December 2024 Weather in Durham – Mild but very windy at times

Damage from Storm Darragh December 2024. Fallen tree with exposed roots has damaged a brick wall. Two men assess the damage

A very mixed and mild month. Storm Darragh battered Britain, mainly in the west facing the Irish Sea. Mobile phone warnings accompanied a Red Met Office warning. There was then an anticyclonic spell mid-month. Christmas was very mild. It was also very wet in Scotland, but not in Durham. Most of the monthly rainfall total fell in the first week. …

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December 2023 Weather at Durham – Overall very mild

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 …

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December 2022 Weather in Durham – Colder than average (the only one in 2022)

December banner : wooly hat and mittens

The Weather at Gilesgate, Durham December 2022 2022 was the warmest year on record at Durham since 1844 (10.59 °C), easily beating the previous record from 2014 (10.21 °C). This was despite December 2022 being below average. As is so often said, December was a ‘month of two halves. The first half of the month was dominated by cold. It …

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Tales of The Riverbank in Durham (and more)

Christmas Tree and Architecture in Durham Cathedral

We managed to haul ourselves out of the house today – 12th December 2022. It was pretty bleak, about -1 degC and there had been another dusting of snow overnight. Starting in the town at Framwelgate Bridge, we headed south, passing the Fulling Mill on the opposite side of the river and the Wear, and then over Prebends Bridge to …

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December 2021 Weather in Durham – Dull and Boring

December banner : wooly hat and mittens

December 2021 turned into a very dull and boring month after all the activity at the end of November because of Storm Arwen. When I say dull, I mean that there really were long periods when the sun just didn’t shine for us. Seemingly endless periods of damp, clammy cloudy weather. This was especially the case around mid-month, when anticyclonic …

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December 2020 Weather in Durham – Wet, with a White Christmas

December 2020 in Durham 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 …

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December 2019 Weather in Durham – Finally an end to the sequence of soggy months

Frost feathers on a Conservatory roof

After 6 months of way above average rainfall in Durham, December 2019 has finally stopped the rot. As has been previously mentioned, the wet sequence started in June and ran all the way through to Novemeber. What usually happens when December is dry is that it’s also frosty. This time, it’s been both mild here and on the dry side. …

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First real snow of winter 2019-20 in Durham

Skiing in Weardale in winter 2019-20

The northern part of the county saw it’s first real snow of the winter on 12th December. It was confined to high levels, but gave a good covering in the high Pennines. Here’s a photo from twitter from the top of Killhope in the County Durham Pennines. More photos from a friend of mine Barry Wilkinson who went skiing in …

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Some great photos of the severe weather December 2010 in Durham

Deep snow in Durham, December 2010

Some nine years ago, we were in the grip of one of the most severe spells of weather to occur in the month of December for over 100 years. Around Durham, the snowfall in December 2010 was very deep. Here’s a selection of local photos taken by Gary Tidbury of the conditions around Framwellgate Moor in Durham.  

Freezing Decembers – They really are very rare in the UK

picture of the Frozen River Wear December 2010

When December 2010 came along and hit us square between the eyes, it was a complete shock to the system. There had been no below freezing December in the UK (average below 0.0 degC) since 1890. That’s 120 years. These are temperatures from the CET series (Central England Temperature). The last time the temperature averaged below zero was in February …

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