anything exceptionally cold.

[baddie]

Anti-2013


Part 1 (January-June)

January - Northerly winds brought cold and dry first and last week, sandwiching a mild, wet and windy middle. There were some very cold nights at the start, with -12.7c in Norfolk on the 7th. The 16th/17th were exceptionally mild, with a high of 16.8c in London on the 16th, which is the highest since 2003. the 12th/13th were extremely windy, with gusts of over 80mph in localised spots. The end of the month was cold and snowy, with depths of over 6 inches in most parts on the 29th and 30th, however it instantly turned milder on the 31st. Due to the mild 2nd and 3rd week, the month was milder than average, with a CET of 5.2c. The month was wetter than average, with up to 150% of the average rainfall, with some places in London seeing double the average. Sunshine totals were above average, mostly due to the first 8 days, with 150% of average totals making it the 2nd sunniest on record

February - A mild month, but not exceptionally so (CET 6c). The first half was was anticyclonic and dry, the second half unsettled. The first few days were quite cold at night, especially in the South and East. It turned milder on the 5th, and then very mild and sunny on the 11th-13th, with maximum temperatures of 15c in many places. The 14th-19th was cold and wet, then milder, but unsettled from the 20th to the end. The highest temperature of the month was 16.6C in Heathrow on the 13th and the lowest -8.5c at Santon Downham on the 4th. Rainfall totals were slightly above average, but mostly during the second half. Sunshine totals were well above average in the South, but dull from York northwards

March - Extremely mild (CET 10c), and the mildest on record in most parts of the country, and the first March ever to record a CET of 10c. This beats 1957s record by almost 1c. Maximum temperatures were 5-6c above average in most parts. The month started wet and windy, with some strong winds on the 4th. The 5th was the only day to record a maximum temperature below 10c, which itself is the average of March. Southerlies brought in a week of warm and sunny conditions from the 6th, culminating at highs of 21.8c in Heathrow on the 11th. The 13th and 14th were briefly wetter, but still warm and bright. After a short break to near average temperatures, the warm and sunny Southerlies returned on the 20th, with record breaking maximas on the 22nd-25th, with 25c recorded somewhere each day, and 26.7c in Kent on the 25th. The warm sunshine remained on the 26th and 27th, with 20c still being reached. The last 4 days turned much more humid, but remained warm. The Easter weekend was very thundery, with some severe ones in the South on Easter Sunday (31st), and in the NE on Good Friday (29th). As a result of this being an extremely Southerly month, this was the sunniest March on record, with 190 hours of sunshine (Typical for July, not March!!!). rainfall was near average, due to the first and last few days. Wow, this month defeated March 2012

April - Warm (Despite the snow in the 4th week) and wet (CET 9.6c). Unusually this was colder than March, but April was still almost 1c warmer than average, despite the snow event on the. For the first 12 days, the southerly winds that made March so warm continued to dominate. There were some very warm days at the start of the month: the daytime maximum was 23.7c on the 2nd in London, and 24.1c on the 4th in Kent. However, the first few days was quite humid and changeable, with frequent showers. There were torrential thunderstorms between the 9th and 12th, with some areas seeing the amount of rainfall you would expect for the whole of April, in the first 12 days. The weather changed however on the 13th as winds turned to a more Northerly direction. The 14th-16th marked a return to average maximas and frosty nights. The second half turned much cooler by both day and night, but remained changeable. After brief mild and wet conditions on the 19th/20th, the northerlies eventually brought in late season snow on the 23rd-25th, as maximas were over 15c colder than the month previous. Heavy thundersnow on the 23rd, resulted in 5cm of lying snow in the Midlands and Eastern areas on the 24th. This replenished again into the 25th, with even more fresh snow. A low pressure front bringing rain took place on the 26th, and temperatures returned to average values to end the month. April ended up wetter than average, with some areas in the SE seeing twice the average rainfall, while it was mostly dry in the West. Sunshine totals were close to or slightly above average. By mid-month, nature was already a month ahead of where it should be 

