Winter 1978-79 – The coldest since 1962-63

March 1979. Picture courtesy of NetWeather

The harsh winter of 1978-79 The winter of 1978-79 was the coldest winter since the infamous winter of 1962-63. Here is a summary of the winter by month. November 1978. Very warm until a northerly outbreak on the 24th. Although it was mild and dry in the south, it was wet and often stormy in the north. Gale-force Northerlies brought …

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Frozen River Wear in Durham, December 2010

frozen river wear december 2010

The River Wear froze in Durham in late November/December 2010. Here’s a daily weather diary of the period with photographs of the brutal spell of weather we hadn’t experienced for a long time. November/December 2010 25th Nov   Snow cover at 0900hrs. 2″ in Ferryhill, 5-6″ in Newcastle. 26th Nov   Snow cover continuing. Brighter, with improvement in road conditions …

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Flooding in Durham, July 2009

Flooding in Durham July 2009

Some of the worst flooding in recent years was experienced in Durham during the very wet July of 2009. The River Wear burst it’s banks in the city and riverside businesses were inundated after more than 2” of rain fell in one day (64.2mm was recorded on the 17th), on top of already saturated  ground. The most extraordinary weather episode …

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River Wear in Durham in flood again, September 2008

  The River Wear in Durham in spate again in mid September 2008. The main wear, normally visible about 4ft above the river is almost totally submerged. The river was 6” away from bursting it’s banks. This was the scene in Croxdale in September 2008 as firemen begin the cleanup process after another flooding episode at The Honest Lawyer Hotel. …

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A Storm Surge in Seaham, Durham – November 9th 2007

HD Video of giant waves on the seafront at Seaham, Co. Durham. A strong tidal surge in the North Sea resulted in higher than normal tides. A combination of strong winds, extremely low pressure and a storm surge can raise the sea level around Eastern England by up to 2 metres. This footage was filmed on 9th November 2007 by …

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January 1987 Weather – Exceptionally cold and wintry Spell

January 1987. This month saw an exceptional cold spell resulting from an easterly airstream which began in earnest on the 9th, with cold air starting to feed in from the 7th. Before that here was a wet start to the month. Then the maximum at Aviemore was -5C on the 8th and 9th. On the 9th, an anticyclone anchored over …

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December 1981 – The River Wear freezes up in Durham

December 1981 was a phenomenally cold snowy month in Durham (along with the first half of January 1982). Snow lay for most of the month as a result of several heavy falls in the region. Coming so soon after the cold winter of 1978-79, we had become used to ‘proper winters’. There were some brutally low temperatures, double figure negative …

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