Winter Weather

Winter Weather in Durham UK

February 2021 Weather Report for Durham – Huge Contrasts

by
The racecourse fields, covered in frost

February 2021 was a month of great contrasts. The second half of January 2021 was cold and had frequent frosts. This set the underlying theme for early Feb. The first week of the month was very wet, with more than 10mm rainfall on 2nd, 3rd and 6th. We then experienced an intense cold period between 7th and 14th. I kept thinking back to February 1991 for a comparison. February 2021 didn’t have as much snow, but was just as cold. Freezing Days and Ice Days have been rare in Durham over the last decade, but this period produced a few …

Read more

Some Incredible Ice Formations on Potters Bank, Durham Feb 2021

by
Close up of Ice on grass at the side of Potters Bank, Durham Feb 11th 2021

I spotted these photos on Facebook and contacted the owner Zanna Clay, who kindly gave me permission to use them. The photos show fantastic ice formations on the grass and hedges by the side of the road on Potters Bank in Durham. It was caused by passing cars spraying water from the road onto the grass, then freezing, making incredible ice formations.  

What is ‘The Beast from The East’?

by
Deep snow in Durham, December 2010

The upcoming cold weather is expected to hit us hard next week. It will come from the continent and traditionally, this is where our coldest weather comes from. Over here on the East Coast, we have no protection from any Easterly or North Easterly, so we tend to bear the brunt of this weather type. The phenomenon occurs every few years and the tabloid newspapers have christened it as ‘The Beast from The East’. So, what exactly is ‘The Beast From The East’? It sounds like some kind of Oriental horror movie, or the title of a Heavy Metal album, …

Read more

Early snowfall in Durham on February 2nd 2021

by

I awoke to the following snowfall on the morning of 2nd February 2021. There are big hints of a potential ‘Beast From The East’ scheduled after the weekend and next week. I will of course keep you posted and separate the fact from fiction. Enjoy this little slow-motion video.

January 2021 Weather Report for Durham – Wet and Cold

by

January 2021 – A cold, wet month at Durham With Storm Christoph a noteable feature Temperature After the warmth of January 2020, this month proved to be the exact opposite. The month proved to be both wet and wintry, with an exceptional snowfall in the North East area on or around the 6th-8th of the month. Some photos can be seen here. The month averaged only 2.3 degC, which is the coldest January in Durham since 2010. Not unusually for a cold month, it had 13 air frosts recorded, with the lowest temperature of -4.2 degC on the 9th January. …

Read more

Some photographs from snowy weather January 6th-8th 2021

by
Snow on the roof of Durham Cathedral

The North East of England was taken a little by surprise on Friday morning, the 8th January 2021. An area of rain had approached from the North West and turned to snow after midnight. Some places received 8-10 hours of continuous snow. Depth increased dramatically with altitude. In Durham City we had only 2-3 inches of snow, but in some of the hillier parts of County Durham snow depths of 6-10 inches were common, especially high ground to the south of the region. Here are some photographs of my own and taken by friends on social media today. Enjoy!   …

Read more

December 2020 – Wet, with a White Christmas

by

December 2020 started wet and cold. The 4th December very wet, with snow on high ground as a quite deep area of low pressure rushed by. There was more than 30mm of rain on 3rd/4th. This became typical of the month, with regular downpours giving significant amounts. Some areas of the UK had snow with the rain in this period, with ‘Thundersnow’ in Scotland, but it quickly disappeared at low levels as temperatures rose. At higher levels however, conditions were marginal and the freezing level was low enough to retain a snow cover on the very tops of the hills. …

Read more

Two photos of the frozen River Wear 1981/82 and 1895.

by

Two amazing photos of the frozen River Wear in Durham. The first, credited to Matthew Avery and Helen Avery is of the Cathedral across the frozen river. Although Helen originally thought it was from 1983, it’s almost certainly from a year earlier in the winter of 1981/82. December 1981 and the first half of January 1982 were very severe, particularly 8th-27th December 1981 and 6th-16th January 1982, so this picture was most likely taken in one of these periods (probably December 1981). The blue tint on the photograph makes it look very cold indeed. Here’s a comment from James Clark …

Read more