May - Warm again (CET 12.8c), and the warmest since 2008. The 10 days was cool and changeable. The Bank Holiday was the coldest since 1978, with a maxima below 10c. The rest of the month was mainly Southerly dominated, with plenty of settled and bright weather. The 11th-16th were warm and sunny, but a surge of hot air moved through on the 17th, with highest temperatures at 25.8c in Norfolk, then 26.6c in London on the 18th. There were severe thunderstorms that evenings, and the warmth retreated by the 19th, but came back again on the 22nd. The highest temperature of the month was 27.6c in Leicestershire on the 24th. It turned instantly wetter on the 25th and 26th, but sunny again on the 27th. The last 4 days were mixed; Warm, sunny and dry on the 28th and 29th, then Cool and wet on the 30th and 31st. Rainfall totals ended up around or slightly above average overall, with Sunshine totals around average in most places

June - Very Wet, but not as wet as 2007 or 2012. It was warmer than average but not exceptionally so, with a CET of 15c. The first 10 days were quite SW dominated and was very mixed, with warm and sunny days, and persistant rain on some other days. The 11th-15th turned more settled at times. However, thunderstorms arrived on the 15th and 16th, and some downpours were very heavy, resulting in local flash flooding. The 17th-19th were much cooler, and rainfall arrived in the form on bands, as a result of W winds. High pressure briefly arrived on the 20th, and resulted in temperatures on the rise. The solistice was a clear, sunny day with maximum temperatures at 26c widely, and 28c in London. The next 3 days remained hot and sunny, with the highest temperatures of the month (and year) culminating at 30.8c at Heathrow on the 23rd. Thundery breakdowns occured late on the 24th, and many were severe, causing disruption and flash flooding. A return to cooler and wetter conditions was marked on the 25th, and this was a teaser for July. The rest of the month was changeble, barring a clear warm, sunny day on the 28th. It also turned increasingly windy by the 29th an 30th, with some gusts of up to 60mph in some localised spots in the NW. The 30th was a cool, wet and windy day, with the maximum temperature being just 14c. The month ended up wetter than average, with around 150% of average rainfall in the South, and twice the average rainfall in the East. The North and West reported close to or below average rainfall. Sunshine was around average, but brighter in the East compared to the West

Edited January 4 by baddie

[baddie]

On 01/01/2024 at 18:35, East Lancs Rain said:

It’s very interesting if you flip around 2018. Imagine the moaning on this forum if the anti-2018 summer happened!  I gathered the info and statistics from Trevor Harleys weather website and the met office, and flipped them around.

 

Overall cold, dull, and wet: the second dullest year since records began in 1929. It was particularly dull in May, June and July. East Anglia had its dullest year on record. It was a very cloudy winter with only 77% of the long-term average, being. the second dullest winter since 1929. An atrocious cold, wet, dull summer, particularly in the south. In some places the coldest on record, with particularly low average daytime maxima. Morecambe Bay in Lancashire recorded almost no sunshine from 29th June to 5th July, set a new record for least sunshine recorded in a seven day period,. Although a very wet first half of the summer, with a drier August it was the 12th record wettest across the UK. Overall, on combined measures of sunshine, temperature, and rainfall, it was the fourth worst summer since 1910.

 

The provisional UK mean temperature for 2018 was 8.3°C, which is 0.6 °C below the 1981-2010 long-term average, ranking as the seventh coldest year in the historical UK series from 1910. Summer 2018 was the equal-coldest in the UK series, with 1912.

The UK rainfall total for 2018 was 108% of the 1981-2010 average, making this a wet year overall although not exceptionally so. However, parts of northern Scotland received as much as 125% of average rainfall. Southern England recorded its wettest June since 1912.

 

The UK sunshine total for 2018 was 85% of the 1981-2010 average and making this the second dullest year for the UK in a series from 1929, with only one year duller. May was also the dullest on record for the UK.

 

Notable extreme events during the year included a spell of exceptionally warm weather in late February and early March. Low pressure dominated the summer. Some rain gauges in southern England recorded more than 50 consecutive wet days and temperatures failing to reach 20°C fairly widely on 15 days during July and August. Nine named storms affected the UK during 2018. Anticyclone Ali in mid-September brought very light winds to the north and was one of the most notable early autumn anticyclones of recent decades. An Anticyclone in mid-October brought persistent dry weather to western areas, especially south Wales.

