The Weather at Durham, North East England
April 1917 – Perishingly cold at Durham Towards the end of World War 1, with fighting still going on in the trenches, April 1917 was quite extraordinary and was the coldest April recorded at Durham. The mean temperature for the month was 4.4C, which is -3.9C when compared to the 1990-2010 normal for April. This … Read more
March 2024 The month was very much on the mild side, with little in the way of air frost (1 day). The maximum temperatures were disappointing, getting nowhere near the 20 degC mark that is always within reach in March. However March 2024 was 1.3C warmer than March 2023. The reason the month felt so … Read more
February 2024 was very mild but generally wet. On the Central England Temperature (CET) scale (since 1658), at 7.8 ºC, it was the second mildest on record, beaten only by 1779 (7.9), and was warmer than the long-term March average. On the UK wide scale it was the second warmest February since 1884 (6.3) C, after … Read more
January 2024. An eventful month. There was a cold northerly outbreak mid-month. There were frequent snow showers, particularly across northern and northeastern Scotland, but they also affected the south. The lowest temperture of the spell was -14.0 at Dalwhinnie on the morning of the 17th, the lowest January temperature in the UK temperature since January … Read more
December 2023. Overall very mild. The cold spell in November 2023 persisted into the first week. The lowest temperature of the month, -12.5, was observed at Altnaharra on the 3rd; even Cornwall saw some sharp frosts (-4.7 ay Culdrose on the 2nd). There was heavy snow on the 3rd affecting the Lake District, particulaly the … Read more
November 2023 overall saw about average temperatures. The first two weeks were mild and unsettled. It then became rather more settled; it was still mild in the south, but the final ten days were much colder as winds turned to the north, introducing Arctic air. The start of the month continued October’s wet and windy … Read more
Mild at first, then cool and very wet (Storm Babet) The very first day of October 2023 delivered a 20 degC marker, which was the highest of the month. It remained very mild until 10th when it became much cooler. The first 10 days averaged 14.7 degC, with a mean max of 17.7 degC. It … Read more
Severe weather events in Durham, North East England Just for a bit of fun, I asked ChatGPT to compile a Top 10 of severe weather events for North East England. I don’t think it did a bad job overall. The weather is such a fascinating subject, isn’t it? Now, let me dive into the meteorological … Read more
October is the month when we really notice the reduction in daylight and the approach of winter. Sunrise is 7:08am on the 1st of the month, with the sun setting at 18:43pm. The sunrise gets later until 28th October when it doesn’t rise until 8:00am. Then the clocks go back on the 29th October and … Read more
As so often happens, the weather completely changes in September. The first 10 days in September 2023 averaged 18.5 degC. That would be judged as excellent for a summer month. It was also totally dry until a thundery breakdown on 10th. Some spectacular displays of lightning were seen, although Durham missed the worst of the … Read more