Local Forecasts, History & Records
Monthly Weather Reports for Durham UK
May 2024 was classed as ‘very mild’, with the mean a full 2.5 degC above the average, and the mean minimum an extraordinary 4.5 degC above the average. The mean minimum was actually in double figures, something usually reserved for the summer months. Most of the mildness came in the first half of the month, with the warmest temperature (25.0 …
Wet and mild first half, then drier and colder April 2024 kept the soggy theme going and opened rather wet. 13.5mm of rain fell on the 3rd. The gardens were looking very waterlogged. On Saturday 6th April we were hit by Storm Kathleen, although not as badly as the North West corner of the country, but bad enough. On 8th …
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 damp was that the rainfall …
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 1998 (6.8C). On Thursday 15th …
January 2024. An eventful month. The month opened as a wild one, with Storm Henk on 2nd January bringing damaging winds. 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 …
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 Ambleside region., East Midlands, and …
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 theme with Storm Ciaran bringing …
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 felt quite balmy. It was …
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 in fact a record breaking heatwave and the highest temperature of the year was recorded during it. This is the first time this has happened since 1962. The …
The poor weather of July 2023 extended into August. There was little respite from the rain, except for a drier week from 6th-13th. Temperatures during the same period were unimpressive, which made it feel less summery than it should have done. Either side of this dry period, there were heavy rains. On the 14th August 2023, there was what can …
We are getting so used to elevated temperatures that occasionally a month comes along that throws a spanner in the works. The worst time that it can possibly happen is in Summer. Against the backdrop of fierce temperatures in Southern Europe and USA, good old Britain gets a swing in the opposite direction. After a record-breaking June, July 2023 has …
June 2023 started cool. The high pressure cell was still in the wrong place for us in Durham, dragging in an Easterly component of wind from the cold North Sea. The long dry spell was ongoing at the beginning of June, with only 0.1 mm of rain to 10th June, and only one day with rain since 19th May 2023 …