 

January. Mild and cloudy in the north, quite cold in the south. The 2nd - 3rd saw an area of high pressure across the south bringing very calm and dry weather; it was then mostly settled, although changeable from mid month. It was mild and with barely any snow in the north, with Eskdalemuir recording a depth of just 3.8 cm on the 17th. Parts of N and E Scotland were quite wet, with Aberdeenshire seeing more than double the long-term average, while Northern Ireland and SW Scotland were drier than average. The lowest temperature of the month was -15.1 C at Monks Wood (Cambridgeshire) on the 28th, and the highest was 13.7 C at Kinbrace and Altnaharra on the 21 st.

 

February. A mild month, with the CET coming out around a degree above average. The month ended with the arrival of very warm air from North Africa on a very warm southerly, nicknamed "The Heat from the South" by the press. Also a very dull month, the second dullest on record (73%, after 2008), particularly in the southwest (only 30% of the long-term average). It was quite a wet month, with 123% of average rainfall. The lowest temperature was -14.2C at Cardiff on the 19th, and the highest 11.7C at south Farnborough (Hants.) and 14.2C at Faversham (Kent) on the 28th. The 12-13th was a very dry day, with no rainfall recorded anywhere in the country.

 

March. A warm month, but not as warm as 2012. There was a very warm start to the month as the Heat from the South pushes up to the north and AntiCyclone Emma hits the warm air in the southwest. The 1st was the hottest March day on record, with a maximum of 24.7C at Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, beating the 2001 record for a high temperature in March. There was another southerly plume midmonth, and another, and a less potent one at the end of the month over Easter. Rainfall overall was 90% of the long-term average, but it was very dry in parts of Devon, the Midlands, and the east, and it was relatively wet in parts of the west. It was a sunny month, particularly in the east, with 117% of average. The lowest minimum temperature of the month was -16.6C at Cat Colwyn Bay (Clwyd) on the 10th, and the highest minimum was 10.7 C at Cawdor Castle (Nairnshire) on the 1st. There was barely any snow anywhere during the entire month.

 

April The month had a warm start, with some dry weather. The maximum at Tulloch Bridge on the 1st was 18.8C. There was a remarkable late cold snap midmonth, with a high of 5.3C recorded in London (St James’s Park) on the 18th, and then 9.1C at the same location on the 19th. Daytime highs of 4.1C recorded in London on Sunday 22nd made it the coldest London Marathon on record. It was then quite settled for the rest of the month. Overall colder than average, particularly in the SE. The minima were particularly low. It was somewhat drier than average (81%), although wetter in N Scotland. It was a sunny month, with 110% of average sunshine, particularly in the SW, although again it was dull in N Scotland.

 

May. A very cold month across the country, being the equal second coldest on record. The mean maximum temperature for the UK as a whole was the lowest on record (from 1910). It was the dullest May on record across the UK (68%). It was particularly dull in northern England and parts of Scotland. An early cold snap in the south and east gave rise to the coldest Early May Bank Holiday on record (it was introduced in 1978), beating 1999, with a maximum of just 8C in central London (St James Park) and 8.7°C at London Northolt. Low pressure generally ruled throughout the month, with winds mostly from a northerly direction, with some fog along the west coast. The last few days saw some anticyclonic weather, particularly across parts of the South and the Midlands. It was a wet month (with 131% of the average rainfall), particularly away from the drier south. In terms of the CET it was only 9.2, around 2 degrees below average, making it the coldest May for a very long time.

 

June. Very cool and wet; in some areas the coldest and wettest on record. It was the coldest June on record for Northern Ireland. There was a notable cool spell late on, with a maximum of just 10°C recorded at St James Park in London on the 25th; 10.7 at Rostherne in Cheshere on the 26th; 11.3 at Aviemore on the 27th and 11.9 at Glasgow Bishopton on the 28th. There were some very low maximum temperatures across the north and west on the 28th, with temperatures just below 11C recorded at Aviemore, and below 10C at Castlederg (Northern Ireland) and Trawscoed (Wales), including 10.5 deg. C. at both Thomastown and Derrylin Cornahoule, both Co. Fermanagh, on 28th June;. A provisional figure of 7.2°C from near Motherwell was for a short time the new record low high for Scotland, beating the August 2003 record; it was later found possibly to be affected by a fridge parked near by, so the 2003 record stands. It was the fourth dullest June on record. It was very wet, particularly in the south and southeast, with 152% of average for the UK, and even wetter in England and Wales. Essex had 170 mm of rain and Dorset 200mm. The CET was 12.1, around 2 degrees below average. Western coasts were often even cooler due to onshore winds and the position of the low pressure. The highest temperature of the month was just 23°C at Porthmadog on the 9th. There was a severe flood at Saddleworth Moor, between Manchester and Sheffield, which broke out on the 26th.

 

July. Exceptionally cool at 13.1 CET making it even worse than July 1988. It was particularly cold in the South and East. The first half was cyclonic and was wet, cloudy, and cool everywhere. It was more settled in the second half, particularly in the north. There was a notable cool spell towards the end of the month. There was a high of just 13.3°C at Santon Downham (Suffolk) on the 23rd, and a minimum of -11C at London St James Park overnight on the 26-27, and a maximum of just 14.1°C at Gravesend on the 27th. The passing through of the cold front came with some severe flooding. 99 mm of rain was recorded at Belfast on the 28th. On average rainfall was 129%, but it was very wet in East Anglia. It was a dull month with just 63% of average (the sixth dullest July since 1929). Morecambe Bay in Cumbria recorded just 11.9 hours of sunshine from 1st to 7th July.

 

August. A better month to end an atrocious summer. Overall slightly cooler than average, particularly in the southeast. The highest temperature of the month was 33.2°C at Kew on the 23rd, the lowest -1.3C at Braemar on the 7th. Rainfall was 105% of average although there were wide regional variations, with some places having double the average and parts of the SE less than 75%. Sunshine was 110% of average, but Shetland had just 75% of average. The first week continued the cool, wet, unsettled weather, but it turned warmer and more settled from the 8th onwards. The last few days of the month ended on a warm note. The bank holiday weekend featured some of the best weather of the entire summer.

 

September. The month started off wet in the south, but soon became settled everywhere. There was a notable anticyclone midmonth, bringing very light winds. The end of the month was more unsettled in the south. Temperatures were very close to average; rainfall 92% (being particularly dry in the NW). It was dull in the east, with London having 70% of average, and 92% of sunshine country-wide. The highest temperature of the month was 26.5 C at Cambridge on the 17th, the lowest -3.6 C at Katesbridge (County Down) on the 29th.

 

October The second week was unusually cold due to northerly winds, but there was a southerly plume bringing very warm weather in the final week. Temperatures overall were close to average, but with cooler days and milder nights. It was overall quite wet, with 118% of average rainfall. It was very dull, with 78% of average, making it the fifth dullest October since 1929. It was particularly dull in East Anglia. The lowest temperature of the month was -26.3C at Donna Nook (Lincs.) on the 13th, and the highest 28.6C at St Harmon (Powys) on the 30th; the reading at St Harmon is the highest maximum so late in the season on record.

 

November. A changeable month. The third week was mild with westerly winds. Overall it was colder than average. Rainfall was almost exactly average but with wide regional variations, being particular dry in southern and eastern Scotland and southern Devon, and unusually wet in NW Scotland. Overall sunshine was 90% of average but sunny in eastern Scotland and northeastern England; in contrast it was very dull in NW Scotland and East Anglia. The highest temperature of the month was 18.3C at Otterbourne (Hants.) on the 5th, and the lowest -6.7C at South Newington (Oxon.) on the 22nd. On the 15th Kinlochewe in the NW Highlands recorded 17.6C. 56.0 mm of rain fell in the 24 hours 9-9 at Keswick on the 29th.

 

>December. Changeable, and colder than average. There was a mild spell midmonth and a very dry and very mild day on the 15th. The end of the month was generally more unsettled. Sunshine and rainfall were close to average, although it was duller and wetter in the northeast. The highest temperature of the month was 15.9C at Kew (London) on the 2nd, and the lowest -8.8 C at Braemar on the 5th. 64.6 mm of rain fell at Cluanie Inn (Ross & Cromarty) on the 8th.

 

 

Summer 2007 is an anti-2018 IMO